And for the remainder of the journey the guards sent
to spy on the missionary's doings were his warmest friends.
After this, dentistry became a part of this many-sided
missionary's work. He went to a native blacksmith and had a pair
of forceps hammered out of iron. It was a rather clumsy
instrument, but it proved of great value, and later he sent for a
complete set of the best instruments made in New York.
So with forceps in one hand and the Bible in the other, Mackay
found himself doubly equipped. Every second person seemed to be
suffering from toothache, and when the pain was relieved by the
missionary, the patient was in a state of mind to receive his
teaching kindly. The cruel methods by which the native doctors
extracted teeth often caused more suffering than the toothache,
and sometimes even resulted in death through blood-poisoning.
A Hoa and some of the other young converts learned from their
teacher how to pull a tooth, and they, too, became experts in the
art.
Whenever they visited a town or city after this, they had a
program which they always followed.
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