Rock Island Argus., 1900-07-19
CHRISTIANS IN CHINA.
Exhibitions of Heroism by Mis-
sionaries of Both Sexes.
MISSIONS IN CONSTANT DANGER.

Frederick j. Masters.
The Rev. Edward J. Porter, who aft
er IL years of missionary labor in Chi
ma went TO Pomona, Cal, to work for
the conversion of Chinese in Los An
geles and southern California, said the
other day to a representative of the
New York Sun:
mo one who has not lived in the in
terror of China can have any idea of
how the life of almost every Christian
missionary is constantly beset with
mortal dangers. There are no more
courageous people than some of the
young men and women who go to the
fields of missionary effort in the inte-
rior of China. They realize all the per-
lis of their position; they know how a
thoughtless act, an utterance unusual
I'm the locality, perhaps an article of
dress never seen before by the natives
or the prevalence of plague-in fact,
anything apt to create curiosity or sus-
| picion among densely ignorant, super
stitious and excitable people - may
breed a mob and lead to a massacre of
/ the foreigners. Yet some of them new
| er falter in their determination. 1 have
/ seen American missionaries of both
| sexes ask to be sent into districts in
| China where but a fortnight or so be-
| fore the natives had risen in q mob
and stoned and cut to death every
white person there. Twenty days aft
| er the swat kwei (meaning the death
| to the foreign devilsO riots in the Flu
Kien province in October, 1890, three
young women connected with the Pres
| byterian board of missions went alone
and Of their own accord $50 miles from
the coast into Flu Kien and took up the
work of the murdered missionaries
among the red handed murderers. Not
only that, but the women lived in the
house where the Chinese mob had slain
| the missionaries.
''It is very hard for people who know
little about the lower classes of Chi
| nese to appreciate how quickly an enor-
| nous crowd of rioters may be assem-
| bled in China. When 1 was stationed
at Kwow-ChOw, about 160 miles north
| west from Canton, in the Kwangtoug
district. riot arose and spent itself in
an hour, and only by miracle all the
German, French and American mis-
sionaries escaped murder. The five
foreign missionaries had been in
KwOw-Chow about Il year, and the
work seemed particularly promising.
The natives held aloof and were sus-
picious for a few months, but when
the two big men of the town treated
us with conspicuous civility the whole
population apparently gave heed to our
teachings. The German missionary
was n physician, and he had with him
a quantity of medicines. To win the
attention and good will of the Chinese
he opened a sort of free dispensary.
after awhile he got n few of the more
trusting natives to come to him to have
flesh wounds and mild disorders treat
ed. But every one of the natives be-
lieved that devils had n hand in the
doctor missionary's skill.
1T happened that little child mys-
teriously disappeared from KNOW
Chow. Now the Chinese are particu-
larly fond of their children. The whole
town was stirred up. The country for
miles around was searched without
success. Several weeks later, just at
sunset, n mother went screaming aoout
that her baby boy had also disappear
ed. People poured out of their tiny
mud, bamboo and grass houses like
was shaken. Everybody had a differ
ent theory concerning this second dis
appearance, but devils and winged
dragons played part in almost all the
theories. An American woman out of
sympathy went out on the crowded
street and tried to persuade the Chi
nese that the child having been seen
two hours before could not be very far
away. She saw that the excited
crowd suddenly grew silent and stud
led her face with a peculiar intensity.
They afterward said that the disap-
pearance OF the second child was asso-
ciated with the German physicians
practice. They believed that he kid
naped and killed babies to get a GER
tain cureall from the head of the dead.
The cry 'Tong-kwei" cButcher the
foreign devils!) went up from one
mans throat. Instantly the shout
'Tong-kwei! Tong-kweiT was taken up
by several thousand men. Even the
boys and women howled 'Tong-kweir
Hundreds of men ran and armed them
selves TO put their words into effect.
OF course the five white persons
were helpless against so many. Our
only hope was TO get the superstitious
pOpulace to hear US while we pleaded
for suspension OF judgment concern
ing our share in the disappearance of
the child.
The German missionary, who was
a fluent speaker OF Chinese, bravely
went out into the little yard at his
home TO talk with the natives, who
were focking there with clubs, poles,
stones and firearms He happened to
see in the crowd q man who had once
been taxgatherer In Canton and who
was popular and intelligent. The Ger
man. In shouts that rose above the din
OF voices, addressed himself to this
man and asked nim TO ask his country
men to spare the foreigners lives until
more careful search had been made
for the missing child The German