Four Years in Upper Burma by W.R. Winston — Read

The American Baptist Mission is the oldest Protestant mission working in Burma. It was commenced by Dr. Judson in Rangoon in 1813, and has expanded in Lower Burma to a large and strong mission, having had very signal and rapid success amongst the Karen races, and to a fair extent amongst the Burmans also. As far back as 1824, Dr. Judson, wishing to extend the work to Upper Burma, went up the Irrawaddy and opened a mission at Ava, which was then the capital. Ava is situated about ten or twelve miles from Mandalay, and is now quite an insignificant village, with the remains of the royal city and palace still to be seen. Mandalay, of course, did not at that time exist as a town. Unfortunately, the first Burmese war with England took place whilst Judson was at Ava, and completely broke up the work he had begun to do in the capital, and Judson was imprisoned, together with the few European and American residents, at Ava.

For a year and ten months he was kept in rigorous confinement, under circumstances of great barbarity, first at Ava, and afterwards at the village of Oung-pen-la, which is only about two miles from Mandalay. I have often been to Oung-pen-la, a typical Burmese agricultural village, surrounded by rice fields, which are irrigated from the great Oung-pen-la lake, close by. The site of the old prison is still pointed out by the villagers, but the building itself has been removed, and, being of teak, has left no trace behind. Seldom have the annals of missions furnished a more pathetic narrative of suffering than this.