The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-12-05
IN oUT-oF-THE-wAy rnnssa.
Mrs. Van Hook the First Foreign
Woman 10 Visit These Mos
lem villages.

The first woman from the outside
world to penetrate into the small VII
lagos nesting in the Businesses of
the mountains of the extreme north
western corner OF Persia. in the re-
gion OF Khol. is Mrs. G. l.. Van Hook.
who has spent many years In Persia
working under the auspices OF the
Board of Foreign Missions OF the
Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Van Hook recently completed
tour of eighty-one days through a
comparatively unknown country. Wis
iting eighteen different towns. hold
ing Sunday-school and visiting the
women of the villages, while the male
missionaries OF the party preached
and gave talks illustrated by n stere-
opticon.
In some places spies were sta.
toned at the gates says Mrs. Van
Hook, "but When we used the stere-
opticon neither threats nor per-
suasion could keep the people away.
So many came that we were obliged
to show the pictures twice, for the
room would not hold all at one time.
So we took a recess and served tea
while the audience was changing.
"Once we rode all day in tho rain"
she continued, spending the night in
a miserable hole off a stable, but we
were able to make n fire of weeds.
by which to dry our clothing partial.
ly asld cook soup tablet. which for
tunately had with me. Some broken
pieces of very dry bread, which the
doctor had ridiculed me for keeping,
not only helped out our supper, but
furnished the only food that could be
obtained for some Armenian refugees
that were with us; one of these, a
woman, had ridden load all day in
the rain with baby in her arms.
zone precipitous road over the
mountains led by pile of medieval
monastic buildings, the cloister OF
Surp Tatoe associated with legends
of st. Thaddeus, who is said to have
been martyred on the spot where this
monastery now stands.
I'm one corner of the cathedral q
little chapel is portioned off and there
his sarcophagus is shown. bearing the
haAO VI hlbGtA lullul GU etdIh dbOs
His right hand and forearm is sup.
posed to be inclosed in a gilded silver
case which is kept in the same chapel.
This is believed to have the power of
working miracles and is carried about
In time of pestilence or other calam-
ity with great parade and ceremony.
A hand embroidered velvet curtain
In front of the dais before the altar,
sent from India In the sixteenth CEN
tury, is a choice possession. We had
been told we need expect nothing but
n stone cell, black bread and water
here, but nowhere else on the trip did
we meet such warmhearted hospi-
tality"
Mahlazan was the centre from
which visits to four other Moslem
villages were made.
No foreign woman had ever WIS.,
ited these places and cnly two of
them had been entered by male mis-
sionaries," says Mrs. Van Hook. "In
one of these out of the way places it
was interesting to find telephone.
The owner of the village, living in
the town of Khoi, had run line out
so as to be in communication with his
rayats. Mahlazan is a mixed Armen-
ian and Moslem village, the Armen-
ians being in the minority. The Mos
lens here are becoming interested in
Christianity.
II never have found women moro
eager to hear, more receptive or more
intelligent than in some of these viii
lagos. One morning a woman came
In early. No one else was there, and
sitting down close to me, she said:
MY husband says you are a learned
woman. and there are some questions
want to ask you ] bade her go on,
and this was her first inquiry: After
we die, in the other world will we
know our friends?' l told her ]
thought we would, and gave her my
reasons. She sat thinking a few min.
utes, and then putting her face close
up to mine, said with great earnest.
ness: There is another thing l want
to know. l have had seven children,
and all but one died when they were
little dogs. How about them? What
are they worth to a mother?' / told
her of the beautiful place where her
children were, of their joy and sin.
lessness and how they were waiting
for her. Her old pock-marked face
frightened as new world, even the
eternal, opened to her vision, and
she went away content. Men and
women begged me daily to remain,
promising to keep warm fires and
make me comfortable. They called
me 'Mireg' (Little Mother). and said
many times: If we had such 9
"Mireg" as you to teach us about
these things we would not be SO liz.
norant and bad New York Trib.
une.