June 14, 1877

It was a beautiful Sabbath morning in December, 1876. We were anchored in the mouth of a little stream, a few miles above the city of Wuhu on the great Yangtze. A flat, uninteresting country lay around us, the monotony of the landscape being barely relieved by a few barren hills in the distance. One of these, however, had attracted our attention on our way down the river, on account of a solitary tree of considerable size which stood near the summit. At the distance of twenty miles this tree had been mistaken for a pagoda the outlines of its foliage not being visible so far away. Standing alone in so conspicuous a place, it seemed like a beacon to the surrounding horizon; and many speculations were excited as to how a tree of such size came to be left in its solitary grandeur, or even how it came to grow there at all.

Now as the day was fine, we concluded to take a walk; and, that being the most inviting direction, we shaped our course toward the range of hills aforesaid. These, at a distance, seemed covered with dark, stunted shrubbery; but on a nearer approach the surface proved to be a rugged mass of rocks, worn into myriads of fantastic shapes by the rains and storms of thousands of years. At the foot of the largest hill, above the rocky ridge over which towered the massive limbs and trunk of the lone tree (which we had decided to visit), stood a little village of thatched huts; and skirting this on the right, we at length turned into a path which led directly up the hillside. Without this path the ascent would have been very laborious and difficult, on account of the rocky and broken surface. As it was, we were quite fatigued with the climb, but as we neared the summit we were amply repaid by the fine view which began to open up before us from the farther side.

The lower part of the tree had hitherto been hidden from us by the projecting part of the ridge; and now as we approached it we found to our surprise that a Buddhist temple had been built around it, and that it stood just inside the wall of the court. At a little distance, on one side, was a small shrine; and here stood an old hermit-like man, burning incense. As he had on ordinary clothes, and his scanty hair was plaited into a queue, we saw he was no priest, but probably only an old man left in charge of the place during the temporary absence of the Buddhist mendicants. We accosted him, and he received us with marked politeness, and in a most courteous manner granted our request to go inside and look around. The characters over the door were Niang Niang Tien, or "Temple of our Lady," i.e., the Goddess of Mercy. Passing inside we found some small rooms, where the old man lived, while overhead, in a sort of loft, lay the mouldering skeletons of a couple of lantern dragons. Bidding us be seated, the old man quickly brought out some tea, which we drank, chatting pleasantly in the meanwhile. "Are you warm with so few clothes on?" he asked of my companion, Mr. H., who on account of his long, sandy beard, attracted the old man's chief attention. Mr. H. replied yes, whereupon he devoutly ejaculated, "O mi tow Fu, O! a Shen-sien (genii)." We did not pay much attention to the remark, queer as it was, but proceeded to examine the tree, which proved to be of wonderful size, the trunk being several feet in thickness. One side was disfigured by a deep cut, as if some one had tried to chop the tree down; which piece of vandalism we were informed had been perpetrated by the Tai Ping rebels.

We found on inquiring that there were no priests in the temple at the time, but the old man readily gave us leave to go into the apartment where the idols were kept. On entering, the first thing that attracted our attention was a ponderous cast-iron bell, weighing, perhaps a thousand pounds, which was suspended on our right. It appeared to be almost brand new, and had an exquisitely clear ring. In the center of the room were the principal idols arranged behind a screen of white cloth, an altar of incense standing in front. They were all female divinities, and most of them quite handsome. On each side was a fancy grotto, made of clay, on the bottom, sides, and roof of which were stuck all kinds of gaudily painted images. -- These two clay caverns were really quite beautiful. As we were examining the figures with which they were adorned, our attention was distracted by the movements of the old man, who was going through a series of devout genuflections. As soon as we entered the apartment he tapped an old iron bell hanging near the altar, and then proceeded to make nine kowtows (or "head-knockings"), on a kneeling mat, with his back to the goddesses. -- Having completed the number, he turned around with his face to their Lordships (which was certainly a more respectful form of salutation than the other), and again knocked his head nine times in succession. -- Each time he kowtowed he would rise to his feet, so that the process was decidedly tedious. There was a goddess in each of the grottoes, with a kneeling mat in front, and having finished his prostrations before the altar, the old man proceeded to make his nine kowtows to each of these in succession. As we did not wish to disturb him in his devotions, we sat down on a bench until he should finish, and leave us at liberty to complete our survey of the grotesque figures which ornamented the grottoes. After he had gone the round of the kneeling mats, he took a cup from before one of the goddesses, and going to the door, he bent his body reverently and poured the contents on the ground. This was repeated a second time, and when we supposed he had finished his devotions he took his stand before the altar with his back to the female divinities as at first, and began to kowtow nine times in succession as before. The thing was now beginning to grow monotonous; but there was something so irresistibly ludicrous in the ungallant posture which the old man assumed toward the goddesses behind him every time he knocked his forehead on the ground, that we were greatly diverted. As we were speculating whether their Ladyships would be pleased or not with so doubtful a form of courtesy, the old man finished his second series of kowtows. Then kneeling down for the tenth time -- this time with his face to the goddesses -- he began in a low, husky, monotonous voice to repeat his breviary. This was something as follows, the old man stopping frequently to clear his throat: --

"O mi tow Fu, O! niang, niang, ah!

O mi tow Fu, O! niang, niang, ah!

(km-m-m!)

O mi tow Fu, O! niang, niang, ah!

O mi tow Fu, O! niang, niang, ah!

(km-m-m!)"

This proved too much for our risibilities and we both got up to retire, almost convulsed

with repressed laughter. But the old man in the midst of his devotions noticed us

going out, and jumping up he followed us to the door. Here he caught hold of Mr. H.'s coat and holding him back exclaimed anxiously, "O mi tow Fu, O! where are you going?" My companion, as soon as he could speak, made him understand that we wished to take our leave. The old man refused to let him go and while he was engaged with him I stepped back into the temple to have another peek at the idols. Presently I heard Mr. H. calling me, and on going out I found the old man on his knees before him, clinging to the hem of his coat. "He thinks I am god," said Mr. H. with some embarrassment, "and wants me to take him away to heaven with me." "Yes," said the old man, "I have been expecting you this long time;" and added pitiously, "I don't dare to sin against you -- I must follow you and be with you." I took in the situation at once, and told my companion (who evidently did not appreciate the ludicrous side of the case as well I did), to amuse the old man a short time, while I went inside and took a leisurely survey of the curious works of art with which this temple seemed unusually well furnished. So I went back and examined the clay figures of men and demons, of houses, bridges, pagodas, etc., with which the two grottoes were crowded, and of which I had not yet had a satisfactory view. I tried the tone of the great bell, looked behind the screen at the pretty goddesses sitting there, and having finished my examination went out to where I had left my companion, Mr. H.

I found him still standing in the doorway, the old man kneeling and kowtowing before him, with his hands clutched tightly to the hem of his coat. "He declares I shan't go away without him," said Mr. H., who could not help looking a little foolish as he realized the ridiculous predicament he was in. I suspected that the old man was in reality afraid that we were going away without leaving him a small contribution; and that the sight of a few cash was all he wanted. So I pulled out a handful; "Here," said I, "is the charm which will dissolve his spell," and offered it to the old man. But the venerable enthusiast would not even look at the money. He had in probability never seen or heard tell of a foreigner before, and he was fully persuaded that this strange being with grotesque garments and long, fiery beard, who had come in upon him so suddenly from some unknown quarter, was no other than one of the Immortals into which Buddhist priests were transformed after death. In the most humble, devout, and piteous manner he retained his grasp on Mr. H.'s coat and pleaded that he might be allowed to go with him. The latter, wishing to divert his mind to other topics, asked him what his name was. -- "Fang," was the ready reply. "How old are you?" "Fifty-two." "How long have you been at this place?" "Five years." All his replies were rational except when Mr. H. came to discuss his own character. "I am only a foreigner," he would say; "I cannot take you to heaven." "No, you are a genii," persisted the old man, "and I will go with you."

The joke -- if such it was -- was now assuming a serious aspect and as the old man refused to relinquish his grasp or to get up, I forcibly released his hands from their death-like grip. But the wily old fellow instantly flung his arms around Mr. H.'s legs, and wrapped them round his shins so tightly that he was in a more helpless fix than ever.

Heyday! If any one had happened to come at such a crisis, what might we not have been taken for! Taking hold of the long and wiry arms of the old man, I succeeded by violent effort in disentangling them from my companion's legs. The instant he was free I directed him to run, while I held the old man back. When he had got some distance behind the temple and out of sight, I let the old man go, who, strange to say, did not try to detain me (probably from my want of a beard he took me for an inferior deity), but the instant he was on his feet took round the temple at full speed after the vanished genii. The latter, unfortunately, was so convulsed with laughter that he was unable to run, and in a few moments the old man was again upon him. Meanwhile I deposited a handful of cash carefully on the doorstep of the temple, and passing around in the rear that I might avoid the old fanatic on his return, I beheld Mr. H., to my amazement, standing on the ridge wildly gesticulating with a cane in each hand, while the old man was on his knees before him, his arms entwined around his shins, and knocking his aged head on the rocky ground. I was reminded of Jacob wrestling with the angel, and for some minutes was unable, through excessive amusement, to render my companion any assistance. Recovering myself at length, I came up to where he was standing helplessly, and succeeded a second time in disengaging the old fellow's arms. As soon as Mr. H. was free he started down the rocky hillside on a run; and the old man, seeing he was gone, turned on me and before I had time to think what he was doing, had his wiry arms twisted around my own shins. By this time he had been kowtowing and knocking his poor old head until he had bumped his nose against a rock, and the blood came forth in a perfect little stream. I began to be alarmed, fearing we might be accused of attempting to murder the fellow, and unfastening myself as soon as I could (which was no easy thing to do), I left him sprawling at full length on the ground, and started down the hill after my companion. We had no time to look for the path, but tumbled over the rocks and through the briers in the most expeditious manner we could. After we were down the hillside some distance I turned my head to look behind me. Horrors! There was the bloody specter following us at full speed, his threadbare garments streaming in the wind while he leaped over the rocks and across the crevices with the agility of a pair of legs thirty years younger. We began now to suspect the fellow was a maniac, and to wonder with ourselves how we were finally to escape from this old man of the Mountain, who was as hard to get rid of as Sindbad's Old Man of the Sea. Some villagers who were standing behind their straw huts, on seeing two strange fellows come scouring down the rocky hillside chased by a gaunt old Chinaman with streaming mantle and bloody nostrils, were terror-struck and took to their heels in confusion.

Finding we could not get rid of our tormentor, we resolved to stop in the village and explain the circumstances to the bewildered people, and to induce them to prevail on the old fellow to give up following us. Indeed by the time we reached the foot of the hill we had no other alternative as the agile old man was already at our heels. As soon as he caught up with my companion, he laid hold of his clothes, and falling on his knees began to kowtow and beseech as before. By this time his face was covered with blood, so that he was a rather frightful object to behold. The villagers began to gather around us, and we inquired of them if the man were not crazy; but they were at first too bewildered to comprehend the situation, and too badly frightened to make an intelligible answer. The

old man himself began to plead with some of them to go back and take care of his temple, as he was now following a Shen-sien. But none of them would go, so that he was evidently in a perplexing dilemma. -- However his anxiety to follow the newly found Immortals proved too strong for his sense of home duties, and he kept clinging closely to us. We tried to explain matters to the simple minded people, who we feared might think we had assaulted the old man, or at least bewitched him. But it was a long time before they took in the situation, and we had to reiterate our explanations several times. By degrees all the men, women, and children of the place gathered around; and the old man, between his paroxysms of adoration to the wonderful Shen-sien, would beg, first of one, then of another to go back and look after his temple. Meanwhile we persuaded a boy to bring him some water and a cloth, and he proceeded without any urging to wash the blood from his face. He was also profuse in his explanations to the crowd, assuring them that he had not been struck by us, but that he had bumped his nose accidentally. By this time the villagers began to comprehend the situation, and to remonstrate with the old man against following the foreigners. "They are not foreigners," he replied, "they are genii; and I must go with them." "But you will get nothing to eat," they persisted, "and they may beat you." "No matter! no matter!" exclaimed the old man, whose zeal and resolution were not to be baffled by such trifling apprehensions. The women who stood around began thereupon to scold him in a loud tone of voice, but he paid no more attention to their noisy expostulations than he had done before to their milder entreaties. "Think of your tang-keh -- your lady," said one poor, wretched, forlorn creature, her face half eaten with leprosy, a child dangling in her arms. But wife and kindred were no object of thought to the enthusiastic devotee. We inquired if the man were well known. "Who does not know him?" exclaimed a gray headed villager as if surprised at such a question. Not only is the man well known, but he had evidently the reputation of having been always as sane as any of his neighbors. Nor were his actions those of a maniac, he was simply under superstitious delusion of our being genii, and nobody could reason him out of it.

We tried to persuade the people to detain him among them by force; but he declared passionately, "If you hold me back I'll drown myself in there, -- pointing to a large tank half filled with sewerage. This we had little doubt he would do, so completely was he duped as to our real character. We racked our brains for some expedient to persuade the poor, deluded man to remain behind. Mr. H. told him, "Your clothes are bloody and dirty; I can not take you with me unless you change them." Instantly the old man took off

those portions of his garments which were stained with blood, and wrapping them carefully up, implored a bystander to take charge of them. This expedient having failed, Mr. H bethought him of another, which fortunately proved successful. "I cannot take you with me this time," he said, "you must wait until I come again." At this the old man seemed to prick up his ears. "You take me for a Shen-sien do you not?" continued Mr. H. "I do." "Well, you must believe what a Shen-sien says. Do you believe what I say?" "I believe." "Then it is my wish that you go back to your temple and take care of it, for you are not quite ready yet to go to heaven; but the next time I come I will take you with me. Do you believe me?" "I believe." Here the simple-minded villagers began anew to urge the old man to yield to the Shen-sien's request, and their united exhortations had so much

effect that he at last rose to his feet, reluctantly gathered up his cloak, and seemed ready to start. A little more urging and off he went, heeding to the letter the "Shen-sien's" parting injunction that he should "not look behind him." He quickly passed through the village, and when we last saw him, he was speeding nimbly up the hillside, never stopping to glance around. The people -- who towards the last had become as much amused as we over the old man's deluded fancy -- now directed us to go on our way, which, after bidding them a pleasant goodbye we very gladly did. It was an unexpressible relief to thus get rid of our devoted follower, after he had been hanging to us for hours, and to retire unmolested from a vicinity which one of us at least mentally vowed never to visit again. With all his superstition we could not help pitying the poor old man, whose solitary life among a few Buddhists in a romantic temple had evidently turned his head; and we could not but pray that through the mercy of God, so harmless and devout though benighted an enthusiast might one day find a place among those Immortals associated in all men's minds with the future world.

It was late in the afternoon when we finished our romantic adventure, and weary and hungry arrived at our boat. The story we had to tell occasioned much merriment among our Chinese boatmen, who did not cease for a long time to quiz Mr.H. on his having been taken for a "Shen-sien."

Rev. A. Stritmatter