The Falls City tribune., 1910-06-24
Eastern Siberia. Nay .. 1910.

Dear Friends-With the frozen ex
panse of beautiful Lake Baikal on
one side and grand timbered and
snow-eapped mountains on the other,
will write briefly of the first week
of our 800 mile trip from P~anghai-
chwang to Edinburg. My hands
are cold and writing on the train is
poor work at best, SO the writing is
sure to be hard TO read.
A week ago, at about three in the
morning. we left Panghiaehwang, the
scene of our labors for these seven
and cne-half years. We had expected
TO slip quietly away, but numerous
friends insisted ON seeing us off at
that unearthly hour. Margaret, just
as we got inside the front gait walled
"chia-chia, 20 home" for she did not
appreciate night travel in a Chinese
cart William shortly inquired "Why
is Tientsin SO far away? ?" We were
at Tehchow about six, where the D..
Hoanc joined us and where many more
friends saw us. The railroad from
here to Tientsin saved MS many days
of camel travel and we surely needed
the good nights rest, and the ~rest|an
uplift of the Sabbath following, for
the tension and stress of the last
few days had given us but scant time
for sleep.
The trip TO Tientsin was n hot
one. and one could but sorrow TO
see the seorched fields, so sadly in
need of rain and much of the wheat
past recovery. On Monday there
was many business items to see TO,
securing of money for the trip in
Mexican dollars, Japanese yen, Rus
sian roubles, and English pounds, to
say nothing of arranging for hats for
the children, theirs having blown out
of the window ON the way to Teh-
chow.
Late In the evening OF the Odd we
loaded our express train at Tientsin,
and found ourselves in such good com
pany as DR. A. II. Smith, Miss Por-
ter and Miss Reed of our own mis-
sion, and Bishop Roots, and others.
Despite Margaret's calls for her China
nurse, we were soon all asleep
not even stopping to read the many
farewell letters we were favored with.
10 get the medical work in as good
shape as possible to leave, had been
u task, and | did fun routine duty
u? 10 the day before leaving, even
then leaving over seventy patients in
the hospital for the assistants to see
to. We still have hopes of another
physician going to aid in our absence
though we do not know that the
mission board will send us back.
We wanted to do SO much and seem
to have failed so often!
Tuesday we continued all day. see
ing friends as we passed at a number
of points, and arriving at Moukden
Tor Mukden) in the evening. This
Is the end of the Chinese Imperial
railway and We changed cars to the
Japenese line, the So. Manchwai rail
way. A few hours wait enabled me
to make a flying trip to the Mukden
hospital, where suggestions, not a
few, We're gathered from this Justly
famed plant. The long ride in n semi
Russian 'droskha' was much enjoy
@ Up to 800 years ago this truly
ancient city was the capital of the
Aanchur, who for these three CEN
turtles have ruled all China. Much OF
the last fighting of the Russo-Japan-
ese war was in this region. The old
and the new mingle as electric lights
blaze forth in the old towers of this
old capital.
Genuine Pullman cars were a COM
fort on the Japanese line. but early
morning found us at Oh ang Oh ian
tLong Springs) where wednesday, W
changed ears again, this time to the
Siberian branch line and DOL pos
session or u present commodious
second class compartment in the In
ternational Express. Being 81 by 50
inches in size, we have ample room
for bundles, children and ourselves.
A fellow passenger was in distress
because she had lost the key to her
trunk, but though | filed away mum.
erous keys, l could not open it, so
riVets were filed off, so the needed
passport of money could be reached.
The country has been interesting
-thatch roofs, plenty of moisture. a
mingling of races, Jauanese, Chinese,
Mongol, Manchu, Russian, not to
mention the Germans and French on
our train. The land in North Man
churla seems marshy, and capable of