The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-10-15
An American MissiOnary's Ex-
80 perience i'm India. se,ss

The Rev. Mr.. Hay, the American missions
ary, who, with his wife aud two children, mar
rowiy escaped death in Iadia. from the mutin-
Gus Sepoys, and who has just arrived home in
the Indian mail packet Ripon, with his family
preached in the Independent Chapel, above
Bar, Southampton, on Sunday. the 9th, to a
crowded congregation. In bis sermon Mr..
Hay, described the position of the fields of
labor which the three great missionary socie-
ties had marked out for themselves. The A
merican Board Of Missions, to which Mr.. Hay
was attached, restricted itself to the north
west provinces of the Bengal Presidency, the
headquarters Of the Indian revolt. Mr.. Hay
was himself stationed at Allahabad, where
there we're schools, colleges, and printing
presses, and were from the latter the Christ
ian Scriptures were issued in every language
Of the surrounding countries. The whole of
the missionary property at Allahabad, worth
f10, 900, had been destroyed, and 10000
worth in other parts, belonging to the same
society, had been sacrificed. It was exactly
three months ago on Sunday night that the
massacre Of II English officers out OF %, at the
mess-table at ,Allahabad, took place. At the
breaking out of the mutiny in that place all
the Europeans who were not massacred fled to
the fort for safety. Unfortunately many Of
the native Christians did not deem it necessa-
ry for their safety to enter the fort, and they
and their families were apprehended by the au-
thority of the Moulviaes. Their families were
incarcerated and exposed to every insult and
privatlons, while the native Christian minis
ters and teachers were put into the public
stocks, exposed there for nearly week, night
and day, with scarcely any refreshment, while
savage and infuriatea fanatics were often
'brandishing swords over them, and threat
ening them with the most horrid mutlation
unless they foreswore their Christian faith and
embraced Mahonmedanism. The Europeans
were blockaded in the fort for ten days, dur
ing which time they could not go fifty yards
outside without being fired at. Outside the
fort were fNsr hundred Sikh soldiers. whose
loyalty "as Questionable, and the only defence
of ~ EuropeaAs against them were seventy
or eiasy ,svalid artillerymen. Amongst the
Europeans were one hundred ladies' and a
large number of children. At o ne time mu-
tiny Of the Sikhs was apprehended. They OBJ
tanned possession of spirituous liquors, became
drunk and riotous, and howled like wild beasts.
For three successive nights ladies crouched
silent and sleepless in the fort, awaiting death,
while the European men guarded them, each
with revolver in his hand, expecting, as they
continually did, an attack from the Sikhs.---
Mr.. Hay gave thrilling description of these
terrible scenes. Most fortunately the Slkhs
abstained from any outrage while the Euro
peans were in the fort As soon as an oppor<
tunity of escape occurred, the commsndant Of
Allahabad ordered all non-combatants down
to Calcutta; and Mr.. Hay is now on his way
10 America to communicate to the missionary
society to which he belongs the disasters which
have befallen them. asH 3,@ afa {