ons which
they inhabit. But Dr. Pennell's story is not concerned with the clash
of arms. His mission has been to preach, to heal, and to save; and
in his long and intimate intercourse with the tribesmen, as recounted
in these pages, he throws many new and interesting sidelights on the
domestic and social, as well as on the moral and religious, aspects
of their lives and characters.

During a long career in India I myself have seen and heard a good
deal about these medical missions, and I can testify to their doing
excellent and useful work, and that they are valuable and humanizing
factors and moral aids well worthy of all encouragement and support.

No one can read Dr. Pennell's experiences without feeling that the
man who is a physician and able to heal the body, in addition to
being a preacher who can "minister to a mind diseased" as well as to
spiritual needs, wields an influence which is not possessed by him
who is a missionary only.

As the author himself writes: "The doctor finds his sphere
everywhere, and his hands are full of work as soon as he arrives
(at his station). He is able to overcome suspicion and prejudice,
and his kindly aid and sympathetic treatment disarm opposition,
while his life is a better setting forth of Christianity than his
words. There is a door everywhere which can be opened by love and
sympathy and practical service, and no one is more in a position to
have a key for every door than a doctor."

These few words fairly sum up the situation, and I fully agree with
the view they express.

On such a wild frontier as that on the North-West Border of India the
life of a doctor-missionary is beset with many perils. A perusal of
Dr. Pennell's most interesting story shows that he has had his share
of them, and that in the earnest and zealous discharge of his duties
he has faced them bravely and cheerfully. I cordially recommend his
book to all readers, and my earnest hope is that medical missions
will continue to flourish.

ROBERTS, F.M.

December 19, 1908.

PREFACE

After sixteen years of close contact with the Afghans and Pathans
of our North-West Frontier in India, I was asked to commit some
of my experiences to paper. The present book is the result. I have
used the Government system of transliteration in vernacular names
and expressions, and I beg the reader to bestow a few minutes'
consideration on the table of corresponding sounds and letters given
on