Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

The Children's CornerDr. John Peoples at Work in Turkeyby Mrs. Kenneth SandersonOn May 8 he wrote, "I arrived at Mersine two daysago at six a.m. Threw some things together and took theafternoon train for Adana. The Mersine mission buildingsare full of refugees, many of whom have measles withcomplications. I came to Tarsus from Adana on Friday to seeif I could get some Turkish doctors to help. —"Just one instance to help explain what horrible andunthinkable cruelties have taken place here. A party ofArmenians were forced to become Moslems and then setupon by the soldiers and bayonetted. Afterward they werebrought out of the house where they were and laid in a pilewith rubbish thrown over them and the whole set on fire.One woman whom I cared for today was in this pile, butmanaged to crawl out quickly after having been badly burnedon the head and arm. There is one little boy here abouttwelve whose head was hacked by an axe. His brain isprotruding and today I cut a portion of it away because ofgangrene. We who are spared can but 'thank God and takecourage.' The wonder is not that the few die, but that somany have survived. In many cases it would seem to be amerciful providence that they do die — no friends, norrelatives, no money, no clothing, no homes, no land — inshort, nothing. The suspense and strain and uncertaintythrough which the missionaries have passed is inconceivableand almost beyond human endurance."At first Dr. Peoples spent most of his time in Adanahelping treat the wounded and sick in the refugee camps. Hewas so busy he couldn't even take time to keep track of thenumber of patients he cared for. After August when he didbegin to keep records he reported that their clinic had treated6,065 patients in twenty-four days, with 415 being thegreatest number treated in any one morning!If Dr. Peoples had been longing for more work to dofour months previously, now he was wishing for some timeto rest and more capable doctors to help him. He wrote,"We come in tired from the hospital and have supper and goright to bed. As soon as breakfast is over we go to thehospital and make another day's round. I'm tired and sleepy.After next Monday I expect to be the only foreign doctorhere. At present we have one surgical and two medicalhospitals. I have charge of the surgical. They are exceedinglycrude affairs, but good work has been done in them. We takeonly emergency and accident cases into the surgical hospital,not any long standing or chronic cases, for there is too muchto do."When he first reached Adana he described his lifethus: "I was going day and night and literally had nowhereto lay my head except in a building which had been commandeeredby the British Consul. There were some cots onwhich every Tom, Dick, and John threw themselves whentoo tired to go any further — no sheets or pillow cases, sothese were never changed. There was enough grease wheremy head lay to cook eggs. Did not have a good wash, withouteven thinking of a bath for many days."In early June the British Vice Consul invited him tocome and live at the Consulate in Adana since it was near thehospitals and the country was under martial law whichmeant they could not go out after sunset. When he went outafter dark he had to have one soldier in front of him and onebehind, except if he went from the Consulate to the nearbyhospital. His letters home continued to be full of his horrorat the situation in Turkey as it had been and continued to be.The following quotation is typical: "Justice is a farce and amere mockery and very evidently the Young Turks are littleimprovement over the Old. Facts are too horrible to relate.— Have to take a boy's eye out early tomorrow morning.Am still getting bullets out of different parts of anatomies.The boy who had the brain operation died."Dr. Peoples did not forget to write home some of themore humorous moments also. "One time I was operating,with an Armenian doctor helping by giving the anesthetic. Assoon as I would begin to cut the patient's skin with the knifethe doctor would quit giving the anesthetic and the sick manwould move his hand. There was an English noblewomanthere and finally I asked the lady to hold the patient's hand.She did so, but as soon as she saw the blood she went downlike a sack of flour. I asked the Armenian doctor to take thewoman out and look after her and thus solved two difficulties!I got the native girl who had worked with me beforeto give the anesthetic and went on with the operation."As work among the refugees slackened Dr. Peoplesreturned to Mersine and began to make plans for opening asmall hospital. Before long interests quite outside the field ofmedicine began to take a part of his time. Miss EvadneSterrett had come to visit her aunt, Miss Evadne Sterrett, inOctober 1907. She stayed in Mersine until the followingJune and returned to America. In October 1909, shereturned to Mersine to teach. On November 20 she wrotehome, "I am quite ashamed that I have not even written tomy home or to anyone in America. It is not because theschool is so large, but other matters have filled the time."Part of the "other matters" was becoming acquainted withand eventually engaged to John Peoples.In describing his future wife to his family, JohnPeoples wrote, "Yes, Evadne is very jolly and she can dolots of things that boys can do. She whistles nicely, sings,and plays. — Another point in her favor is that she has beenout in Turkey before and is seemingly able to stand it fairlywell. It is an exceedingly hard country and climate forwomen. I think Evadne is fairly fond of cooking."(To be continued)10 COVENANTER WITNESS