F. A. ALLUM by F. A. ALLUM

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 23, 1906

F. A. ALLUM

By F. A. ALLUM

From Australia to Honan, China

F. A. ALLUM

Knowing that the friends in America will be interested in the experiences we have passed through since we left the shores of Australia, we take this opportunity of telling you something of our trip. We left Sydney on April 15, and after a voyage of a week we arrived at New Britain. Here we spent two very pleasant days, during which time we were taken in the steamer’s launch on a ten-mile excursion down to Herbertshohe. On the way our motor engine broke down, and we were forced to hail another launch, which towed us to our destination. Among the passengers on the launch was the captain of the governor’s yacht, and he, seeing the disabled condition of our boat, invited us to return on his boat, saying that he would take us back to the ship in the afternoon. After spending a very enjoyable time wandering among the cocoanut palms, and seeing much of native life, we were taken on board the governor’s yacht just in time to escape a heavy downpour of rain. Later in the afternoon the governor came on board, and we had the honor of being introduced to his Excellency. We reached the “Willehad” in time for tea. The next day, in company with the doctor of the ship and two passengers, we went on the launch to an island just off New Britain, and from there five native boys rowed us over to the foot of a recently active volcano. The water for quite a considerable distance from the mountain was so hot that one could not bear his hand in it. We had a grand time climbing the mountain. From its summit we could look into the mouth of the crater, from which the steam was even then rising. As we looked into the crater’s mouth, we realized how easily this old earth could be burned up, and that even now the fires of destruction are kindled. We left New Britain at six o’clock the next morning, arriving at Fredrick Wilhelm’s Hafen the same time the following morning. These tropical islands are very beautiful, the hills being covered to the summit with luxuriant foliage.

During our stay in New Guinea we visited a Lutheran mission station. The missionaries were very kind to us, and took us through a number of native villages. Here we saw native life as it really is. It is hard to believe that human beings can exist under such conditions. The missionaries, however, seem to be doing some good. We were taken inside their church, and the missionaries had the children sing some hymns for us. These were sung in perfect time and tune.

In these islands, every one, almost without exception, uses tobacco; even the missionary himself offered cigars to our party. At the mission station we saw children between four and five years of age smoking cigarettes. New Guinea is at present unoccupied by us as a mission field; and we could not help feeling an intense longing to see the standard of present truth raised here.

Among the passengers on the “Willehad” was a Mr. Dannkohler, a well-known German explorer in these parts. He estimates the population of New Guinea to be from five to six millions, and probably he knows more about the interior than any other white man. Our boat left at 6:30 P. M. for Manila. Two days later we crossed the equator. The weather was intensely hot, and the nights were almost unbearable. After sailing for several days among the islands of the Philippine group, we entered the large bay upon which Manila is situated, on May 2. Here we spent two pleasant days with Pastor and Mrs. McElhany, who had been sent to open up work in this field just two weeks before we sailed. They kindly took us to every place of interest in the city. As a full description of Manila has recently been given by Brother Gates, and Brother McElhany will be writing from time to time, I will not take time to describe what we saw. We left Manila May 4, and reached Hongkong May 7, where we were met by Brother Robert Caldwell, and after a pleasant visit around Hongkong, we sailed that night for Canton, reaching there about ten o’clock the following morning. We were met by Brother

Anderson, and at the mission were greeted by all the Canton workers. We spent but six hours with these brethren, but during this time we saw many strange sights. We were taken by Brother Wilbur to a place called the “Chamber of Horrors.” In going to this place we had to pass through many streets that were no more than six feet wide. We also passed under an archway that is said to have been built in the days of Christ. At the “Chamber of Horrors” we gained a good knowledge of the Chinese idea of hell. In this place there were figures of human beings undergoing all kinds of torture that the gods were supposed to inflict. In one place, for instance, there was a man being slowly boiled to death in a huge pot of water. Another was being cut down through the middle with a cross-cut saw. As I looked at the figures, I thought it would be well if the people who believe in eternal punishment could pay this place a visit, for then they would be able to see the nature of the punishment they attribute to a God of mercy.

After this we went with Miss Thompson to her girls’ school. It was a sight to make one’s heart glad to see these Chinese girls being taught the gospel. We understand that several have already taken their stand for God, and are ready for baptism. We next visited the Anglo-Chinese school conducted by Brother Titbury. We were then obliged to leave our new-found friends, as our boat sailed at five o’clock. Brethren Wilbur and Caldwell and Sisters Law Keem and Vanscoy accompanied us to Hongkong, where we transshipped our luggage to the steamship “Roon.” We expected to reach Shanghai early on Sabbath, May 12, but our boat was stuck in the mud of the Yellow Sea for some six hours, so we did not reach Shanghai till six o’clock in the afternoon. Here we expected to meet Dr. Miller, but owing to a delay in the delivery of the telegram sent by Brother Anderson he was unable to meet us, and so we landed in a strange city with no one to meet us. However, we quickly found a missionary home mentioned to us by Brother Anderson. We waited at Shanghai several days before we received word from Dr. Miller. But it was a good experience, as we met quite a number of missionaries from different parts of China, and we trust some seeds of truth were sown which will spring up and bear fruit. During the time we spent at Shanghai we saw many new sights, such as Chinese marriage and burial processions. The music accompanying these processions is peculiar. It consists of several notes played over and over again in the same order. After we had waited a week for Dr. Miller, we thought it was time to make a move. As day after day went by and no news came, we began to grow anxious, and so we finally decided to sail alone for Hankow on Thursday. We felt that this would be quite an undertaking as we did not know much about traveling in China, but we knew that the Lord would be with us, and therefore all would be well.

Before deciding on this step, we prayed that if Dr. Miller was in Shanghai or on his way down, we might receive word that day. God heard this prayer, and although we had bought our tickets and had made arrangements for our baggage to be transshipped, a telegram came from Dr. Miller asking if we were still in Shanghai. We wired that we were waiting there, and soon received an answer telling us to stay at Shanghai till he came. You can not imagine the joy this gave us. I immediately went down to the shipping office and told them the circumstances, and they kindly refunded the entire amount of the fare. I did this because I knew we would travel first-class Chinese now that Dr. Miller would be with us. It was also a great saving in money, as the first-class Chinese cost but five dollars, whereas the European cost twenty dollars. On the fourth day from the receipt of the telegram Dr. Miller arrived. You can imagine how glad we were to receive him. We were very much pleased with his appearance, and the frank, manly way in which he greeted us showed me plainly that we could work together in perfect union. The next two days we spent in making quite a number of purchases, and we also visited the Presbyterian Mission Press, and gained some information regarding Chinese printing. In the evening I went through the somewhat painful process of being transformed into a Chinaman. I never knew until I lost my mustache and a ring of hair around my head how precious these were to me. In the forenoon we had bought a queue at the China Inland Mission Station for the modest sum of sixty cents. This was grown by a C. I. M. missionary. They have quite a number for sale, as their missionaries cut them off when they go home on furlough, some missionaries having two or three. It is impossible for me to describe how that Chinese barber pulled my hair in attaching that queue to my head, for my hair was rather short. C. I. M. missionaries when they first adopt the Chinese costume, generally pin the queue inside the round cap which is usually worn by missionaries. This plan, however, has its disadvantages, for if anything happens to knock the cap off, away goes the queue. On the contrary, there are some disadvantages in having your queue plaited into your own hair before you are used to wearing one, because if you are going through a doorway in a hurry, your queue is apt to catch on the door handle or some other obstruction, and you are suddenly jerked backward. Another difficulty a newly fledged missionary finds is that when he sits down, sometimes he sits on his queue, and so is unable to bend his head forward without almost parting company with his new appendage. But Paul became all things to all men, and we find it quite necessary in the interior of China to adopt the Chinese dress as far as consistent, in order not to arouse undue attention. It is also much cheaper to travel in Chinese clothes.

We left for Hankow at 12:30, traveling first-class Chinese. We found our cabins rather bare, but better than we expected. The food, however, was untouchable with the exception of the rice, which was very good. Dr. Miller had provided some foreign food, and so we fully expected to get along all right. Unfortunately, however, our captain seemed to think that his boat was so constructed that it could run along on dry land, and so he ran us into a mud bank in broad daylight. The bank was a long way out of the proper course, and there seemed to be no excuse for such a mistake. We stayed on that mud bank for two days and a half. During this time they tried various methods to get the boat out of the mud, but they were unsuccessful, and so we were finally transshipped to another boat. We were glad to get on a boat that could move, for we had grown weary of gazing upon the scenery in that part of the Yangtse. Furthermore, our food had run out, and we were getting hungry on a purely rice diet. It was Sabbath when the other boat arrived, and we had a busy time moving freight. These are some of the difficulties one meets when traveling in China. Satan no doubt had a hand in all this, for we know that he does not want us in China; and then when we are here, he wants to make the Sabbath as much like every other day as possible. The scenery along the Yangtse is most beautiful. There are mountains for a long way along either bank, and these are covered with verdure to the very top. China would make a splendid cattle country, but the Chinese do not raise cattle except in odd places. It is just impossible to describe the density of the population in this part of China. In a radius of about five miles there are over two hundred villages with from one hundred to four hundred people in each village. These farming people have very crude plows, etc., but they till the land very well, and avail themselves of every inch of ground. Two days’ sailing from the mud bank brought us to Hankow early on Tuesday morning, May 29. Hankow is destined to be the most important city of China because it can command the trade from almost every part of the country. Here is an important center that must soon be entered by the third angel’s message. Tuesday was an exceedingly busy day, for we had so many things to attend to, and our Chinese shoes did not help us very much, for they made our feet very sore. Now we are quite used to them, and do not mind them at all. It was late when we retired to rest on Tuesday night, and we would have been glad of a good night’s rest, but not a wink of sleep did we get. A Chinese inn is simply indescribable. The entire furniture in each room consists of five boards which form the bed, and this was pretty hard even when we had our Chinese bedding on it. The mosquitoes were

simply dreadful, and we could not sleep.

Seven o’clock Wednesday morning found us at the railway station waiting for our train. The trains on this railway are quite up-to-date, but there is a woeful lack of system in the way the road is worked. All the morning was spent in running through rice-fields, which were very pretty indeed. About midday the train stopped at a station, and soon engaged in shunting operations, with the result that our car was placed on a side line. We soon grasped the situation, and were successful in getting all our luggage removed to the train before it went on. If we had not noticed the fact that our car was uncoupled, we would have been left behind, and would have had to wait a whole day before the next train came along. Praise the Lord for all his love and tender watch-care. When we were a few stations from our destination, we were joined by the Misses Erickson and Simpson. We reached the end of our train journey at 6 P. M. We found Dr. Miller’s evangelist waiting for us, and soon we were all seated in donkey carts. In this manner we traveled all night. During the evening we passed through immense wheat-fields, and the scent from these was very refreshing after the noise and dirt of Hankow. It was the most pleasant experience we had had thus far in China, save for the fact that we were very sleepy, owing to the loss of sleep the previous night, and then, of course, the carts had no springs, and as the roads are full of ruts, they shook us up and down a great deal. It is harvest-time now, and even at the late hour we traveled, we could see the people out harvesting. They cut all the grain by hand, and you can imagine how long it would take, and the number of people that would be employed. As I thought about their inadequate methods for reaping their harvests, it made me think of another harvest that God’s people ought to be reaping, a harvest so precious that Christ would have come and lived and died on this earth rather than one grain should be lost. Yet in this country millions of grains are being lost every year because God’s husbandmen are so few and their facilities so inadequate. We wonder at the Chinese because of their antiquated methods, but let us not forget the lesson that there is in this for us, and let us be up and doing. Let us never cease to pray the Lord of the harvest that he will send more laborers into his harvest. You can not imagine the problems that we have before us continually. Think of this province alone with its twenty-two million people. China’s needs are many.

Since coming here, my work outside the language study, has been mainly in the pressroom and dispensary. It is in the latter place that you see China’s deep-seated misery. I wish that every one of our people could spend a day there. What a change it would make in their efforts to forward missionary work. This week has seen but three days pass by, and yet in that short time we have had three cases of opium poisoning. Two of these proved fatal. In each case the drug was given or taken with the idea of destroying life. One was that of an infant, whose mother had poisoned it, and it was already dying when brought to us. Another was the suicide of a husband. He was brought in the middle of the night. His was also a fatal case. The other was that of a young wife. Her life was saved. We also had a case of leprosy. The leg of the patient was a mass of rotten flesh and will soon drop off. Of course man can do little in such cases.

O, I tell you it is good to be in China and to be engaged in such work as this! We are constantly surrounded by disease, but I know the Lord will keep us, and if he wishes us to lay down our lives, then we shall not wish it otherwise.

We take this opportunity of publicly thanking those who were instrumental in raising the funds necessary for our transportation to China and our support here. We trust that in the great gathering day, when we shall know the result of every good deed, they will be able to see some souls saved as the result of their effort to propagate the kingdom of Christ in this dark land. We trust their prayers will still follow us that we may be kept faithful to the charge committed to our care.