Mission to Siam

Chapter Three Second Term of Service: Lampang, Phrae, and London, 1919–1927

chapter three Second Term of Service Lampang, Phrae, and London, 1919–1927 lampang—Nothing seems to have changed anywhere in this country , but as far as that goes, very little change has been made in Siam in hundreds of years, so what could a year do? The crocodiles play at being logs, the small birds build their nests the same way year after year, but to me it is all wonderful. There is a new recruit at the station, Miss Worthington. She will teach in the boys’ school, and I will too. There is talk of the outvillage work being turned over to Lott and me entirely. For now, though, Lott does most of it alone. Bobby is too young to travel. The most I can do is go to the nearby villages for Sunday services. But it pains me not to take full part in the out-village work. I love it, and furthermore we cannot really address these people’s souls if we do not heal their bodies. It is hard to hold the interest of people who are sick. Tonight I was with Dr. Crooks attending to Fun Chang, my table boy’s wife, as she gave birth to her first baby. For a while, she seemedunabletohelpherselfortakeadeepbreath.Suspectingsomething , we examined her and found she had a tight cord tied around her waist. This is a native custom. The idea is that the baby could go upward instead of down; the cord is to prevent that. It also prevents the diaphragm from functioning—that is why Fun Chang couldn’t breathe properly—and thus results in many hard births, with mothers dying in labor. Reassuring Fun Chang that the baby could not go upward, we released the cord, and the child was born without further trouble. It is strange that this young woman, who had gone to school and knew a great deal about health, still clung to this superstition . But such beliefs are very tenacious. In our country we still 81 have a queer feeling about going under ladders, and we are supposed to be civilized. One would think that fear, which is the basis of spirit worship, would be easy to give up, but it is not. I am working on a translation of Fanny Farmer’s cookbook into the Lao language. This involves many substitutions. Fanny Farmer would hardly know her wonderful book, but the men who wish to work at being cooks need a guide. I have let a number of them come into my kitchen and work with Cook Tah. Those who can read will be helped by this book, and a number of Englishmen will be saved from stomach trouble. Our native men like to work for the teak companies here; such jobs pay well, as the cooks must go out into the jungle with their employers, sometimes for eight or ten months. So we run a cooking school in our kitchen. I am also writing a pamphlet on the care of children. When the cookbook and pamphlet are finished , I will have them printed by the mission press. Whatever adjustments are needed in their child care, the women here are strong, and often have many children. My dobie, Pi Jan, has a family so large that her granddaughter is niece to her newborn baby. Lao women marry young, and the older children marry and have children while their mother is still bearing children. A few weeks ago Pi Jan came to me and asked for a few days off to prepare for the coming of her new baby. In fact, the baby, Pi Jan’s twelfth, was born that night. Pi Jan delivered herself, and in three days she came back to resume her work. I sent her home, but she was not anxious to go, and after a few days she was on the job again and brought the baby with her. He is a fine boy, and Pi Jan seems as strong as ever. I am fortunate to have such wonderful people working for me. I have always been told that in this country servants will only do their own job, never anyone else’s, but that is not true of my people. Also, they work together so nicely. I think Cook Tah and Mae Pieu have a lot to do with this. They set the tone. christmas 1920—Lampang has more Europeans than any of the other Northern cities, and they all stream into town for Christmas. There...