Edward Judson · 29 of 47

Chapter X. Life in Maulmain (Continued). 1831-1845 · Part 1

It now became Mr. Judson’s duty to return to Maulmain. He had been absent thirteen months. The first part of that time had been spent in the futile effort to establish a mission at Prome, and the last part he had labored alone with native converts at Rangoon, distributing tracts, preaching the Gospel and translating the Scriptures. Mr. and Mrs. Wade had repaired to Rangoon soon after his return from Prome; but Mrs. Wade’s health had so completely broken down that it was thought best for her and her husband to take a voyage to America. The ship in which the Wades sailed was driven out of its course by violent gales, and at last put into a port on the coast of Arracan. Here Mrs. Wade’s health was so much improved that the idea of going to America was given up, and they returned to Maulmain instead. But, in the meantime, Mr. Judson’s presence seemed indispensable there. A new party of missionaries had arrived from America, including Mr. and Mrs. Mason, Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The Masons had gone to Tavoy. Mr. Jones went to Rangoon to take Mr. Judson’s place, and the Kincaids were still staying at Maulmain.

When he returned to Maulmain, he saw much to delight his heart. The little church had been enlarged by the baptism of many Burmese, Karens, and Talings. Two millions of pages of tracts and translations of Scripture had 377been printed. The missionaries had also made repeated journeys into the jungle, where a church of fourteen members had been organized at a place called Wadesville, in honor of the missionary who had first preached the Gospel there. At the close of 1831, Mr. Judson reported on behalf of the Burman mission two hundred and seventeen persons as baptized during the year; one hundred and thirty-six at Maulmain, seventy-six at Tavoy, and five at Rangoon.

Soon after returning from Rangoon to Maulmain, he entered upon a new field of operations. Whenever his close confinement to the work of translation necessitated a change of air and scene, it was his custom to take a tour among the wild Karen tribes occupying the jungle back of Maulmain. His restless spirit was always longing to press into the interior of the country, and the great Irrawaddy valley being closed to him, there was nothing left but to penetrate Burmah by the Salwen and its tributaries, which constitute the second of the river systems by which the land is drained.

The Karens, as their very name indicates, were wild men. They are distributed throughout Burmah, Siam, and parts of China, and number from two hundred thousand to four hundred thousand. They are, perhaps, the remnants of an aboriginal and subjugated race. They are looked down upon by the Burmese as inferiors. They speak a different language, and have distinct race characteristics. Mr. Boardman, who was their first missionary, thus describes them:

“The Karens are the simplest children of nature I have ever seen. They have been compared to the aborigines of America, but they are as much inferior, both in mental and physical strength, as a puny effeminate Hindoo is inferior to a sturdy Russian, or a British grenadier. Of all people in the world, the Karens, I believe, are the most timid and irresolute. And the fable, that when some superior being was dispensing written languages and books to the various nations of the earth, a surly dog came along and drove away the Karens and carried away their books, agrees better with their indolent and timid character, than half the other fables in vogue among the wise and learned Burmans do with truth or common sense. These artless people seem contented, and not 378unhappy in their native forests, treading the little paths their fathers trod before them. It is surprising to see how small a portion of worldly goods satisfies their wants and limits their pursuits. A box of betel, often no other than the joint of a bamboo, a little heap of rice, a bamboo basket for each member of the family to carry burdens in, a cup, a rice and a curry-pot, a spinning-wheel of most simple structure, a knife and an axe, a change of simple garments, a mat of leaves, half a dozen water-buckets of bamboo joints, and a movable fire-place, are nearly all their frail houses contain to administer to their comfort. With these accommodations they are more free from worldly cares than the owners of farms and stalls, and folds, and games, and ships, and stores. Their only worldly care is to raise a little money to pay their taxes, under which they groan. Although indolent in the extreme, they are so remote from the city that they are, I believe, less wicked than most heathen nations. They have no hopes in a future life, and generally disdain all allegiance to the prevailing religion of the country. They are, in general, as careless about the future as about the present, except those who have heard the Gospel, and those who have been encouraged by the Burmans to build kyoungs and pagodas, in the hope of avoiding in the next world the state of hogs, and dogs, and snakes, and worms. They are too idle to be quarrelsome or ambitious, and too poor to gamble, or eat, or drink to very great excess. Their minds are vacant and open for the reception of whatever contains a relish, and it is not a little gratifying to see so many of them finding that relish in religion.”

The Karens are peculiarly accessible to the Christian religion. They are devoid of the pride and dogmatism which characterize the Burmans. Besides they had a hoary tradition that white messengers would come from the sea to teach them. When Mr. Boardman first came among them, he found that they had in their possession a mysterious book.

“On returning from the zayat, I found my house thronged with Karens, and was informed that the Karen teacher had arrived with his much venerated book. After tea, I called them up, and inquired what they wished. The teacher stood forward and said, ‘My lord, your humble servants have come from the wilderness, to lay at your lordship’s feet a certain book, and to inquire of your lordship whether it is good or bad, true or false. We, Karens, your humble servants, are an ignorant race of people; we have no books, no written language, we know nothing of God or His law. When this book was given us, we were charged to 379worship it, which we have done for twelve years. But we knew nothing of its contents, not so much as in what language it is written. We have heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and are persuaded of its truth, and we wish to know if this book contains the doctrine of that Gospel. We are persuaded that your lordship can easily settle the question, and teach us the true way of becoming happy.’ I requested them to produce the book, when the old man opened a large basket, and having removed fold after fold of wrappers, he handed me an old tattered duodecimo volume. It was none other than the ‘Book of Common Prayer with the Psalms,’ published at Oxford, England. ‘It is a good book,’ said I, ‘but it is not good to worship it. You must worship the God it reveals.’ We spent the evening instructing these simple foresters in some of the first principles of the Gospel. They listened with much attention; but the old teacher, who, it seems, is a kind of sorcerer, appeared disappointed at the thought that he had obtained no claim to heaven by worshipping the book so many years.

“September 9, 1828. The Karens left us for their native forest. It was a source of regret to us all, that Ko-thah-byoo was not present to facilitate our intercourse by interpreting for us. Just before leaving, the old sorcerer put on his jogar’s dress, given him, he said, nearly twenty years ago, and assumed some self-important airs, so that one of our native Christians felt it his duty to administer a gentle reproof, and told him there was no good in wearing such a dress, and advised him to lay it aside altogether. ‘If,’ said the sorcerer, ‘God will not be pleased with this dress, I am ready to send it afloat on yonder stream.’ He then presented his reprover with his wand, saying he had no further use for it.”

Mr. Boardman was afterward informed that the teacher, on his way home, tore his jogar’s dress to pieces, and threw it into a brook.

While the Burmans lived in towns and cities, the Karens, like our Indians, occupied villages far back in the jungle by the side of mountain streams. Mr. Judson’s attention was first called to them in Rangoon. “They formed small parties of strange, wild-looking men, clad in unshapely garments, who from time to time straggled past his residence.”

He was told that they were as untamable as the wild cow of the mountains; that they seldom entered a town except on 380compulsion. They were nomadic in their habits. A British officer[46] gives a singular instance of their wildness:

“An officer was lying on his bed in a little room inside the stockaded police post, which had a narrow gate with an armed sentry on guard; the Hillman, with the minimum of clothing, was introduced by a smart sergeant, who coaxed him to approach. He cautiously and distrustfully, and with great persuasion, advanced stooping to the bed; when close to it, he gave one long, steady look at the white man; suddenly, with a yell, threw himself up straight, turned round, dashed out of the room, through the gate, upsetting the armed sentry, rushed across a little stream at the bottom of the stockade, and, clambering like a monkey sheer up the side of the opposite mountain, never stopped till he was lost to sight in the forest.”

In order to secure permanent churches among the Karens, the first step of the missionaries was to persuade them to settle down in one place and form large and well-ordered villages. It was in this way that the town of Wadesville, before mentioned, sprang into existence. Christianity has thus proved a powerful agent in civilizing the Karens, and a Christian village is easily distinguished from a heathen one, not only by its size, but by its clean, regular streets.

That Mr. Judson’s tours in the Karen jungles were attended with great fatigue and danger, may be inferred from Mr. Boardman’s “Historical Sketch of the Karens”:

“The paths which lead to their settlements are so obscurely marked, so little trodden, and so devious in their course, that a guide is needed to conduct one from village to village, even over the best part of the way. Not unfrequently the path leads over precipices, over cliffs and dangerous declivities, along deep ravines, frequently meandering with a small streamlet for miles, which we have to cross and recross, and often to take it for our path, wading through water ankle deep for an hour or more. There are no bridges, and we often have to ford or swim over considerable streams, particularly in the rainy season; when, however, the difficulties of travelling are so great as to render it next to impossible. Sometimes we have to sleep in the open air in the woods, where, besides insects and reptiles, the tiger, the rhinoceros, and the wild elephant render our situation not a little uncomfortable and dangerous. I have never met with 381either of these dangerous animals in the wilderness, but have very frequently seen their recent footsteps and their haunts, while others meet them. It is but seldom they do hurt, but it is in their power, and sometimes they have the disposition. And when, after having encountered so many difficulties, and endured not a little fatigue in travelling, and been exposed to so many dangers, we come to a village, we find, perhaps, but twenty or thirty houses, often only ten, and not unfrequently only one or two within a range of several miles.”

On these jungle trips he was always accompanied by a band of associates. He would take with him eight or ten disciples and dispatch them right and left up the tributaries of the Salwen. Two by two they would penetrate the wilderness, and meeting their teacher a few days later, would report to him the results of their labor. The Oriental, under good leadership, makes a faithful and intrepid follower. And Mr. Judson’s magnetism of character held his assistants to him with hooks of steel. He had the gift of getting work, and their best work, out of the converted natives. Promising boys and young men he took under his own instruction and qualified them to become teachers and ministers. His wise and far-reaching views on this primitive and indispensable kind of ministerial education may be learned from his letters to the Corresponding Secretary. His example might profitably be followed by ministers even in our own Christian land:

... “My ideas of a seminary are very different from those of many persons. I am really unwilling to place young men, that have just begun to love the Saviour, under teachers who will strive to carry them through a long course of study, until they are able to unravel metaphysics, and calculate eclipses, and their souls become as dry as the one and as dark as the other. I have known several promising young men completely ruined by this process. Nor is it called for in the present state of the Church in Burmah. I want to see our young disciples thoroughly acquainted with the Bible from beginning to end, and with geography and history, so far as 382necessary to understand the Scriptures, and to furnish them with enlarged, enlightened minds. I would also have them carried through a course of systematic theology, on the plan, perhaps, of Dwight’s. And I would have them well instructed in the art of communicating their ideas intelligibly and acceptably by word and by writing. So great is my desire to see such a system in operation, that I am strongly tempted, as nobody else is able to do anything just now, to make a beginning; and perhaps after brother Wade, who is excellently well capacitated for this department, has settled the Karen language with brother Mason, he will carry on what I shall begin, having both Karen and Burmese students under his care.”...

“As to the subject of schools, and the preparation of young men for the ministry, my views are the same with those you have expressed. But I doubt the practicability of a ‘seminary’ all of a sudden. In looking at the subject in its various bearings for a considerable time, I see but one way; and I would respectfully propose that instructions be issued to every missionary, at every station, to collect around him a few boys and young men who may appear promising, and give them such instruction as may be consistent with his other duties; with a view of obtaining, in the course of a year or two, a contribution from each station of at least two or three students, who shall be sent to Maulmain, or Tavoy, or some other station, and thus gradually form a seminary, which shall continue to be sustained by supplies from the several stations, in the same way it was commenced.”

He had a characteristic way of paying his assistants, as may be learned from a letter of advice which he sends to Mr. Mason, who had just taken Mr. Boardman’s place at Tavoy:

“But I can assure you, from long experience, that you can seldom, if ever, satisfy Burmans, Talings, or Karens, by giving them stated, specified, known wages. However much it be, they will soon be murmuring for ‘more ’bacco,’ like their 383betters. Few of the natives that I pay know how much they get. No word on the subject ever passes between me and them. I contrive, at unequal intervals, to pop a paper of rupees—five, ten, or fifteen—into their hands, in the most arbitrary way, and without saying a word. But I take accurate note of every payment, and at the end of the year, or of the period for which they are employed, I manage to have paid them such a sum as amounts to so much per month, the rate agreed upon with my brethren. This plan occasions less trouble than one is apt to think at first; at any rate, not so much trouble as to be in hot water all the time about their ‘wages’‘wages’. However, I only show you my anvil. Hammer your tools on it, or on another of your own invention, as you like.”

The following extracts from Mr. Judson’s journal describe his life in the jungle. They relate to his second tour among the Karens:

“We set out from Maulmain, as purposed in my last, and leaving the Salwen on the west, and the Ataran on the east, we followed the Gyne and the Dah-gyne, as it is termed above its confluence with the Houng-ta-rau, which falls in from the east, and in three days reached this place, the distance being, by conjecture, above eighty miles. Accounts, on first arriving, are rather unfavorable.

“January 11. Continued to work our way up the river, frequently impeded by the trees which had fallen across the water, and through which we were obliged to cut a passage for the boat. At night, came to a small cluster of houses, where we found an elderly woman, who with her daughter formerly applied for baptism, but was advised to wait. She now received us joyfully, and united with her daughter and son-in-law in begging earnestly that their baptism might be no longer delayed. I directed them to meet me at Kwan-bee, about a mile distant, where I formerly baptized nine disciples, most of them from Tee-pah’s village, a few miles to the west.

384“January 12. Proceeded to Kwan-bee. A few people came together on the beach to stare at us, and we had a little meeting for worship before breakfast. We then proceeded to investigate the case of Loo-boo, who was reported to have joined, when his child was extremely ill, in making an offering to a nat (demon) for its recovery. We at first thought of suspending him from the fellowship of the church; but he made such acknowledgments and promises that we finally forgave him, and united in praying that God would forgive him. We do not hear of any other case of transgression; but, on the contrary, in two instances of extreme illness, the disciples resisted all the importunities of their friends to join in the usual offerings to propitiate the demons who are supposed to rule over diseases. In one instance, the illness terminated in death; and I have to lament the loss of Pan-mlai-mlo, who was the leader of the little church in this quarter, and the first of these northern Karens who, we hope, has arrived safe in heaven. I ought, perhaps, to except the case of a man and wife near the head of the Patah River, who, though not baptized, and never seen by any foreign missionary, both died in the faith; the man enjoining it on his surviving friends to have the ‘View of the Christian Religion’ laid on his breast and buried with him.

“Some of the disciples have gone to Tee-pah’s village to announce my arrival; and while others are putting up a small shed on the bank, I sit in the boat and pen these notices.

“In the evening, held a meeting in the shed, at which several of the villagers were present.

“January 13. My people returned from Tee-pah’s village, bringing with them several disciples, and one woman, the wife of Loo-boo, who presented herself for baptism, with twelve strings of all manner of beads around her neck, and a due proportion of ear, arm, and leg ornaments! and, strange to say, she was examined and approved, without one remark on the subject of her dress. The truth is, we quite forgot it, being occupied and delighted with her uncommonly prompt and intelligent replies. In the afternoon, sent the 385boat back to Maulmain, with directions to proceed up the Salwen, having concluded to cross thither by land. In the evening, had a pretty full shed; but the inhabitants of the place do not appear very favorably inclined.

“January 14. The three persons mentioned on the 11th presented themselves, with the decorated lady of yesterday. Being formerly prevented by illness from animadverting on female dress in this district, as I did in the Dah-gyne, I took an opportunity of ‘holding forth’ on that subject before breakfast; and it was truly amusing and gratifying to see the said lady, and another applicant for baptism, and a Christian woman who accompanied them, divest themselves on the spot of every article that could be deemed merely ornamental; and this they did with evident pleasure, and good resolution to persevere in adherence to the plain dress system. We then held a church-meeting, and having baptized the four applicants, crossed the Leing-bwai on a bridge of logs, and set out for Tee-pah’s village, accompanied by a long train of men, women, children, and dogs. Toward night we arrived at that place, and effected a lodgment in Tee-pah’s house. In the evening, had a pretty full assembly.

“January 15. Lord’s day. In the forenoon I held a meeting for the disciples only, and, as I seldom see them, endeavored to tell them all I knew. Had more or less company through the day. In the evening, a crowded house. Tee-pah’s father, a venerable old man, came forward, and witnessed a good confession. Some others, also, begin to give evidence that they have received the truth into good and honest hearts.

“January 16. In the morning Tee-pah’s mother joined the party of applicants for baptism, and her younger daughter-in-law, whose husband was formerly baptized. But Tee-pah himself, though convinced of the truth, and giving some evidence of grace, can not resolve at once on entire abstinence from rum, though he has never been in the habit of intoxication. In the course of the forenoon we held a church-meeting, and unanimously received and baptized eight individuals from this and a small village two miles distant.

386“Took an affectionate leave of the people, and prosecuted our journey toward the Salwen. Came to Zat-kyee’s small village, where one man and his wife embraced the truth at first hearing; and the man said, that as there was no suitable place for baptizing at that village, he would follow on, until he could say, ‘See, here is water,’ etc. I gave him leave to follow, not with that view, but to listen further to the blessed Gospel. At night, reached Shway-bau’s village, where they afforded us a shelter rather reluctantly. In the evening, however, had an interesting, though small assembly.

“January 17. Pursued our way, and soon came in sight of the Salwen, the boundary between the British and Burmese territories. Arrived at Poo-ah’s small village, consisting of three houses, not one of which had a leaf of covering. No one welcomed our arrival, so we sat down on the ground. Presently the preaching of one of the Karen disciples so wrought upon one of the householders, a Burman with a Karen wife, that he invited me to sit on his floor; and my people spread a mat overhead, which, with my umbrella, made me quite at home. The householder, in the interval of his work, and one of the neighbors, began to listen, and were present at evening worship.

“January 18. Shway-hlah, the man who followed us from the village day before yesterday, appearing to be sincere in his desire to profess the Christian religion, we held a meeting, though four disciples only could be present; and on balloting for his reception, there was one dissentient vote, so that I advised him to wait longer. He appeared to be much disappointed and grieved; said that he should perhaps not live to see me again, and have an opportunity of being initiated into the religion of Jesus Christ; and after a while the two Karen disciples insisting that he should be re-examined, we gave him a second trial, when, on cross-questioning him in the Burman language, which he understood pretty well (for we began to suspect the Karen interpreters of being a little partial to their countrymen), some circumstances leaked out which turned the scale in his favor, 387and he gained a clear vote. After his baptism, he went on his way rejoicing, resolving to tell all his neighbors what ‘great things the Lord had done for him.’ At morning worship, our host and the neighbor mentioned above, appeared to be very near the kingdom of heaven, but the other people of this village decidedly reject the Gospel.

“January 24. Set out for Bau-nah’s village, two days’ journey; but after travelling an hour over dreadful mountains and in the bed of a rivulet, where the water was sometimes knee-deep, and full of sharp, slippery rocks, when my bare feet, unaccustomed to such usage, soon became so sore that I could hardly step; and having ascertained that such was the only road for many miles, I felt that I had done all that lay in my power toward carrying the Gospel farther in this direction, and therefore relinquished the attempt, and reluctantly returned to Chanbau’s village. Not so many present at evening worship as yesterday. The seed sown here appears, in some instances, to have fallen on good ground; but our short stay deprives us of the pleasure of seeing fruit brought to perfection.

“January 27. This little village may be said to have embraced the Gospel. At one time we had eight applicants for baptism; but two only were finally received, Ko Shway and his wife Nah Nyah-ban. They both understood the Burmese language pretty well; and the woman possesses the best intellect, as well as the strongest faith, that I have found among this people. I invited them, though rather advanced in life, to come to Maulmain, and learn to read, promising to support them a few months; and they concluded to accept the invitation next rainy season. They followed us all the way to the boat, and the woman stood looking after us until we were out of sight.

“In the afternoon, arrived again at the Yen-being River, and sent some of my people to a neighboring village two miles distant. The villagers listened a while, and then sent a respectful message, saying that they believed the religion of Jesus Christ, that it was most excellent, etc., but begged that the teacher would go about his business, and not come to disturb them.

388“January 30. In the morning, held a church meeting by the river-side, and received the last two applicants. The chief of the village, Yet-dau’s father, and several other persons, are very favorably impressed. Not a word of opposition to be heard. Took an affectionate leave of this little church, now consisting of six members, and went down the river on the west side of Kanlong Island, having come up on the east side from Poo-ah’s village. Entered the Mai-zeen rivulet, in Burmese territory, and landed at Thah-pe-nike’s village, where we spent the day. In the evening had a noisy assembly. Some professed to believe, but pleaded the fear of Government as an excuse for not prosecuting their inquiries. One young man, Kah-lah by name, drank in the truth, and promised to come to Maulmain as soon as he could get free from some present engagements.

“January 31. Continued our course down the river, and landed on the west side, at Ti-yah-ban’s village. The chief is said to be very much in favor of the Christian religion, but, unfortunately, had gone up the river, and his people did not dare to think in his absence. In the afternoon came to the ‘upper village,’ the first we found on Kanlong. They listened well, but, about sunset, took a sudden turn, and would give us no further hearing. We removed, therefore, to Yai-thah-kau’s village. Some of my people went ashore. The chief was absent, and the principal remaining personage, a Buddhist Karen, said that when the English Government enforced their religion at the point of the sword, and he had seen two or three suffer death for not embracing it, he would begin to consider, and not before; that, however, if the teacher desired to come to the village, he could not be inhospitable, but would let him come. I sent back word that I would not come, but, as he loved falsehood and darkness, I would leave him to live therein all his days, and finally go the dark way; and all my people drew off to the boat. While we were deliberating what to do, something touched the old man’s heart; we heard the sound of footsteps advancing in the dark, and presently a voice. ‘My lord, please to come to the village.’ ‘Don’t call me lord. I am no lord, nor ruler 389of this world.’ ‘What must I call you? Teacher, I suppose.’ ‘Yes, but not your teacher, for you love to be taught falsehood, not truth.’ ‘Teacher, I have heard a great deal against this religion, and how can I know at once what is right and what is wrong? Please to come and let me listen attentively to your words.’ I replied not, but rose and followed the old man. He took me to his house, spread a cloth for me to sit on, manifested great respect, and listened with uncommon attention. When I prepared to go, he said, ‘But you will not go before we have performed an act of worship and prayer?’ We accordingly knelt down, and, during prayer, the old man could not help, now and then, repeating the close of a sentence with emphasis, seeming to imply that, in his mind, I had not quite done it justice. After I was gone, he said that it was a great thing to change one’s religion; that he stood quite alone in these parts; but that, if some of his acquaintance would join him, he would not be behind.