The times., 1899-04-23
wITH THE sULTAN's SUBJECTS.
A Kansas City PhysicIan's obScrva-
fiors in Turferx
tFfou 'he Kansas city staF.l

tiors in Turkey.
tFfou the Kansas CITY Star4
Harpooi Turkey in Asia. March i5,-oi
course my friends In Kansas City want 20
know all about Turkey and aii'sbout my
work. wish were able and had time TO
tell all they wish to know for assure you
it would be very Interesting
This IS Q strange country. very old aad
Old fashianed-hundreds OF years behind
the times When Dr. Barnum came here
forty years ago there was rot pane oi
glass in the province. and even nOw mos, Of
the windows are made OF paper. oiled so as
TO make it more transparent Some who
have been fortunate enough to get brOk-
en- piece OF glass have pasted il into the
paper window, thus making a little peep
hole to which they can put one eve aud
see little OF what goes on outside. have
beard the missionaries tell how the p-opls
used to gather TO look at the windows and
sometimes smash them In order to get a
piece as a curiosity. I believe il is not
many years since the same thing occurred
in Bittiis- Since the coming OF the mis-
sionaries glass has become quite common
and now many of the houses and most OF
the shops have glass windows
Stoves. also. were unknown here until
the missionaries introduced thsm and even
now only the better class OF people hare
such luxury. The houses are not heated
as rule, though some place a mangle or
pan OF charcoal in the room TO warm IL
when they have sickness. The only means
of keeping warm in nine-tenths OF the
houses is ''kersey. which consists OF an
earthen dish, or piece of sheetiron on the
floor. and over 1t wooden table about IA
inches high and feet square. This IS
covered by quilts which hang over the
sides and under which the baby is put or
the older ones tuck their feet As the floors
OF the house are mostly made of mud well
rolled down, there is little danger OF fire;
in fact. most of the houses are made OF
mud. The bricks, or ''kerpitch." as the ma
tives call them. are made OF mud mixed
with chopped straw and dried in the SUM-
The roofs are made by laying poles across
the rafters and then paper or leaves or
cloth or any other handy material over
them and packing mud on top till the
roof Is sometimes two or three feet thick
Then IL Is rolled with a stone roller till IL
Is packed hard These mud roofs have to
be shoveled Immediately after a snowfall
and rolled after rain. or else one is very
likely to be reminded of Soiomon's prov
erb-"A constant dropping in very rainy
day and contentious woman are alike.
Sometimes. in spite OF all. heavy rain viii
find its way in. and then | think / would
rather be outside than in. We have found
that steel roofs imported from America are
Itdtiy uuTe economical IN lne long run ana
decidedly more comfortable.
Everything here seems to be done back
wards, and one realizes the force of Rud-
yard kipling's lines about trying TO hustle
in the East.
We have had great deal of sickness in
the empire this year. and. though Harpoot
is an unusually healthful place dor Tur-
key, her two physicians, DR.. Michael Ha-
gopia and myself have been kept pretty
bttct 81
their first names, and when | came first 4
Turkish official put me down as DR.. Clar-
ence. the son OF Usher. Michael has eaci
vowel pronounced distinctly. and is pro-
nounced Mich-a als.
Now you will want to know something
about the work here. First the spiritual
work, for that is first in importance and all
the rest is just help TO that. Mr.. Browa
and Miss Bush have just returned from
their fourth tour this winter and though
they got back only yesterday morning b.
fore night they had begun TO make plaas
for going out again. They go TO village
and il there is a halfway comfortable room
to, be had they secure it, and il room is
not to be had they get as comfortable u
station as possible and settle dow:s among
the cattle. Before long the news spreads
and they have hardly gotten on their tray-
cling garments when the people begn 20
arrive and the work is begun. L: there
happens to be meeting house services ars
held there, but most often the place OF
meeting is the largest stable in the neigh
borhood and there the people crowd and
sing and talk and pray for hours. Mr..
Brown describes the singing as frequently
the hardest thing he has to endure. os each
one has his own pitch and tune and key
but it seems to do them lots of good
The spiritual condition this year il more
that it has been for years in
the schools of this city. Our hearts have
been greatly cheered by the good news
from Mr.. Brown and Miss Bush.
Now for my work. | am as busy as l
can be. Yesterday | saw ffty-four patients
in my office and today sixty-three. This
is in spite of every effort to keep the num-
ber down so that | may get time to study
the language. / regret that I am unable
to talk TO them yet about the Lord Jesus
except an occasional word. have invited
the preacher OF the church here 10 come
to my waiting-TGom and talk TO the people.
As yet | have only waiting-room and
office room in the basement of my house
and there from p. u. till $50 p. m. L
see n steady stream of patients as fast as
can attend to them. | have had to make
a rule that everyone must pay or bring
a note from pastor or priest. saying they
are too poor TO pay. My charge for those
who can pay is 44c. or twice that of the
native physicians, So as not to interfere
with their practice. As physician / come
very closely In touch with the people ir
heir homes and have access to those whom
no one else of our circle can visit. Pray
for me that | may not be rushed with
the great work before me as TO miss Gp-
portunities Of living or speaking for Christ.
Some weeks ago was called to the DoIne
Df wealthy Turk TO see young man Gy-
ing OF consumption. | found the room
furnished and ornamented with chairs. ia
bles, dishes and silverware stolen from
he missionaries at the time of the event"
The event is the classified term now for
he massacre and pillage of 1895. At the
lime of the trouble all the missionaries'
houses were looted and the Aliens Wheel
rs and Browns houses burned The girls
chools were completely destroyed and all
,ut two buildings of the boys schools The
Iwelling houses have been rebuilt but our
government has not yet secured for us per-
mission to rebuild the schools and We ara
uite seriously inconvenieneed by the pres
mt arrangement
The girls schools are in seven different
Tired houses, and the teachers have to
ramp a great deal through all sorts OF
weather. from class to class | intended
elling you about the children here There
5 not much to tell you about them
Or they are little old men and women be-
ore they are ten years old. When a chill
) born he or she is Immediately wrapped
p in hot clay and tied up in bundle with
is hands by his sides. and so bundled up
sith successive cloth and strings that i. is
impossible for him to even move his head
nd then. Armenian children are left lying
n their backs so much that the back of the
ead becomes fiat, and you will notice that