Part II, Chapter XIII — From a Missionary's Diary (1894)
FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) A PERPLEXING question which had been debated at the Mission Conference in previous years was again discussed in 1894, namely, whether a man with more than one wife should be baptized; and this time the answer was a decided negative. The ornamentation of the houses of the natives with chalk designs, however, was declared to be commendable because it promoted cleanliness. The rule was established that boarding boys should not be allowed to wear jewels in their noses and ears, and girls none in their noses. As for this custom among adults, it was resolved to discourage the wearing of nose jewelry at the Lord's Supper. All heathen rites and ceremonies at weddings and funerals were condemned.
After the convention of the Mission Conference the native agents and delegates from congregations, about one hundred and thirty in number, were given a reception at the Riverdale bungalow. Large heaps of rice and curry were served, the guests, according to Hindu custom, being seated in long rows on the ground in the open air, and eating their portions from fresh mango leaves spread out before them.
On January 5, 1894, nine Danish Lutheran missionaries visited Rajahmundry. Divine services were held the next day in St. Paul's Church, at which four languages were used, namely, Telugu, German, Danish and English. After the Mission Conference a missionaries' picnic was held on January 17th, described by Mrs. Kuder as follows: ''On the morning of the seventeenth of January at six o'clock a merry party, consisting of seventeen adults and three children, left River- dale wharf. The party consisted of Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt, in response to whose invitation the party had assembled, eight visiting Danish missionaries, Dr. Edman, Mr. Pohl, Mr.
THE GORGE OF THE GODAVERY RI\'ER
MISSIONARIES LI\IXG IN A TENT WHILE ON TOUR
AFTER AX EXAMIXATIOX OF XILLACE SCHOOL CHILDREN
A TELUGU \ILLA(;E
FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) 297 Isaacson, Miss Sadtler, Miss Schade, Mr. Kuder and the writer. Those of our mission circle whose names are not mentioned remained at home from choice or necessity. All aboard the 'Shamrock,' a river steamer, the 'Dove of Peace' fastened securely at one side and carrying the cooks—a most important part of the excursion—we started on our way up the beautiful Godavery River, our destination being the justly famed gorge of that river. . . . From our starting place and beyond Tallapudi the river is very broad and the country on either side comparatively flat ; but the scenery is not monoto- nous. Many villages could be seen along the shore, and they were at sufficiently enchanting distances apart to render them picturesque, while beyond in the distance were the 'rare blue hills,' toward which we were going. As we neared them the river became narrower and the scenery very lovely, oftentimes grand—giant hills towering above us, clothed in tropical verdure. The bamboo is a very graceful, feathery looking tree, and many of the mountain sides were covered with them. At sunset the first day we anchored just this side of the gorge to spend the night. We were glad of the opportunity to go ashore here. Some of the gentlemen went to a neighboring village, where. Dr. Schmidt told us, many years ago we had a teacher ; but he had to leave on account of the fever which prevails here. Som.e of the gentlemen took a small boat and gave the zenana sisters a boat ride to the other side of the river. Mrs. Schmidt and I walked on the sandy shore and watched the little children of our party playing in the sand. We were certainly far away from the 'madding crowd'; and with no sound to disturb us save the cry of some lonely bird, and with the charming landscape of river and mountain on which to feast our eyes, it was very restful to both mind and body and a dehghtful change from the perpetual 'tom-tom' of Rajahmundry.
"Early the next morning we entered the gorge. Here the river is narrow and seems to have cut its way in and out between the lofty mountains which rise many hundreds of feet on each side. The effect of the light and shade of the early sunlight heightened the beauty of the scene. At the other
298 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL side of the gorge we again anchored and amused ourselves cUmbing the mountain side and hunting ferns. Coming upon a beautiful mountain stream, we seated ourselves on the rocks, and the man with the kodak took a shot at us. Our homeward way was enlivened by the sight of several alligators and crocodiles sunning themselves on the sand. At tea that afternoon many a vote of thanks were tendered our kind hosts. After a little delay, caused by sticking on a sand-bar, we reached Rajahmundry about 9 o'clock on the evening of the second day, a little tired, but congratulating ourselves that we had gone on this missionaries' picnic." During the first two weeks of February Mr. and Mrs. Pohl with their children, in a hired boat, accompanied Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt in the "Dove of Peace" on a tour of the Velpur-Bhimawaram district. The following extracts are taken from Pohl's diary.
"UnikiH, February 5th. Day before yesterday, the wind being favorable, we reached Velpur. . . . Directly after sunrise on Sunday a boy went out along the canal where the Christians live in their huts, ringing a small bell, which was a signal for a public service in the little, unadorned chapel. Several Christians came from neighboring villages, and the chapel was filled to its capacity. We preached of the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus. In Arjulupalem, where five families had been baptized since I last went there, we held an evening service.
."This morning Brother Schmidt and I went to Mallipudi, where as yet we have no school. Meanwhile the school children from Velpur and Arjulupalem had come to the boats to be examined and receive their Christmas presents of jackets, dolls and pictures. Quite a number of adults had come with the children, and while the children were being examined in the boat. Brother Schmidt attended to the sick who had come for medicine. At one o'clock in the afternoon we sailed farther down the canal in our boats and reached the locks at four o'clock. Brother Schmidt and I at once walked over to Konitivada, a distance of four miles, over crooked and rough roads. It was late and dark when
FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) 299 we returned, and it was fortunate that we carried a lantern, for several of the ditches which had been dry in the afternoon were filled with water, and we were obliged to walk around them. In Konitivada we have only a few Christians but are sowing the seed in hope. We visited the zemindar to ask for a school-site and a parcel of ground to be used as a cemetery. If we only had a sufficient number of efficient native workers we could make much better progress everywhere.
"February 6th. A busy day hes behind us. At sunrise Christians from Unikili arrived. They had been on their way to work in the fields when they spied the mission boat in the canal and, dropping their hoes and spades, came over to us. In the village we have a school but not a schoolhouse. Three years ago there was not a single Christian in the village. M. Lazarus was our first teacher there, and he did his work quietly and faithfully. Now we have quite a good congre- gation in Unikili, and all of them gathered this morning for service. We crossed the Gosta Nadi on two tree-trunks bound together and laid across the stream. . . . We went to Kinera- pur, where we have a few Christians but no school. The yards of the Christians were much better kept than those of other Malas. They brought mats and spread them on the ground for the audience. We spoke especially to the non-Christians. . . . The Christians of Kinerapur accompanied us to Kanzamur, carrying us on their shoulders over a number of wide ditches filled with water. After a long search a shady place was found in Kanzamur, where we could hold a service.
"Weary and hungry, we got back to our boats at two o'clock in the afternoon. The school children of Unikili and Konitivada were waiting to be examined. It was 4 o'clock when, finally, all of the children had been examined and received their presents. Then we went to Vandra, where at 8 o'clock we conducted a service in the roomy schoolhouse, forty Chris- tians being present. It had been a busy day, and yet we felt that much more should have been done; but how could we have found time to visit the other villages or to preach to the higher caste people in the villages we did visit? 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye, therefore, the
300 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL Lord of the harvest that He would sent forth laborers into the harvest.'
"February 7th. This morning we visited the Christians of Vandra in their homes and also preached to the non-Chris- tians in the street. The rest of the forenoon we spent in examining the school children of Vandra and of the evening school in Unikili, which enrolls seventeen persons. In the afternoon we sailed to Vissakoderu. ... It made us glad to see the large heap of stones intended for the new Bhimawaram Church. They were brought all the way from Dowlaishwaram in boats, and from Vissakoderu they are to be carted two or three miles in bullock-carts to the site of the church.
''Gunapudi, February 8th. This morning we went to Vissa- koderu, where we have many Christians who Hve close to each other and quarrel a good deal. We stopped on our way at Kalamudi, where we have neither Christians nor a school. In the shade of several huts we preached the Gospel of the crucified and risen One. In Vissakoderu we held a service and examined the Vissakoderu and Srungavruksham school- children. All day long we were occupied receiving Christians of the vicinity who wished to speak with us, and we gladly gave them the opportunity. Toward evening we went to Gunapudi, where, somewhat late, we held an evening service. The schoolhouse was crowded and many stood on the outside, without, however, being prevented from hearing us, for the schoolhouse has no walls, being constructed of four poles on which a roof of palmyra leaves is stretched. Teacher C. Joseph had put up the motto 'Welcome' and decorated the interior with chains of colored paper. Many non-Christians were present, to whom also we addressed a few words after the Bible lesson. It was a good day and the evening was beautiful; and I am glad to be able to report about it, even though I must do so in the dim light of a lantern surrounded by innumerable insects. ''February 9th. This morning we were driven to Bhimawaram, whither the Gunapudi school children had been directed to come for their examinations. Near Gunapudi
FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) 3OI lies the site of the church. The excavation has been finished/ and in a few days the first stones will be laid. From this place we can reach many villages and at the same time superintend the building operations. This evening we held a service in Bhimawaram.
"February loth. Here in Bhimawaram it will not be diffi- cult to gather over two thousand Christians for the consecra- tion of the church. The villages all lie within a narrow radius and everywhere the Gospel is finding entrance. To be sure, only the Malas accept the message, the Madigas, a still lower caste, being converted by the Baptists.
"Bhimawaram, February 14th. To-day the first stones of the foundation of the new church were laid. Brother Schmidt was fully occupied superintending the work, while I went to Chinnamiram and from there to Peddamiram. In the latter we have 120 Christians.
"February 15th. The way to Vaimpad was a long one. P. Barnabas came to meet me with the school children. One after another of the Christians joined us as we entered the village. The little palm-leaf schoolhouse is altogether in- adequate. In this village sixty-five persons were baptized one day last year. They are near relatives of our Christians at Gorlamudi. After the Gorlamudi Christians had been bap- tized, one family after the other, their Vaimpad relatives refused to associate with them, and were very angry at them. Meanwhile our teacher continued to preach in Vaimpad. Pas- tor Paulus visited the village, and then the ice broke, and many came and asked to be admitted to holy baptism. "February 19th. Day before yesterday work on the Bhimawaram Church had progressed so far that Brother Schmidt's personal supervision was no longer necessary. The corner-stones were laid and then the work was temporarily discontinued for lack of mortar.
"February 21st. My wife went with me in the evening to Vaimpad. The 'white lady' attracted the attention of the whole village. We grasped the opportunity to preach to the ^ The work of digging for the foundations had been begun on December 13, 1893.
302 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL non-Christians. William played the violin and we sang to his accompaniment. We trust our effort was not entirely fruitless. If we only had more time for such preaching! "February 23d. After a night enlivened by the songs and stings of mosquitos my wife and I went to Kopilla, where the Christians gathered around us. Many non-Christians looked over the wall or stood in the compound listening. We sang a hymn and then I preached to them. We prayed together and after the service visited the Christians in their homes. We also went to the noisy heathen temple and invited the Hindus there to come to Christ. ... In Kopilla the women are learning to sew, but the men had learned the art better than the women and showed us their work with pride. The teacher, S. Prakasam, had been an apt pupil in the sewing class in Rajahmundry. When we got back to the boat the Peddamiram school children were being examined by Mrs. Schmidt.
"February 24th. We stopped at Gollapalem, where there are a number of inquirers. The principal industry here is the raising of cocoanuts. Through cocoanut gardens we walked down to the sea, where the breakers rolled, foam-crested and thundering, upon the shore. In the thick shade of palm trees we were treated by one of the inquirers to fresh cocoanut milk. It was dehcious. The soil here is so fertile that the cocoanut trees bear fruit six times a year. It was nearly noon when we got back to our boats, and then we had to say fare- well to this beautiful spot and also to Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt and the 'Dove of Peace,' for, while they went to Taderu, we hastened to Narsapur and from there homeward." When Pohl got back to Rajahmundry he found that McCready had returned to Tallapudi and resumed charge of that district, and that the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Arps had moved into the finished bungalow in Dowlaishwaram, which they shared for a while with Mr. and Mrs. Baehnisch.^
Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt left Rajahmundry on their third furlough toward the end of March, 1894, bound for Denmark, where they had left their daughter, Dagmar, to be educated.
' Schmidt had finished the building at an approximate cost of $1800.
FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) 303 From Gjelstedt, where they resided during the fall and winter, Schmidt was frequently called away to deliver missionary addresses in the interest of the Danish Missionary Society; and he did so gladly, because of the indebtedness of our Mission to that society for its first missionaries.
Mrs. Edman developed symptoms of mental disorder, and Dr. Edman was obliged to bring her back to America. They left Rajahmundry with their two daughters on April 6, 1894. After Schmidt and Edman had left, Pohl was given general supervision of all the territory from Rajahmundry to the sea, including the Velpur, Jegurupad, Samulkot and Bhimawaram districts, and was appointed treasurer in India to succeed Schmidt. Isaacson and Arps, besides studying the vernacular, assisted him in the mission work, the former moving to Samulkot and the latter living at Dowlaishwaram. In Germany Arps had learned the Franz Otto system of medicine, which he practised in India and with which he succeeded in relieving many natives of minor ills and aches. At Muramunda a new chapel was built and consecrated on December 6, 1894. All the missionaries except Isaacson were present and took part in the services of consecration. Pohl described the new building as follows: "It is fifty feet long and sixteen feet wide. The window-frames are filled in with so-called bee-hive work, made of round tiles, allowing air and light to enter. The floor, made of mud, is covered with a bamboo mat for the congregation to sit on. The elevated altar space is decorated with a window one foot wide and five feet high, constructed of stained glass, the work of one of our boys, Alexander. On one side of the window are the words, T am the way, the truth and the life, saith the Lord'; on the other side, 'Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out'; and above the arch, 'Behold the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sin of the world.' The altar table is covered with a white cloth that has a red velvet border in which my wife embroidered the words, 'Lord have mercy upon us.' Of course, all these verses are in Telugu. The altar, pulpit and baptismal font were made in Rajahmundrv by our carpenter-boys."
304 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL Concerning the Artman Poor Mohammedan Girls' School Miss Schade wrote: "In spite of the opposition or indifference shown by the different factions among the Mohammedans, the work has been carried on; but after a year's trial the prospects remained the same and it was thought that the time, strength, energy and money expended on this school might be much more profitably spent elsewhere, and that its present state rather hindered than furthered the cause among the Mohammedans. It has, therefore, been decided to dis- continue the school after August ist." The school, however, was continued somewhat longer. During the year 1894 the zenana work was reorganized by the Misses Schade and Sadtler. The former wrote : "When it was understood that we were prepared to begin work, we were visited by some of the native gentlemen, Brahmins and Sudras, who were anxious to have their wives taught. We agreed to come to their homes if they would form classes by getting other women to join their wives. To this they consented. We now spend two hours, from three to five in the afternoon, with each class. The women are very happy while we are with them. They listen quite willingly to the Bible lesson and are also taught sewing and fancy work. As our work grows we will certainly have to use native women as helpers."
At the close of the year 1894 Kuder furnished the following resume of the work in the boarding schools: "The year just closing was a good one for the Seminary. For the first time in its history it has closed with over 100 boarding boys in attendance. The total number on the rolls on the last school day was 240. We accept the patronage of Hindu boys most unwillingly. To shield ourselves we imposed fees. These were, however, cheerfully paid. The number of Hindus in- creased almost daily until we were obliged to refuse admission to any more. The Hindu boys are required to attend Bible instruction and also some religious lessons, and seed may fall into waiting soil. A step in the right direction, that we hope soon to take, is the separation of our boys and girls into two distinct schools. Since we have zenana sisters who are willing
. FROM A missionary's DIARY (1894) 305 and competent to assume control of the girls' schools, we will put an end to the co-educational system. The girls' boarding school is then to be made a medium for the preparation of Christian girls and women to assist in zenana classes. For this purpose we are trying to rent a house easily accessible from the Zenana Home. Another separation we would like to make is the divorce of the school from the present school- house. We have thirty acres of land in a lovely situation for the site of our new Seminary. The plans have been prepared and all that is now wanting is the command to go up and possess the land."
In 1894 the need of a hospital and medical work in con- nection with our Mission began to be seriously agitated. At its meeting in November, that year, the Board of Foreign Missions resolved, "that we, as a Board, proceed to move in the direction of providing a hospital at such a place within our field in India as may hereafter be determined, and that the Mission Council be requested to give us its views on the sub- ject."
The organized women's missionary societies in the General Council responded enthusiastically to this proposal of the Board and began at once to raise funds for a hospital for women and children at Rajahmundry, the Board having decided that if the women's societies furnished the necessary funds, the hospital should be for women and children only, for whose medical and surgical treatment the Government hospitals and dispensaries made no adequate provision. At the suggestion of the Board the Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the Philadelphia Conferences of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania made an effort to secure a woman physician to be sent to India at once. The following appeal was published in the December, 1894, issue of "The Foreign Missionary": "Wanted, a woman medical mis- sionary. For some time past it has been well known to the executive committee of the Women's Home and Foreign Mis- sionary Society of the Philadelphia Conferences of the Evan- gehcal Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania that there is urgent need of a woman medical missionary within the
3o6 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL General Council's Mission in India. A committee was ap- pointed last August and instructed to secure the medical mis- sionary, if possible. Thus far the efforts of the committee have been unsuccessful, and, therefore, this public appeal is addressed to the women physicians in the General Council of the Lutheran Church. Will not one earnest, Christian woman volunteer for this important work? Address Mrs. H. E. Jacobs, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, or Miss Mary Welden, 871 Holly Street, Philadelphia." No one volunteered, and so the society reverted to the first suggestion of the Board and began to look for a young lady willing to take a course in medicine with the view of becoming a medical missionary.