AMONG WILD TRIBES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13917, 31 May 1909, Page 3

AMONG WILD TRIBES.

a bocroit'.s si'OHV

" A valuable record of sixteen yearsgood woiii, " is how Lord l-toberts commends "A Doctor among Wild 'lnbes" toy T. L. l't-niiell, M.u.), to the pubii,- j ami tile jjjuini worK is ill one of those byway metuuds wnu \»nicn readers at nome generally are Wast familiar, i/c IVmieU shows clearly Hie province oi met Heal missions, and uie iwniasi between Hie uneducated gnazi lanauc of tne hills and young men of tlie same race and antecedents Wlio have passed through the civilising influence oi a misSiou school. Curiously enough, he went to India prejudiced against these schools. He protested against a medical missionary having to superintend one. He has become coiivinvetl, however, that the hope of India lies in her mission colleges and schools, for the real enemy of the Christian faith, according to his exper vision, is neither Islam nor Hindooism so much as inlidelity and gross materialism. '

Tlil- author enforces some hometruths for Christians both in India and in England. He blames the latter tor encouraging the missionary to think that the gathering in of converts is the first and most important work of the missionary, wheieas " his work is rather to live Christ before the people of the country; consequently, to give them the teachings of Christ by giving them the Scriptures in their own tongue and preaching and explaining the same to them." Dr Pennell's exploits included a journey among the Mullah tribes of the frontier, clad as a Mullah, and a pilgrimage on bicycles, with a disciple and without money, to holy places of the Hindus in the dress of a Christian Sadhu. His reasons for a belief in wearing native costume are characteristic: this gives natives a greater freedom in approaching a sahib, and it enables the missionary more vividly to realise how the natives feel things. As an example under the latter head, we quote the following from Dr Pennell's narrative : •• While at Lucknow I essayed to visit the European cemetery at the 01*1 Residency, but the custodian would not hear of admitting me utterly discrediting my statement that I was a European. Surely this unnecessary and most offensive restriction might be re-

moved. I can readily judge from my own ieelings at the time how naturally and greatly self-respecting Indians would resent this piece of racial antipathy which permits a common 'gatekeeper to subject any Indian to indignity." . There are a couple of good, if grim, itories about noses. Purchase of wives aid. facility of divorce are the two greatest evils from which the Afghan w.iinen sutler. A native brought his wife lo hospital to have her nose rephced—h«;' had cut it off in a tit ol jeiiousy. . The usual operation could not be performed satisfactorily, and it was put to the man whether lie would agrte to an artilicial nose being got froii England. He was silent: " I was thinking ilus, sir," he said at last; - you say it costs 30 rupees, and 1 could get a new wife for 80 rupees." He consented in the end to the new nose. The other story is tragic in a different way. The doctor got -an artificial nose for a man, hut the English shop sent out a pale fleshed c-olpur while iis skin was dark olive. The doctor ised walnut stain ; unfortunately the patent went out before it-was dry, and a riinstorm did the rest. When lie got to lis village everyone laughed so at his streaky nose that the embarrassed Afglnu returned to the doctor to complain. Finally, tlic cry of a stalwart azir brought 10 hospital with his eyes slashed is all-too suggestive of the material amongst which the mission doctor labours. "Vhen told he would never see again: "Oh, sahib," he pleaded, "if you can pjve me some sight, only.just long enough to go and slioot my enemy, then 1 shall be satisfied to be blind all the rest oi my life."