Page 194 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 194
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
him and Norah at that time, and the friendship has remained to this day. In the meantime in Shanghai
Doug had left for Toronto, Mother Moore was helping with the housekeeping to allow ‘Auntie Jeanie
Anderson’ to have a well earned holiday, and Grandad was holding himself ready to return to Shaanxi
to search for the Frenchams as soon as HQ would give him the go ahead.
It was mid May before things began to move. Percy and Fred were told that Percy’s father was
already on his way to Xi’an and they were to join him there. The Stranges were already in Xi’an so
Arnold as well as Percy and Fred and Percy’s dad were all to return to South Shaanxi to do what they
could to encourage the Churches, and keep their eye on the communist situation. Winnie Strange and
their two children were to join Marj Smith and Myrie and me on Jigong Shan, a beautiful mountain
holiday resort where Henan workers often went to escape the intense summer heat of the Chang
Jiang (Yangtse) Valley. The other ladies from South Shaanxi were sent to work in some of the Henan
stations until it was considered safe for us all to return.
THE FRENCHAMS (Read an article from the Melbourne ‘Argus’ - click here
We were all full of joy when we heard that the Frenchams had arrived back in Hanzhong. They had
been captured by the Reds when they made their surprise entry into Ningqiang at Chinese New Year.
They then had to keep up with their captors as they journeyed up and down those north Sichuan
mountains. The mountains were steep and difficult to climb, the food was rough and coarse and the
weather bitterly cold. Charlie was never tied up but for the first few days, because there were so many
women prisoners, too many for one guard to keep track of, Ruth was tied as the rest of the women
were. Charlie was strong and well and could take the hard climbing in his stride, but poor Ruth was
six months pregnant and suffering for a good part of the time from diarrhoea brought on by the rough
food. She found the steep mountain climbing almost impossible and finally Charlie asked and was
given permission to help her. That made things a little better for her but at nights when the constant
attacks of diarrhoea made it necessary for Ruth to climb out into the snow to relieve herself, she had
first to ask permission of her guard, which meant waking her up. The guard was a rough, tough
communist woman who, in the daytime kept shouting at her to keep up with the rest, and at night, after
Ruth waited and waited till she could wait no more and screwed up her courage at last to ask
permission to go out, the woman cursed and swore at her angrily.
Suddenly, to their great surprise, Charlie and Ruth were told they were free and could go. They were
given a ‘huagan’ (mountain litter) to take Ruth back to Hanzhong, money for food on the way, and a
band even played them out of the camp! Nobody quite knew at that time the meaning for this sudden
turn about, but later on we learned that western newspapers were making such a fuss about the
deaths of John and Betty Stam and the disappearance of a Mr. Ferguson, an older missionary about
the same time, that Moscow had sent word to the Chinese Reds to be careful how they treated the
foreigners.
The Frenchams at last arrived in Hanzhong and were taken to Dr. Xiao’s home and clinic, where they
were given the warmest of welcomes by the Xiao family who, like the rest of us, had given them up for
dead. Their dirty, lice ridden clothes were burned in the back yard incinerator and tailors quickly
brought in to make up new garments. Wearing wadded clothes, as they were doing when they were
captured, meant that lice bred in them freely. Charlie told us later that, when they were at their worst,
he used to take some 200 lice a day off his clothes, and Ruth’s were the same. Their bodies were a
mass of sores. The Xiaos could not do enough for them. Ruth was given special food and care to
prepare her for her baby’s birth which was very near by this time.
194
Amy Moore
him and Norah at that time, and the friendship has remained to this day. In the meantime in Shanghai
Doug had left for Toronto, Mother Moore was helping with the housekeeping to allow ‘Auntie Jeanie
Anderson’ to have a well earned holiday, and Grandad was holding himself ready to return to Shaanxi
to search for the Frenchams as soon as HQ would give him the go ahead.
It was mid May before things began to move. Percy and Fred were told that Percy’s father was
already on his way to Xi’an and they were to join him there. The Stranges were already in Xi’an so
Arnold as well as Percy and Fred and Percy’s dad were all to return to South Shaanxi to do what they
could to encourage the Churches, and keep their eye on the communist situation. Winnie Strange and
their two children were to join Marj Smith and Myrie and me on Jigong Shan, a beautiful mountain
holiday resort where Henan workers often went to escape the intense summer heat of the Chang
Jiang (Yangtse) Valley. The other ladies from South Shaanxi were sent to work in some of the Henan
stations until it was considered safe for us all to return.
THE FRENCHAMS (Read an article from the Melbourne ‘Argus’ - click here
We were all full of joy when we heard that the Frenchams had arrived back in Hanzhong. They had
been captured by the Reds when they made their surprise entry into Ningqiang at Chinese New Year.
They then had to keep up with their captors as they journeyed up and down those north Sichuan
mountains. The mountains were steep and difficult to climb, the food was rough and coarse and the
weather bitterly cold. Charlie was never tied up but for the first few days, because there were so many
women prisoners, too many for one guard to keep track of, Ruth was tied as the rest of the women
were. Charlie was strong and well and could take the hard climbing in his stride, but poor Ruth was
six months pregnant and suffering for a good part of the time from diarrhoea brought on by the rough
food. She found the steep mountain climbing almost impossible and finally Charlie asked and was
given permission to help her. That made things a little better for her but at nights when the constant
attacks of diarrhoea made it necessary for Ruth to climb out into the snow to relieve herself, she had
first to ask permission of her guard, which meant waking her up. The guard was a rough, tough
communist woman who, in the daytime kept shouting at her to keep up with the rest, and at night, after
Ruth waited and waited till she could wait no more and screwed up her courage at last to ask
permission to go out, the woman cursed and swore at her angrily.
Suddenly, to their great surprise, Charlie and Ruth were told they were free and could go. They were
given a ‘huagan’ (mountain litter) to take Ruth back to Hanzhong, money for food on the way, and a
band even played them out of the camp! Nobody quite knew at that time the meaning for this sudden
turn about, but later on we learned that western newspapers were making such a fuss about the
deaths of John and Betty Stam and the disappearance of a Mr. Ferguson, an older missionary about
the same time, that Moscow had sent word to the Chinese Reds to be careful how they treated the
foreigners.
The Frenchams at last arrived in Hanzhong and were taken to Dr. Xiao’s home and clinic, where they
were given the warmest of welcomes by the Xiao family who, like the rest of us, had given them up for
dead. Their dirty, lice ridden clothes were burned in the back yard incinerator and tailors quickly
brought in to make up new garments. Wearing wadded clothes, as they were doing when they were
captured, meant that lice bred in them freely. Charlie told us later that, when they were at their worst,
he used to take some 200 lice a day off his clothes, and Ruth’s were the same. Their bodies were a
mass of sores. The Xiaos could not do enough for them. Ruth was given special food and care to
prepare her for her baby’s birth which was very near by this time.
194
