South Yorkshire Times, Friday, August 26, 1932
Hands Across The Sea In Argentina
Thurnscoe Missionary’s Life among Indians
Tough but Interesting
We have received an interesting letter from Mr. Thomas Ainscough, second son of Mrs. and the late Mr. T. Ainscough, of Deightonby Street, Thurnscoe East, who left England a year ago to join the Emmanuel Mission, Formosa, North Argentina.
Mr. Ainscough is a native of Cleveland, but had resided at Thurnscoe for seven years before he went out to Argentina.
He was trained at the Independent Holiness Mission, Thurnscoe and the Carcroft Mission. Doncaster, and finally went out from the Birkenhead training home with two Doncaster friends, Mr. John Church and Mr. John Palmer.
Mr. Ainscough writes: “The ‘Hands Across the Sea’ column has been a great blessing to me, having conveyed news from those whom one has known years ago, but who have become separated through various circumstances. For many weeks one has been wondering how it would be possible to communicate to the army of friends one has in dear old England. Thanks to the “South Yorkshire Times,” the problem has been solved, and co I am taking this opportunity of giving you a little news of this part of the world and of the conditions of life out here.
Perpetual Summer.
Formosa, North Aventine, the town in which I am now living, is nearly 1000 miles from Buenos Aires, and is the capital of the province that bears the same name. This is a very flat part of the country, very and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The result is that there are always a large number of people suffering from malaria and other scourges that result from the mosquito bite. This town is known to have the highest temperature of all the towns in the whole land, and at present, whilst we are having our winter (owing to being in the southern hemisphere the climates and seasons are different) them is not the slightest sign of frost. Most of the people here have never seen any snow, or frost, or ice. Almost every day, winter or summer, is hot, with a beautiful blue sky overhead and a baked ground underfoot. Tropical fruits abound. But when we have a thunderstorm it reminds one of the days of the Great War, when we were awakened from our beds by the dropping of bombs from the Zeppelins, so terrific are the peals of thunder.
Heart-Rending Wreckage.
As I am not here as a business man, but as a missionary, I can speak more of the moral condition of the place than of the commercial, but for the benefit of any who may be interested I will endeavour to outline a little of things as they really are in the business realm of North Argentine. The word that is ‘household” here is “Crisis.” There are thousands without work, and as there is no such thing as dole or parish relief the lot of the workless is a sad one. There are no workhouses at which the tramp can shelter at night, and apart from help given by a few who may be in better circumstances the unfortunate unemployed are absolutely stranded. One’s heart is melted at the sights one meets out here, especially when one sees the number of foreigners who are stranded here without a cent., many of them Russians, who have left their homes and loved ones, but, poor souls, have gained nothing here except a little knowledge of the Spanish language, which we all speak.
I should advise anyone who is in quest a fortune to steer clear of Argentine at present. Whilst this country is very hospitable and her people homely, she cannot give blood out of a stone, nor prospects to strangers when so many of her children are without the necessities of life.
Preaching And Teaching.
From a moral standpoint things here are very bad. We are the first Protestant missionaries who have ever opened a church for the preaching of the Gospel in this town. We arrived here about fifteen months ago directly from England. How strange everything seemed and truly was! No signs of godliness in the place, no Christian influence whatever.
After hiring a hall we began to make a few seats and commenced weekly services. We found difficulties in this, as the natives of the better class do not care to mix with the Indians we have in Formosa. After one year’s labour we bad our first baptismal service, which took place in the river quite near to our hall, also our first Protestant marriage and inauguration of the first native church.
We have a very nice Sunday school and meetings for adults four nights a week. Many have been converted from idolatry and others from other forms of evil. One man who has been converted recently used to drink on an average eight pints of cana (a native drink far stronger than beer) daily, He has “gone dry,” and his face carries a radiance that speaks louder than any word s to describe the change that has taken place.
The faith of these natives is beautifully simple and to hear them is a benediction. The last-named man pray has now received work after a long spell of unemployment, land lie is giving God the glory. Our purpose in being out here is not only to preach the Gospel ourselves, but to open a Bible School and teach suitable young men, to prepare them for ministry amongst their own people, and later place them in towns and villages where as yet there are no missionaries, and where they will have good scope for extending the news of salvation among their own countrymen.
The Indians.
In the territory here we also have wild Indians and semi-civilised Indians. These are of a bronze colour; they paint their skins with the juice of a berry and their only dress is a loin-cloth. Their headdress is composed of ostrich feathers, and they wear anklets of the same feathers. Their faces and bodies are tattooed, according to the tribe to which they belong, and they pierce their ears and put into the lobe a piece of metal or stone as big as a half-crown. They gain their living by fishing and shooting. To fish they swim in the river dragging a net in one hand. To hunt they use guns (those that have them) or bows and arrows, which are all wood and hide, and stand nearly six feet high, and are deadly. They have their witch doctors and their weird chanting, and on the occasion of a death the bereaved family move their house, which is not a difficult task, as it is only straw and poles.
For the most part they do not interfere with whites, unless a white does them an injury, and then the Indian never forgets. Each tribe has its own language, which is difficult. The Indians that live here in town are more civilised, and some Spanish. At present we have a day school for their children. We teach them in Spanish such essentials as reading, writing, arithmetic, Scripture, spelling, etc.
It is very slow work with such, but it is well worth-while to see them as they endeavour to study. Now I must draw to a close, trusting that this wee scrappy note will give you something of an idea of what has happened since I left you all, and also a little insight into the condition of things in the Argentine.