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i Native of India Gives Interesting Lectures at the H. G, T. MH. G. and Public Schools, February B, 101 Sast Friday the Flora Schools en joyed an Interesting Interview with Sheikh Shand, better known as the “Camel Driver”, a native of India. Bespoke last Thursday evening at the M. EB, church on India, her peo ples and customa. His correst name is William Osborne a missionary, who in 110 was made chaplain to the late Lord Kiteheher of Khartoon. He was born in India and educated in an English college and also in the university of Calcuttia, India. He claims to be the only person traveling America, who has in his possession a passport to Mecca, Arabia, the Holy City of the ir ae f- ‘levees pPiss étalon a Mohamm pilgrim's turban, which gives him the rank of, “Hedil among the Mohammedan, He «speaks Pusha, Hindi, Telego, Marrathi, Hindustan, the commercial language of India and, of course, English. he came to this country in April 1919 for the Centenary cele bration and expects to return to Ponsh City, India, next April, where he is an instructor of languages in the Methodist school. In his address he told many Inter eating stories of his life at the edge of the jungles, of his abduction and his life in bondage. Mr Osborne said impart. “There is probably no part of the world of equal extent that has aten so many profound religious thinkers, or been the birthplace of so many profound religious thinkers. as India, The Hindus are religion by tracti on and Instinet they worship no less than 930,000,000 goda and Idole. it was in this country that I was born and my father choosing to live and work among the more unelvished tribes of Indian caused me to be brought up on the fringe of the jus sle. The caste distinction of India prevented me from playing or even mixing with them, therafe I found myself doing many things fit are not done by boys who are brought up in the best regulated families, “ut to the custom among the wi ves of India to remove their shoes Instead of their turbans, and one day while playing near a Hindoo temple I noticed the shoes of the worshipers In two rows outside the temple. They hoener caught my eye than I had begun to get busy mixing them and hiding some of them. This and many other similar boyleh pranks brought about a bitter hatred by the Hindoos They threatened my life but my fath er simply smiled at the threats. One day however, while examining the goda, not realizing, my handling of the mime would cause the god to be ceremonially unclean, I saw a group of Hindos with adeks, T immediately dropped the god Im excitement and ran hom, It was that night while my punkaah walla (The man who sans a person) wis ee That the Hindoos kidnapped me, giving me to some Afghans, who took me to Kaheel, In Afghanistan, where T was sold as a ‘slave, [wan between the ages of six and seven. My life in captivity is be yond description. I lived with a fam iy of 40 children and three mothers. At the age of eight, I was sworn in as a soldier of a Amr, the ceremony of which consists of peste a small columm the center of tim heaped with gunpowder which is ignited. “After eight years of captivity, a war broke out between the Afghans and the Hindoos, which caused me to be sent to the border. Our anti delugian equipment proved to be of no value in winning the battle, and some was taken prisoner with hun dreds of others. Having ‘ clear ‘knowledge that I was born in India but absolutely ignorant of the fact that I was kidnapped, I told one of the officers of the Indian army that I wan were in India, and after inves tigation I was restored to my people, “My religion, while in captivity, ty gweesite eiadaw shrdlusshid he was Mohammediam of the worst type education taught me that all China were Infidels, and that there was a great reward for the faithful who converted one to Moa hamed or killed them. With this education my people found it diffi cult to control me and TI only went to the mission and churches to throw cooks and to disturb the services.. 1 was finally won over to the Christian religion at the M,. EB, Mission at Poneh, India. I your head is dirzy on stopping or rising suddenly and everthing turns back before the eyes, you have a tor no iver, Take Herbine, It in a posts oheee regulator Priew, 60¢. id by J. H. Throgmorton. 21-23
Newspaper Details
Flora Journal Record
Flora, Illinois, US
Thu, Feb 10, 1921
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Bridget L.
USA 07 Jan 2026
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