The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-03-09
FROM CHARLIE PITTMAN.
Interesting Account OF a Tour In Persia
Last Summer.
MEETS A FORMER COLLEGE.MATE.
Glimpses Of His Life and Work as a Mis-.
sionary In that far.0H Land, Likes
the People Very Much.

years ago, went from McCOn-
nellsburg to Persia as I mission
ary under the auspices of Board
OF Foreign Missions of the Pres
byterlan church, will be glad to
read the following letter written
recently for the young peoples
society of Christian Endeavor IN
the Presbyterian church in this
place.-Ed.
Salinas Plain, Persia, Dec. l5, 1903.
During the past year 1 have
been absent from our station
about nine months touring, but
will only write particularly about
a tour made last summer, which
extended from May 18 to August
4. On that tour 1 travelled about
600 miles and visited several of
the-important towns and cities in
our field. I was accompanied by
two of our Syrian preachers, and
we travelled on horseback, which
is the usual mode of travel in this
country.
We spent five days among
Kurds, visiting among others a
Kurdish chief who was baptized
by one of our preachers seven
years ago. He is the head of a
large tribe which he estimates at
$4,000. He Is a man of peace,
kind to his people and loved by
them. When he comes out of his
house the people of the village
run to him and kiss his hand ::
anu l saw several kneel down and
kiss his feet. | was his guest
over Sabbath and he invited me
to dine with him, and we dipped
our bread in the same dish of
broth. This act is a pledge of
friendship in this country, and
makes significant the words of
Christ concerning Judas, "He
that dippeth his hand with me IN
the dish the same snail betray
me-"
The Kurds are an interesting
and attractive people. l enjoy
living among them. They are
true and faithful friends, but cru.
ell and merciless enemies. If you
stop in one of their villages as
their guest they will honor and
protect you while there and con.
duct you safely to the border of
their territory when you wish to
go, while the very same Kurds
would probably rob you if they
met you on the road. I never feel
safer than when a guest in one of
their villages and surrounded by
twenty or thirty of them. Every
man carries a dagger in his belt /:
it can be truly said of them that
they are dressed to kill" The
Kurds of tins district south of
Lake Urumia are much more
peaceable than the wild tribes on
the border between Persia and
Turkey.
But the greater part of our
work was among the Persians.
We do not have formal meetings
but find our opportunities in con-
versations with individuals or
groups. Upon entering a town
or village we first find a stopping
place for the night, and the peo.
pie hearing of our arrival come to
see us-generally through curl
oslty ; or we take walk through
the street and they gather about
us and ask us where we came
from and what our business Is.
This gives us the opportunity to
give them the Gospel.
The Moslems of Persia are di.
vided into so many sects that it
is confusing, not only to us, but
also to them. One of them said
to me, 81 am completely in the
dark: our religion Is divided into
so many sects that each one
points in different direction and
says, This is the way II I were
to die at this moment / would die
without any faith in any reli-
gion." told him that we would
be, indeed, hopeless were 1t not
for the promise that all who seek
the Lord with the whole heart
shall find him.
When ] reached the CITY of