The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-01-31

are the Kurdsi of today and they are
just as wild now as then.
Mother Decorates Child
In the market this morning while
l was sitting talking to a silversmith
and examining a small nose ring. a
Kurdish woman came up with a lit
tie girl They were both as dirty as
could be. The mother had a ring in
her nose and as I was examining one
she suddenly said "Fll take that"
when she heard the price the man
quoted me-which, by the way. was
four and half cents. She took the
ring, looked it over carefully, took q
string out of the little girls nose and
placed the ring in. The girl quickly
snatched 1t out, looked It over for
herself and then with a broad smile
of satisfaction stuck it in her nose
and went off happy as an American
with diamond earring In the viii
lage round about the girls and women
wear their bracelets around their
ankles. Those who can put up the
price wear a set on their wrists also.
An Orienta! Meal
Dinner called at this point and
thinking l might have another OPP
portunity to write, but not being sure
that / might have another opportun-
ity to eat, l thought it best to make
sure of the eating
/ don't know that you would have
eaten very much had you been at
the table. The table was the floor,
the table cloth a bed spread (red)
and the dishes were a large round
tray in the middle Of the floor. Or
it was piled the meal and the meal
was boiled broken wheat and stewed
meat with some melted grease poured
over it.
Fortunately we had few plates
and spoons along with us. We piled
these as high as we could and set one
plate for each two men. | took mine
in a cup by itself.
Fingers Before Forks
When the meat, which was spread
over the top of the wheat. gave out.
our servant came in with bowl full
and taking it out by the handful
spread 1t again over the platter. l
had already eaten enough.
When we were through with that,
the platter was brought in filled with
chunks of the inside of watermelon
Each fellow reached over and took a
handful as often as he desired and
spit the seeds on the cloth in front
of him.
You wouldn't like It at first, but
when you get hungry you find that
methods and manners of eating and
foreign things in the soup and dirt
in the food are only conceptions of
the mind. What one eats is clean
or otherwise according as he thinks it
is not as the evidence of sight sus-
gest
On Banks OF Tigris
For four days | have been riding
the shore of the Tigris river and now
we are spending a few days here in
this city on the Tgris.
How many ages of people have
lived and died on these lands only the
good Lord knows. Today l was out
in the fields and saw where the peo-
pie of today are digging down to the
foundations of ancient buildings and
taking the mortar and burning it over
again to make lime for the present
generation. 1t was along these
shores the captive Israelites were
scattered and wept in their distress
and today the followers of our Lord,
the native Christians. are being op-
pressed as sorely as ever Gods an
cient people were.
Tales of Distress
This afternoon we have listened to
AL
One whole village Is now about to be-
come the property of the Kurdish
chief who by deceit and oppression
has come into authority. His threat
is this to the men: "You must sign
deed giving me possession of your
village and fields and say you do it
of your own free will or else your
wives and your daughters will be-
come the property of my men and
you yourselves will feel the sword"
And what can, we do? We are told
by our Boards and the Christian peo-
pie of America not to interfere in
matters of government But what
Christian man can accept and allow
that kind of trea tment?
Yesterday / passed through q
SHTlStldH Village WHlCH TWO years ago
was burned to the ground and tn
poor Christians driven into exile
They are just now venturing to re
turn and build again their ruined
homes and cultivate their fields. One
of the first buildings is a church. We
believe the Lord has his purpose in
all things and with blinded eyes and
bleeding hearts we put our faith in
Him.
Girls Forced to Flee
There is with us here one of our
girls, educated in our school at Uru-
nina, and returning to her home II
the mountains to teach. She has had
to run away from her village and to
come here for refuge. The Kurdish
chief (Mohammedan) threatens TO
take her into his already well filled
harem. Such complaints we have con-
tinually from those who have our
faith, but who sit here in the midst
of their enemies on the banks of the
III girls which we believe Is one of the
rivers that made Eden a Paradise
That old first sin has left its hard
est mark in its own nelghborhood.
We have spent the evening sitting
with about twenty men in row
around the walls of the room We
have heard there Is war between
Turkey and Italy and the people want