Page 343 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

329.

the English troops that had captured Amoy established their

quarters on Kulangsu. 'When Abeel and Ball arrived in early

1842, they also made the small island their residence.

In their first few weeks at Amoy, Abeel and Ball carried

out the same type of work their brethern had done at Canton

and Macao. Ball established a dispensary while Abeel pro­

selytized. Abeel was in charge of the mission, which he hoped

to build as soon as possible. His first reports back to

Bridgman, who eagerly waited to hear Abeel's observations,

were enthusiastic. The mission's primary problem focused on

acquiring buildings in the overcrowded city of Amoy. Abeel's

first impression of the port was its similarity to Canton in

terms of density of population. He wrote that his reaction

to Amoy was "multitudes, multitudes. We passed up nearly half

a mile through the junks before landing. We were struck

by the encroachment of the houses upon the sea. Economy of

room is the predominate feature. We passed through parts of

a few streets. . They appeared like those in Canton, narrow
68
damp, and lined with shops." After initial administrative

problems, the Amoy mission seemed to thrive. The hospital

received the services of another doctor, William H. Cumming,

while Abeel's weekly services attracted nearly one hundred

Chinese, a very large number in the eyes of the foreign

missionaries in China. Based on the quick success in the

68
Journal of D. Abeel, Mar. 13, 1842, in Missionary
Herald, XXXVIII, 12 (December 1842), 468.