trouble began. Her four children were attacked with whooping-cough,
which was followed by dysentery, the complaint which in Burma has sent
many thousands of Europeans to early graves. No sooner had the
children recovered from this distressing illness than Mrs. Sarah Judson
fell ill with it, and for a time it was feared that she was dying. As
soon as she was able to travel Mr. Judson took her to India, in the
hope that a complete rest at Serampore would give her back her
strength. She returned in fairly good health, but in December, 1844,
she grew so weak that Mr. Judson decided to have his first furlough,
and take her home to America. On the voyage she grew worse, and died
peacefully while the ship was at anchor at St. Helena. She was buried
on shore, and Adoniram Judson, a widower a second time, proceeded on
his journey to America.
OLIVIA OGREN AND AN ESCAPE FROM BOXERS
The Chinese dislike to foreigners settling in their country is so old
that one cannot tell when it began. But in 1900 the Boxer rising
proved that the anti-foreign feeling is strong as ever, and perhaps
more unreasonable, and the whole civilized world was horror-stricken by
the news of the massacre of men, women and children, who had been
slaughtered, not only because they were Christians, but because they
were foreigners.
The list of missionaries who were murdered by the Boxers in 1900 is
long and saddening; but it is some consolation to know that to many of
the martyrs death came swiftly, and was not preceded by bodily torture.
In fact, some of the missionaries who escaped death must have been
sorely tempted to envy their martyred colleagues, so terrible were the
trials they underwent before reaching a place of safety.
Mrs. Ogren was one of the representatives of the China Inland Mission,
who escaped death only to meet perils and privations such as few women
have ever survived. She and her husband had worked in China for seven
years, and had been stationed for about twelve months in the city of
Yung-ning when the Boxer troubles began. Until then the natives had
been well disposed towards them, but two emissaries of the Boxers,
describing themselves as merchants, spread evil reports concerning
them. They declared that the missionaries had poisoned the wells, and
when the people went to examine them they found that the water had
turned red. The men who accused the missionaries had, before bringing
this charge against them, secretly coloured the water. Other false
accusations, artfully supported by what appeared to be conclusive
evidence, were made against them, and naturally aroused the anger of
the people, whose demeanour became unmistakably threatening.
On July 5 the sad news of the murder of two lady missionaries at
Hsiao-i reached Mrs. Ogren and her husband, and a mandarin, who had
secretly remained friendly towards them, urged them to escape from the
city as soon as possible, and for their travelling expenses the
secretary of the yamen brought them, in the middle of the night, Tls.
10 (L15). Mr. Ogren gave a receipt for the money, and prepared for
their flight, but it was not until July 13 that they were able to start.
Early in the morning, before day-break, a mule-litter was brought to
the back door of the mission garden. Quickly and silently Mr. and Mrs.
Ogren, with their little nine months' old boy, mounted, and started on
their perilous journey to Han-kow.
They arrived uninjured at the Yellow River, where, however, they found
a famine-stricken crowd, armed with clubs, eager to kill them. The
starving natives had been told, and believed, that the scarcity of food
was due to the foreigners' presence in China, and their hostile
attitude can scarcely be wondered at. However, the guard which had
been sent to protect the missionaries succeeded in keeping off the
people, who had to content themselves with yelling and spitting at the
fugitives. Hiring a boat, for which they had to pay Tls. 50, the
Ogrens and their guard started down river for T'ung-kuan. The current
of this river is exceedingly swift, and the missionaries expected every
moment that their boat would be wrecked. No mishap occurred, however,
and after travelling seventeen miles the party made a halt. It was
necessary to do so, as at this place they were to be handed over to a
new guard. Here, too, they found it would be impossible to proceed on
their journey without more money, and a messenger was despatched to the
mandarin at Yung-ning, asking for a further loan. Until the result of
this appeal was known there was nothing for the Ogrens to do but wait
where they were. It was an anxious time, but on the fourth day they
were delighted to see the secretary of the yamen approaching. He had
brought with him the money they required.
'Praising God for all His goodness,' Mrs. Ogren writes in her account
of their trials,[1] 'we started once more, and though beset by many
difficulties, the goodness of God, and the cordial letter of
recommendation granted us by our friendly mandarin, enabled us to
safely reach a place called Lung-wan-chan, 170 miles from our
starting-place, and half way to our destination, T'ung-kuan.'
At Lung-wan-chan they heard of the rapid spread of the Boxer movement,
and of the massacre, on July 16, of a party of men and women
missionaries. They realised now that the prospect of their escaping
the fury of the Boxers was small; but there came a ray of hope, when a
Chinaman, eighty years of age and a friend of the Yung-ning mandarin,
offered to hide them in his house. It was an offer which was
gratefully accepted; but as they were about to start for their
hiding-place, which was some twenty-five miles from the river, a party
of soldiers arrived. Their orders were, they said, to drive the
foreigners out of the province; but the aged Chinaman gave them a
feast, and, having got them into a good humour, extracted a promise
from them that they would not harm the missionaries. But although they
kept their promise to the extent of not doing them any bodily injury,
they took from them all the money they possessed.
When the soldiers had departed, the Ogrens started on their twenty-five
miles' journey to the friendly old Chinaman's house, thankful at having
escaped one danger, and hopeful that they would reach their destination
in safety. But their hope was not realised. Before they had gone far,
their way lay along a track where it was necessary to proceed in single
file. Mrs. Ogren, riding a mule, led the way; a second mule carrying
their personal belongings followed, and Mr. Ogren with their baby-boy
in his arms came last. On one side of them was the rushing river; on
the other, steep, rocky mountains.
Suddenly a number of armed men sprang out from behind the rocks and
barred their way. Brandishing their weapons ominously, they demanded
Tls. 300. Mrs. Ogren, dismounting from her mule, advanced to a man who
appeared to be the leader, and told him that they had no money. She
begged him to have pity on them, and to spare her at least her baby's
things. Her appeal was not entirely wasted, for while they were
helping themselves to their things the leader handed her, on the point
of his sword, _one_ of the baby's shirts.
Having taken everything that they fancied, the robbers now looked
threateningly at the prisoners. Their leader began whetting his sword,
shouting as he did so, 'Kill, kill!' Again Mrs. Ogren pleaded for
mercy, and finally they relented, and departed without injuring them.
The fugitives now came to the conclusion that it would be certain death
if they remained in the province, and as soon as possible they crossed
the river in the ferry. It was a dark, wet night when they reached the
other side, and it was only after much entreaty and promises of reward
that the ferrymen allowed them to take shelter in the dirty smoky caves
where they lived. Mr. Ogren at once despatched a message to their old
Chinese friend asking for help, and four days later the man returned
with some money, nearly the whole of which the ferrymen claimed, and
obtained by means of threats. With little money in their pockets, the
Ogrens started off on foot towards the promised place of refuge. It
was a trying journey, for the heat was intense, and aroused a thirst
which could not be quenched. Once Mrs. Ogren fell exhausted to the
ground; but after a rest they continued their tramp, and on the second
day reached their destination, there to experience a bitter
disappointment. The people whom they expected would be friendly proved
hostile. They refused to give them food, and only after much entreaty
did they permit them to take shelter in a cave near by. This, however,
proved to be a very insecure hiding-place, and twice they were robbed
by gangs of men.
Leaving this place, the Ogrens tramped further into the hills, and
found another cave, where they could have remained in safety until the
rising was quelled, had they been able to obtain food. Mrs. Ogren and
her husband would have endured the agony of long-continued hunger, but
they could not see their little baby starve. For some time he was fed
on cold water and raw rice, but when their small stock of the latter
ran out, they tramped back to make another appeal to the people who had
so recently refused to help them. Their reception was even worse than
on the previous occasion. One of the men had heard of the Boxers'
offer of Tls. 100 for the head of every foreigner brought to them, and
was anxious to earn the money. Seizing his sword, he rushed at the
fugitives and would have killed them, had not some of his relatives,
perhaps moved by pity, intervened. They held him fast while the Ogrens
hurried away as quickly as their weakness would permit.
Over the mountains they wended their way, sometimes having to crawl up
the steep hillsides. It was their intention to make their way back to
Yung-ning, and seek protection from the mandarin who had always been
friendly towards them. It must not be forgotten that during the
anti-foreign outbreak there were hundreds of Chinamen, besides the
Christian converts, who, although well aware that a price was placed on
the head of every foreigner, scorned to betray them, and did all in
their power to facilitate their escape to a place of safety. On their
journey over the mountains, Mrs. Ogren and her husband met with many of
these people, who gave them food and sheltered them at night.
Having forded a wide, swiftly-flowing river, the Ogrens came to a
village where the natives treated them so kindly that they remained
there for two days. But on departing from this place their brief
period of comparative happiness came to an end, for, towards night, as
they drew near to a village, hoping to experience a repetition of the
hospitality they had recently received, they found that they were
likely to have a hostile reception.
It was too late to turn back or to attempt to avoid the place, for they
had already been discovered, so they trudged on through the village,
the people laughing and jeering at them. But just as they were
quitting the village, hopeful that they would be permitted to continue
their journey unmolested, they were seized and cast into prison. The
following morning two men were told off to take them out of the
province; but it soon became evident to the prisoners that their escort
intended to hand them over to the Boxers. They were a particularly
heartless pair, and one of them took from Mrs. Ogren her baby's pillow,
which she had managed to retain through all their wanderings, and
emptying out the feathers burned them.
The following day they arrived at the Yellow River, and as they crossed
in the ferry the prisoners saw that the village to which they were
being taken was decorated with red lanterns. This was a sign that the
place was held by the Red Lantern Society, one of the divisions of the
Boxer army. On landing, the missionaries were at once surrounded by a
crowd of jeering natives, and one fellow, with brutal glee, told Mrs.
Ogren of the massacre of the lady missionaries at Ta-ning.
After Mr. Ogren had been closely questioned, he was told they would be
taken back to Yung-ning, but when they left the village they found that
they were being led in quite a different direction. At night they were
placed in a cave, and on the following morning were marched off to the
Boxer general's headquarters, a temple. Mr. Ogren was at once taken
before the general, Mrs. Ogren sitting in the courtyard with her baby
on her knee. She was suffering excruciating pain from a swollen eye,
caused by the heat and glare, but her mental agony was no doubt
greater, for in a few minutes her husband's fate would be decided. She
heard him answering the general's questions, heard him pleading for
their lives. Soon his voice was drowned in the sound of swords being
sharpened, and a few minutes later she heard moans. Her husband was
being tortured.
'My feelings were indescribable,' Mrs. Ogren writes. 'I could only
pray God to cut short my husband's sufferings, and fill his heart with
peace, and give me courage to meet my lot without fear.' Soon the
moaning ceased, and she concluded that her husband was dead.
That night Mrs. Ogren was imprisoned in a tomb, and her baby, although
he had nothing but water for his supper, slept soundly on the cold
ground wrapped up in her gown. On the following morning she was given
some rice and porridge, but before she had finished her meal the guard
set her free. At once she decided to endeavour to reach Ta-ning, where
other missionaries were imprisoned, preferring imprisonment among
friends to the wandering life she had led for so long. Hearing that
there were some Christians in a village on the other side of the river,
she forded the stream--narrowly escaping drowning, but only to find
that she had been misinformed. The villagers jeered at her when she
told her story, and asked for food for herself and baby. Departing
from these inhospitable people, Mrs. Ogren lay down with her baby in
the open. Both were hungry and shivering, and probably their trials
would have ended that night in death, had not two native Christians
found them, and led the way to a cave. Taking Mrs. Ogren to this place
of shelter was, however, all that these men could do for her.
The following day, while trudging along towards Ta-ning Mrs. Ogren was
again captured by Boxers, and would have been promptly killed, had not
the headman of the village protected her, and, in spite of the anger of
the mob, appointed an escort to accompany her to Ta-ning. It was a
consolation to Mrs. Ogren to feel that she would soon be in the company
of fellow missionaries; but to her sorrow she heard, on being placed in
the Ta-ning prison, that they had been set free two days previously,
and had started for the coast.
The prison in which Mrs. Ogren was now confined was a filthy place,
swarming with vermin, but the warders were kind to her, and gave her
food for herself and baby. Even the mandarin was moved when he heard
of the sufferings she had undergone, but he did not release her. Sleep
was impossible that night, but, at daybreak, as Mrs. Ogren lay dozing
with her child beside her, she fancied she heard her name called.
Jumping up she ran into the courtyard, and looked eagerly around.
'Olivia!' It was her husband's voice, and there at the prison gate
stood he whom she had thought dead. 'Praise God! oh, praise God!' she
cried, her heart full of thankfulness; but he was too overcome with
emotion to speak. Truly Mr. Ogren was in a terrible plight. His
clothes hung in rags, and his head was bound with a piece of dirty,
blood-stained linen. One of his ears was crushed, and there were
ghastly wounds in his neck and shoulders. Even now he was not out of
danger for as he stood at the gate Mrs. Ogren saw to her dismay a mob
of infuriated Boxers rushing towards him, and it seemed as if he would
be killed before her eyes. But the yamen servants protected him, and,
later in the day, he was brought to his wife and child. The people had
evidently taken pity on the poor missionaries, for they supplied Mrs.
Ogren with some water to wash her husband's wounds and a powder that
would heal them. Moreover they supplied them with rice and mutton, and
the secretary of the yamen's wife sent them a bowl of meat soup.
When Mr. Ogren's wounds had been dressed, and he had eaten the first
good meal he had tasted for many days, he related to his wife all that
had happened to him since they were separated by the Red Lantern Boxers.
Briefly his story was as follows:--On being taken before the Boxer
general he was bound to a block of wood, with his hands tied behind his
back, and while in this helpless state the Boxers kicked him and beat
him with sticks, cursing the name of Jesus, and shouting, 'Now ask your
Jesus to deliver you.' After thus torturing him they untied him from
the block, and led him with his hands bound behind his back to the
river-side, with the intention of killing him and casting his body into
the water. Arriving there, they forced him down on his knees, and at a
signal set upon him on all sides with swords and spears; but in their
eagerness to slay him their weapons struck one against another, and
instead of being killed instantly he received several wounds, which
although severe did not disable him.
Suddenly he sprang to his feet, and rushing through the crowd jumped
into the river. The Boxers, recovering from their surprise, rushed
into the water after him, but remembering that his hands were tied
behind his back they broke into jeering laughter, and waited to see him
drown. But the brave, persecuted missionary managed to reach the other
side in safety, and running inland was soon lost in the darkness. With
his hands tied behind his back, and barefooted--his shoes were lost in
the river--he tramped some fifteen miles before resting. Then he
severed the cords which bound his hands by rubbing them against a rock
until they were cut through. In the hills he found a native Christian,
who not only supplied him with food, water and a little money, but took
him to a hiding-place for the night. On the following morning Mr.
Ogren started off again, with the intention of making his way back to
Yung-ning, but before he had gone far he caught sight of Boxers
scouring the country. Finding a cave he hid in it throughout the day,
resuming his journey at night. After many hardships he met some
natives, who informed him that his wife was in prison at Ta-ning, and
at once he set off for that city, and entered it unnoticed by the
Boxers. It was only when he had almost reached the yamen that they
heard of his presence and rushed after him. How he escaped their fury
has already been told.
Two days after Mr. Ogren had rejoined his wife the authorities sent
them with an escort out of the city on two donkeys, the men who
accompanied them being instructed to take them from city to city until
they arrived at the coast. But on the second day the officials of a
city through which they would have to pass warned them that they would
not be allowed to enter it, and therefore the much-tried missionaries
were taken back to Ta-ning, and placed once more in the loathsome
prison. Here Mrs. Ogren endured fresh trials. Her baby, weakened by
exposure and semi-starvation, became seriously ill, and for a time it
seemed as if he would not recover. When, however, the danger was
passed Mrs. Ogren's second eye became terribly inflamed and caused her
intense agony, and her husband becoming delirious with fever, had to be
tied down to his bed. Nevertheless, she did not lose her faith, and
the prisoners, aware of all she had endured, and was enduring,
marvelled to see her praying to God. When, in the course of a few
days, her husband began to gain strength they sang hymns, prayed, and
read the Bible together.
A month later the Ogrens were told that in two days they were to be
escorted to the coast, and the comforts which were at once provided for
them made it clear that the authorities had received instructions to
protect them and treat them well. New clothes were given them, and
when they started on their journey, Mr. Ogren, being far too weak to
ride, was carried with the baby in a sedan chair. Mrs. Ogren rode a
horse. The officer and ten soldiers who comprised their escort treated
them kindly, and their example was copied by the inhabitants of the
villages through which they passed.
It was a welcome change, but it came too late. Nine days after leaving
Ta-ning Mr. Ogren became very weak, and in spite of every attention
died on the following morning, October 15, from the effects of the
cruelty to which the Boxers had subjected him.
Can anyone imagine a more crushing sorrow for a woman than this which
Mrs. Ogren had to bear? To lose her husband just when their long
months of persecution were ended, and they were looking forward to
happy days of peace, was indeed the hardest blow she had suffered. Her
escort, touched to the heart by this sad ending to her troubles, did
all that they could to comfort her.
It was not until February 16, that Mrs. Ogren and her two children--a
girl baby, healthy in every way, had been born at P'ing-yang-fu on
December 6,--arrived at Han-kow, where everyone strove to show kindness
to the much-tried widow. Peter Alfred Ogren's name is inscribed on the
roll of Christian martyrs, and Olivia Ogren is a name that will ever
stand high in the list of Christian heroines.
[1] _Last Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the
China Inland Mission_. (Morgan & Scott.)
EDITH NATHAN, MAY NATHAN AND MARY HEAYSMAN,
MARTYRED BY BOXERS
When, in the year 1900, the anti-foreign feeling in China culminated in
the massacre of defenceless men and women, the three missionaries whose
names head this chapter were working in the city of Ta-ning. The
inhabitants of this little city among the hills had always treated the
missionaries with kindness, and it was not until Boxer emissaries
arrived and stirred up the people by spreading untruths concerning the
reason of the foreigners' presence in China, that a change occurred in
the behaviour of some of them.
The news of the Boxer rising was soon carried to the three ladies at
Ta-ning; but it was not until July 12 that, at the earnest entreaty of
the native pastor, Chang Chi-pen, they left the city to take shelter in
one of the villages high up in the mountains. They started at 7.30 in
the morning, and, travelling through the heat of the day, arrived at
Muh-ien, where they were welcomed by the inhabitants, both native
Christians and unconverted, with kindness. The knowledge that two lady
missionaries had recently been murdered at Hsiao-i made the inhabitants
of this hill-village anxious to show kindness to the three ladies who
had come to seek shelter among them. They gave them food, which
although not very palatable to Europeans was the best to be had, and
provided them with lodging.
The following day was passed peacefully. Native friends came out from
Ta-ning, bringing the comforting assurance that there were no signs of
the Boxers coming in pursuit of the fugitives. They told the
missionaries that eighteen warships belonging to various nations had
arrived, but had gone aground near Fuh-Kien. The news of the arrival
of these vessels naturally caused satisfaction to the three
missionaries, and made them believe that the Boxer rising would soon be
quelled.
Sunday, July 15, was a very happy day. Native Christians came in from
the neighbouring villages, and the old pastor, Chang Chi-pen, had
stolen out from Ta-ning. A service was held, and afterwards the
missionaries were overwhelmed with invitations to take up their
residence in various villages where they would be, they were assured,
perfectly safe from the Boxers. 'It was really worth while being in
such a position, to see how loyal the Christians were to us,' May
Nathan wrote in her diary.[1] 'We are certainly in a better position
than most other foreigners, being amongst such simple, loyal,
God-fearing men.'