Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

THE MISSIONARY. No 51 Vol. Vl. j Pi* v r IDENTIAL DELIVERANCE. Our readers are already informed of the re* markable deliverance of the American Baptist Missionaries at Rangoon, when that place was attacked by the British. The following particu lars are from the journal of Mr. Wade, who, with his companion, Ylr. Hough, and several Europe ans, were confined in chains when it was known that the British fleet was ascending the river. Mag 1 lift, 1824. The night was long and tiresome, but at length morning arrived. Mrs. VV. and H. sent us breakfast by the servants, accompanied by a note,requesting to know the very worst of our circumslan cea. There was but one hope left; it was that o( addressing a petition to Mr. Sarkies, an officer of considerable rank and influence among the Bormans, but a foreigner; this, therefore, we advised them to do. To this petition Mr. Sarkies answered, that he had already done all that lay in his power in om behalf; hut so far from being able lo give us any assistance, he expected every mo ment to share a like fate, The fleet very early in the morning had got under weigh, and was rapidly advancing upon the town. About three or four thousand armed Bur- Vlans were collected together in front of the town, along the shore, to repel any at tack which might be made by the approach ing enemy. The women and children, as if foreseeing the events of (he day, left the town and lied to the jungles, catr)mg with them as large a portion of their little prop erty as they were able. When it was an nounced that the fleet was within a few miles of the town, two other Englishmen chained together, with a Greek and an Armenian chained in the same manner, were added to our miserable number. Our guard was (considerably strengthened, and enjoined strictly to keep us close : all communica tion with our servants, and things without, was cut off. One faithful old servant, be longing to captain Tench, seized an oppor tunity, when our door was partly opened, nl slipping into the room uriperceivefl. Seeing ‘be situation of his master, and of us atl, he wept like a child ; and not only wept, but taking a large turban from his head, and tearing it into strips, bound them round our ancles, to prevent our chains from galling; which we afterwards found of es sential service to us. Shortly after, orders from the Yawhojn wero_comrnunicWl to our guard, through the gates of the prison, viz. that the instant :he shipping should open afire upon the town, they were to massa ere all the prisoners wi'hout hesitation. This blasted all our hopes. The guards immediately began sharpening their instru ments of death with bricks and brandishing them about our heads, io show with how much dexterity and pleasure they would execute their fatal, order®. Upon the place which they intended ‘or the scene of butch erv, a large quantity of sand was spread to receive the blood. Among ihe prisoners reigned the gloono and silence of death—the vast ocean of eternity seemed hut a step be fore u. Mr. 11. and myself threw ourselves down opoa a mattress, expecting never to rise again, and calmly waited to hear the first gun that should he fired upon the town, ns the signal for our certain death. In the mean time, an account of our real situation, which we had used various means to conceal, reached thS ears of Mrs. VV and H. Their feeling? can be better conceived than ex pressed. Who can tell with what agony of soul they listened to hear the first gun, the messenger which would relate a tale, more sad and awful than death itself could relate. At length the fleet arrived, and the attack ■commenced. The first ball thrown into ihe town came with a tremendous noise di rectly aver our heads. Our guards, filled with consternation and amazpment, seem ingly unable to execute their murderous or ders, slunk away into one corner of the prison, where they remained perfectly qui et, until a broadside from the Liffey, whirl* made the prison shake and tremble to i’s very foundation, so effectually frightened them, that like children, they cried on! through fear; and openly declared their in tent ion of breaking open the door. We used every argument to prevent thpirdoiog so, fearing, if the should find us deserted by the guard, they might be indu ; ced to despatch us at once, to prevent our making an escape. But they felt the force of no arguments, saying, “ The building will certainly be down upon us; we must go.” soon found means to brpak open the door: which being done, they all went out, but took the precaution to secure the door again, by fastening it with rattans upon the outside. We were now left alone. About this time the firing ceased upon both sides; and we began to cherish the fond hope of deliver ance, inferring from the circumstance just named, that the Burmans bad either sur rendered or fled, and that the English troops MOUNT ZION, (HANCOCK COUNTY, GEORGIA,) MONDAY, JULY 18, 1825. were already landing, who would shortly appear to deliver us from our dangerous sit uation. Mrs. W. and H. heard the firing commence, under the impression, that at that moment the merciless Burmans were imbruing their hands in our blood. They also had much reason to fear, that a few mo* ments more would bring them to the same fate. Moung-shwa-ba still remained with them, declaring that be would do all in his power to protect them and our property : which he did, even at the risk of his own life. He told them plainly, that the Bur mans would come in search of them, it be ing an invariable custom among them, when they put a man to death under our circum stances, to sacrifice also his wife, children, and all his relations, even to the sixth gen eration. Finding, therefore, that they could not remain iri the house with the least prospect of escape, they secreted their most valuable articles of furniture, and having taken a few clothes, a pillow, and a Bible, sought refuge within the walls of a Portu geese church, a little distance off. They begged the priest to open the doors of the church to them; but the holy father would not suffer a place so sacred to be polluted bv the unhallowed feet of hereticks. lie drove them from the church, from his own house, and even out of his verandah. They then conceived the project of disguising themselves, as they were obliged to go out into the streets, which were completely fil led with Borqians. For this purpose they obtained clothes of the servants who attend ed them, which they put on over their own, dressing their heads in Burman style, and, lastly, blacked their bands and faces. In this disguise they mixed with the multitude, and passed along undiscovered, while they frequently heard Burmans inquiring for the teacher’s wives, which kept them in con stant fear, lest (hey should be known. Af ter going some distance, they came, to the house of a Portuguese woman, into which they entered and begged protection; but (he unfeeling wreicli refused them, saying, if she gave them protection, she should en danger her own life. But being entirely exhausted with fatigue and distress of mind, they threw themselves down upon a mat, feeling that they were unable to go any further. Here, therefore, we shall leave them for the present, and return to the prison, where all had remained quiet about the space of half an hour; but in a moment the whole scene changed. About fifty armed Burmans came rushing into the prison like madmen. We were instantly etzed, dragged out of the prison, our lothes torn from our bodies, and our arms drawn behind us with a cord, so tight that it was impossible to move them. I thought mine would have been cut entirely to the bone : indeed, we were treated just as they would treat criminals, whom they were about to lead to the place of execution. We were-now put in front of several armed men, whose duty it was to goad us along with the points of their spears ; others had hold of the cord which bound our arms; they would pull us first this way, then that, so that it was impossible for us to determine in what direction they would have us go. Sometimes we were impelled forward ; then drawn backward®, and again our legs were so entangled with the chains as to quite throw ns down : in short, they seemed to study methods of torturing us; but com plainls were quite useless. After making an exhibition of us through almost every street in the town, we were at length brought to the’Yongdau, or place where all causes are tried, and sentences pat; it was the seat of judgement, but not the seat of justice. Here sat the dispenser of life and death ; surrounded by other of fleers of the town. He ordered as to be placed before him in a kneeling posture, with our faces to the ground, to which we submitted in the most respectful manner. On one side of us was a noisy rabble, crying out altogether, “That dan, that dau,” that is, let them be put to death. Between us and the Yawhoon were two linguists, kneel ing, and with tears begging for mercy for u. The cries of the multitude prevailed. The executioner,who stood on one side with a large knife in his hand, waiting the decis ion, was ordered to proceed; but just as he was lifting the knife to strike off the head of the prisoner nearest to him, Mr. H. beg ged permission to make a proposal to the Yawhoon, who having beckoned to the ex ecutioner to desist a little, demanded what he had to say. The proposal was, that one .or two of the prisoners should be sent on board Ihe shipping, in which case he would at least promise that the firing upon the town should cease directly. But said the Yawhoon, “Are yon sure of this; will you positively engage to make peace ?” At this moment a broadside from the Liffey occa- sioned great alarm. The Yawhoon and dther officers instantly dispersing, sought .refuge under the bank of a neighbouring tank. We were now permitted once mors to stand upon our feet, which but a moment ago we never expected to do again. The firing increased, and the multitude began to flee with great precipitancy. Though our ankles were already miserably galled with our chains, the cords on our arms intolerably painful, and destitute of any clothes except pantaloons, urged along with spears, we were obliged to keep pace with those whom fear impelled with hasty step Having passed through the gate of the town, they kept close uuder the walls to prevent being cut down by the -cannon balls, which were falling in every direction around us: at length they bent their course towards the place of publick execution, whither we sup posed (hey intended to carry us. We pas sed directly by the Portuguese woman’s bouse, where Mrs. W. and 11. had but a few moments before turned in to ask protection. They saw us as we passed. They knew they were driving us towards the place of execution, and said to each other, “ That is the last time we shall ever behold our bus bands.” They thought till now we wereal ready dead; it was therefore a little relief to know we were still living. Their first impression, as they have since told me, was to follow us, and share our fate; but h mo ment’s reflection convinced them of the im propriety of such a step : it would make the parting intolerable, both to them and us, to be murdered before their eyes. Fortunate ly tor us, we did not know that they saw us, until all was over. We soon after found that they did not de sign to carry U 9 to the place of execution: for having passed by this spot they proceed ed in the direction dt tbe Great Pagoda. Looking behind, we saw the Yawhoon and his officers following us upon horseback. When they had overtaken us, they alighted, and having seated themselves in a Zayal, ordered us to be placed before them a sec ond time, but not in so degrading a posture as before ; indeed their whole treatment of us seemed a little more mild. Our arm 9 were untied, a little water was offered us to driak, also a few plantains and cheroots. After a few moments consultation upon the proposal made by Mr. H. it was assented to, and his chains were taken eff: he asked to have me sent with him, but this was refus ed. Mr. H. being gone, the remaining prisoners were committed to the charge of an inferiour officer, with strict orders, that if Mr. H. did not succeed, to put us to death; which also was the substance of Ihe message sent by the Yawhoon to the General by Mr. H. on whose success now hung all our hopes of life. The officer directed, that we should be deposited in a building standing upon the base of the Great Pagoda, and be treated hospitably until Mr. H’s. return. Four of our number, being quite exhausted with fatigue and pain, occasioned by the galling of their chains, were unable to go any farther, which the other officer per ceiving, he allowed them to remain in a building at the foot of the Pagoda. Tbe place in which we were now to be confined was a strong brick building consisting of four apartments. The first of these was occupied by large images. The second was a kind of hall, and behind this were two small dungeons, or dark gloomy apart ments, apparently designed as repositories for treasure. We were first confined in the second of these apartments, but shortly af ter in one of the dungeons ju9t mentioned. We found the place filled with Burman goods of almost every description; there were no windows, or any thing else com fortable, and they gave us nothing to eat or drink. Mr. H. in his way to the shipping, met a company of troops which had just landed: he communicated his business to one of the officers, and related where and under what circumstances he had left us. They proceeded forward io search of us; but before they reached the spot we had been removed, as before related; and the Yawhoon with his attendants, being inform ed that a company of troops was advancing upon him, fled to the jungles. The same detachment having received some informa tion from Mr. H. of Mrs H. and W. also made search for them. But they having been driven out of the house of the Portu guese woraao, as stated above, had at length taken refuge in a small bamboo bouse, to gether with a number of other females, wives of foreigners, whose husbands were also prisoners. This place merely hid them from the eyes of the passing multi tude, though they were in most imminent danger from cannon balls, which were eve ry moment falling around them; and even here they were sought by Ihe Burmans ; but a young man who stood At the door, told the inquirers that tbe wives of the teachers were not there, and that he knew nothing of them. Here they remained in a state o t great anxiety and danger, till at length they heard the sound of the bugle®: assured by this that English troops must be near, they threw aside their Burman cos tume, and ran out to meet them; their bauds and faces still black, and tbeir whole appearance that of persons in great distress. Their first words to the kind officer [Major Sale] who took them under his protection, were, “Our husbauds, our husbands!” “ Where.are vour husbands?” said the of ficer. They could only answer, that but a little while ago they saw os led by in chains, and almost naked, towards the place of ex ecution. He immediately despatched two or three of his men to the spot to see if our bodies could 6e found, not doubting but we bad been put to death : they returned with out intelligence. Mrs. W. and H. were then conducted into town, (it being unsafe to spend the night at the mission-house) and placed under the protection of Mr. Sarkies, whose family was very kind, and used every possible exertion to accommodate and con sole them. Mr. H. delivered his message from the Yawhoon to Sir Archibald Camp bell, who said in answer, “ If the Burmans shed one dtop of white blood, we will lay the whole country in rums, and give no quarters.” lie returned to the place where he had left the Yawhoon, for the purpose of delivering the General’s answer; but not finding him, he proceeded as far as the Great Pagoda, where he found many Bur. mans, of whom he inquired after the Yaw hooo, and also for the prisoners; but being unable to gain any information of either, he returned back to town, where he found Mrs. H. and W. safely protected. It is very remarkable that he performed this excur sion without being molested t>y a single Burman. It was now near 8 o’clock, and tbe firing from the shipping still continuing, gave us reason to apprehend, that Mr. H. had done little good by his message to the General. We, however, remained as quiet as possible, which was now our only hope of safety. Exhausted by hunger, and the fatigues of the day, we laid our naked bodies upon the ground, in hopes of gaining a lit tle rest; but our situation was too uncom fortable to adtiut of sleep. Several times during tbe night our fears were greatly ex cited by tbe Burmans; for there were sev eral hundreds around us; and it was almost impossible to stir, without making a noise with our chains loud enough to be heard at a considerable distance. \2th. —Very early in the morning, a party of Burmans came, evidently with the design of putting us to death, or carrying U 9 with them into the jungle, which to me seemed more terrible than death. Having entered that part of (he building in which they bad probably seen us deposited on the preceeding evening, and not finding ns, they fell into a great rage, if we might judge from their language. This 100 m being contiguous to the place where we were, and the door not shutting perfectly tight, they came to examine it, but finding it locked, were about to burst it open, when some person from the outside cried that the English were coming, by which they were alarmed, and fled with great precip itancy. But a moment before we said to ourselves, it is all over with us; death, or something worse, seemed inevitable; but now tbe most sanguine hopes succeed ed to fear. All tbe Burmans bad fled, and tbe English troops were near; we even beard some of their voices distinctly ; but were very soon again pluDged from the pinnacle of hope into the depths of des pair. The English troops passed by, aud the Burmans again took possession of tbe Pagoda ; and we frequently heard them in the adjoining room; thus ‘hope and fear alternate swayed our breast-’ At length the moment of deliverance came. Anoth er party of troops, headed by Sir Archi bald himself, advancedi the Burmans, see ing them at some distance, fired two guns, which they had planted upon the Pagoda, (which was the first intimation we had of tbeir approach.) These guns were no sooner discharged, than the Burmans took to their heels as fast as possible; & about ten minutes after, we bad tbe opportunity and unspeakable pleasure of discovering to the troops the place of our confiuement. It was Gen. Campbell, I believe, who burst open our door. We crawled out of our dungeon naked, dirty and almost suffocated. The General welcomed os to his protec tion, and ordered our chains immediately to be taken off but they were so large and <liff, that all attempts were quite ineffectu al : so that we were obliged to walk two miles iuto the town, still in irons. Clothes, victuals, &c. were immediately given m.