With the Tibetans in Tent and Temple, Narrative of Four Years' Residence on the Tibetan Border, and of a Journey into the Far Interior
Cincinnati, OH: Foreign Christian Missionary Society.
Hardcover. Very good. Sixth edition, an undated early reprint of the 1901 first edition. 406 pp + publisher's ads, with illustrations from photographs, folding map. Original yellow cloth, no dust jacket. Corners and edges rubbed, front hinge a bit wobbly; otherwise sound and clean. Rijnhart (1868-1908) was a Canadian medical doctor and missionary. She graduated from medical college in Toronto in 1888, and in 1894 married a Dutch missionary with a somewhat scandalous past. The same year, the pair set out for Tibet. Their 2,000-mile journey across China by houseboat and mule-cart took six months. They lived for three years at Lusar, where their evangelistic efforts had little effect, but their medical skills were much appreciated. In May 1898, the Rijnharts "set out for Lhasa with their ten-month-old son, three guides, many horses, enough food for a year, and 500 New Testaments. The trip was a nightmare from beginning to end. The Rijnharts’ baby died, they were attacked by robbers, and their guides deserted. On 26 September [her husband] spied an encampment of nomads across a river and went to seek their help. Susie never saw him again” (DCB). This book, written upon her return to Canada (where she was hailed by many as a heroic martyr), was intended to be a testament to her husband's life, but also to present a fuller and more accurate account of Tibet than those written by other travelers after much briefer visits.
Item #14671
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