THERE are some important reasons for establishing a mission in the mountains of India, and we are anxious that the readers of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES should know fully why funds are being solicited for such an undertaking. We believe as the reasons are better known a very generous response will follow.
Let us first briefly consider the climatic conditions of India in the different parts of the country. A bird's eye view would reveal the fact that India is divided into three regions which are as follows:
1. The Himalaya region, which includes the southern portion of the lofty Himalaya Mountains and their offshoots.
2. The second comprises the land stretching southward from the Himalayas, and includes the valley-plains of several large rivers which find their rise in these high mountains.
3. The third region is a triangular table-land comprising the southern half of India. It is frequently called the "Deccan."
The Himalaya region lies between 30° and 35° north latitude, and the climate is cool and refreshing. The lofty peaks of the Himalayas, many of which are more than 20,000 feet high and covered with perpetual snow, exert a cooling and invigorating influence over this whole region. Blankets are always acceptable at night in the summer time, and during the day in the house it is always comfortable, while in the winter snow falls in many of the hill towns.
In the river-plain region, where our mission work is almost all located, the climate is in many places very unhealthful, especially in Bengal where the elevation above sea-level is little and the country malarious. About Calcutta the fever districts are many and the climate is such that few missionaries from the north can long endure climatic conditions without a change, and some are not able to endure them at all.
The hot season in the river-plains region begins the latter part of March and continues until the first of November. During this time the thermometer registers anywhere from 90° to 140° and the heat is incessant day and night. So great heat for so long a time is very enervating and depressing to those of northern birth.
The graves at Karmatar, of Evangelists O. A. Robinson and G. M. Brown, who died in 1900 of smallpox in labor for others in India. If it had not been for long depleting labors, these noble workers might have survived this disease.
Because of these conditions it seems to the Mission Board and the workers in India that a foothold should be secured in the mountain regions, where there are many souls who know nothing of Christ and where climatic conditions are more favorable. There are at least three reasons for locating a mission in the mountains, which are as follows:
1. To carry the Gospel and a knowledge of the principles of present truth to the mountain tribes, of whom many, yea, multitudes, know nothing of Jesus Christ and of salvation through His name and merits.
2. For the benefit of our missionaries working in various parts of India where the heated season is intense and protracted and the climate unhealthful. A mission in the mountains will serve as a retreat for worn laborers to regain health and strength.
3. As a training center where native converts may be trained for work among their own people living in unhealthful districts where our missionaries from the north can not work.
India's sons and daughters, we believe, are to be reached largely through those of kindred tongue and tribe who accept the light and go forth to their own people.
These are, in brief, the reasons for raising funds for a mission in the mountains of India, and we believe as the readers of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES know the purposes of the fund many more will esteem it a privilege to donate. About $3,000 has thus far been raised. Thank God for this and for the generosity it shows.
But more money is required. It will take at least $5,000 to buy land and put up necessary buildings, etc.
For the sake of Christ's work in India, and for the sake of His faithful missionaries, who are now working in the heat and the sun to bring men and women to Christ, this appeal is made. A lighthouse in the mountains will spell progress to the cause of Gospel truth in India. Those who give, and make a sacrifice to give, will be sharers in the reward to be pronounced upon those who have wrought for India and her millions. There are souls at stake. Let us give and give freely.
J. L. SHAW.
13English engineering and enterprise! Another line will soon be constructed in the Sudan which will make in all, over 1,200 miles of railroad in that neglected district. Do the missionary people need a stronger challenge than this? We can not excuse ourselves to the Lord if we carry not the Gospel to every creature. What means this rapid opening of mission territory but that the Lord wills to give these wandering tribes a chance for salvation before He returns to take away His people."
