CHAPTER XVI. ON THE TAMUL MISSIONS. SALEM-CHEVEROI HILLS-MR. HENRY CRISP-HIS LABOURS AND ADDIS-EDUCATION-A CHITTOOR-THE FATHER OF THE MISSION-MR. JENNINGS-DIFFICULTIES-DEATH OF MR. DACRE-DEATH OF MR. JENNINGS -MR. BILDERBECK-BRANCH STATIONS. SALEM Is the principal town of the Baramhal district. It contains about 60,000 inhabitants, and the province more than a million. As it is situate on a plain, and on the descent of the Ghauts to the south, the climate is hot and dry; the trees, except around the villages, are comparatively few; and the face of the country, in the hot season, looks barren and uninteresting, though the soil is good and productive. In descending from the Mysore, every thing here appears diminutive; the fowls are not larger than bantams; the eggs resemble those of pigeons; the goats and sheep and cattle of all kinds are remarkably small; and the human race seem to partake of the dwarfish character which is thus impressed upon the whole animate creation. Not many miles from Salem, the Cheveroi hills tower amid the clouds. In the village of Guntoor, half-way up the ascent, their inhabitants are seen to most advantage. There are about thirty cabins, and the people are shepherds. I have not seen any human beings so wild, and so much on a level with the beasts of the forest. Their houses are built neither of brick, nor stone, nor clay. But bamboos in a circular form, are stuck into the ground, and the roof covered with thatch, gives the dwellings the appearance of a large cage. About a cubit of space is left between the inner and outer row of bamboos, that the poor children may have liberty to crawl round, and then, as the floor inside is elevated, the rains which must descend from the hills with great violence, run off in this outer path, and leave the interior dry; and the inmates say it is enough that their dwellings resemble those of their sheep and their goats. Indeed! vulgar report affirms that these people live on such good terms with the savage tribes of the woods, that when the mother goes out to her toil, she leaves her infant in charge of the tiger. Such a report, false and ridiculous as it is, shows the estimation in which these people are held by their more civilized brethren. In some parts of the ascent, the roads are so bad, and often so steep, that you pant, and blow, stand still and sit down, and wish for the top a hundred times before you reach it; and when you have actually gained the summit, your joy is unbounded that you have got over this hill of difficulty. The climate is as cold, I think, as Bangalore; some Europeans who have lived much here, maintain that it is scarcely inferior to the Neilgherries; and it is certainly a perfect contrast to that of the plains. Here and there, you behold a few cabins worse perhaps than those of Guntoor, and these form a village, and the people carry them hither and thither with as much ease apparently, as a company of gipsies do their tents in England. But the soil is very excellent and the views fine. The large orchards are beautiful, and produce immense quantities of fruit. One plantation of coffee is reckoned the best in the country. Oranges grow in abundance, and where patience and industry are shown, the hills richly repay the farmer and the landlord. In 1820, the Cheveroi Mountains were highly recommended, and being so near to the presidency, many Europeans hurried away to take advantage of a region which seemed prepared for the restoration of health, and which formed such an agreeable asylum, from the rigour of the hot season. Many houses were built, and the climate promised well for a time; but the residents, escaped from the hot atmosphere of Madras, indulged in greater exposures, than prudence would sanction. The heavy 298 MR. HENRY CRISP. dews which continue for hours in the morning, were rather courted, than shunned. Fevers began to rage and to cut down the visitors, and regions which, with prudent care and management, might have been turned to account, were speedily deserted and denounced as the most fatal. The Europeans residing in the district were not so frightened by the panic, since they often dwell there, and find the air very cooling and invigorating. The principal collector and magistrate of Salem, had long expressed a wish to have a missionary settled at the station. In the year 1827, the deputation visited the spot, and deeming it a very appropriate field, recommended to the district committee that, it should, if possible, be occupied; and Mr. Henry Crisp became the first missionary to the Baramhal. No one could be more devoted, more zealous in the cause of his master, more indefatigable in the attainment of the language, and more laborious in exertion to advance the interests of the heathen. Assisted by Isaac David-a bold, energetic, and zealous native preacher from Bangalorehe spared no pains to diffuse the savour of the Redeemer's name in every place. Very soon, the dark cloud began to lower upon his path; death entered his dwelling, and removed his partner into the invisible world; and he was left to mourn. But these afflictions, while they no doubt wounded his tender spirit, seemed to render him more assiduous and more diligent in his sacred calling. He laboured MR. HENRY CRISP. 299 while it was yet day, fully persuaded that the night cometh when no man can work. A chapel was erected in a position as well adapted for arresting the attention of the traveller, as for meeting the wants of Christian worshippers. By his visit to the villages, by his conversations, and by his public addresses to the heathen, he made a deep impression in favour of the truth; he had the honour of baptizing some to whom the gospel had become the power of God unto salvation; and I cannot now but express my fears that he fell an early victim to his zeal and his anxieties in this sacred cause. His sun went down while it was yet day; but in its setting, it threw a radiance around, that cheered and delighted all who knew him. At the request of the district committee, I visited the mission in 1832, and as we approached the station, it was delightful to hear from the natives such a pleasing testimony borne to the diligence and to the faithfulness of our departed friend. While at Salem, I had the pleasure of baptizing one who had long been an inquirer under his ministry. He lies by the side of his beloved and excellent wife, and I could not help shedding the tears of sorrow over their early tomb. In the beginning of 1832, Mr. Walton removed from Bellary, and took charge of the station; in the latter end of the same year, he was ordained at Bangalore, and returned to Salem to carry on his labours. The mission which, under his predecessor, gave |