The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-08-15
AAN INTERVIEW WITH A MASSA-
CHUSETTS LADY, A FORMER
MISSIONARY.
CHINESE ARE TOLD STRANGE
THINGS ABOUT FOREIGNERS.
The Ignorant are Made to Believe That
the Missionaries Cut Up Cinnamon
TO Make Medicine of-Loca-
ton of Ku Cheng.

Boston, Mass, Aug. 1.-The STAN
dard tomorrow will print an exhaustive
interview with Miss Clara NJ. Cushmar
of Dedham concerning the missionary
situation in China. Miss Cushman was
for many years Il missionary in China,
having been sent by the same society as
that under whose auspices Miss Hart
ford has been working at Ku Cheng. In
! this interview Miss Cushman asserts a
belief that these latest massacres are the
results of the recent war between China
and Japan. Ku CHING is many hundred
| miles from the central government at
Pekin, and it is probable that the people
had only :';;siiiors Of the battle.
The uninformed Chinese" Miss Cush-
man continued, believed that the for
eign missionaries cut out the eyes and
hearts of the natives to use for medi-
dine. HheyI are quick to accent any
story that they hear, so that the foreign
ers there can never tell when a mob will
come upon them"
Miss Cushman thus describes Ku
Ciheng:
Nu SueHS y quite distance IRON
Foo Chow, up the Min river. 1t is wall
ed, q city of about 10000 inhabitants,
and has the reputation of being a very
new and clean city. Long Binding is
still further inland.
Miss Hartford had an assistant Miss
Mint who was probably not in the massa-
ere. The Methodist Episcopal church has
two other missionaries at Ku Cheng. Rev.
&. NJ. Wilcox, presiding elder of Ku
Cheng district and DR.. j. J. Gregory, in
charge of the hospital. Their homes,
schools and hospitals are in hired houses,
which fact may have saved both build
ings and inmates from the fate of the
English missionaries and their build
ingS."
Miss CuShman, being in a position to
speak of Miss Hartford, who so narrow
ly escaped death at the hands of the Veg
etarians Through personal acquaintance,
says of her:
Miss Hartford was sent to Ku Cheng
in 1887 by THE Woman's Foreign Mission
airy society Of the Methodist Episcopal
church. She was at that time q very
popular teacher in the public schools of
Dover, n. Ii. She has no father, mother,
brother or sister living, but is entirely de-
voted to her work. Although the FIVE
year term for which she was sent has ex-
pired she has steadily refused vacation
which has been offered, saying that she
prefers to stay i'm China with the work
and finally die there. She had almost
made up her mind to take the needed va
cation when the trouble came. Miss At
terman of Hyde park, the corresponding
secretary of the New England branch of
the society, has written to her advising
her TO take this opportunity, while the
country is settling down again, to come
to America. Miss Hartford is in charge
of the Ku Cheng and long Gong Binding)
districts of Foo Chow. Her reports to
the last annual conference showed in the
Ku Cheng district one boarding school
with an enrolment of 200 scholars, and
one Bible training school with an enroll
ment of 20.
Miss Althea NJ. Todd of this city is
now under appointment to join Miss Hart
ford at Ku Cheng, and was expected to
leave in a month. That trouble has been
long brewing seems proven by part of q
letter received by Miss Alderman from
Miss Hartford. 1t is dated Foo Chow
May %, and says: 81 was obliged to
close the woman's and district schools in
April on account of fears of local in
surrections. The English mission closed
their schools two weeks earlier, but | had
hoped matters might clear up. and so held
ON. AT last l found that l could not
stand alone any longer. I think the
schools ought ITO be closed. 1 was sick
and came here for a rest"
Miss Cushman thinks the criticisms
made of United States Minister DENLY
do injustice to him, as during her resi-
dence i'm Pekin he had been careful to
protect the missionaries rights, was ON
friendly terms with them all, and they
esteemed him very highly.