First Impressions of Jessie's companions Amy Lowe and her mother Charlotte Lowe on arrival in Poona

"It seems like a dream to finally be here, and to see before one's very eyes the  heathen for whose salvation  we have so often prayed for.  One soon awakens, however, to the fact that it is no dream as one hears the strange language ad sees the curiously dressed figures with gay turbans and so many foreheads painted with the dreadful idol marks.  Everything around speaks of a foreign country, the rough native carts drawn by bullocks, the groups of beggars at corners looking so beseeching and asking for pice, and the poor sweeper women, with their little brooms made of rushes tied in a bunch, sweeping the streets in the early morning.  At times one hears a dismal piercing wail like one in pain, but it is only a hawker crying his sweetmeats!...This part of Poona is very pleasant, the streets are good and planted with avenues trees, the bungalows stand back from the road and are surrounded by pretty gardens.  In the distance we can see beautiful rugged hills looking like fortresses..."

Amy Lowe, White Already to Harvest, Nov 1 1889, p 161

"...We are rejoiced to hear on arrival that the plague is much decreased, shops and schools are being re-opened, and people returning to their homes, though we saw the segregation or health camps still in use as we approached Poona in the train....the sore distress of famine still remains, owing to the lack of rain in the past season.  All around, the country looks dry and barren.  The poor heathen in their distress seek to propitiate their gods of wood and stone by taking pilgrimage to various shrines.  The first heathen I have see was that of a poor dirty devotee who was on a pilgrimage and measured his length on the dusty road with a long pole.  He made a mark on the ground as far ahead of him as he could reach, then , getting up he walked up to his mark and lay down again, repeating the action, and so on, until he passed out of sight.  We could not tell how far he had come or where was his destination, but many have travelled the whole length of India, seeking in this way to merit salvation...How great is the responsibility of those who have the light of the glorious gospel of God shining in their hearts to carry it forth among these benighted souls!"

Charlotte A Lowe, White Already to Harvest, Nov 1 1889, p 161