The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-02-14
MISSION WORK N INDIA
TOLD BYL. ]. BURGESS
From Mondays Daily.

been Interestingly depicted by l.. j.
Burgess, who left Mankato eleven
years ago through appointment to
that land by the general conference
OF Seventh Day Adventists. Mr.. Bur
CESS is of a family who pioneered
the early settlement of Minnesota
when these parts. then inhabited
by the savage, were considered the
far western frontier. In his early
days he attended the Mankato nor
NAL school. after graduating enSag-
ing as teacher, and later connected
with the Creamery Package Manu-
featuring company of Mankato. AT
ter his acceptance of Adventist doc
trineS he engaged for three years in
home evangelical work, and thus
his subsequent appointment to India.
Mr.. Burgess characterizes India as a
fairy land, its religion and customs
differing in every respect from that
Of the home land. the following ar
tiCle being the first of series which
he has kindly consented to submit
for his Mankato friends:
The Foreign Missions.
There are many good people who
do not believe in foreign missionary
work. They believe that charity be-
gins and ends at home. They say
that HinduS and AIohammedans are
Just as we'll off without Christianity.
Their religion is as good for them
rs ours is for us. Is such conclu-
sion based upon facts obtained from
experience? Has the Christian moth
ing for which he is indebted TO the
heather? | would invite my Mime
sofa friends TO come over here and
spend a few days or months with
us in our Mission station up in the
Himalaya mountains and compare
the condition OF the people here
with those in any Christian land, and
see whether the influence OF the
teachings of the Bible is in any way
superior TO that OF the Koran Of the
Mohammedans or the Shastras OF
the Hindus
Carnival Industrial School.
We have sixty Hindu boys in our
Carnival Industrial school They
come over the mountains from a dis
lance of from five to forty miles.
They bring a supply OF food with
them and remain at the school for a
month. after which they return home
TO replenish their supply of flour
and lCutiIs. These boys had never
heard the name OF the Redcemer Of
the world, nor had they seen Bible
until they came to our school. They
had never heard the true story OF
the creation of the world. They had
been taught that the earth is fiat
and that it is supported upon the
backs of huge elephants. The sun
and moon were supposed to be great
dciticS exercising an influence for
good or evil according to caprice.
When an eclipse takes place, these
two gods are supposed to be having
quarrel, and the sun is trying to
swallow the moon. Every day that
an eclipse occurs school work is
suspended as they must perform
special ceremony to the sun and
moon.
Most Boys Under Sixteen.
Although most of our boys are
under the age of sixteen, the larger
part of them have been married for
a number of years to girls much
younger than themselves. Several
boys have married since joining the
school. This necessitates their alb
sence from school for several weeks
to complete the ceremony, as there
must be a feast at the homes of both
parties TO which all relatives and
neiGhbors are invited. We try in
vain to convince the parents that
it would be better TO allow the boys
TO at least finish their school days
before marrying. They will admit that
it would be better in many ways,
but it is their custom, and that is
sufficient answer to every argument.
But why not wait till vacation or
some holiday for the ceremony? No,
that won't do. for the Braham priest
has decided by consulting the stars
that this particular date is the luck
time. OF course he is we'll paid for
such valuable information and has
the Chief place at the feast. The
boy and girl who are to be married
have no voice in the matter. The
whole thing has been arranged by
the parents. The two have prob
ably never met or spoken to each
other until they have been bound
together for life.
Wife Is Slave.
After marriage the girl becomes
a sort of slave or beast of burden.
In our district, the education of girls
is almost unthought Of. Their life
is one of toll and hardship, and the
day OF their death is indeed better
than the day of their birth. In fact
their greatest hope is that they may
die before their husband, as other
wise their remaining days are under
a curse, as they are supposed to
be under the displeasure of the gods
on account of sins committed in a
previous existence, of which they of
course have no recollection and so
are unable to atone for In olden
times the widow often threw herself
upon the funeral pile and was burn
ed to ashes with the body of her
husband. They were encouraged and
some times forced to do this by
relatives. Thanks to Christian in
fluence, this is now prevented by
law, as is also the throwing of chill
dren into the Ganges river as a sac
riiice to this supposed sacred river.
Source of River.
THE source Of this famous river
can be plainly seen from the ver-
anda of our mission bungalow. 1t
is a beautiful, snow-capped peak. We
have been told that no European has
ever gone to the top of it, We do
not think, however. that ii Would