Darkness and daybreak. Personal experiences, manners, customs, habits, religious and social life in Persia

Preface

HE author of this little volume, "Darkness and Daybreak," is a native of Persia, who is known to us more than four years. Mr. Adams has been with us in intimate association, in relig"ious exercises and social life, and all who know him can bear testimon}^ to the purity and unselfishness of his character, to his earnestness and laboriousness as a student, to his intense zeal for the spread of the g-ospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in Persia and the world, and to the wrong-s and suffering's and lost condition of his people.

This work serves a useful purpose in imparting- fresh information and quickening- an intellig-ent interest of a hopeful Christian effort. We hope that no student of the King-dom, no servant of Christ and his Church should fail to g-ive serious and sympathetic attention to the spread of the gospel in helping- our dear brother Isaac Adams, and we trust ever}' reader will join us in the hope and prayer and sympathy and substantial help that the wa}^ may soon be open for his return as a missionary of the cross and enter the work which he has

already beg-un.

Rector of the Christian Reformed Theological School.

Grand Rapids, Mich., U. S. A.

April 4th, 1898.

Dear Reader :

I cannot beg-in to write a narrative of the facts connected with the history of my life, without g-iving- all g-lory and praise to the most precious God, who has so wonderfully g-uided me, during- the last ten years especially. No words like those of the Scriptures can adequately express my heart's g-ratitude for all the ways by which he has led me, and you, dear reader, will mag-nify him while reading- as I did while writing: this. Let" us exalt His name forever; let the Lord be mag-- nified, which taketh pleasure in the prosperity of His elect. Praise ye the Lord, for His name is excellent; His g-lory is above the heavens. I have been deeply tried; yes, the Lord is with the rig:hteous; "Lo, I am with you." Surely He has been with me ; His presence has g-one before me and has g-iven me streng-th and courag-e. He faileth not. I have heard his voice saying-, "Fear not, I will help thee." And He has done so; yea, in the deepest waters; in all places His hand has led me and He has kept me. With David I can say, "God is my salvation." I will trust and not be afraid. I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he answered me. The Lord stood by me and streng-thened me, saying- : "My streng-th is made perfect in weakness."

From many dang-erous snares hath the Lord preserved me ; in spite of all my inward rebellion. He hath carried on his g-ood work in my heart, and notwithstanding- all my unbelieving- fears he hath g-iven me a hope full of immortality. He hath set my feet upon a rock and established my g-oing-s and hath put a new songinto my mouth ; even praises unto my God.

The same grace and forbearance, the same wisdom and power that have broug-ht me so far, will bring me on, though it be through fire and water, to a goodly heritage. I see no business in life but the work of Christ, neither do I desire any employment to all eternity but His service, and it is my prayer to Him, in whose hands the hearts of all men are like the rivers of water, that He might put into the hearts of those who love Him and His cause to enable me to continue in His service by bringing the knowledge of the only Redeemer Jesus Christ to the great multitude who know Him not.

PERSONAL HISTORY.

1WAS born in the northwestern part of Persia, on the twenty-eig-hth day of November, 1872, at Sang-ar, a village about two hours walk from Oroomiah city. The village contained about twenty-five Nestorian families, and as many houses. The surrounding- villages were all Mohammedan, some of them lying not more than half an hour's distance away from Sangar. Thus the people in my village-home have had all their intercourse with Mohammedans, and in consequence had lost all knowledge of Christianity and had adopted instead Mohammedan customs as well as their language, the national language of the Nestorians being Syriac, which is widel}^ different from that of the Mohammadans. Together with the customs and language, the people of my home-village had also adopted all kinds of profanity. The keeping of the Sabbath day was entirely lost. People would plow and do other work in the field just as on any other day.

Another very bad habit of the people at Sangar was the beating of their wives. It is quite common there to see a woman's head bruised and her clothing torn. Thus I was brought up, among ignorant and ill-influenced people.

When about 6 years of age, my father and two other persons went to Russia for the trading business. They had but one passport for the three of them. After having remained in Russia for a short time, one of the men was oblig-ed to return to Persia, he having- been advised of sickness in his family. After some time, m}^ father and his companion were to go on to another city in Russia. Upon entering* the g-ates they were taken prisoners, the officer claiming- that in the passport three men were mentioned, and they were but two. All explanation on the part of the travelers was unheeded, and their case was finally ended by sending- them both to Siberia for life, and in all probability they are alread}' dead, as we have never heard of them since.

It was extremely sad for my poor mother to have been left with five children, all below 12 years of ag-e ; but this was not all. The lord of the villag-e came with some forged notes, claiming that my father owed him money and demanding pay. As my mother had nothing to pay with, he took possession of the land we owned and a part of our vineyard.

My task in early boyhood was to do little chores at home and herd cattle. Like most bo3^s, I delighted in climbing trees, but once it happened that I fell from the top of a tree and broke my arm. Blood was gushing from my nose and ears, and I was carried home. The house was soon crowded with people, who decided to make bread and Martooha and give it as a sacrifice to the poor.

The Martooha is a mixture of flour, molasses and butter, and is received by those among whom it is distributed as an offering, with the greeting: "May God restore him to health."

But this was not all. My mother had also secretly, but solemnly, vowed that she would, in case of my recovery, have a lamb sacrificed to Mar-Obdishoo, a Nestorian saint, at the church built to his memory. When I was quite recovered, therefore, my mother, a number of friends and I, with a lamb, repaired to Mar- * Obdishoo. The lamb was slain in the church-yard and its blood sprinkled on the altar of the church and in my face, while a number of little bells were rung- in the church. I was then ordered to take the bells, and, ring-- ing- them, cry out: " O, Mar-Obdishoo, Mar-Obdishoo, I thank 3^ou that you have let me reg-ain my health ! "

The lamb was hereupon taken to a dwelling- and boiled, and the meat g-iven to those in attendance ; the head and skin, however, tog-ether with a small quantity of meat, belong-ed to the janitor as his fee. Some of the meat was also taken back to Sang-ar, upon our return, to be distributed there. I was not allowed one morsel of it.

When about 13 years of ag-e, a buffalo out of the herd of cattle I was watching-, ran among- some heaps of cut wheat in a field where farmers were threshing-. In doing- so, the buffalo broke the Dach, or sig-n, which the lord of the villag-e had set upon the heaps of wheat. Upon perceiving- this, the lord called me to him in a very friendly manner, holding- out to me a very beautiful cane and promising- me the cane if I came. I did so, thoug-h hesitating-ly. Suddenly I was rudely seized by some servants who held me firmh% while others subjected me to an application of the bastinado, so cruelly, that both m}^ feet bled profusely and I was not able to walk for about two months.

After this sad experience I left the villag-e clandestinel}^ and repaired to Wazerawa, where m}^ aunt and all the relatives of my mother lived. M}^ aunt received me g-ladly, and, having- lost a child of about my ag-e, bade me remain with her and would not hear of my leaving-. After I had been with her for about one year the rest of our family followed to Wazerawa.

At Sang^ar we had owned an orchard near the dwelling- where we lived. It had been my delig-ht to climb into the fruit trees and eat fruit to m}- heart's content. Near my aunt's dwelling-, at Wazerawa, there also was an orchard, but it belong-ed to a neig-hbor. This difference in ownership, however, made very little difference to me, and I tried to continue my orchard practice here also. Of course, I well knew that I deserved punishment for climbing- into a neig-hbor's tree and appropriatingsome of the fruit, consequently I did my tree-climbingafter dark, in the evening-. One dark nig-ht, as I sat in the very top of a fine apple tree, feeling- quite secure from detection, I suddenly heard a voice below me calling-out : "What are you doing- up there?" I replied that I had been late for supper, for which my uncle would whip me. I had, therefore, tried to hide from him. He ordered me to come down, but my pockets were filled with apples from the tree, and so I hesitated, pondering- how to escape the well-deserved punishment.

Finally I told the neig-hbor I would come down if he would promise not to chastise me. He did so; and I came down, delivered up my stolen apples and went home.

My uncle now beg-an to employ me by sending- me out to his vineyard to watch it. I had very g-ood times doin^ this, as I was very liberal. I would stand out in the road and ask people passing- by to come in and help themselves to some g-rapes, and quite often I pressed my request so urg-ently as to almost compel people to come in and eat grapes. Occasionally I would fill a basket with g-rapes and hand out some to every person who happened to pass by. My motive in doing- this was that I considered it an injustice that I alone should have so many fine g-rapes, while so many others had none. The principal reason for my liberality, however, was my sociability. I liked to be in company with other human being-s and hated seclusion. The neig-hbors surroundingmy uncle's vineyard were all Mohammedans with whom I dared not communicate, and I, therefore, soug-ht, by being- liberal, to enjoy the company of, and intercourse with, fellow-being-s such as I myself was.

The vineyard was a very quiet, secluded spot, and I could not even force myself into liking- it. When my mother and the rest of the family moved to Wazerawa, I consequently left my uncle's and joined a number of other young- lads in taking- care of herds of cattle and flocks of sheep.

While being thus occupied one day, a boy, Benyamin Bar Younan by name, a relative to Kasha Sayad, a native preacher, employed by the Presbyterian mission in Persia, met me. He remained with me for some time, repeating- to me stories from the Bible, amongothers the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. When he had left ine I could not help but think over and over ag-ain what I had heard. A few days later we met a second time. I addressed him with this question : "Suppose a man should like to g-o to heaven, what must he do?" He replied : "He must not eat or drink an}^- thing- for three da3-s, but keep on in prayer all this time, and then be good and do g-ood afterwards. "Then," said I, "the people must be very foolish not to prefer to be like Lazarus in this life, when heaven and its blessedness last forever." I then asked where he had found those stories, and what other knowledg-e he had of heaven. He told me it was all written in a book called Bible, which he claimed to be a very holy book, even called it God's book ; but also told me that, if I wished to learn more about these things, I should have to g-o and see his uncle, Kasha Sayad. I followed this advice, for I was eag-er to learn more, and to Kasha Sa3^ad I am g-reatly indebted for what knowledge I received by my early acquaintance with him. Through his influence I was enabled to attend the missionary school, where my hungry and thirsty soul was fed on the precious word ot God. Reading- my Testament, and not being- able to comprehend very much of it at first, I would kneel down and pray to God, and say: "O Lord, if

Thou art God, make Thyself manifest and show me also myself." Then ag-ain at times it seemed almost impossible to me to trust fully in an invisible God.

Upon entering- the mission school I encountered the enmity and hatred of my relatives, who were all dissatisfied with this step; but, by the g-race of God and throug-h the kindness of Kasha Sayad, I was enabled to attend also the high school at Oroomiah City, a Presbyterian institute.

Here I attended until the winter of 1887, when I was requested by Kasha Peria, a native missionary, who had been educated at Hermansburg-, Germany, and received his support from there, to g-o and teach one of his schools at Satlovi. I took charg-e of a school of about twenty-five children, and found the work very interesting-, especially as I visited the children's parents in the evening-s, and, to their g-reat delig-ht, read to them from the Bible. I did not try to g-ive any explanations, but simply read from ten to fifteen consecutive chapters. On Saturdays I went to the neig-hboring- villag-es with my Bible, read from it to the people and conversed with them on the Christian relig-ion and Christ's love to sinners. Returning- from such work towards evening- one Saturday, I met a Mohammedan and passed without saluting- him. He stopped me, and roug-hly inquired why I had not g-reeted him. I told him I had neg-lected the courtesy because I did not know in what lang-uag-e to address him. To explain this, I must inform the reader that not all Mohammedans speak the same lang-uag-e. It is also dang-erous to address Mohammedans, as I had found by the following experience which I had had some time previous : I had met two Mohammedans on my way and saluted them both in a friendly manner. Presently there came a Christian. I stopped immediately and spoke to him. Upon perceiving this the two Mohammedans quickly returned, stopped me, and, one placing- himself on my rig-ht side, the other on the left, each dag-g-er in hand, they said they would immediately kill me if I did not at once return their salutation. I complied with their request so eag-erly that I bowed three times to their once. In this instance the Mohammedan was not satisfied, but insisted that I had failed to g-reet him throug-h disrespect and threatened also to kill me, accompanying- this threat by a drawn dag-g-er, the point of which he pressed to my breast so hard that I even felt the point penetrating my skin. But at that moment we saw a caravan approaching-, whereupon the Mohammedan withdrew his dagg-er and contemptuously said that he had only tried to scare me.

I was so excited that I could not speak for four or five hours, was taken to a village near by and remained there until Monday ; then I returned and continued my work.*

In the summer of 1887 I entered Oroomiah College Mission School, in connection with which there is also an industrial school. At the latter, carpenter's work, shoemaking and hatmaking were taught. I, in connection with my other studies, entered the shoemaking department, and under the direction of Oosta Ayraham learned that trade. After a few weeks, during which Mr. Ayraham had become acquainted with me and m}- circumstances, he took more pains with me than with any other of his pupils, so that in the examination at the end of the term I made a good showing.

The college term ended in July ; this permitted me to devote all my time to my trade in the industrial school. In the fall of 1888, Mr. Ayraham left his position. A Mohammedan took his place. During the

♦This Mohammedan's name was Samat of Baranduz. Before my encounter with him he had alreadj- killed not less than sixty persons. He was about 40 years of age and was later on killed by other robbers.

vacancy the school was left m m}^ charg-e. I had posses^^ sion of the ke3^s, and the whole property was in m}' care. The new teacher g-ave no satisfaction ; he appeared to be dishonest, and was soon discharg-ed. I then ag-ain filled the position until another teacher could be found.

After the closing- of the colleg-e term, I kept the industrial school in operation. I was in charg-e of from ten to fifteen boys, and the work prog-ressed nicely in the interest of the mission. During- this time I was also elected elder in the church at Wazerawa, and while at colleg-e I spent every Sunday at Wazerawa and Dizza, teaching- Sunday school. I was also robbed several times and had several dang-erous encounters with hig-hwaymen, one of which has left me a scar on my rig-ht eye to this day.

In the spring- of 1889, I was sent by the missionaries to teach a school at Ardishai. I had here forty pupils on an average, coming- from about six different villages. The instruction was to be given in four different languages, viz: Persian, Turkish, Chaldean and Syriac. But I must confess I was rather severe in my treatment with the pupils. I generally kept about a half dozen switches in the school-room, and it was not at all uncommon for me to whip children until they bled. I kept all doors and windows closed, to stifle the screams of the poor children while being chastised, but the boys nevertheless managed to make themselves be heard for about two blocks. I thought then that I had to do this, since the parents in place of administering the proper punishment at home, would come and tell me that their children had sinned and entreated me to punish them for it.

One day as I rang the bell, it appeared to me the pupils had made up their minds to have their own way about coming. The rule was that, upon hearing the bell ring, every pupil should drop everything and com^

ISAAC ADAMS, DAVID ADAMS, ABRAHAM ADAMS,

In HighK:lass Costume. In Mohammodaxi Priest In Kurdish Costume.

Costume.

JACOB ADAMS, In Common Persian Costume.

PAUL JOHM. (Pag-e33.*)

rig-ht into the school-room and quietly take his seat. I said nothing-, but waited. When they came in, about fiv^e minutes later, I shut all doors and windows and ordered them to stand side by side with their backs ag^ainst the wall. I then took a switch, rushed around the room and struck them ag-ain and ag-ain across their bare leg's and feet (their shoes and slippers always were left standing- out in the hall). Soon leg's and feet beg^an to bleed, and of course they screamed piteously. But this I would not have. To stop it I struck some of them, who had fallen to the floor, across their backs, and threatened to treat them all in the same manner if they did not immediatel}'^ cease their noise. By this outrag^e I soon had the room quieted, and the pupils were always on time afterwards. This, however, was not the only mode of punishment. Sometimes I would order the tallest bo}^ in the room to take the boy who was to be chastised, on his back, holding- him b}' his hands, and then bend over to keep his feet from the g-round. I would then take my switch and lash the boy across his leg-s and back. Still another severe chastisement is to have the pupil fold his arms tig-htly and then sit down upon the floor. A stick is now passed through under his arms in front of his body, his leg's then are lifted over the stick and he is thus left in a helpless position, so that the teacher may strike him wherever he pleases. Occasionally I was afraid inwardly of some of the boys, as they were older and taller than I was, but somehow I overcame the sensation, and never had any trouble in this direction. I was not the orig-inator or inventor of any of these cruel modes of punishment. I had m^'self learned them by seeing- them practiced, and many times at the hig-hschool I myself had been ordered to hold a boy across my back, being- somewhat taller and stronger than some of the rest.

But now I have a different way of administering* punishment in my schools ; not with a switch, but with love and kindness, and I think I can accomplish more with kind words and acts than with the rod. This is one of the chang-es I have experienced since having- come to America.

Besides teaching- languages, I also gave instruction from the Bible, in arithmetic and geography. I also visited the parents of the pupils, together with the minister of the village, and on Sabbath day I had a large class of ladies in the Sunday school.

I would also pay visits to other villages and preach to them in a very simple manner, only repeating to the people the story of the cross. While engaged in this manner one day, I read in my Bible the 12th chapter of Genesis. This gave me much thought, especially the passage where the Lord said to Abraham, " Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house into a land that I will show thee." My strain of thought on this matter ran in this channel : "If Abraham obeyed this command of the Lord, and I am now worshipping the same Lord as Abraham then was, why should I not follow his example, now readingthe same command?"

I consulted Kasha Say ad, and informed him of my intention to go somewhere where I could prepare for Christian work. His opinion was, that it would not be a wise step for me to take, and bade me go to a missionary and lay the matter before him. I did so, and the missionary gave me many reasons why I should abandon such thoughts ; but I was determined to rather listen to God's promises than man's advices and go, whither he should direct me.

In July, 1889, I left Oroomiah with not more than what amounts to five dollars in the United States, and not knowing where I should finally land. I traveled westward, but it was a long- and tedious journey. As I had no means to hire a horse or mule I was oblig^ed to walk, and for the sake of convenience I often traveled during- the night, it being- then much cooler.

After nineteen da3's of traveling-, I reached the first railway in the Caucasus in Russia. I reached the first railway station at Akistaf a. From here I was g-iven free transportation to Tiflis. There some Christians helped me on to Valadikokas. After having- arrived at this place I tried to work and g-o to school, but after a few weeks they urg-ed me to g-o to Berlin, as they thoug-ht I might there succeed better in both. After seven or eight days travel I reached the boundary line of Russia. Here I bought a ticket to Berlin, while my passport was in the office for examination. Soon I was informed that I could not leave Russia, as my passport was defective. I was imprisoned for three da3's without food or drink, after which time I was ordered to telegraph to St. Petersburg for a permit to leave the country. I did so, and was obliged to pay an exorbitant sum for the dispatch. But no answer came from St. Petersburg. I was now informed that I would be sent to Siberia. It seemed a little hard to me at first, but thinking of the errand upon which I had set out on my journey, I concluded that the Lord wanted me there, if he would allow me to be sent there. I consequently told the officers that I was ready and willing to go. The officers obviously knew not what to make of this, for they stared at me as though they considered me a lunatic. They wished to know wh}' I was so ready and willing to go to such a dismal country as Siberia. I told them that if my Lord and God desired me to go there, I certainly was most willing to go, as I sincerely believed that he was in Siberia as well as in Berlin ; that years ago my father had been sent there without cause, and I might perchance meet him there. When they saw I cared so little whither I went, they even helped me on to Berlin.

Here I was in Berlin, the g-reat German capital, not being- able to speak or even understand a word of the lang-uag-e. But throug-h God's kind providence I encountered a 3^oung- man who was able to speak five or six different lang-uages, namely, Turkish, Syriac, German, etc. He g-rew very friendly to me, took me to his room, provided me with a good place to live, and for several days showed me the sig-hts in the city. He incidentally spoke of me to a friend who became so interested as to express a desire to see me. We consequently took supper at the house of this friend, Mr. L. H. O. Schmidt, west 62 Maasrein Strasse No. 31 Pa. Berlin, one evening-, and by means of an interpreter I made this g-entleman acquainted with my whole history. Mr. Schmidt, perhaps noticing a sad expression which had perchance overspread my countenance, bade me be of good cheer, for the Lord would certainly guide me and. provide for me. To encourage me still more, he asked me to sit between himself and Mrs. Schmidt, as that, he thought, would make me feel more at home with them.

When we arose to take our departure from this hospitable house, Mr. Schmidt requested us to linger a few moments longer, and left the room. A few moments later he re-entered, and handed over to me a sum of money sufficient to go from Berlin to New York, at the same time remarking that he were quite certain, even if I remained in Berlin at present, I would certainly desire to see America in a few years hence, and so in his opinion it would be much better for me and my cause to go there at once. He also handed me a letter to a minister at Hamburg, by which I was introduced, and he requested to receive me and attend for me to all necessary requisites for a passage to New York City.

I left Berlin and reached Hamburg- at about 11 o'clock p. m. Not being' able to explain to anyonfe where I wished to g"o, I set out on a search for the dwelling- of the minister to whom my letter of introduction was addressed. I found the place at last, but the valet insisted upon seeingf my letter before he would allow me to g-o into his house, fearing- probably that I mig-ht be some thief or robber trying- to g-et admission. I, however, refused to have my letter examined, as I mistrusted its beingreturned to me. There was nothing- left for me to do but to g-o back to the depot. Here I found every door locked and all the lig'hts exting-uished, and set out to walk the streets until morning-. But even in this I was disturbed by patrolmen, who would not allow it. At last I found a place where there was a cavity under the sidewalk, next to a basement window. I crept into this hole, and doubling- up as well as I could soon fell asleep. When I awoke I was so stiff and numb, from the chilly air and my inconvenient position, I could scarcely move. I got up and out and ran along- the streets to g-et warm. After finding- that the blood in my body was once more circulating- freely, I returned to my hiding- place and slept until daylig-ht. I now returned to the minister's dwelling-, and he himself answering my rap at the door, I handed him my letter. He was greatly surprised at seeing me and learning who I was, and said that he had been aware of my coming, but had not expected that I would arrive on that train. He kindly ushered me into the house, however, and after having* washed, arranged my toilet and breakfasted, he went with me to the steamer that was to take me to New York City. After procuring tickets we learned that the steamer would not leave until two days later. I remained with the reverend gentleman these two days, he proving very kind and generous to me. Our conversations, however, were very limited, as it had to be carried on entirely by making- use of the natural lang-uag-e — motions, signs, groans, expressions of the face, etc.