Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1886-10-09
a Talk About Persia,

a Talk About Persia
Dear children, I have been invited
to write You letter about Persia, and
l am delighted to do so, and am only
sorry cannot look into your bright
eyes and talk to you of this far-off land,
and have you ask me questions about
everything you want to know. Iwould
have you get acquainted with the peo-
pie OF Persia, so you may love their
souls and pray for them.
The HISTORIANS, among whom we
labored. are very poor. Many OF the
women have to work in the fields all
day. They go out in tho morning car
rying their spades, q bag of bread and
cheese, and n cradle on their backs
with baby in it. The baby lies tied
in the cradle under a tree while the
mother weeds the cotton or CLEANS tho
wheat. If the babies do not want to
sleep they blindfold them, so they will
have to, and cover the cradle up to
make it dark. When the baby is
awake it can play with string OF
bright beads hung from the top of the
cradle.
The Nestori mothers say (what
they wish to believe} that the more a
baby sleeps the more it wants to sleep.
They think baby has no soul till it is
forty days ID, and then it is baptized.
If 1t dies before, it cannot be buried
inside graveyard, because it is un-
clean. They do not name their chill
dren after persons who are living, and
they have no surnames. If the new
born baby is a boy everybody is glad,
but if it is girl they are sorry and
ashamed. Nobody wants girls, OF thinks
anything of them. When the mission
aries are glad of their little girls the
natives look on with wonder and pity
them; and when they see our gentlemen
caressing and loving their daughters
they do not know what to make of it.
Some of the best sermons the missiona-
ries ever preach are by means of their
beautiful homes, showing how parents
and children, brothers and sisters, live
who are taught of Christ. Who can
gainsay such a gospel?
The first word a baby says in Amer
lea, you know, is "Tata." This is the
first word HISTORIAN baby says, and it
is real word there, and means Come,
come" HISTORIAN babies are not very
pretty, aud are never very clean. The
HISTORIANS, who do not have the reli-
glon OF Jesus Christ, are always filthy
and untidy in their habits, and live in
great discomfort. 1t is "the fear OF the
Lord" that is clean" The little chill.
dren of the poor in Persia are very
scantily clad, although the weather is
often very cold zone winter we had
sleighing in Oroomiah for seventeen
weeks. Generally their only garment
is loose skirt reaching to the knees.
This is often mass of rags and filth,
and alive with vermin. Whatever parts
of the body are naked, the head is al
ways covered. The hair of boy is
very curiously shaved, leaving a wide
bald place over the top and down to the
neck. The little girls hair is never
cut, and is worn beautifully braided
hanging down the back, each braid tied
with long red tassel.
Many Persian babies are born in the
stables, and are often laid for their first
bed, like our Savior, in manger "where
the horned cattle feed" Indeed, many
of the people live in their stables, or
rather the cattle live with the family
in the house, and the stoves they have
to sit by and keep them warm in the
Koordish Mountains are the great black
stoves that are alive. mean buffaloes.
whose stalls are around the platform
where the family sit, warmed by the
breath of tho animals.
l have slept in house where sheep.
lambs. horses, colts, oxen, cows, calves,
buffaloes, donkeys and chickens slept
right by me. | didn't mean to saw
slept; l couldn't, for many reasons.
You can imagine some roommates
would not be at all pleasant. When
you spend night in HISTORIAN house,
the next morning your host, instead oil
saying, Good morning; trust You
slept we'll" says, "Ihe tleas were not
SO very bad last night, We're they?" No
words can tell how bad they are, how
terribly fierce and numerous. But
there are several other things a great
deal worse than feas Sand flies are
very abundant in Persia in the summer;
they are little and make no noise, but
when they sting it burns like fire, and
is very poisonous and uncomfortable. |
have seen little missionary babies all
IN fever, and their faces like a nut
meg crater, from the bites of the sand
flies. 1t is almost impossible to pro-
tect them by netting, the insect is so
very small.
The natives sleep in summer on the
Tops of thu houses, which are flat, SO
as to get any breeze that blows, and
strong wind carries the sand flies away;
so that in Persia every body tries to do
what the doctors forbid in America,
sleep in draft.
How would you like to sleep on
roof? There are no elevators. nor any
stairs. except ladders, and for ladies
who have never been trained to such
accomplishments in their youth such
getting up stairs is not very pleasant
or quieting to the nerves. The Mes
torlan women, carrying the cradles on
their backs with thsir babies tied in,
run up the ladders easily. A HISTORIAN
man would disdain to help woman O,
Tighten any burden for her, but he does
not disdain to beat or abuse her. just
think of a husband whipping his wife.
the mother of his little childrenl Do
they not need the gospel? As the roofs
have no wallis or naranato - :, -