The Karens of Burma by Harry I Marshall

Very few races or tribes of people have made greater progress in a century and a quarter than have the Karen in Burma. When we think of their wild state, their unhealthy ways, their lack of knowledge, their fear of strangers and their hesitancy in changing their old accepted ways, their primitive agriculture and crude villages, we can hardly realize that some of the refined, educated, well-dressed and cultured people that we have known come from such unlikely ancestry. The "wild cattle of the hills" have indeed turned out to be what they called themselves, _Pga K' Nyaw_, which actually means "men".

One of the greatest contributing factors in helping them to throw off their fears and rid themselves of the fetters of stagnating customs was their accepting the releasing power of the Christian religion. This opened their minds and stimulated their smouldering desires for education so that they could read the Book which had been brought to them by their "Younger White Brother", the missionary. Schools were opened and at the beginning were attended by persons of all ages from young children to ambitious gray-haired men and women.