WESTERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE

April 26,1876

BY REV. A. STRITMATTER

Friday, December 3, 1875 -- Left Kiukiang this afternoon in company with Rev. H. H. Hall, for a four weeks' trip down the river. Have very pleasant accommodations on the "mission boat," recently purchased at Shanghai, and which has already proved to be of invaluable aid in our work. There being no breeze, we made only ten miles before anchoring for the night.

December 4th -- Weather delightful. Passed the mouth of the Poyang Lake early this morning. About three P. M. reached the walled town of Pen Tseh. It is inclosed between high hills, along the top of which its walls run. Next the river the hills are very precipitous. The scenery is the most beautiful along the river between Kiukiang and the sea. We went on shore with some books, and passed through the one busy street from one end to the other. The people treated us very civilly, listened respectfully to what we had to say, but did not purchase many books. A short distance below the place the river narrows into a deep channel, between a precipice on the one side and a narrow, isolated ledge of rocks on the other, several hundred yards in length and three hundred feet in height. This latter is called the "Little Orphan," in contradistinction to its elder brother, the "Big Orphan," another large island rock in the Poyang Lake. A famous Buddhist temple stands in a nook on the westside, and a little two story pavilion crowns the summit. We anchored by the river shore, and procuring a sampan landed at the base of the rock. The river had fallen thirty feet below the water mark, but was still forty feet and upward in depth. A series of stone steps led up from the water's edge under an archway into the temple and from thence through a bamboo-grove to the top of the rock. There were ten priests in charge of the place, who received us very kindly. Some of the rooms were richly furnished, and the path through the little bamboo-grove was charmingly romantic. From the summit a fine view was obtained, and on the north side there was a perpendicular descent to the water's edge. It would form a delightful little place for a picnic. We left a copy of the Gospel narrative with one of the priests, who, of course, were all totally ignorant of the doctrines of Christianity.

December 5th -- Had "a nipping and an eager air" last night. This morning every thing was white with frost. After breakfast Mr. Hall and I went on shore for a walk. We are anchored in the mouth of a little river, near a good-sized village. Some distance away we saw a building, behind a bamboo grove, which we took for an official residence. The sound of musical instruments drew us near, and we discovered it to be a temple, with a large number of worshipers paying their morning devotions. We went up to it and inside, and the crowd received us very civilly. Their unusual number was occasioned by the presence of a theatrical troupe, who were to perform on the outskirts of the village later in the day. We took advantage of the opportunity to preach to the crowd outside of the temple doors. In the afternoon we went on shore again, and passed the place where the

theater was going on. A thousand persons and upward were collected as spectators on the open ground in front of the stage. The acting was very stiff and constrained; the voices of the actors, loud, harsh, and unintelligible; and their costume, very fantastic. Some boys on the outskirts of the crowd called out to us our favorite name, but in general we did not attract much attention. We passed around the outside of the village, close by some fine Yamun (magistrate) buildings, and came back through the single street which it possessed. There was nothing interesting to be seen, and almost every body was at the theater, although it was Sunday.

December 6th -- Went on shore this morning and sold a number of books. Five miles to the east we could see a walled city; and, as the little river in which our boat lay came from that direction, we decided to go up and visit the place. We could get only within a mile of the city with our boat; but here, on the banks of the stream, we found a busy little town, with a long, clean street running through it, where we had abundant opportunity for dispensing the Gospel message. After dinner I left Mr. Hall, who was fatigued and sick, on the boat, and, taking a coolie and a load of books with me, walked across the country to the city of Wang Chiang. The people were entirely unaccustomed to foreigners, and manifested great surprise at my appearance; but they purchased books very rapidly. "How cheap you sell these books!" they would say; "Why, the money would not buy even the paper." I explained to them that we sold books at half the cost price, on account of the value of the doctrines which they contained. The crowd at first was very civil; but by degrees it became denser, and a spirit of rudeness began to be manifested. Observing these unpleasant indications, I turned down into an alley and made my way gradually out of the city. By this means we got away with the loss of only one or two books, and the crowd was dispersed before it had worked itself up into any very mischievous state. We did not get to penetrate to the main street at all. When we reached the boat it was sundown, and we drifted down to the mouth of the stream by moonlight. Our sales of books during the day amounted to twelve hundred cash, or one dollar.

December 7th -- A most beautiful day. Overhead a mild and serene sky, underneath the smooth, glassy waters of the Yang-tse. Gliding gently down the current we arrived, about nine A. M., at the town of Tung Liu. Two years ago a Wesleyan missionary, Rev. Mr. Hill, was invited by some of the natives to open a chapel at this place. The "call" seemed so urgent that he could not refuse; but afterward he discovered that a few Chinese had got into difficulty with the Roman Catholics in the place, and under pretext of asking for the Gospel, were aiming only to get the foreigners' assistance against them. Not wishing to become embroiled in their troubles, and being fully occupied with his work one hundred and fifty miles farther up the river, Mr. Hill abandoned the idea of opening a station in the place. We visited the town, which although having a wall two or three miles in circuit, seems to have but one little, dirty street. The people were unusually civil, and our presence excited but little attention. Only a few books were sold. Outside of the town, stretching back from the river bank, is a magnificent plain, on which some soldiers were practicing at shooting at a target. Just on the river bank was placed upright in the ground the stern of a native boat, on which the bystanders said were exposed the heads of criminals put to death for robbery. About

dark we reached the large city of Nyan Ching, one hundred and ten miles below Kiukiang. It is the capital of one of the eighteen provinces, and the China Inland Mission (English) have a station here. Indeed, a chapel was torn down for them in the city a few years ago and the missionaries driven away; but they secured reparation from the native authorities, and succeeded in re-establishing themselves. To-night is a beautiful moonlight one, and even the Chinese seem susceptible to its enchanting influence. They keep up a lively, good-natured chatting on their boats, and occasionally the feelings of some one gush out into song. One old man near us has been chanting some kind of a ditty in a style exactly after that I have heard adopted by some Hard-shell Baptist preachers in the pulpit.