Saving Fish from Drowning - Heal Burma

SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING
mind. No one has ever determined the identity of S. W. Erdnase.
Some, however, point out that “S. W. Erdnase” is “E. S. Andrews”
backward.
Through trick or book royalties, Seraphineas had money to buy
goods in America, and a friend would ship these to Burma. Every
year the crates arrived, with schoolbooks, blackboards, and medi­
cines, as well as replenishments of favorite foods. There were also
white dresses with rickrack for his virgin brides and the latest fash­
ions for his wardrobe, all in a creamy ivory: French-tailored shirts,
morning jackets and waistcoats, cravats, and a Panama hat. The kid­
skin boots were always lacquer black. The walking stick was ebony
and gold, with an inlaid ivory handle.
One day, while on a picnic with several of his favorite wives and
sons, he walked into the jungle and did not return to his half-eaten
meal. At first, no one worried too much. The Lord of Nats had the
power of invisibility. He had often disappeared when soldiers of the
British Raj came to arrest him for swindling and murder. He had
given some of his invisible powers to his children as well. But this
time, too many hours passed, the hours turning into days, then
weeks, then months. No trace of him was ever found, not a scrap of
clothing, shoe, bone, or tooth. The Important Writings were also
gone. In later years, when it was time for myths to be enlarged, sev­
eral of his followers recalled that they had seen him flying with white
bird-angels to the Land Beyond the Last Valley—to the Kingdom of
Death, where he would conquer its ruler. But he would return, the
faithful said, never fear, for it was written in the book of Important
Writings. And when he did return, they would recognize him by the
three Holy Signs, whatever those turned out to be.
Although many missionaries had come and gone since, it was
Seraphineas Andrews’s influence that prevailed with this Karen
splinter tribe. His followers continued to be known as the “Lord’s
Army,” but his actual descendants were few, for most of them had
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