A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lāo: An Autobiography

by Daniel McGilvary

I would not close this life-story without expressing, on behalf of my wife and myself, our heartfelt gratitude to our friends, native and foreign, for the great kindness shown us in our intercourse with them during these long years; and, above all, our devout gratitude to the Giver of all good, for sparing so long our lives, and crowning them with such rich blessings. Of these the greatest has been in permitting us to lay the foundations, and to witness the steady growth of the Church of Christ in Northern Siam.

SKETCH MAP OF SIAM AND THE ADJACENT REGIONS
TO ILLUSTRATE THE MISSIONARY TOURS OF REV. DANIEL McGILVARY, D.D.

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INDEX

• Arthington, Robert, [373]-[376], [386].
• Bradley, Rev. Dan Beach, M.D., [45], [52], [54]-[57], [67]-[70], [131]-[132], [164], [199].
• Buddhist shrines, [172]-[173], [188], [252]-[253].
• Ceremonies and Festivals:
  • Dam Hūa, [84]-[86];
  • cremation, [145]-[147];
  • dedication of a shrine, [188]-[189];
  • rice-harvest, [274];
  • fairs, [327], [356], [366];
  • “kin waw,” [323], [343];
  • sacred days, [318]-[319];
  • wedding feast, [395];
  • New Year, [396]-[397].
• Chulalongkorn, King of Siam, [211]-[213], [382], [426].
• Commission, Royal, [112], [121]-[131].
• Commissioners, High:
  • Prayā Tēp Worachun, [193]-[194], [205], [206], [208], [210], [213]-[215], [222], [300];
  • Commissioner not named, [300]-[304];
  • Chow Prayā Surasīh, [419].
• Cushing, Rev. J. N., DD, [138]-[139], [244], [247], [250], [373].
• Demonism and witchcraft, [75]-[76], [91], [93]-[94], [173], [194], [203]-[208], [214], [266]-[270], [278], [321], [324], [331], [340].
• Diseases:
  • cholera, [51];
  • fever, [88], [190], [195], [205], [242];
  • goitre, [88];
  • smallpox (vaccination), [57], [89]-[91], [243], [250];
  • scurvy, [196];
  • mortality of re-peopled districts, [202], [282].
• Education:
  • Girls’ School, [177]-[178], [221]-[223], [274], [284], [287], [292], [418]-[419];
  • Boys’ School, [284], [291], [300], [419], [424]-[426];
  • Phraner Memorial, [377], [418];
  • parochial, [418];
  • government, [419]-[420];
  • educational policy as regards language, [222]-[225], [420]-[422].
• Elephants:
  • saddle, [62], [151]-[152], [157], [246], [249]-[250], [311]-[312], [317]-[318], [330]-[331], [355], [359]-[360], [382]-[383];
  • wild, [156], [253], [311];
  • baby-elephants, [246]-[247], [309].
• Evangelists and ministers, native, [257]-[263], [377]-[380], [414]-[416].
• Famine, [335], [346], [349]-[352].
• French Indo-China, [332], [354], [358], [384], and chapters [xxxiii], [xxxiv].
• Hallett, Holt S. (railroad survey), [244]-[254].
• House, Rev. S. R., M.D., [37]-[38], [45], [53], [67], [92]-[93], [110]-[112].
• Intanon, Prince of Chiengmai, [81], [90], [108]-[109], [132], [137], [142], [145], [187], [193]-[194], [209], [245], [262], [293], [300].
• Kamu tribe, [368], [393]-[394], [400], [403], [405], [407], [411].
• Karens, [89], [143]-[144].
• Kāwilōrot, Prince of Chiengmai (1855-1870), [57], [67], [69]-[70], [85]-[86], [90], [95], [102]-[106], [121]-[129], [133]-[138], [146]-[147].
• Lāo:
  • the name, [13]-[14], [57]-[58];
  • spelling of Lāo words, [12]-[13];
  • people, [58], [156];
  • states, [130], [191]-[192], [218]-[219], [262];
  • language, [357], [358], [420]-[422], see also [Education];
  • women, [144]-[145].
• Lāo Mission:
  • planted, [77];
  • Rev. J. Wilson arrives, [92];
  • first church organized, [93];
  • a gift of land, [95];
  • first native members received, [96]-[101];
  • persecution, [106]-[117];
  • mission supposedly abandoned, [126];
  • intervention, [130]-[132];
  • new régime, [137]-[144];
  • permanent buildings, [140]-[142];
  • first physician, [149];
  • Girls’ School, [177];
  • teachers arrive, [221]-[222];
  • reinforcement, [242];
  • Presbytery organized, [257];
  • printing-press, [320];
  • Christian Endeavor, [381];
  • summaries, [217]-[218], [225], [287]-[288], [299], [304], [401];
  • general review, [413]-[423].
  • Later Missionaries:
    • Briggs, Rev. W. A., M.D., [10], [319], [336]-[337], [351]-[352], [401];
    • Campbell, Rev. Howard, [376], [411], [414];
    • Mrs. Campbell, [418];
    • Campbell, Miss Mary, [177], [221]-[222], [234], [236]-[237], [240];
    • Cary, A. M., M.D., [283]-[284], [296], [298];
    • Cheek, M. A., M.D., [166], [169], [178], [190], [195], [212], [233], [236]-[237], [283], [292];
    • Mrs. Cheek, [169], [242], [293];
    • Cole, Miss Edna E., [177], [221]-[222], [233], [240], [284], [387];
    • Collins, Rev. D. G., [283], [284], [296], [301];
    • Curtis, Rev. L. W., [376];
    • Mrs. Curtis, [9];
    • Denman, C. H., M.D., [376], [381], [382]-[385];
    • Dodd, Rev. W. C., D.D., [283], [284]-[286], [289], [291], [296], [301], [358], [377]-[378], [382], [384], [401];
    • Mrs. Dodd (Miss B. Eakin), [292], [293], [303];
    • Fleeson, Miss, [292], [293], [299];
    • Freeman, Rev. J. H., [9], [296];
    • Griffin, Miss I. A., [240], [243], [284], [292], [299];
    • Hearst, Rev. J. H., [239], [243];
    • Irwin, Rev. Robert, [319], [353], [362], [367], [401];
    • Martin, Rev. Chalmers, [239], [250], [252], [268], [270], [271]-[273], [276], [283];
    • McGilvary, Cornelia H. (Mrs. William Harris), [199], [306], [308]-[316], [427];
    • McGilvary, Rev. Evander B., [337], [371];
    • McGilvary, Margaret A. (Mrs. Roderick Gillies), [197], [337];
    • McKean, J. W., M.D., [306], [316], [320], [338], [341], [422]-[423], [427];
    • Peoples, Rev. S. C., M.D., [239], [250], [257], [263]-[265], [289]-[291], [300], [319], [387];
    • Mrs. Peoples, [240];
    • Phraner, Rev. Stanley K., [319], [320], [326]-[329], [376]-[377], [418];
    • Mrs. Phraner (Lizzie Westervelt), [238], [274], [284];
    • Taylor, Rev. Hugh, [299], [308]-[309];
    • Vrooman, C. W., M.D., [149]-[159], [166].
  • Native Converts:
    • Āi Tū (Prayā Pakdī), [277], [280], [287];
    • Cha Pū Kaw and Cha Waw, see under Mūsô;
    • Chao Borirak, [158], [163], [197];
    • Lung In, [168], [170], [202];
    • Nān Chai, [100]-[101], [114]-[117];
    • Nān Chaiwana, [266]-[270];
    • Nān Inta, [96]-[99], [149], [161], [163], [207], [208], [210], [233], [243], [257], [258];
    • Nān Tā, [225]-[228], [234], [243], [248], [258], [272], [276], [277], [283], [299], [301];
    • Nān Sī Wichai, [199], [243];
    • Nān Suwan, [197]-[198], [233], [248], [257], [280], [287], [327], [330], [333], [341], [359];
    • Noi Intachak, [230], [257], [260];
    • Noi Siri, [301]-[304], [333];
    • Noi Sunya, [99]-[100], [114]-[117];
    • Noi Tāliya, [278]-[279], [290], [334];
    • Pā Sêng Bun, [205]-[206];
    • Prayā Sīhanāt, [199]-[201], [232]-[233];
    • Sên Utamā, [230], [232];
    • Sên Yā Wichai, [79], [100], [105], [203], [281], [291].
• Mahā Mongkut, King of Siam, [37], [47]-[48], [70].
• Mahā Vajiravudh, King of Siam, [425]-[426].
• Mattoon, Rev. S., D.D., [39], [45], [67], [165]-[166].
• McDonald, Rev. N. A., D.D., [53], [68], [103]-[104], [121]ff.
• McFarland, Rev. S. G., D.D., [53], [70]-[71].
• McGilvary, Rev. Daniel, D.D., birth (1828), [20];
  • parentage, [19]-[20];
  • childhood, [20]-[28];
  • conversion, [27]-[28];
  • Bingham School, [29]-[31];
  • teaching, [31]-[32];
  • Presbytery of Orange, [32]-[34];
  • Princeton Seminary (1853-1856), [35]-[38];
  • pastorate, [38]-[41];
  • ordination, [42];
  • voyage, [43]-[45];
  • Bangkok (1858-1861), [45]-[52];
  • marriage (1860), [52];
  • Pechaburī, [53]ff;
  • first acquaintance with the Lāo, [57]-[58];
  • tour of exploration to Chiengmai, [59]-[65];
  • charter of the Lāo mission, [66]-[70];
  • removal to Chiengmai (1867), [71]-[76];
  • pioneer experiences, [77]-[83];
  • ceremony of Dam Hūa, [84]-[86];
  • non-professional medicine and surgery, [88]-[91], [95], [120], [147]-[148], [158], [190], [195]-[196], [322], [362];
  • visit from Dr. House, [92];
  • First Church organized, [93];
  • first-fruits, [95]-[101];
  • the gathering storm, [102]-[105];
  • it breaks (Sep. 1869), [106];
  • terrifying suspense, [107], [118]-[119];
  • alarm in Bangkok, [111]-[113];
  • the martyrs, [114]-[117];
  • Siamese Royal Commission, [121];
  • a stormy audience and its results, [122]-[129];
  • death of Kāwilōrot, [133]-[135];
  • visit from Dr. and Mrs. Cushing, [138]-[139];
  • the new rulers, [137]-[144];
  • building, [140]-[142];
  • arrival of a missionary physician, [149];
  • First Tour (1872, with Dr. Vrooman)—exploration north and east, [150]-[159];
  • visit to Lakawn and Nān, [161]-[168];
  • first furlough (1873-1875), [159]-[168];
  • Second Tour (1876)—exploration northwestward, [170]-[177];
  • conversation with the Princess, [180]-[187];
  • shrine on Doi Sutēp, [188]-[189];
  • firmer Siamese policy—the Resident High Commissioner, [191]-[194];
  • the deaf Prayā, [199]-[201];
  • struggle with demonism:—Pā Sêng Bun, [203]-[206];
  • Christian marriage defeated, [207]-[209];
  • appeal unto Cæsar, [210]-[212];
  • Edict of Religious Toleration (1878), [213]-[220];
  • teachers for the Girls’ School, [221]-[222];
  • the harvest of twelve years, [225];
  • the nine years’ wanderer, [225]-[228];
  • voyage to Hongkong, [228]-[230];
  • Rahêng, [230]-[232];
  • churches organized, [233];
  • second furlough (1881-1882)—reinforcements and losses, [236]-[243];
  • a surveying expedition (1884), [244]-[254];
  • equipment for touring, [249]-[251];
  • semi-monthly mail to Maulmein, [255]-[256];
  • death of Princess Tipa Kēsawn, [257];
  • Presbytery of North Laos and the training of native evangelists, [257]-[262];
  • station established at Lakawn, [263]-[265];
  • struggle with demonism renewed—Bān Pên, [266]-[270];
  • work among the villages, [270]-[274];
  • Third Tour (1886, with Mr. Martin)—Christian communities in the north, [276]-[283];
  • reinforcements, [283]-[284];
  • river trip with Mr. Dodd, [285]-[286];
  • Fourth Tour (1887), [286]-[287];
  • Fifth Tour (1888, with Dr. Peoples and Mr. Dodd):—church organized in Chieng Sên, [289]-[291];
  • serious illness, [291];
  • marriage of his daughter—the Prince and the charades, [293];
  • foothold secured in Lampūn, [294]-[296];
  • trip to Bangkok, [297];
  • week at Bān Pên, [297]-[298];
  • a marvellous recovery, [298];
  • the “prisoner of Jesus Christ,” [300]-[304];
  • tax-rebellion, [305]-[306];
  • Dr. McKean, and a continuous medical mission at last, [306]-[307];
  • Sixth Tour (1890, with Miss McGilvary):—Lakawn, Prê, Nān, [308]-[310];
  • the lost elephant, [311];
  • Chieng Kawng and the “Teacher’s Road,” [313]-[314];
  • Chieng Sên and Chieng Rāi, [314]-[315];
  • elephant runaways, [317]-[318];
  • Buddhist sacred days to be observed by Christians, [318]-[319];
  • Seventh Tour (1891, with Mr. Phraner), [320]-[336]:—first meeting with the Mūsôs, [322]-[327];
  • Mûang Len, [327]-[329];
  • Chieng Sên, [329]-[330];
  • a thrilling experience, [330]-[331];
  • Chieng Kawng and Mûang Tông, [332]-[333];
  • Mūsôs baptized, [333]-[336];
  • Eighth Tour (1892, with Dr. McKean)—among the Mūsô villages, [338]-[348];
  • tragic struggle with opium, [348];
  • famine, [349]-[352];
  • Ninth Tour (1893, with Mr. Irwin)—the Sipsawng Pannā, [353]-[368];
  • Mûang Yawng, [354]-[355];
  • an undiscovered peril, [358];
  • Chieng Rung;
  • ferry and ford of the Mê Kōng, [359]-[360];
  • dysentery and heroic treatment, [362];
  • Mûang Sing, [363]-[366];
  • Mūsôs east of the Mê Kōng, [367]-[368];
  • third furlough (1893-1894), [370]-[376];
  • Mr. Arthington of Leeds, [373]-[376];
  • Presbytery and a native ministry, [377]-[380];
  • Tenth Tour (1896, with Dr. Denman)—Chieng Rāi chosen for a station, [382]-[384];
  • evangelists sent forth, [384];
  • Mūsôs, [385];
  • Eleventh Tour (1897, with Dr. Peoples)—the “regions beyond”: Lūang Prabāng, [388]ff.;
  • courtesy of French officials, [388]-[390], [395], [398], [400];
  • Mûang Sai, [390]-[394];
  • Mûang Āi, [394]-[395];
  • wedding feast, [395];
  • surprise party, [396]-[397];
  • Mûang Sing, [398], [399];
  • Twelfth Tour (1898)—the closed door, [402]-[412];
  • summoned to the U. S. by illness of Mrs. McGilvary (1905), [426]-[427];
  • Golden Wedding, [427]-[429];
  • appreciation by Dr. Arthur J. Brown, D.D., [1]-[7].
  • Observations and criticisms: Continuity in mission policy, [416]-[417];
    • Converts with more than one wife, [231]-[232];
    • Exclusion of the Lāo mission from the Lāo-speaking peoples of the north, [157], [332], [368]-[369], [404], [411]-[412];
    • Girls’ Schools as Christianizing agencies, [178], [203], [280], [284], [287], [418]-[419];
    • Heresy trials, [371]-[372];
    • Language problem, [222]-[225], [420]-[422];
    • Native evangelists and ministers, [257]-[262], [377]-[380], [414]-[416];
    • Parliament of religions, [370]-[371];
    • Obedient to constituted authority and law, [208], [301], [393], [400], [406];
    • Outlying Christian communities—their claim on the missionary, [329]-[330];
    • Rulers—importance of cultivating their acquaintance, [90], [144], [161], [170]-[171],330.
  • Religious teachings and conversations, [97]-[98], [161]-[162], [174]-[176], [180]-[188], [199]-[200], [342]-[343], [365].
• McGilvary, Mrs. Sophia Bradley, marriage, [52];
  • wins first Lāo convert, [79], [100];
  • life in a bamboo shack, [140];
  • furlough after twenty-three years in Siam, [159]-[160];
  • river journey Without escort, [164];
  • opens first Lāo school, [177];
  • sole assistant in the mission, [195]-[197];
  • translates first Gospel into Lāo, [288], [320];
  • visits to the U. S., [158], [229], [238], [426]-[427];
  • Golden Wedding, [427]-[428].
• Medical Mission, summary, [422]-[423].
• Merit-making, [64], [133], [134], [147], [180], [257].
• Mission, American Baptist, of Burma, [138], [143], [254], [368], [383], [418].
• Mūsô tribe, [276], [322]-[327], [334]-[336], [338]-[348].
• Nevius, Rev. Dr., [378]-[379].
• Opium, [136], [335], [346]-[348], [357], [399].
• Presbytery:
  • of, Siam, [47], [59], [71];
  • of North Laos, [257]-[260], [377]-[380].
• Princess:
  • Tipa Kēsawn, [55], [90], [108]-[109], [145], [178], [180]-[187], [209], [222], [257];
  • the younger, [55], [63]-[64], [105], [114], [115], [119], [136].
• Printing-press, and Lāo type, [224], [320], [338], [353], [384].
• Posts and telegraphs, [91], [121], [255]-[256], [296], [320].
• Rapids:
  • Mê Ping, [71]-[75];
  • Mê Kōng, [154]-[155].
• Regent of Siam, [112], [132].
• Robbers and brigandage, [91], [164], [233], [329], [358];
  • bandit chieftain, [84], [96], [146], [147].
• Toleration, Edict of, chapter [xix].
• Warfare of depopulation, [218], [353]-[354], [355], [357], [363].
• White ants, [179].
• Wild game;
  • deer, [253], [339];
  • cattle, [253], [313];
  • tigers, [72], [152], [153], [311], [386]-[387].
• Wilson, Rev. Jonathan, D.D., [36], [38], [43], [51], [65], [67], [92], [95], [113], [140], [148], [169], [221], [233], [263], [291], [381], [423], [428].

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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BIOGRAPHY

ROBERT E. SPEER, D.D.