^u>e^ww 
 
 REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1907 
 
From left to right — Standing: Miss Lutton, Mr. Van Ess, Mrs. Cantine, Mr. Cantine, Miss Scardefield, 
 Mr. Dykstra, Mrs. Yogel, Mr. Moerdyk. Second row — Sitting: Mr. Barny, Mrs. Barny, Mrs. Thoms, 
 Mrs. Worrall, Dr. Worrall. Foreground— Sitting : Dr. Bennett, Dr. Thoms. 
 
SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ARABIAN MISSION. 
 
 [Being Chapter xxxiii of "Arabia the Cradle of Islam" revised 
 and brought up to date] 
 
 BY 
 
 SAMUEL M. ZWEMER. 
 
 The Arauian Mission, 
 25 east 22d street, new york. 
 
 I907. 
 
"Our ultimate object is to occupy the interior of 
 Arabia."— Plan o£ the Arabian Mission. 
 
 "To such an appeal there can be but one reply. The 
 Dutch Reformed Church when it took up the mission 
 originally commenced on an independent basis as the 
 Arabian Mission, did so with full knowledge of the 
 plans and purposes of its founders, which, as the very 
 title of the mission shows, embraced nothing less than 
 such a comprehensive scheme of evangelization as that 
 above described."- Major-General F. T. Haig. 
 
 "It is not keeping expenses down, but keeping faith 
 and enthusiasm up, that gives a clear balance sheet. 
 Give the Church heroic leadership, place before it high 
 ideals, keep it on the march for larger conquests, and 
 and the financial problem will take care of itself. If 
 the Church sees that we are not going to trust God 
 enough to venture upon any work for Him till we have 
 the money in sight, it will probably adopt the same 
 prudence in making contributions, and our good finan- 
 ciering will be with heavy loss of income." — The 
 Christian Advocate. 
 
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 -J tin BaAbolaiMv Jt 
 
THE ARABIAN MISSION OF THE REFORMED 
 CHURCH IN AMERICA. 
 
 THE ARABIAN MISSION was organized August ist, 
 1899, and its first missionary, Rev. James Cantine, sailed 
 for the field Octol ier 16th of the same year. In order to 
 trace the steps that led to the organization of this first 
 American Mission to Arabia, we must go hack a year 
 earlier. 
 
 In the Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) 
 Church at New Brunswick, New Jersey, the missionary 
 spirit was specially active during the year 1888. This was 
 fostered by members of the faculty who had a warm love 
 for that work, by a missionary lectureship recently in- 
 augurated, by the missionary alumni of the seminary, and 
 by some of the students themselves who brought missions 
 to the front. Among these students were James Cantine 
 and Philip T. Phelps of the senior class, and Samuel M. 
 Zwemer of the middle class, who had individually decided 
 to work abroad, God willing, and who used to meet for 
 prayer and consultation regarding the choice of a field of 
 labor. The first meeting of this hand was held on October 
 31st, 1888, and the topic discussed was, "what constitutes 
 a call to the foreign field?" After that they met almost 
 every week, and gradually the idea took shape of handing 
 themselves together to begin pioneer work in some of the 
 •unoccupied fields. Tibet and Central Africa were men- 
 tioned; hut their thoughts generally seemed to unite on 
 some Arabic-speaking country, especially Nubia or the 
 upper Nile. The Seminary library was ransacked for in- 
 formation on these fields, without definite results. At the 
 end of November the hand decided to consult with their 
 Hebrew and Arabic professor, Rev. J. G. Lansing, D.D., 
 who, being of missionary parentage and full of the mis- 
 sionary passion, warmly welcomed their confidence and 
 from that time became associated with them in their plans. 
 
 In general these students felt that they were called to 
 pioneer work. This conviction remained firm, although 
 
6 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 tempting offers to go to other fields were laid before at 
 least two of them. The little band did more praying than 
 talking at its meetings in one of the rooms at Hertzog 
 Hall, where they often remained until after midnight. 
 Among the seminary students they were known as ''the 
 wheel" (a name adopted by themselves, half in sport, to 
 typify progress and the union of different spokes into one 
 fellow). After some time it was mutually agreed that God 
 called them to pioneer work in some portion of the Mo- 
 hammedan world in or adjacent to Arabia. 
 
 Over against this Divine call there appeared a great 
 human difficulty: the fact that the church to which they 
 belonged and owed allegiance conducted no missions in the 
 Mohammedan world. The Mission Board of that church 
 was already burdened with a debt of $35,030. and therefore 
 it was improbable that they would establish such a work- 
 in addition to their other mission work. In spite of these 
 obstacles, however, "the wheel" decided, February 11, 1899, 
 to make formal application to the Board, and on May 23d 
 the following plan was drawn up and presented to the 
 Board of Foreign Missions, six days later : 
 
 "We, the undersigned, desiring to engage in pioneer mis- 
 sion work in some Arabic-speaking country, and especially 
 in behalf of Moslems and slaves, do at the outset recognize 
 the following facts : 
 
 1. The great need of and encouragement for this work 
 at the present time. 
 
 2. The non-existence of such mission work under super- 
 vision of our Board of Foreign Missions at the present 
 time. 
 
 3. The fact that hitherto little has been done in the 
 channels indicated. 
 
 4. 'I he inability of our Hoard to inaugurate this work 
 under its present status. 
 
 Therefore, that the object desired may be realized, we 
 respectfully submit to the Board, and with their endorse- 
 ment to the church at large, the following propositions : 
 
JAMES CANTINE. J. G. LANSING. S. M. ZWEMER. 
 
 FOUNDERS OV THE ARABIAN MISSION. 
 
8 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 1. The inauguration of this work at as early a time as 
 possible. 
 
 2. The field to be Arabia, the upper Nile or any other 
 field, subject to the statement of the preamble, that shall be 
 deemed most advantageous, after due consideration. 
 
 3. The expenses of said mission to be met (a) by yearly 
 subscriptions in amounts of from live to two hundred dol- 
 lars ; the subscribers of like, amounts to constitute a syndi- 
 cate with such organization as shall be deemed desirable ; 
 (b) by syndicates of such individuals, churches and organi- 
 zations as shall undertake the support of individual mis- 
 sionaries, or contribute to such specific objects as shall be 
 required by the mission. 
 
 4. These syndicates shall be formed and the financial 
 pledges made payable for a term of five years. 
 
 5. At the expiration of this period of five years the mis- 
 sion shall pass under the direct supervision of our Board 
 as in the case of our other missions. Should the Board 
 still be financially unable, syndicates shall be re-formed 
 and pledges re-taken. 
 
 6. In the meantime the mission shall be generally under 
 the care of the Board, as in the case of our other missions, 
 through whose hands its funds shall pass. 
 
 7. The undersigned request the approval of the Board 
 to this undertaking in general, and particularly in the 
 matter of soliciting subscriptions. 
 
 (Signed) J. G. Lansing, 
 Jas. Cantine, 
 P. T. Phelps, 
 S. M. Zwemer." 
 
 This plan was first presented to the Board on June 3d, 
 when it was provisionally accepted to he referred to the 
 General Synod. On June 1 ith. the Synod after a long and 
 ardent discussion, referred the whole matter back to the 
 Hoard, asking them "carefully to consider the whole ques- 
 tion and, should the Hoard see their way clear, that they 
 be authorized to inaugurate the mission proposed." On 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 9 
 
 June 26th the Board met and passed the following reso- 
 lution : 
 
 "Resolved, That, while the Board is greatly interested in 
 the proposition to engage in mission work among the 
 Arahic-speaking peoples, the work in which the Board is 
 already engaged is so great and so constantly growing, and 
 the financial condition of the Board is such (its debt at 
 that time being $35,000), that the Board feels constrained 
 to decline to assume any responsibility in the matter. 
 
 "If, however, during the next four months, such a degree 
 of interest in Foreign Missions should be developed in the 
 churches as to reduce the amount to which the treasury is 
 now overdrawn to a small fraction, then the Board would 
 feel inclined to favor that important enterprise." 
 
 Meanwhile the plan had been fully discussed in the 
 church papers, and although there were, warm friends of 
 the enterprise who earnestly plead by pen and purse for 
 its inauguration, the current generally ran dead against 
 the proposal, and much cold water was thrown on the 
 enterprise. 
 
 How those felt who were most concerned in the decision 
 was expressed by Professor Lansing, on their behalf, in 
 the following words : "The writer and the individuals 
 named are deeply grateful to General Synod for its hearty 
 reception and advocacy of the proposed mission. And, on 
 the other hand, they not only have no word of complaint 
 to utter in regard to the action of the Board, but arc 
 grateful to the Board for the careful consideration they 
 have given the matter, and deeply sympathize with 
 them in the sorrow which they and all must feel in 
 connection with the adverse action taken. But this does 
 not discharge the responsibility. A responsibility Divinely 
 imposed is not discharged by any admission of existing 
 human difficulty. . . . When God calls we must obey, 
 not object. And also when God calls to some specific 
 work, then 1 le must have some way by which that specific 
 work can be done." 
 
 After much thought and prayer a plan was adopted for 
 
IO 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 conducting this work. The motto of the new mission ap- 
 peared at the head : "Oh that Ishmael might live before 
 Thee." And in the preamble, similar to the original plan, 
 there are the following sections : 
 
 "i. This missionary movement shall be known as The 
 Arabian Mission. 
 
 2. 1 he field, so far as at present it is possible to be 
 determined, shall be Arabia and the adjacent coast of 
 Africa. 
 
 3. Selected by and associated with the undersigned shall 
 be a Committee of Advice, composed of four contributors, 
 to assist in advancing the interests of this mission. 
 
 4. In view of the fact that this mission is of necessity 
 undenominational in its personnel and working, contribu- 
 tions are solicited from any and all to whom this may 
 come without reference to denominational adherence. 
 
 5. The amount required to carry on the work of this 
 mission will be the sum necessary to meet the equipment 
 and working expenses of the individuals approved of and 
 sent to engage in the work of this mission. No debt shall 
 be incurred and no salaries be paid to other than mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 6. It is desired that the amount subscribed shall not 
 interfere with the individual's regular denominational con- 
 tributions to foreign missions. . . . 
 
 7. Of the undersigned, the first party shall be Treasurer, 
 and have general oversight of the interests of the mission 
 at home, and as such shall render an annual statement, 
 while the missionaries in the field shall have the direction 
 of those interests abroad. 
 
 8. It is understood that this plan is, with the consent of 
 contributors, subject to such change as may be necessary 
 or advisable. . . ." 
 
 The rough draft of this plan was drawn up at Pine Hill 
 Cottage, in the Catskills, on August 1st. A few days later, 
 while "the wheel" was at the old Cantine homestead, Stone 
 Ridge, New York, Dr. Lansing composed the Arabian 
 Mission hymn, which will always be an inspiration to those 
 
The Arabian Mission. h 
 
 a icco,c( &ulc{ Quiex. Oxc^tU^T 
 
 i^i/YVH^CpA ll/iXUi. fklloy QcuJfo Jdflt&GfiU.tu 
 
 cfe nCi ^v-i^L fry Ifu**. . 
 &o Jltt koA* <rf S (Ulceus ^ctoOwc^ 
 
 T^v^vcjll lid (W QMWualfci Ujit 
 
 'PftcuAc H+i fan. bfcuU . 
 
 THE ARABIAN MISSIONARY HYMN. 
 
 Facsimile of the original copy composed by Prof. J. G. Lansing in 1889, 
 
 at Stone Ridge, N. Y. 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 who love Arabia; but it will never be sung with a deeper 
 feeling than it was for the first time, in an upper room, 
 by three voices. 
 
 When the plan was published, the Rubicon was crossed, 
 although not without the loss of one name from among 
 the signers. Contributions began to come in, the Com- 
 mittee of Advice was selected, and the mission was incor- 
 porated under the laws of the State of New Jersey. Among 
 other tokens of favor the mission received at this juncture 
 a legacy from Catherine Crane Halstead of nearly five 
 thousand dollars — the largest gift, and the only legacy re- 
 ceived by the Arabian Mission in its first decade. This 
 unexpected and providential donation was encouraging 
 and enabled the mission to begin work immediately. 
 
 On October ist James Cantine was ordained by the 
 Classis of Kingston in the Fair Street Reformed Church. 
 The local press reported the sermon by Dr. Lansing, from 
 Genesis xvii., 18-20, as being "a most learned and eloquent 
 analysis of the promises of God to Abraham in behalf of 
 Ishmael, a tracing through history of the fulfillment of 
 such promises and an earnest plea for missionary effort 
 among the followers of Mohammed." Mr. Cantine sailed 
 for Syria on October 16th, stopping at Edinburgh to con- 
 sult with the Free Church of Scotland Committee regard- 
 ing co-operation with their mission at Aden. The proposi- 
 tion was cordially welcomed but was not acted upon, since 
 at Sheikh Othman, after consultation with the missionaries 
 there, it was mutually agreed that more would probably 
 be accomplished if the missions worked separately. The 
 second number of the band to leave for the field, Rev. S. 
 M. Zwemer, was ordained by the Classis of Iowa, at 
 Orange City, and sailed, the day after a farewell meeting 
 held at Newark, on June 28, 1890. 
 
 The two pioneers left Syria for Cairo at the end of 
 November to meet Professor Lansing, who was in Egypt 
 for his health. On December 18th Cantine left by direct 
 steamer for Aden, and on January 8th, 1891, the writer 
 followed in an Egyptian coasting steamer, desiring to call 
 
The Arabian Mission. 13 
 
 at Jiddah and Hodeidah, and to meet General Haig, who 
 was then at Suakin in charge of rescue work for orphans 
 after the war. My journey down the Red Sea was made 
 in company with the aged Bishop French, though neither 
 of us ever heard of the other before we met on the train 
 to take the same ship at Suez. We then learned for the 
 first time that both were bound for the same point with 
 the same object, to preach Christ to the Arabs. 
 
 From Aden the two American missionaries made it their 
 first task to explore the points suggested by General Haig 
 for missionary occupation. One, Mr. Cantine, journeyed 
 northward to the country of the Sultan of Lahej, while 
 the other sailed along the southern coast in company with 
 Kamil, the Syrian convert from Islam. This earnest 
 young disciple had become acquainted with Cantine in 
 Syria, and early expressed a desire to join in the work for 
 Arabia. He loved the Scriptures and never shrank from 
 obstacles which stood in the way of faith or service. His 
 biography, by Dr. H. H. Jessup, shows what he surrendered 
 for Christ ; only the day of days will show how much he 
 accomplished for Arabia. On May 26th, 189 1, Cantine 
 sailed to visit Muscat and the Persian Gulf, with the under- 
 standing that his co-laborer should meanwhile attempt the 
 journey to Sana and study the possible openings for work 
 in Yemen. The news of Bishop French's death had already 
 reached Aden. Cantine tarried at Muscat a fortnight, after 
 which he visited Bahrein and other ports of the Gulf, 
 going on finally to Busrah and Bagdad. The importance 
 of Busrah as a mission center was evident. In population, 
 accessibility and strategic location, it was superior to other 
 places in Eastern Arabia. Here seemed to be the place to 
 drive the opening wedge. 
 
 Meanwhile a twenty-days journey to Sana and the vil- 
 lages of Yemen on the Hodeidah route, had shown the 
 importance of Sana as a center of operations, as is shown 
 from the following written at that time : "It has advantages 
 of large population, central location, importance of position 
 and healthfulness of climate. Mail comes weekly and a 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 telegraph connects with the outside world. Its disadvan- 
 tages are, a Turkish government and the consequent diffi- 
 culties to open an aggressive work. Like the road from 
 Hodeidah to Sana, it will be uphill work, through moun- 
 tains and strong places, but in both cases you reach Arabia 
 Felix. - ' On meeting Mr. Cantine at Busrah, however, the 
 arguments for Yemen were set aside, and it was agreed 
 that it was best to make Busrah the first headquarters. 
 It was never thought at the time that Yemen's highlands 
 would after sixteen years, still be without a missionary. 
 
 Dr. M. Eustace was then at Busrah, doing dispensary 
 work for the poor and acting as physician to the European 
 community. lie welcomed the missionaries and worked 
 with them heartily until he was transferred to the Church 
 .Missionary Society hospital at Quetta. His departure em- 
 phasized the power of a medical missionary among Mos- 
 lems, and the missionaries made a strong plea for a phys- 
 ician to join them. In January, [892, the Board of Trustees 
 sent out Dr. C. E. Riggs, a man with testimonials of his 
 standing as a physician and a member of an Evangelical 
 church, but who, shortly after reaching the lield, avowed 
 his disbelief in the deity of Christ. His commission was 
 revoked, and he soon returned to America. After several 
 strange adventures this singular, yet lovable, man reached 
 Chicago, was converted under the preaching of Moody at 
 the World's Fair, and died at his home in Xew Orleans 
 about a year later. It was a long way to the Father's 
 house, but proves the power of prayer, and that God never 
 forgets His own. 
 
 On June 24th of the same year faithful Kamil, rightly 
 named Abd El Messiah (servant of Christ), was called to 
 bis reward. His illness was so sudden and the circum- 
 stances that attended his death so suspicious that we can- 
 not but believe that be died a martyr by poison. He was 
 at that time the strongest man of the mission in controversy 
 with Moslems, and a most lovable character, so that the 
 report of the year truthfully states, "our loss in his death 
 is unmeasured." 
 
The Arabian Mission. 15 
 
 1 hese two successive blows were very serious and now 
 two other losses followed. Yakoob, another Moslem con- 
 vert, who had been in mission employ, and whose wife re- 
 ceived baptism at Busrah, was arrested and prevented from 
 returning to our field. Also one of the two efficient col- 
 porteurs employed by the mission, left to seek his fortune 
 in America. The continued illness of Dr. Lansing in the 
 home land and a decrease in contributions likewise cast 
 a shadow on- the work. But faith grew stronger by trial. 
 In the quarterly letter, near the close of the year, we read : 
 "'I he experience of the missionaries ever since arriving at 
 Aden, their tours along the coast and inland, the oppor- 
 tunities for work along the Euphrates, the Tigris and the 
 Gulf, and the deep consciousness that our mission is called 
 of God to carry the Gospel into the interior of Arabia — 
 all prompt us to make a special plea at this time for addi- 
 tional workers. There are several points near Busrah 
 where permanent work should be inaugurated without de- 
 lay, and places like Bahrein, Muscat or Sana are equally, 
 perhaps more, open to the Gospel than Busrah itself. . 
 . . If the Arabian Mission is to be true to its name 
 and purpose, it must occupy Arabia." This was followed 
 by an appeal for five new men and the request that, should 
 means be lacking to send them out, salaries be reduced, 
 "confident that the best way to increase contributions is 
 by extending our work and trusting that God will pro- 
 vide for the future." 
 
 The mission was at this time passing through a period 
 of determined opposition and open hostility on the part of 
 the Turkish local government. Colporteurs were arrested ; 
 the Bible shop sealed up ; books confiscated ; and a guard 
 placed at the door of the house occupied by the mission- 
 aries. A petition was sent to the Sublime Porte to expel 
 the mission. But the opposition was short-lived and the 
 petition never accomplished its purpose. In December Rev. 
 Peter J. Zwemer joined the mission and immediately began 
 the study of the language at Busrah. A contract was 
 made to occupy a new mission house in a desirable loca- 
 
1 6 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 tion. The difficulties in the way of securing a residence 
 were at first very great, and frequent change of abode 
 was detrimental to the work. Arrangements were like- 
 wise made during the year to carry on all the Bible work 
 for the British and Foreign Bible Society in the region 
 occupied by the mission. 
 
 The chief event of the next year was the occupation of 
 Bahrein as a second station. Although the first attempt 
 to open a Bible shop and to secure a residence on the 
 islands was fraught with exceeding difficulty and much 
 opposition, the attempt was successful, and at the close 
 of the first year over two hundred portions of Scripture 
 had been sold. A journey was made into the province of 
 Hasa and the eastern threshold of Arabia was thus crossed 
 for the first time by a missionary. At Busrah the evangel- 
 istic work and Bible circulation made progress, but medi- 
 cal work was at a standstill. Cholera visited both stations 
 and greatly interfered with the work ; many people fled 
 from Busrah, and at Bahrein the total number of deaths 
 was over live thousand. Peter Zwemer kept lonely watch 
 on the islands at that time and could not get away, as no 
 ship would take passengers. 
 
 Early in 1894 the good news came that Dr. James T. 
 Wyckoff had been appointed to join the mission. Sailing 
 on January 6th, and going via Constantinople to secure 
 his Turkish diploma, he arrived at Busrah in March. But 
 the joy of welcoming a medical missionary was short- 
 lived, for after a brief stay at Busrah he went to Bahrein, 
 where a severe attack of chronic dysentery soon compelled 
 him to return to Busrah and subsequently to America. 
 Thus the mission lost its third medical missionary, and 
 his successor did not come put until the following year. 
 
 Muscat was visited by Peter Zwemer as early as Decem- 
 ber, 1893, and his reports of this port as a prospective 
 center for work in Oman were so encouraging after sev- 
 eral exploration journeys, that it was decided to allow him 
 to occupy the station. 
 
 During the summer of 1894, the writer, at the request 
 
MISSION HOUSE AT MUSCAT. 
 
18 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 and expense of the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, made a 
 journey to Sana, to distribute Hebrew New Testaments. 
 It was also hoped that it would he possible for him to 
 cross from Sana to Bahrein, by way of Wady Dauasir. 
 But the theft of all his money even before reaching Sana 
 and his arrest by the Turks, prevented the attempt. 
 
 After many trials and difficulties in the administration 
 of the mission at. home, negotiations were concluded in 
 June, 1894, by which it was transferred to the management 
 and care of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed 
 Church. The distinct existence of the corporation is still 
 preserved, but all the trustees are chosen from among the 
 members of the Foreign Mission Board. No other de- 
 partures from former methods were made, save that the 
 administration was now in experienced hands and at less 
 expense than formerly. The change was cordially accepted 
 by nearly all the missionaries and the contributors ; now 
 no one questions its wisdom and benefit. 
 
 The year 1895 was another trying year to the mission, 
 but there were also blessings. The departure of Rev. 
 James Cantine to America on furlough, after nearly seven 
 years in Arabia, necessitated the transfer of S. M. Zvvemer 
 to Busrah, and so left Bahrein practically uncared for. 
 The missionaries and native helpers suffered more than 
 usual from the enervating climate, and touring from both 
 Muscat and Bahrein was made impossible for a large part 
 of the year by tribal wars and troubles. In February the 
 Bedouins attacked Muscat and captured the town; the 
 place was given over to pillage and over two hundred 
 lives were lost ; the mission' house and shop were looted, 
 and Peter Zwemer took refuge at the British consulate. 
 At Bahrein a similar trouble threatened for months and 
 terror reigned, but the disturbance never reached the 
 islands, and the unruly Arabs were punished by English 
 gunboats. At Busrah the Bible work was stopped by the 
 Turkish authorities; the shop closed and colporteurs ar- 
 rested. The arrival of Dr. H. R. Lankford Worrall at 
 Busrah, on April 21st, with a Turkish diploma, once more 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 gave the mission the golden key to the hearts of the 
 people. . Dr. Worrall has used it faithfully ever since, al- 
 though his severe illness the first summer almost made 
 the mission despair of the health of doctors. 
 
 Mr. Cantine visited the churches in America in 1895-96 
 and greatly stimulated the interest, prayer and offerings, 
 although no new missionaries were found willing and 
 suitable for the field. 
 
 At the end of the year Amara was opened as an out- 
 station in the midst of much opposition but greater bless- 
 ing. Even during the first year earnest inquirers in this 
 fanatical river village gladdened the hearts of the workers. 
 
 Work for the women of Eastern Arabia was begun in 
 1896 by Amy Elizabeth Wilkes Zwemer, who left the 
 Church Mission Society mission at Bagdad to be married 
 to Rev. S. M. Zwemer. Eirst at Busrah, then at Bahrein 
 and Kateef she inaugurated the work which only a woman 
 can do in Moslem lands. Extensive tours were made by 
 the colporteurs and by Rev. Peter J. Zwemer. The entire 
 region north of Muscat as far as Someil and Rastak, even 
 to Jebel Achdar, was penetrated by the missionary and 
 colporteurs. One of the latter visited the so-called "pirate 
 coast" south of Katar and sold over a hundred portions 
 of Scripture. The following table shows the increase of 
 Scripture sales by the mission at all of its stations during 
 the past fifteen years. More than live-sixths of these 
 copies were sold to Moslems : 
 
 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 
 620 825 1,760 2,313 2,805 1,779 2,010 2,464 3,844 
 
 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 
 4,181 4-059 4.013 378r 4,003 4,950 
 At Busrah first fruits were gathered after years of sow- 
 ing in 1895 in two remarkable cases. A soldier at Amara 
 accepted Christ and came to Busrah for instruction; this 
 man has since "suffered the loss of all things" and "wit- 
 nessed a good confession" wherever he has been dragged 
 as an exile or driven as an apostate. Another convert 
 
20 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 was a middle-aged Persian who was deeply convicted of 
 sin by reading a copy of Luke's Gospel in the dispensary 
 at Busrah. He was a consumptive, and after finding peace 
 in Christ, left Busrah for Shiraz. 
 
 In the autumn Air. Cantine returned to the field, hut the 
 following February Air. and Airs. S. AI. Zwemer departed 
 on furlough, so that with no reinforcements, the mission- 
 staff remained insufficient. The work at Bahrein not only 
 stood still, hut, because of the unfaithfulness of a native 
 helper, retrograded. Muscat was, on the contrary, increas- 
 ing in importance. A school was opened by Mr. P. J. 
 Zwemer, when eighteen helpless African boys, rescued 
 from a slave-dhow, were handed over to his care. The 
 little hand press in the mission house sent forth its first 
 message ; a tract comparing Christ and Afohammed, which 
 stirred thought as well as opposition. It was the first 
 Christian writing ever printed in Arabia, and its simple 
 message is prophetic : "Mohammed or Christ, on whom do 
 you rely ?" 
 
 At Busrah the medical work drew many within hearing 
 of the Gospel, and Dr. Worrall was able to open work at 
 Nasariyeh. At Amara the seed once more fell on good 
 soil, and a small band of inquirers came together for 
 prayer, but the harvest was not yet. 
 
 At the close of 1897, Rev. F. J. Barny, supported by 
 the young people of the Alarble Collegiate Church, Xew 
 York City, came to the field, and began language study. 
 
 The year 1898 was marked by a great loss in the ranks. 
 Rev. Peter J. Zwemer, after having gone to America, was 
 called to his reward. The same year four new mission- 
 aries were sent out into the harvest field to sow the seed 
 of the Kingdom. Two of them, Miss Margaret Rice (now 
 Mrs. Barny) and Rev. George E. Stone, sailed with Mr. 
 and Airs. S. M. Zwemer on their return in August. The 
 other two, Dr. Sharon J. Thorns and Dr. Marion Wells 
 Thorns, of the University of Michigan, came to the field 
 in December, 1898. On October 1st of the following year 
 the mission celebrated its Tenth Anniversary, and the 
 
9Ti i f i* ii i 
 
 MASON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. 
 
 CHAPEL AND SCHOOL. 
 
22 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 report for that year says it was "the best one in results ; 
 more tours have been made, notwithstanding many diffi- 
 culties ; more Scriptures sold and more patients treated 
 than in any previous year. Our joy for all these signs 
 of progress is only lessened by the memory of the loss of 
 one of our number."' On June 26th, Rev. George E. 
 Stone died of heat apoplexy at Birka, a few miles east of 
 Muscat. The loss of this promising worker was partly 
 made up by the arrival of Rev. Harry J. Wiersum, in 
 January, 1900, to take his place. At Bahrein the mission 
 won a signal victory that year in securing a long lease on 
 a new mission house. The issue was fairly stated by the 
 Moslem priesthood ; they would permit no one to rent or 
 sell house or land and so force the mission to withdraw. 
 After months of anxiety an offer came in answer to 
 prayer, from an unexpected quarter, to the great joy of 
 the workers. 
 
 In October, 1900, Rev. James E. Moerdyk sailed for 
 Arabia, and the same month Miss Emma H. Hodge, M.D., 
 for five years a missionary under the Methodist Church 
 in India, became Mrs. Worrall, and joined our mission. 
 
 At Bahrein the gift of $6,000 for the erection of the 
 Mason Memorial Hospital marked a forward movement 
 in the medical work carried on so efficiently by Dr. and 
 Mrs. Thorns. For the third time the mission was bereft 
 of one of its band of workers when Rev. Harry J. Wier- 
 sum was taken away by death on August 3d, 1901. He 
 was stricken down with fever and smallpox while on a 
 tour to the north of Busrah. The appeal of his heroic 
 life and death was at once responded to. Rev. John Van 
 Ess offered to take his place, and left the same year for 
 the field. Miss Elizabeth G. Dc Pree, now Mrs. Cantine, 
 also joined the mission. The corner-stone of the new 
 hospital at Bahrein was laid with appropriate services on 
 March 19th, 1902. The same year a total of 23,403 
 patients were treated at Busrah and Bahrein by the medi- 
 cal missionaries. It is no wonder that a note of gladness 
 and of hope, mingled with strong desire for larger things, 
 
The Arabian Mission. 23 
 
 characterizes the report of the mission for that year. 
 About this time an earnest effort was made to ' occupy 
 Kuweit as an out-station. For a time it seemed the mis- 
 sion had gained new foothold at a strategic point, but a 
 series of untoward circumstances led to the expulsion of 
 our colporteurs, and the door seems to be closed at the 
 present (1906). 
 
 In 1900 Mrs. S. M. Zwemer had opened a girls' school 
 at Bahrein and in 1902 the boys' class also became a 
 school, although both of these "Acorn Schools" were 
 cramped for room in the over-crowded mission house. 
 Miss Jennie A. Scardefield was appointed to Arabia and 
 reached Bahrein on October 25th, 1903. Dr. Lucy M. Pat- 
 terson came the following year to take charge of the hos- 
 pital at Bahrein in the absence of Dr. and Mrs. Thorns 
 on furlough. She witbdrew from the mission in 1905. 
 
 Miss Fannie Lutton, from Australia, was appointed a 
 missionary, and the following year Dr. and Mrs. Arthur 
 K. Bennett also sailed for the field, the former going by 
 way of Constantinople, to secure a Turkish diploma, while 
 Mrs. Bennett accompanied the deputation from the Board 
 of Foreign Missions in America on their visit to our field. 
 This visit, emphasizing as it did, through the Board to 
 the churches, the need of better equipment, especially at 
 Bahrein, inaugurated a building era for that station. By 
 the liberal response of many friends in America to the 
 appeals made through Mr. Zwemer while on his second 
 furlough, money was secured for a chapel and school and 
 also for a new mission house. Rev. James E. Moerdyk 
 had the unenviable task of being architect and builder in 
 a land where primitive conditions and perverse human 
 nature vie in making such work arduous. 
 
 During all these recent years, every department of the 
 work at each of the stations has grown and first fruits 
 have been gathered in baptisms. Two more missionaries, 
 however, laid down their lives for Arabia during less 
 than a year, and left a fragrant memory of devoted ser- 
 vice and sacrifice. On April 25th, 1905, Mrs. Marion 
 
NATIVE CHURCH AT BAHREIN. 
 
The Arabian Mission. 25 
 
 Wells Thorns, M.D., died of typhoid fever at Bahrein. 
 The next year Mrs. Jessie Vail Bennett was seized by 
 the same disease and passed away on January 21st. 
 
 Including two children of Mr. and Mrs. Zwemer, seven 
 precious lives have thus been given for the evangelization 
 of East Arabia. A memorial tribute to them is appended 
 to this sketch. 
 
 Since 1905 Mrs. Martha C. Vogel, a trained nurse, Miss 
 May De Pree (now Mrs. Thorns), Dr. and Mrs. C. Stan- 
 ley G. Mylrea, and Mr. Dirk Dykstra have gone out to 
 the field, and Miss Minnie Wilterdink is under appoint- 
 ment. 
 
3ltt Amortam. 
 
 PETER J i ZWEMER. 
 
 A skillful and loving 
 hand has laid a wreath of 
 immortelles on the un- 
 known grave of Kamil; his 
 biography*' will live. We 
 briefly record our love and 
 admiration for the others 
 of the Arabian Mission, 
 who "loved not their lives 
 
 yunto death," but "hazarded 
 their lives Tor the name. of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 . Peter John Zwemer was 
 born in South Holland, 
 Illinois, near Chicago, 
 on September 2d, 1868. 
 His childhood was 
 spent in a loving Christian home surrounded by gracious 
 influences and the prayers of godly parents. In 1880 he 
 entered the preparatory department of Hope College, Hol- 
 land, Michigan, and was finally graduated from the college 
 in 1888. He was the only one of his class to choose the 
 foreign field, and for it he sought special preparation after 
 graduation, by work as Bible colporteur in Western Penn- 
 sylvania and New York, and a year of teaching in Iowa. 
 In 1892 he was graduated from the New Brunswick Theo- 
 logical Seminary, and on September 14th of the same year, 
 was ordained at Grand Rapids, Michigan, and sailed for 
 Arabia on October 19th. From the day of his arrival on 
 the field to the day of his death, his first thought was 
 Gospel work for the Arabs. He was of a practical turn 
 of mind, and had no visionary ideas nor desire for mar- 
 tyrdom, but a sturdy, steady purpose to make his life tell. 
 
 * The Setting of the Crescent and the Rising of the Cross : 
 Kamil Abd ol Messln, by Rev. H. II , Jessup, D.D. 
 
The Arabian Mission. 27 
 
 He was eager to meet men, keen to grasp opportunities, a 
 cosmopolitan in spirit always and everywhere. A student 
 of character rather than of hooks, he preferred to make 
 two difficult journeys than report on one. He loved to 
 teach and knew how to do it. Sympathy for the weak 
 and suffering, and a hatred for all shams, were prominent 
 traits. He endeared himself even to those from whom he 
 differed in opinion or conduct by his whole-hearted sin- 
 cerity and earnest advocacy of his views. Arabia was to 
 him a school of faith; his Christian character ripened into 
 full fruitage through much suffering. Mr. Cantine wrote 
 of him : 
 
 "Our personal relations were perhaps more intimate than 
 those usually known by the missionaries of our scattered 
 stations. I was at Busrah to welcome him when, in 1892, 
 he responded to our first call for volunteers, and was also 
 the one to say good-bye a few months ago, as he left 
 behind him the rocks and hills of Muscat and Oman, among 
 which the precious cruse of his strength had been broken 
 for the Master's service. His course was more trying 
 than that of the others of our company, as he came among 
 us when the impulse and enthusiasm which attach to the 
 opening of a new work were beginning to fail, and before 
 our experience had enabled us to lessen some of the trials 
 and discomforts of a pioneer effort. A thorough Ameri- 
 can, appreciating and treasuring the memory of the civili- 
 zation left behind, he yet readily adapted himself to the 
 conditions here found. Of a sensitive nature, he keenly 
 felt any roughness from friend or foe, but 1 never knew 
 him on that account to show any bitterness or to shirk the 
 performance of any recognized duty. 
 
 "Of those qualities which make for success in our field, 
 he had not a few. llis social instincts led him at once to 
 make friends among the Arabs, and while his vocabulary 
 was still very limited, lie would spend hours in the coffee- 
 shops and in the gathering-places of the town. His ex- 
 ceptional musical talents also attracted and made for him 
 many acquaintances among those he was seeking to reach, 
 
'Ihe Arabian Mission. 
 
 besides proving a constant pleasure to his associates and 
 a most important aid in all our public services. And 
 many a difficulty was surmounted by his hopefulness and 
 buoyancy of disposition, which even pain and sickness 
 could not destroy." 
 
 His short time of service in Arabia was longer than 
 that of either Keith Falconer or Bishop French, and al- 
 though their lives have perhaps exerted a much wider in- 
 fluence, his lias left larger fruitage on Arabian soil. Of 
 his sickness and death, the Rev. H. N. Cobb, D.D., Secre- 
 tary of tlie mission, wrote: 
 
 "When the station at Muscat was opened in 1893 it was 
 assigned to him. From that time until May of the present 
 year Muscat was his home. There he remained alone 
 most of the time. Frequent attacks of fever prostrated 
 him, unsanitary and unpleasant conditions surrounded him, 
 the heat, constant and intense, often overwhelmed him; 
 still he clung heroically to his post, uttering no word of 
 complaint, and quitting it only when mission business made 
 it necessary, or tours were- to be undertaken along the 
 coast or in the interior, or when prolonged attacks of 
 fever and the preservation of life made a limited absence 
 imperative. When one considers all that he endured, the 
 wonder is not that he died, but that he lived as long as 
 he did. Xo higher heroism fought, suffered and at last 
 succumbed at Santiago. He had become so much reduced 
 by repeated attacks of fever and rheumatism that it was 
 thought wise last year that he should leave Arabia and 
 come home. His desire was to remain until next year, 
 1899, but in the early part of this year it became evident 
 that he must not remain. When in the latter part of May 
 he left Arabia, his weakness was so great that he was 
 carried on board the steamer. On the homeward way, 
 though writing back cheerfully concerning his improve- 
 ment to those whom he had left behind, he grew gradually 
 worse, and when he arrived in this country on the evening 
 of July I2th, was taken immediately to the Presbyterian 
 Hospital, through the kind assistance of a student for 
 
The Arabiav Mission. 29 
 
 orders in the Roman Catholic Church. Those who have 
 visited him there, and they have been many, have been 
 struck by his cheerfulness, his hopeful courage, his anxious 
 desire to recover, that he might soon return to his field 
 and work, and vet his willing submission to his Father's 
 will." 
 
 He clung to life with a grip of steel and laughed at the 
 idea the doctors had of his approaching death, because he 
 could not believe that his work was done. "I have done 
 nothing yet, and when I go back this time I will be r.eady 
 to begin work," were his words. Yet he had no fear of 
 death. His eye never turned away from Arabia ; he longed 
 to plant the plough once more in the stony soil of Oman 
 and to teach the most ignorant the way of life. From his 
 dying bed he sent the committee a report regarding 
 changes necessary in the house at Muscat. His hand, al- 
 most too weak to hold a pen, wrote on October 7th : "Dear 
 Father — I am slowly but surely improving and may be 
 home soon. Now the Board has authorized me to com- 
 plete the building fund. I have just secured $100 for a 
 Muscat touring boat. Dr. and Mrs. Thorns sailed this 
 morning for Arabia, laus Dko ! I felt sorry I could not 
 divide myself and go with them . . . patiently longing 
 I wait His time." 
 
 Even later than this, when he could no longer write, he 
 dictated letters regarding the work at home and in the 
 held. On the evening of Tuesday, October 18th, 1898, six 
 weeks after his thirtieth birthday, he quietly fell asleep. 
 "His time" had come. After a brief service, the body was 
 taken by loving hands to Holland, Michigan, and laid to 
 rest in the sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrec- 
 tion. But his heart was in Arabia, and his memory will 
 remain longest where he suffered most and where his 
 fellowship was so blessed. 
 
 "O blest communion ! fellowship divine 
 We feebly struggle, they in glory shine 
 Yet all are one in Thee for all are Thine. 
 
 Hallelujah ! 
 
3° 
 
 The Arabian Mission'. 
 
 "And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long — 
 Steals on the car the distant triumph song 
 And hearts arc brave again and arms are strong. 
 
 Hallelujah!" 
 
 GEORGE E. STONE. 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 On the twenty-sixth 
 of June, 1899, George 
 K. Stone died of heat 
 apoplexy at the coa-t 
 town of Birka, a few 
 miles east of Muscat. On 
 Thursday, the twenty- 
 second of that month, 
 in company with a col- 
 porteur, he left Muscat, 
 for a few days' change. 
 Me was in fairly good 
 health, although suffer- 
 • ■■?- «»»*> '••'MBF ■si ' n g from boils. Mon- 
 
 . dav morning In- had a 
 little fever ; in the after- 
 noon it came again and 
 in a few hours he had 
 gone. Mis body was 
 taken to Muscat by 
 the colporteur and there buried near the grave of Bishop 
 French, whose death was from the same cause. 
 
 Rev. George E. Stone was born on September 2d, 1870, 
 at Mexico, Oswego County, New York. He was graduated 
 from Hamilton College in 1895, and from the Auburn 
 Theological Seminary in 1898. Toward the close of his 
 studies his thoughts were drawn to the foreign field and 
 he became a "student volunteer." The reason for his de- 
 cision was characteristic of the man. As he himself ex- 
 pressed it in his inimitable five-minute speech at the Gen- 
 eral Synod : "1 tried in every possible way to avoid going 
 
 T 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 3 1 
 
 to the foreign field, but I had no peace. I go from a 
 sense of obedience." He first heard of the special needs 
 of Arabia through a former classmate who represented 
 Union Seminary at the New Brunswick Inter-Seminary 
 Conference in November, 1897. Shortly after he wrote for 
 information about the field, and without further hesitancy 
 lie applied and was accepted. Ordained by the Presbytery 
 of Cayuga at Syracuse, he sailed with the mission party 
 in August, 1898. 
 
 George Stone was a man of much promise; altogether 
 a character of one piece, without seam or rent. Sturdy, 
 manly, straightforward, humble and honest to the core. 
 He was entirely unconventional, and did not know what 
 it was to try to make a good impression. He was simply 
 natural. With native tact and Yankee wit was joined a 
 keen sense of duty and a willingness to plod. Confessing 
 that he was never intended for a linguist he yet, by sheer 
 application, made remarkably rapid progress in Arabic. He 
 made friends readily, and was faithful to sow beside all 
 waters. No one could travel with him and not know that 
 he was a fisher of men ; yet he was never obtrusive in 
 his method. He had a splendid constitution, and looked 
 forward to a long life in Arabia, but God willed otherwise. 
 
 lie was at Bahrein from October 9th until February 
 ,14th, when he left for Muscat to take the place of Rev. F. 
 J. Barny, who had been ill with typhoid and was going 
 on sick-leave to India. He was the only person available 
 at the time, although it was not a pleasant task for a 
 novice to be suddenly called to take care of a station of 
 which he knew little more than the name. Without a 
 word of demur lie left Bahrein at three hours' notice and 
 sailed for Muscat. There be remained alone, but faithful 
 unto death, until June, when Rev. James Cantine arrived 
 to take charge of the work. His letters were always 
 cheerful; he seemed to grasp the situation, and with all 
 its difficulties to see light above the clouds. The follow- 
 ing sentences from a few of his letters show what sort of 
 man he was. They were written in ordinary correspond- 
 
32 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 ence and with no idea that the words would ever be 
 treasured : 
 
 "I was pretty eertain that I should be sent to Muscat 
 later on, but had no idea of going so soon. However, it 
 is all right. Anything that has been prayed over as much 
 as your decisions at Busrah, must have been directed of 
 God, and I have been under His orders for some time. 
 . . . I have had two or three fevers, but they are small 
 affairs, sick one day and well the next. No further news. 
 I can only add my thankfulness to God for the way He 
 has led me through the last two months and for giving 
 me a show from the beginning in actual mission work. 
 . . . Many thanks for the report. I can learn a great 
 deal from it to help out my ignorance. I do feel like a 
 baby before this great work but, as the darkies used to 
 sing, the Lord is 'inching me along.' . . . 
 
 "Pray for me that I may have wisdom and grace to 
 carry this business through. I want it settled right." 
 
 To his Auburn friends he wrote this in a characteristic 
 letter : 
 
 "You ask what I think of it now that I am on the spot. 
 First: that the need has not been exaggerated, and 
 that Mohammedanism is as bad as it is painted. Second: 
 that we have a splendid fighting chance here in Arabia, 
 and the land is open enough so that we can enter it if we 
 will. If a man never got beyond the Bahrein Islands he 
 would have a parish of 50,000 souls. Third : that on ac- 
 count of the ignorance of the people they must be taught 
 by word of mouth and, therefore, if we are to reach them 
 at all. we must have many helpers. Fourth: that I am 
 glad I came to Arabia, and that to me has been given a 
 part in this struggle. I do firmly believe that the strength 
 of Islam has been overestimated, and that if ever the 
 Church can be induced to throw her full weight against 
 it, it will be found an easier conquest than we imagine — not 
 hut what it will cost lives, it has always been so, but I 
 do believe that Islam is doomed." 
 
 Little did he think, perhaps, whose life it would first 
 
The Arabian Mission. 33 
 
 cost. Will his call be heeded and will the Church, will 
 you, help to throw the whole weight of your prayers 
 against Islam? ''Except a corn of wheat fall into the 
 ground and die it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth 
 forth much fruit." 
 
 HARRY J. WIERSUM. 
 
 Mr. Wiersum was a child of the Re- 
 formed Church in the West. Largely 
 under the influence of a pious mother 
 — so he told us — he gave his heart to 
 the Saviour in his childhood. llebegan 
 to take u decided stand for Christ while 
 a student at Hope College, and became 
 a member of the First C h u r c h, 
 
 Englewood, Chicago. Graduated in 
 1896, at the age of twenty-two, he pursued his theological 
 studies at Princeton Seminary, and was ordained to the 
 Gospel ministry by the Classis of Iowa in July, 1899. Al- 
 ready in the autumn of 1898 he had made application for 
 appointment as a missionary, ready to go to any field 
 where it should be thought best to send him. His appoint- 
 ment followed in March, 1899, and he spent several months 
 among the churches speaking in the interests of the Arab- 
 ian Mission, and sailed from New York on his way to 
 Arabia in" the following September. His first task was to 
 learn the Arabic language, and to this he gave himself 
 completely. He had the best of all gifts — the ability to 
 work, and was making great strides in the acquisition of 
 this difficult language. Spending his first year partly at 
 Muscat and partly at Bahrein, he came to Busrah in 1901. 
 In regard to his last illness and death, Mr. Barny wrote: 
 ''On the 22d of July, apparently in perfect health, he left 
 Busrah for a visit to Amara, where he hoped to spend 
 about ten days. On the 27th be returned again, sick, as 
 we thought, with the ordinary malarial fever. The usual 
 remedies were tried but with no benefit, and the doctor 
 
34 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 was called in early, but his remedies were without avail. 
 The symptoms developed irregularly, so that it was not 
 till a few days before his death that the doctor could make 
 his diagnosis, when we learned that it was the dread small- 
 pox. Even then, as the fever had mostly subsided, we 
 were hopeful, indeed, though realizing the danger, we 
 never thought that he might succumb. How great, then, 
 was the shock and the grief, when shortly after one 
 o'clock on Saturday, August the 3d, 1901, he quietly passed 
 away. He had been unconscious most of the time during 
 the last two days, altogether so on Saturday when, also, 
 his throat was so bad that I could not understand him. 
 Some hours before his death I could distinguish the words 
 "Lord Jesus," and a little later he spoke at some length 
 in Dutch, it might have been a psalm or hymn, judging 
 from the measured cadence. It is still a mystery to us 
 where he got the infection. Smallpox is epidemic in 
 Busrah, and at this writing it seems to be epidemic, but 
 he had not exposed himself, to our knowledge. He was 
 a man of powerful build and, apparently, strong consti- 
 tution, and looked forward to years of service for Christ 
 in Arabia. He had been sent out as Peter Zwemers suc- 
 cessor, and he loved to look forward to the time when 
 he could begin his active service in Oman, and there it 
 was he hoped to be laid to rest. But now his mortal re- 
 mains rest on the banks of the lordly "River of the Arabs,'" 
 his lone grave a mute appeal to you and to us. God is 
 plainly showing us that Arabia is not a Jericho, whose 
 walls of bigotry and pride and falsehood of more than a 
 millenium's building are going to fall by the mere blow- 
 ing of trumpets, though they are trumpets of faith, but 
 that the conflict here is a war with Amalekites, in which 
 there needs must be sacrifices, and in which holy hands 
 held up in prayer will shape the course of victory. Arabia 
 is another East Africa, and we shall not enter it other- 
 wise than through God's Acre. This is not a theory, but 
 hard fact. Do we realize it and are we prepared for the 
 degree of consecration necessary to go forward?" 
 
The Arabian Mission. 
 
 35 
 
 MARION WELLS THOMS, M.D. 
 
 The fourth missionary to help pay 
 "the price of Arabia" in our mission was 
 Dr. Marion Wells Thorns. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Thorns came to the field in December, 
 1898, and were for a time stationed at 
 Busrah for language study. The follow- 
 ing year they came to Bahrein and 
 together took up the medical work, 
 which has in their hands now grown to 
 the dimensions of a hospital. On 
 April 25th, 1905, Mrs. Sharon J. 
 Thorns, M. D., died of typhoid fever. 
 Airs. Thorns returned from furlough in November of the 
 preceding year, and immediately took up, with her accus- 
 tomed skill, energy and fidelity, her medical work for 
 women in connection with the Mason Memorial Hospital 
 at Bahrein. Her death was a severe blow to the mission, 
 especially to this department of its work. Mrs. Thorns 
 won all hearts and put a touch of brightness into the lives 
 of old and young. She it was who made our American 
 holidays and Christian festivals so cheerful that we often 
 forgot our exile from civilization. The children always 
 found their way to her side of the house ; she had a 
 mother's heart for every one's children, and a love that 
 never wearied for her own. 
 
 It is not only in the quiet of the mission house that she 
 was loved and respected. She was not merely a mission- 
 ary's wife, but herself a heroic and strong and self-deny- 
 ing missionary. Her triumphant death-bed showed that 
 her thoughts even then were not only for her own, but 
 for dark Arabia. Among her last words were the mes- 
 sage, "Have them send more missionaries for the work 
 and to take the place of those that fall by the way." Every 
 one who knew Mrs. Thorns will remember her thorough 
 conscientiousness and her heroic devotion. She was often 
 ready at the call of duty and often, alas, worked above 
 
36 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 her strength for her Arabian sisters. They knew it, and 
 loved her. Her skill and patience as a physician, her 
 faithfulness in language study, her self-effacement and 
 humility, her power in prayer for others, and her cheer- 
 fulness — they all come up hefore us as we read of her 
 death. 
 
 for her. She passed on to a better abiding place. Mrs. 
 Bennett left a message for the Board of Trustees of the 
 mission, and it is but fitting that this be passed on to the 
 friends of the mission, and that they be told how she lived 
 even as she preached. This is the message: 'Tell the 
 Board J am going to be a missionary up yonder and to 
 send some one in my place.' 
 
 "Mrs. Bennett dedicated her life and ability to God's ser- 
 vice, and it was only a matter of detail with her to learn 
 where He would have her spend herself. She and her hus- 
 band were led to volunteer for service in Arabia. She 
 was a graduate of the Literary Department of the Uni- 
 versity of Michigan, and had experience as a teacher in 
 the schools of that State. Early in October, 1904, she was 
 married to Arthur K. Bennett, M.D., whose helpmeet and 
 companion she planned to be in the foreign held. A very 
 few days after their marriage the husband sailed for 
 Europe, where he was to spend some months in the study 
 of French and the treatment of tropical diseases, and Mrs. 
 
 JESSIE VAIL BENNETT. 
 
 Mrs. Bennett departed this life on the 
 21st of January, 1906. Sixteen days be- 
 fore her death she was taken with 
 tvphoid fever. Mr. Moerdvk wrote of 
 her life and last illness as follows : 
 
 "There was a time when everybody 
 had great hopes that she would rally 
 and make a sure recovery. But the 
 Master planned otherwise and all bowed 
 to say, 'His will be done.' The best of 
 doctors and nurses could do no more 
 
The Arabian Mission. 37 
 
 Bennett sailed by a more direct route for Arabia, to im- 
 prove this time in the study of the language, and later to 
 be stationed with her husband where the mission might 
 see fit to use them. She arrived in Bahrein in November, 
 1904. In the early months of 1905 she taught English in 
 the little Bahrein school, and later, when she got so that 
 she could use a little Arabic, she visited the houses of 
 the helpers and often those of the Arab women in com- 
 pany with the missionary in charge of that work. The 
 women soon learned to know her and to love her. She 
 took the name of Salaama, which was indicative of the 
 peace which she had come to preach. In December, 1905, 
 she took her first examination in Arabic and passed with 
 honor. Next she planned for work in the new year, and 
 asked the mission's permission to work along with the 
 nurse in the dispensary for women, so that she might 
 acquire the knowledge and skill which would prove useful 
 in future work with her husband, and before the other 
 missionaries had returned to their stations she was already 
 visiting the hospital and ministering and preaching to the 
 women patients. Her's was a very busy life. Her beautiful 
 and lovable character endeared her to everybody, and all 
 profited by her help, because of her Christian spirit and her 
 wisdom in and for the work. All the missionaries deeply feel 
 the loss of the consecrated worker. As regards the future, 
 we can but echo her last request that some one be sent 
 in her place." 
 
38 
 
 The Arabian Mission. 
 
 MISSIONARIES TO ARABIA. 
 
 WENT OUT. RETIRED. 
 
 Rev. James Cantine 1889 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (DePree) Cantine 1902 
 
 Rev. Samuel M. Zwemer, D.D.. 1890 
 
 Mrs. Amy (Wilkes) Zwemer 1896 
 
 C. E. Riggs M.D 1892 1893 
 
 Rev. Peter J. Zwemer 1892 1898 s 
 
 James T. Wyckoff, M.D 1894 1894 
 
 Rev. H. R. L. Worrall, M.D 1895 
 
 Mrs. Emma (Hodge) Worrall, M.D 1901 
 
 Rev. Fred J. Barny 1897 
 
 Mrs. Margaret (Rice) Barny 1898 
 
 Rev. George E. Stone 1898 1899* 
 
 Sharon J. Thorns, M.D 1898 
 
 Mrs. Marion (Wells) Thorns, M.D 1898 1 905° 
 
 Mrs. May (Del^ree) Thorns 1906 
 
 Rev. Harry J. Wiersum 1899 1901 s 
 
 Rev. James E. Moerdyk 1900 
 
 Rev. John Van Ess 1902 
 
 Miss Jennie A. Scardefield 1903 
 
 Arthur K. Bennett, M.D 1904 
 
 Mrs. Jessie (Vail) Bennett 1904 1906* 
 
 Miss Fanny Lutton 1904 
 
 Mrs. Martha C. Vogel 1905 
 
 C. Stanley G. Mylrea, M.D 1906 
 
 Mrs. Bessie (London) Mylrea 1906 
 
 Dirk Dykstra 19 06 
 
 Miss Minnie Wilterdink 1907 
 
 ®Died.