HE is risen! Christ is risen! The new tomb of Joseph is empty! Let the Moslem possess it; its power passed when the Lord of Life stepped forth a conqueror in righteousness over sin and death. What folly were the Crusades for an empty tomb! For four centuries waves of humanity beat vainly against the Saracenic bulwarks — all for an empty sepulcher, a dismantled, rejected, devastated city, for memories of the past, when all that the empty grave stood for was in reach of the humblest child of Adam. Unheeded was the voice of the angel — "He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. . . . Behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him."
Christianity is not a dead faith; it is not a mere system of ethics. D'Aubigné never uttered a greater truth than when he said that Christianity is a life sent down from above. Other great religions are dead, dry systems of ethics, which teach many good things, but have no power to lift the practise to the plane of the theory. Other religions are moved with a perverted energy from beneath to destroy.
But Christianity is life. Christ has not gone down; He is risen. He went down into the Land of Death for us, because we deserved it. He arose that we might yield to His wondrous goodness, and live with Him. Infinite Love, Infinite Life, both freely given in Jesus Christ our Lord! If men should hold their peace, the very stones would respond, as they will when the Master of Life shall touch them by His voice at His coming. His resurrection was the demonstration of righteousness over sin, of life over death. He alone of all the world's reputed Saviours brings life and power to the world, to the individual soul; for in Him the baptized believer walks in "newness of life," in loving obedience to God.
Christ is risen; He goes before you. Christianity is progressive. He has not yet learned Christianity who still lingers by the pit of mire and clay from which Christ raised him. Sooner or later it will fetter and dwarf him a slave, or become to him a perennial Slough of Despond. Christianity is progressive, upward, and outward; and in all that true progress it follows its Author; "He goeth before you." Christianity is aggressive, persistent, insistent, pushing, plowing, sowing, pioneering, arousing, uplifting. It must be. You can not confine life with cemented rock or leaded sepulcher. You can not still the voice of love when souls are dying, as long as love can plead. Death may silence the human voice, but the very earth cries still.
O friends, no one day in the year, no one day in the week, can fittingly celebrate the resurrection of our mighty Lord. The very idea is heathen, as is the name "Easter."
The Master never gave it. Nor did He give the first day of the week as a memorial day of that event. Eternal Life is dominant every day in the week, every hour in the day. Has Christ one million followers in this world to-day? one million in whom dwells His life, His eternal life by vital faith? — Then He has one million witnesses of His resurrection every day in the week. Are you among them? You may have been one of the profane, drunkards, thieves, gamblers, adulterers, idolaters, abusers of themselves, revilers, extortioners, covetous, degraded; but He died for them — for you. Have you given yourself to Him? Then "ye are washed," "ye are sanctified," "ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
Jesus Christ died "for our sins." Reckon yourselves dead to sin with Him. Jesus Christ rose "for our justification." By faith rise with Him to the new life, forgetting the things behind, even the dead sepulcher of your sins — lest you exhume them — and follow Him wheresoever He leads. It may be to persecution and death for others' sake; but beyond is the resurrection to immortality. "Christ is risen." "He goeth before you!" There shall you see Him!
Our Bible Reading
The New Jerusalem
1. In the building of what did rebellion begin against God after the Deluge?
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Gen. 11: 4.
NOTE.—The building of cities has been one of the curses of the earth from that time since. Nearly all the corruption that devours a land begins in the cities. In fact the corruption that overspreads the country has its source and inspiration in the great teeming, unhealthy cities, and it is because of this corruption that these cities have gone down.
2. Because of the corruption and destruction of cities what was the writer of Hebrews led to say?
For here have we NO CONTINUING CITY, but we seek ONE TO COME. Heb. 13: 14.
3. What does he declare God had prepared for the faithful?
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for HE HATH PREPARED FOR THEM A CITY. Heb. 11: 16.
4. Of what will the kingdom of Christ consist?
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Dan. 7: 27.
5. What will be the capital of that kingdom?
Jerusalem. "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isa. 62: 3-7.
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called. Isa. 54: 5.
6. What was that city called as it was revealed to John?
And I John saw the holy city, NEW JERUSALEM, coming down from God out of heaven, PREPARED AS A BRIDE adorned for her husband. . . . And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the BRIDE, the LAMB'S WIFE. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, THE HOLY JERUSALEM, descending out of heaven from God. Rev. 21: 2, 9, 10.
7. What was the size of that new earth capital?
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. Rev. 21: 16.
NOTE.—By the measurements in vogue in John's time this would make a city measured around it, as the custom was in those days, a city 375 miles on each side, as large as the States of New York and Pennsylvania—a fitting capital for that glorious new earth, in which there will be little sea, but in which the great redeemed land of God will cover largely the earth's surface.
8. What is the character of that city physically?
We are assured in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation that its walls are largely built of precious stones, that its gates are of pearl, that they are swung wide open night and day because there are no criminals in its land, that all the abominable and sinners of every kind are cast out—devoured, and that the glory which comes from the presence of God itself outshines that of the sun. In the midst of that city, flowing out from the throne of God, is the River of Life; and on either side of that river the Tree of Life, which bears its monthly fruits, and to which the redeemed shall come from all the earth from month to month to keep glad festival for God, and from Sabbath to Sabbath to worship before Him and receive more abundant draughts of life.
9. What is said of its character morally?
And THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. Rev. 22: 3, 4.
10. What is said of those who shall dwell there?
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Rev. 21: 3-5.
11. Who shall have a place in this glorious city?
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. Rev. 21: 7.
The Moslem Conference, Lucknow, India
By S. A. Wellman
By S. A. Wellman, Editor of the Oriental Watchman
IN the latter part of January there met at Lucknow, India, the Second World Conference of Missionaries to Moslem Lands. The first conference was held at Cairo, Egypt, in 1906; and the plan for these conferences was made owing to the rapid advance of Mohammedanism into all the heathen lands of the world.
The gathering this year was much larger than the one at Cairo, perhaps in that it was held in India, a land in which more Moslems are to be found than in any other single center in the world, 63,000,000 living within its boundaries. The countries represented were Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Arabia, Persia, China, India, England, the United States, and Canada. There were papers from leading missionaries and Orientalists of Germany, England, the United States, the East Indies, China, North Africa, Russia in Asia, Central Asia, and the other missionary lands previously mentioned.
Men were present who had passed through fire and sword for the sake of the Gospel; and at the beginning of the meeting, as the roll of those who had been laid away was read, there were among them some who had laid down their lives as martyrs in the name of Jesus. Men who had spent the best years of their lives alone on the skirmish-line, away to the front, in the midst of Moslem hostility, recounted the divine providences in their labors.
The Reason for the Conference
The situation in the East at the present time is such as to draw the attention of the entire Christian world to the Moslem peoples. It is an attested fact that the Moslem religion has made such progress during the "mission century" as to outstrip the Christian missionary effort many fold. Where a hundred years ago but a few hundred thousand Mohammedans were to be found in the East Indies, today there are thirty-five million active Mohammedans, all of whom are more or less propagandists of the faith of the false prophet. In India, especially in the province of Bengal, within the last thirty years the Moslem population has doubled, rising from a bare nine million to over 19,500,000. It is rapidly increasing in other sections, gaining most of its converts, as does Christianity, from the depressed or lower castes. Persia is at a standstill. Turkey stands numerically about the same as in the past. Egypt, though making but little progress numerically within its own borders, is the recruiting ground, the educational center and place of publication, from which there are going out into North Central Africa, Abyssinia, Central Africa, and the East Coast, thousands of Moslem missionaries and millions of pages of Mohammedan literature. In Russia 20,000,000 Mohammedans are rapidly becoming stronger and more numerous. China has ten million Moslems in her western provinces; Afghanistan is wholly Moslem; and into cold, barren Tibet the Moslem traders are carrying the religion of the Arabian prophet. Such briefly is the numerical situation. Because of this progress some concerted plan of action was deemed necessary, and hence the conference.
The Vital Point of Attack
DELEGATES TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE SALVATION ARMY IN LONDON.
The unanimous verdict of the assembled delegates was that the greatest danger and the greatest need at the present moment are along the frontier of North Central Africa, where Mohammedanism is rapidly grasping the native tribes and extending its influence into the very heart of the continent.
Several facts stand out prominently in this section. The native tribes are said to find the Moslem faith more within the grasp of their minds. Western civilization, which goes with Western religion in most cases, is so long a step in advance that they are unable to comprehend it. Mohammedanism does not require such great changes in their lives. Their custom of plural wives is left untouched, their home life is unchanged, and their warring among themselves and with their neighbors is permitted if not encouraged, when the neighbor is not a good Moslem. Yet they come to believe in one God, and that one, according to the Mohammedan faith, the same God whom the Christians worship. Mohammedanism but takes them one step in advance of their former position both in civilization and religion; yet they seem to think this a long step, and that it is all they can grasp at one time.
Another factor that plays a large part in the favor with which Mohammedans are received is that the Christian missionary usually is of the same government that is steadily grasping their country; and if not, they class him thus, as he is a European. He is in many cases regarded as the advance agent of that country; and consequently the natural desire is to avoid him and his religion, so that they may not be led into the trap of his government. Mohammedanism offers an opposing force which in their heathen weakness and disunion they do not possess.
Another fact that impressed itself is that at Cairo there are twenty thousand Moslems in training in the various schools for work among their own people and among the native races; that in this same city the press, strongly Mohammedan, is sending forth millions of pages of literature against Christianity, against civilization and Western education, and these, carried by the Egyptian army and the Central African Moslem traders, are circulated and read to large groups of Mohammedans and heathen in Central Africa, thus carrying the violent tirades against Christianity and education among the heathen people, effectually prejudicing their minds against the coming missionary. Gordon College, at Khartum, Egypt, equipped and founded by the liberal donations of the Christian population of England and Scotland, has become a center of Mohammedan learning, and is to-day said to be practically Moslem.
Once the heathen embrace Mohammedanism, it is ten times harder to win them to Christianity, is the verdict of all Moslem missionaries. Yet the Moslems control the points of vantage along the entire frontier of North Central Africa, extending from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, and down well into the lake region of Central Africa. It is felt by all missionaries that this situation calls for the united efforts of Christendom to save these tribes from the perils of the Moslem faith, which is so strongly antichristian.
Still, the need and the danger are hardly less elsewhere. In the other regions, where possible, more has been done and a greater force is at work; but even in these places the working body is so lamentably inadequate as to be a poor force to oppose to the overwhelming power of the Moslems, were it not for the assurance of divine guidance and help.11
Conference Deliberations
During the course of the conference proceedings the fact was brought out that at the present time no mission work for Moslems is done in many of the important centers.
Even in India, where one third of the Moslem world lives, and where for a century missions have been operated, but a very few workers have studied the situation and devoted their lives to the work for the Moslem people. But few mission boards have made provision for missionaries especially educated for this work. Bombay, with a Mohammedan population larger than that of Delhi, the ancient capital of the Mogul Empire, has but one Christian worker especially devoting his time to the Mohammedan people. He is an Indian Christian. This record could be duplicated in many of the large cities of India, as well as elsewhere.
In the Russian Empire, with its 20,000,000 Mohammedans, but one society is working. The Swedish mission and the Mennonites and the Seventh-day Adventists were reported as now entering upon such work among the Mohammedans of Turkestan. Afghanistan has not been touched. Tibet is yet unentered; yet Moslem leaders are there before us in large numbers with the message of the false prophet of Arabia, and already twenty thousand have become Mohammedans.
Methods of Labor
The only methods of labor that are found feasible among the Mohammedan peoples are dispensary work, making the giving of the Gospel through the Scripture portion and the word of the living preacher of first importance; school work, enlisting the younger generation in a campaign which dispels the ignorance and bigotry of their parents as well as develops themselves; and evangelical teaching and preaching, with house-to-house work on the part of lady physicians, nurses, and Bible women. It was repeatedly emphasized that in this preaching some things must be avoided, such as controversy, allowing one's temper to become the least upset, and using anything but straightforward argument in the presentation of truth. Special stress was laid upon the necessity of using the Bible and clinging closely to it in the presentation of the Saviour to the Moslem world. One or two speakers mentioned the successful use of Old Testament prophecy and the work of the typical atonement in the presentation of the claims of Christ to the Mussulmans.
Territory inclosed in dotted line . . . Mohammedan World in 900 Territory inclosed in cross line . . . Mohammedan World in 1500 Territory inclosed in parallel lines = Mohammedan World in 1910
In an eloquent appeal in one of the sessions of the conference, the Rev. S. W. Zwemer, the chairman, besought the delegates to study their Bibles, to pray more, and to lay the burden of the work upon the great Burden Bearer. Some had suggested that the European governments should exercise a benevolent neutrality toward Mohammedan and Christian missions, and that some countries were impossible to enter because protection could not be guaranteed by the governments concerned. Again there was presented that true spirit of missions, which does not rely upon earthly protection and help, but upon God, as the exhortation was given that we must not depend upon our government for assurance of protection, but enter, and in prayer and fulness of faith trust God to care for His work and His people. In these days the missionary is too prone to depend for help upon the protection of some European power. This is not only a source of weakness to his own faith, but he is regarded as the advance agent of the power whose protection he seeks and to whom he appeals. The spirit of Judson, of Carey, of Henry Martin, and a host of other God-fearing and burden-bearing pioneers, is indeed a testimony against the spirit that places its dependence upon man.
The Bible for Moslems
Again and again it was stated in the sessions that the Bible itself was the best book for labor among the Moslem people. The beauties of the book, when put side by side with the Koran, have brought life and light to many. The touching story of the life of Christ as told in the Gospels has melted many a proud heart and brought about its surrender. The importance of standing on the book alone was emphasised, yet it was stated with equal truth that the workers of to-day were spending more time in argument and controversy and less in Bible study and prayer than the men of earlier times.
The Effect of Bible Criticism
The teaching of Moslems for several centuries has been that Mohammed became the prophet of God, and received the Koran as the true revelation of God's will, because the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, had become so corrupted in transmission from generation to generation that they no longer expressed the will of God.
As articles on Bible Criticism, published in papers and books, have come into the hands of Moslem leaders, and they have gathered their import, it is small wonder that they declare that the Bible is a corrupted volume and not to be depended upon. Perhaps no one thing has been a stronger weapon in their hands than these homilies of the Bible critics. The only hope for Christianity among Moslems, as elsewhere, is the whole Bible, a living Christ, and the manifestation of Him in the lives of His followers.
Mohammedans and Education
For centuries no more ignorant and superstitious people have lived than the majority of Mohammedans, judged from Western standards. They have been slow to adopt any of the Western ideas of education. Their mollahs have taught that the education of the West is a curse; that the Christian West had advantages that the Moslems did not, but that the Moslems had the promise of the blessings of Paradise and the Christians would be damned forever. But in spite of this, Western faith and Western learning began to eat at the vitals of the Moslem nations. The movements of recent years in Turkey, Persia, and Egypt are evidences of this. Especially did the education of the West lay hold upon the younger men.
Then came the Russo-Japanese War. They saw that Japan had assimilated the learning of the West, and had become a world power without becoming Christian, and the result was obvious. They would take Western learning likewise, but not its faith.
Some years ago there were called to Medina, Arabia, the mollahs of all Moslem lands. The sessions were in secret; but it has since transpired that the meeting was called for the purpose of considering the advance of Christianity and Western education in Moslem lands, and how best to meet it. Their plans to meet the Christian advance was a counter educational movement. It is a remarkable fact that since that time the educational movement among Moslems, the nationalistic tendencies in Egypt, India, Turkey, and Persia, have advanced to be strong factors, and in some cases a predominating influence in their several countries. Since that time the literature circulated by Mohammedans has increased by leaps and bounds. In every city, in every village of any note, their pamphlets are on sale. Every book-stall becomes a school, a center of education for that district. It is said that ten times as much literature is circulated in India by Moslems as by Christians. And it must be remembered that this literature is vitally opposed to everything Christian. The Koran to-day is translated into and circulated in all the tongues of the East, cheaper and better printed than the Christian Scriptures.
One of the weaknesses of the conference was seen in the spirit of compromise on the part of many missionaries. As the spirit of compromise has worked to the downfall of Protestants at home in their attitude toward Catholicism, so here in the relation of the Protestant Christians to Mohammedanism the spirit of compromise is tending to weaken the effort and annul the strength of Christian missions.
By some both at home and in the field Mohammedanism is considered as so much better than heathenism that we can let it alone and confine our efforts to heathenism. Another section favors finding that which is good in Mohammedanism, and adding to this the one essential to their lives, the Christ. But it is a noticeable fact that those who have made no compromise and have stood stiffly for the Bible as the only book of truth, representing the purity of Christianity and the love of Christ in their lives, have been the most successful.
In the words of an Indian Mohammedan soldier, "If a padre sahib tells me that our religions are very much alike (it is often done), I know that he has never read the Koran and does not read his Bible or he would know that they are vitally opposed to each other." No one knows better than an educated Mohammedan the enormous differences that lie between Christianity and Mohammed's teachings.12
Practical Conclusions of the Conference
In presenting the practical conclusions of their study of the situation, the delegates adopted resolutions calling upon the missionary force to devote more time to prayer and Bible study, realizing that the great lack of power in the presentation of Christ to the Moslem world is due to a lack of earnest prayer and communion with God. The call was also an appeal to the churches at home to meet the needs of the hour by a spirit of prayer, of devotion, and of sacrifice.
An appeal was made for men and means to enter those portions of the Moslem lands where it was felt that the gravest danger to missions now presents itself, especial attention being given to the establishment of a chain of stations across Africa in the forefront of the Moslem advance.
The establishment of a college at Cairo, Egypt, with a special purpose in view of educating men and women in Arabic, and Moslem customs and history, methods of labor, in fact for preparation for labor in Moslem lands, was urgently recommended to the home boards. The college was to be made undenominational.
For the immediate needs of the situation in Africa it was recommended to call for the best men available and for an immediate advance movement, as delay was counted dangerous to the cause of Christianity among the heathen and animistic tribes.
One of the strong recommendations was for more and better literature. And in view of the extent and purpose of the present output of the Mohammedan presses this is certainly necessary. Especial mention was made of literature for the women and children of Moslems. This must be illustrated, and with Bible stories of such character as to be understood by the Moslem women with their limited education.
Another recommendation that was full of meaning was that which called for the Indian Christian community to select men to help in the mission work in North Africa. This it was thought would be a source of inspiration and help to the Indian churches as they looked out upon the needs of others beyond their borders.
In two of the last recommendations passed there crept in that spirit of dependence upon the power of the human which some seemed desirous of avoiding. They recommended that a protest be lodged with the Edinburgh World's Missionary Conference Continuation Committee against the marked favor given Mohammedans in the Egyptian government, the use of Gordon College as a Moslem training center, and the use of government funds for the building of mosques, calling for strict neutrality and equal treatment of heathen, Christian, and Mohammedan. In the presentation of the resolutions the bishop of Lahore wisely brought to the attention of the conference that there were always two sides to a question, and that while they were protesting on the one side, Mohammedans might with equal feeling of injustice take the same course. He remarked that when we called for benevolent neutrality we were usually looking for the benevolence to be exercised in one direction.
A request was also made through the same channel as the one preceding for the powers to obtain by any legitimate means equality of treatment for all religions by the government of Turkey.
That the conference as a whole can be but an influence for good there is no doubt. God-fearing men led in the daily sessions, and brought words of kindly council to those who had been but a short time in harness. A feeling of the need of the Moslem world came home to many as never before. There is one thing that all Christians can and should do in view of the situation,— pray, give, and go, till to the Moslem world, so long neglected, is given the message of the Saviour.
The Hope of the Conference
The hope of the conference was expressed in the words of one of its mottos, "The speedy evangelization of the Moslem world." But they looked forward to bring all to Christ. How vain is this hope was voiced by one of the papers of the conference, which, speaking of the so-called Christian nations, said, "There are no Christian nations, properly speaking." But that the knowledge of Jesus, the message for these days, should be given, is a possibility. Every man will have the opportunity to choose either for Christ or against Him; and we must ourselves witness of Him, even to the uttermost parts of the earth. Friends and brethren, let your prayers ascend to God daily that the message of witness may be quickly given to the great, dark, cruel, bigoted Mohammedan portion of the world. Pray for it, work for it, sacrifice for it. The promise is that the message shall be given before the end comes.
News Notes from Around the World
The Greek steamer Patris, arriving in New York from Athens recently, brought five patients with a malady that puzzled the ship doctor. Six had died on the way. The disease, when diagnosed by other physicians, was pronounced spinal meningitis. It is said that Greek ships bring in the most people with this affliction, which leads to the conclusion that the germ that causes spinal meningitis is more prevalent in Greece, or part of it, than in other countries. The survivors are being treated with a serum which has recently been discovered, and which, it is declared, cures the great majority of spinal meningitis cases.
Wireless messages from ships on the Pacific, from Porto Rico, from Japan, and it is thought from Cornwall, England, were heard in San Francisco, March 26, when tandem kites for experimental purposes were sent aloft carrying wireless apparatus. Waves from a distance of 6500 miles were picked up by the temporary station on Baker's Beach. In time of war information by wireless would make it possible to anticipate an enemy's fleet two or three thousand miles away.
An awful tragedy occurred in New York City, March 25, when 175 women and children met death as the result of a factory fire. Only one flimsy fire-escape was provided for an emergency exit of 2000 employees. An iron door held back scores, who in terror trampled each other to death. In addition to the dead, one hundred have been injured. Many leaped to their death from tenth-story windows, landing in heaps on the pavement eighty-five feet below.
A man who is now in a New York hospital, fell face foremost into a set of revolving cogs, and his whole face was mangled. By means of plastic surgery a new face has been furnished him, the flesh being kneaded into a chin, giving him a mouth and lips. For the nose the small finger has been slit open and put over the place where the nose would be. The finger will be amputated after the flesh has knitted.
The London "Times" of March 10 says: "We share Sir Wilfrid Laurier's noble and generous conception of ensuring eternal amity between two great communities [Great Britain and the United States]. But we remember that the relations between the two countries were never so good as at present, nor have questions likely to cause friction ever been so few or so insignificant."
Three banks in different cities were plundered on March 24: one at Hudson, Kansas, in which $4600 was taken; at Curryville, Missouri, $4600 stolen; and at Decatur, Illinois, in which the cashier was locked in the vault, the robbers escaping with $2500.
In the Norman open pit mine at Virginia, Minnesota, thirty men were engulfed in a 500,000-ton slide of iron ore, earth, ice, and snow. Only four men escaped, and many of the workmen left large families. One whose wife died a month ago left seven children. It was a pathetic scene to see the little ones sobbing as they stood about the edge of the pit.
The total number of deaths from the plague in India during February reach 88,498. The disease has become such a fixture in that country that its ravages are little heard of except through occasional official statistics. The most persistent efforts to stamp out the disease have failed to effect a permanent improvement in the situation.
Reports of the hostilities in Yemen, Turkey, state that the Turkish troops are putting the Arabs to flight, and that the machine guns have caused great havoc among the tribesmen. The Arabs have lost 200 in the last two fights, while forty of the Turkish troops were killed.
The Nevada Legislature has inserted a clause in the crimes and punishment act which makes it a misdemeanor for a hat pin to be worn the unprotected point of which protrudes more than one half inch beyond the crown of the hat.
Dr. Booker T. Washington, the most prominent colored educator in the United States, received severe injuries in New York from a suspicious householder who conceived the idea that the professor was trying to invade his home.
Four masked men held up and robbed a passenger-train near Coffeyville, Kansas, March 24. The express car was wrecked by four charges of dynamite used to blow open the safe. The bandits made their escape in a buggy.
A general strike of teamsters in New York and vicinity in sympathy with the striking express drivers, is feared. Nearly 5000 men of the Adams, United States, and Wells Fargo companies are now on strike.
More than twenty cases of bubonic plague have been discovered in Porto Alegre, Brazil, according to cables received from Buenos Aires. The authorities are much alarmed through fear of an epidemic.
It is given out at the Vatican that under no circumstances will the Pope receive pilgrimages during the present year, regardless of whether the audiences are sought by Catholics or not.
Nine persons have been indicted in $10,000,000 coal frauds in Alaska, charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States Government out of 10,000 acres of mining property.
Louis Breguet, in France, carrying eleven passengers in his monoplane, made a record flight of two miles. The machine and its twelve occupants weighed 2600 pounds.
The Boy Scouts of America held the first annual meeting of their national council at Washington recently. There are now over 300,000 Boy Scouts in the country.
At present there are twenty-five cases of cholera, with twenty-one deaths, reported in Hawaii. The majority of the victims are natives.
Fighting a fierce gale off the coast of Victoria, B. C., a passenger boat capsized and went down with twenty-six on board.
A bridal party of 118 was attacked by a pack of ravenous wolves at Tashkend, Asiatic Russia. Only two persons escaped.
Forty-five cases of smallpox are reported from London, and 132 deaths from measles, in one week.
Fourteen lives have been lost as the result of a collision of two steamships in the North Sea.
