“I wonder if any surgeon was ever before called upon to sew up his own abdomen! Somehow nerve was given me to put in the four stitches without shrinking, though it was a work of no little difficulty, as I had to be guided by the reflection in a looking-glass—the wound not being in direct line of vision—as I lay on my back too weak to sit up. All the water I had was in a small porous drinking vessel—not over a pint, and no other supply for miles....
“That evening I arranged for a messenger to carry the tidings of my injury to the mission at Chiengmai. On the evening of the third day they returned, and with them a servant of Mr. McGilvary came along, and also our faithful Christian Siamese brother, Nai Chune, who had gone up in charge of Mr. Wilson’s household goods to Chiengmai.... Had my letter reached Chiengmai a few hours later it would have found Nai Chune gone, for his passage was taken and his things aboard the boat to start that day for Bangkok....
“I am lost in wonder when I think of the Providence by which I escaped seemingly inevitable death. Who ever heard of one being impaled on an elephant’s tusk and yet living to tell the tale. God’s merciful Providence ordered that when I was unexpectedly felled to the ground I was thrown—not flat on my back, in which case I had been pierced through and through; but on my right side, hence his tusk which was aimed at the middle line of my body glanced and so did not enter deep enough to inflict a mortal wound. Had it pierced but the thickness of this paper deeper than it did, peritoneal inflammation would have ensued and speedy death....
(Later.) “The afternoon of the day I wrote the foregoing letter a loaded elephant came to the sala where I am lying, and the one riding it began to hand down various baskets and bundles as if they had reached their destination. It proved to have been sent by my good brethren of Chiengmai, who had forwarded supplies of everything that could be thought of to make a sick man comfortable....
“With wise forethought they had arranged that a boat should be awaiting me at the nearest landing place on the river to take me to Chiengmai. I was too weak then and the wound was not in a state to allow of my leaving the sala; but the next Monday (just two weeks from the date of the injury) I ventured to try the litter again. So with a new set of elephants for my luggage and bearers for myself hired in the village, that afternoon at 3 o’clock we started, but found no camping place till 11 P. M.—a weary journey! But all forgotten next morning when my eyes rested again on the Meinam River and I was transferred to the boat. Two days of vigourous poling up the river brought me to my friends’ landing about five P. M. Wednesday, March 18.”
By Nai Chune the doctor was able to send to his wife the news of the misfortune, though it was two months after the accident before she received the message. Trusty servants were then sent up to meet him at Raheng, where his boats were awaiting his return. The complete healing of the wound and recuperation of strength required more time than he had anticipated so that he was compelled to remain at Chiengmai six weeks. During this enforced delay he had the privilege of assisting in organising the first church at Chiengmai, a little gratification to his old and ardent desire for the evangelisation of the Lao. The return was made all the way by water. From Chiengmai to Raheng the voyage required eighteen days, and thence his own boats carried him the remainder of the way to Bangkok in twelve days.
It is probable that Dr. House accomplished more touring in Siam than any other missionary. During the first ten years, within which most of the exploring was done, he was more free than Mr. Mattoon to be absent for long periods and distant journeys. While the other missions were restricting their work Dr. House had visions of enlarging the range of Presbyterian activities. All the fields of present mission stations in central Siam had been explored by Dr. House and seed sown long before permanent work was undertaken. Love of pioneering and zeal for the Gospel united to impel him to search out the land with a view to ultimate conquest for Christ.
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NEW KING, NEW CUSTOMS, NEW FAVOURS
It is a noteworthy testimony to the influence of the American missionaries that through their instruction in modern science the most enlightened monarch of the Orient should have come to his death as a result of his zeal in behalf of astronomy. Although since he had ascended the throne King Mongkut had not been able to devote time to pursuit of the sciences as he had done while a priest in the watt, yet he maintained a real interest. His requests to Dr. House for translations from foreign journals included items of scientific interest. His patronage of the mission school in favour of the sons of nobles was not merely to have them taught English, but that through that language they might obtain instruction in the sciences.