Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-14
CONDITIONS IN CHINA
Perils to Which Missionaries Are
Constantly Subjected.
DETAILS as GIVEN BY DR.. JOHNSON
People Superstitious and Easily
Aroused by Mandarins.
lass ACRES YEARS AG o

MASS ACRES YEARS AG o
| Rev. DR.. NJ. B. Johnson of New York. a
returned missionary from China, was in
| Washington few days ago, and in CONVEX
| sation with Star reporter on the troubles
now prevailing in that empire, among other
| things, remarked that it is extremely diff
| cult for any person who has not lived some
years in the interior of China to form any
conception Of the dangers which surround
| the Christian missionaries at almost every
hour of the day and night. No Drawer peo-
pie are to be found anywhere than some of
| those who devote themselves to missionary
| work in the interior Of that empire.
| They are fully aware he said, of the
| perils to which they are constantly ex-
posed. and know that no matter how inno-
| cent may be their intentions, an act which
| has not been given due consideration, a
| remark which the natives have not heard
| before-it may be the wearing of article
| Of apparel such as they have not before
| seen, or the breaking out of an epidemic
| in fact. almost anything out of the usual
| course of events. may cause the collection
| of a mob and possibly the murder of for
| eigners. Despite these facts. there is not,
| so far as is known, single instance where
| an American missionary, either male or fe
male, has exhibited the white feather.
| Instances have occurred frequently, said
| DIR. johnson, where missionaries from the
| United States have begged to be sent to
| districts in China where less than two
| weeks before the natives had for no known
| cause murdered every white person in the
vicinity. Within month after the terrible
| riots In one of the provinces, about ten
| years ago, several young women who had
| been sent out by the Presbyterian board of
| foreign missions volunteered to take the
| places of as many murdered missionaries
and did actually go. unattended, a distance
| OF nearly 200 miles into the interior, where
they took up the work Of their predeces-
| sors. Not only did they do that, but they
actually moved into the house where the
| former missionaries had lived and upon the
floor of which there were great spots of the
| blood of the dead.
Mobs Form Quickly.
Dr. johnson went on to say that It was
almost impossible for the people of civil
| lied and enlightened countries to have
any conception with what ease mob for
the purpose of killing white persons can
be collected among the lower classes in
| CHINA A few years since he was sta
TONED in province something more than
| 100 miles from Canton. A riot was raised
mere and exhausted in an hour, and it was
! only by the merest chance that all the
american, French and German mission
aries escaped being slaughtered. The mis-
| slonarles had been there for about twelve
| d
degree OF success seemed particularly
| bright. For several weeks the natives Of
| the town would have nothing to do with
the missionaries, but when two of the
| principal men in the place treated them
| with a certain amount of politeness the
| whole population seemed willing to listen
to the teachings of the Christians. The
| German missionary was a physician He
had brought with him a good stock of
medicines, and In order to secure the favor
| of the Chinese he had opened a kind of
| free dlspensary. In the course of time he
managed to get few Of the natives to
| have slight wounds and trif1ing disorders
| treated. 1t was, however, impossible for
| him to disabuse their minds of the i'm
| preston that he was aided in his work by
| devils.
An Unfortunate Occurrence.
Unfortunately, it happened that a
| small child disappeared in a mysterious
| manner from the place. The whole popu-
| lat1on became intensely excited, and al
though search covering the town and
the country for miles around was kept
up Tor nearly month, the child was not
found; A little later a second child,
| oaby boy, disappeared. The mother of the
child ran screaming through the streets
lamenting her loss, and in less time almost
| than 1t takes to tell it the people poured
| out Of their houses like bees from a hive
An American woman, sympathizing with
| the sorrowing mother went out into the
| street where the crowd had assembled ana
urSeu the people 10 keep cool, for, as she
| said. the child might yet be found
Instead of needing he advice, and ap-
parently being convinced that the mission
| aries were responsible for the second dis
| appearance, continued DIR. Johnson one
| man raised a cry which being interpreted
| means Butcher the foreign devils" A mo-
| ment later the shout was taken UP by the
| crowd, and presently thousands of men
| women and children We're demanding the
| sacrifice of the lives of the missionaries
The German missionary tried to reason
the matter with the mob, but had it not
| been that the child was found during the
excitement 1t is quite certain every white
| person in the place would have been stoned
| to death
The incident proved to be beneficial to
| the missionary cause, for when the Chinese
| who are naturally a gentle race except
when excited, came to realize that the
| conduct of the mob had been unjust and
that the missionaries, while innocent of
any crime, might have been killed the use
| fulness of the German missionary increased
vastly.
DR.. Johnson said the escape of Rev. DIR.
Frederick J. Masters. now the head of the
Chinese missions in San Francisco and his
family and friends from horrible deaths at
the hands Of rfoting Chinese is about as
thrilling as anything in missionary expert
ences he knew Of. The story illustrates also
| the highly fnf1ammabe nature of the Chi
nese. 1t was in 1888. shortly after the
| French army had invaded Tonquin. The
millions Of Chinese in the provinces of
southern China adjacent to Tonouin were
HER FAvORITE DRIVE.