The Death of Henry G. Appenzeller
From: The Korea Review
Volume 2, 1902, June issue
The
Wreck of the Kuma-gawa Maru.
On
the night of the eleventh of June there occurred on the
coast of Korea, about eighty-five miles south of Chemulpo, one
of the most disastrous wrecks that even the dangerous coast
of Korea has ever witnessed. The Kuma-gawa Maru, a small
steamship belonging to the Osaka Shosen Line came in collision
with the Kiso-gawa Maru of the same line and sunk in
about three minutes. It is too early to give out anything as
to responsibility for this catastrophe. That will be the work
of a naval court which will place the responsibility, but the
readers of the Review
will be glad to hear the story of Mr.
J. F. Bowlby, an American citizen who was on board the Kuma-gawa
Maru and who narrowly escaped with his life. The
first class passengers on the boat were Mr. J. F, Bowlby, Rev.
H, G. Appenzeller, and two or three Japanese gentlemen.
Mr. Bowlby says that about ten o'clock that night he and
Mr.
Appenzeller partook of a light supper of tea and biscuits
and then retired to their staterooms. Mr. Bowlby retired
to his berth but did not go to sleep. His stateroom was
immediately
opposite that of Mr. Appenzeller and he could
see
the latter sitting in his stateroom reading. No whistle was
blowing and the ship was apparently on her course.
Only a few minutes elapsed when
without the least warning
there came a terrific crash which brought Mr. Bowlby to his
feet instantly and Mr. Appenzeller cried out, “What's the matter?” Mr. Bowlby hastily drew on
his trousers and coat
and vest without attempting to arrange them at all and in
about ninety seconds after the collision he was making for the
companion-way, with Mr. Appenzeller immediately in front
of him. Behind him he saw one or two Koreans coming out
of the second class cabin but he believes that they never
reached
the deck. As Mr. Bowlby set foot on deck he saw that things
were in desperate shape. The whole forward half of the
deck was already submerged atid the stern was lifted high out
of the water. Mr. Appenzeller, who seemed to be laboring
under great excitement, apparently made no attempt to get
away from the ship but Mr. Bowlby leaped aft and
climbed
248
KOREA REVIEW,
upon
the rail. He knew there was no possibility of his not being
drawn down by the suction and he knew that in order to
save himself from being knocked about by broken rigging and
other debris it was necessary to grasp some solid portion of
the ship firmly and wait his chance to come up. He therefore
seized hold of a rope that formed part of the rigging and as
the boat settled he looked around and saw Mr. Appenzeller
standing
about where he was when he reached the deck, but now
up to his waist in the water and groping vainly for something
to take hold of. Nothing at all was said so far as our witness
knows. All this had occupied only about a minute or perhaps
less and then the ship went down at an angle of something
like forty-five degrees. Mr. Bowlby clung desperately
to his rope until he had been drawn what he believes to have
been some twelve or fifteen feet and then he felt a shock which
he thought to be either the ship striking bottom or the boilers
bursting. As it appeared later it must have been the latter
for the water was very deep at that spot. Thinking that
the suction would have subsided Mr. Bowlby let go his
hold
in order to rise toward the surface but he found that his right
foot was entangled in a rope. He reached down and liberated
his foot and then rose rapidly toward the surface. But
when, as he believes, he had almost reached air he was sucked
down by another eddy and it was some seconds before he
could get his head above water. Mr. Bowlby has for many years
been an expert swimmer or he would not have been able
to keep his presence of mind under such almost desperate
circumstances.
When he reached the air he took two or three gasps
and was then caught by another eddy and carried down again.
While under water the second time he was hit severely in
the back by a piece of timber but did not attempt to seize it.
Upon coming to the surface again he began to swim against
the current which was rapidly carrying him away from
the Kiso-gawa Maru which he could dimly see but whose lights
shone out quite plain, apparently a couple of hundred yards
away. When the Kuma-gawa sank he had noticed that
the Kiso-gawa lay almost alongside, at most not more. than
thirty feet away. But the tide had carried him rapidly away.
He was now on the surface swimming against the current
but nearly exhausted. His hand struck a piece of
THE
WRECK OF THE KUMA-GAWA MARU. 249
board
about two feet long and eight inches wide and it helped to
rest him a little. Then he found another piece about the same
size. Before long a considerable piece of timber came floating
down to him and he lay across it and rested quite easily
but he was numb with cold and he had lost all feeling in
his feet.
Meanwhile he was aware of cries for
help from the direction
of the wreck and knew that boats were out picking up survivors
but he did not call out as yet. Soon he became aware that
a life-boat was floating bottom upwards near him. A large
part of the bottom was ripped off but it afforded a much better
chance than the timber he was on; so with his little remaining
strength he dragged himself up on the overturned boat
and lay across it on his stomach. Tangled in some wreckage
that was attached to his boat was the body of a Korean,
evidently dead, with his head hanging down in the water
and only his back showing. Before long one of the rescue
boats from the Kiso-gawa came by but seeing that Mr. Bowlby was safe for the moment
they left him in order to help others
in worse condition. At last however they came to him and
took him off the boat. He collapsed, and was taken to the
Kiso-gawa Maru in a very exhausted condition. They put
him to bed covered him with many thicknesses of blankets and
poured hot sake into him. Of course, he saw very little of
the other survivors and not being able to speak Japanese had
very little opportunity to gain information. He had been in
the water fully three quarters of an hour and it was morning
before he was really in condition to do any clear thinking,
owing
to the physical exhaustion and the nervous strain.
The Kiso-gawa tried to anchor but
could not do so because
of the depth of the water. So she kept steaming about in
the vicinity of the wreck trying to find other survivors, until
one o'clock p.m. of the next day, when she turned her prow
toward Chemulpo. Mr. Bowlby lost all his effects including
a considerable sum of money in U.S. gold but when he
arrived in Chemulpo and the news was telegraphed to the American
mines in Un-san where Mr. Bowlby had been working
for some years a purse of six hundred yen was made up among
his friends with the generosity characteristic of the mining
fraternity. This sum was telegraphed to him and on
250
KOREA REVIEW.
the
sixteenth he sailed on the Genkai Maru bound for America
where his wife and family await him. His watch which he
had on at the time of the disaster stopped at half past ten, so
the wreck must have occurred a few moments before that. On
the whole it seems to have been a remarkable exhibition of
coolness, nerve and physical
endurance, and Mr. Bowlby and
his family are to be heartily congratulated upon his escape.
Memoir
of Rev. Henry G.
Appenzeller.
Rev. Henry G. Appenzeller, one of the
two founders of the
Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Korea was born
at Souderton, Pennsylvania, February 6th. 1858. His
MEMOIR
OF REV.
HENRY G. APPENZELLER. 255
church of Lancaster. In the
fall of 1882 he entered Drew Theological
Seminary and pursued the regular 3 years course. During
the first part of his course he preached at Bolton and
afterwards
at Green Village, the best appointment open to Drew
students. In December 1884 he married Miss Ella J. Dodge;
the same month he was appointed by Bishop Fowler to
go as a missionary to Korea. In January he passed his final
examinations at the Seminary and with his newly married wife
started for their new field of labor. In May while in Japan
he was graduated from
the Seminary.
In San Francisco he was ordained
deacon and elder in the Methodist
ministry by Bishop Fowler.
On Easter Sunday April 5,1885 he and
his wife arrived at
Chemulpo. At this
time on account of the political disturbances
and the contest going on between the Japanese and Chinese
it was considered unsafe for them to stay so they reluctantly
returned to Japan but in a short time the difficulties having
been settled came back to Korea,
By the month of August Dr. Scranton and Mr. Appenzel
In 1887 Mr. Appenzeller erected the brick
building now occupied
by the school, the first of its kind ever erected in the
country.
Thus Mr.
Appenzeller was the first
educator to come
to Korea,
----------------
*In
February Bishop Fowler wrote to Dr. Maclay, superintendent of
the Japan Mission, appointing him superintendent of Korea and
Rev. Appenzeller
as assistant superintendent under his direction. In 1887 upon
the return
of Dr.
Maclay to
America Mr. Appenzeller became
superintendent.
256
KOREA REVIEW.
On Sunday afternoon July 24, 1887, Mr. Appenzeller baptized
one of the first Koreans who professed conversion to
Christianity,
and on October
2 a second Korean convert was
baptized.
Shortly afterwards the sacrament of the Lord's
Later he made a trip alone as far
north as We-ju,
which was
very difficult.
Between 1888
and 1890 he traveled through
six of the eight provinces, touching at Hai-ju, Kong-ju and Fusan, covering 1800 miles.
His
policy on educational lines was a very broad one, and his
plans included the education of the youth of the Empire under
Christian instruction and control. He believed that the
Christian Church ought to
be at the helm of the educational
system and in this way by precept and example inculcate
principles of morality and nobility. At the same time he saw
the possibilities in such a position for Christianizing the
youth.
To that end he planned and worked for the aggrandizement
of Pai Chai Hak Dang.
Yet not alone in educational work ware
Mr. Appenzeller's many
gifts applied. He was devoted to the evangalization of
this people. He founded and cared for the First Methodist
Episcopal Church in Chong
Dong, Seoul, during the years
of his service, seeking with all his power to make it a mighty
evangelistic agency for the young. When his congregation
had grown beyond the capacity of the place of meeting
he decided to build a church at once beautiful, substantial
and serviceable. He therefore adopted that style of
architecture
that is everywhere associated wth the Christian
MEMOIR
OF REV. HENRY G. APPENZELLER. 257
church
and erected the first protestant foreign church building in
Korea.
Being one of the pioneer missionaries and
a man of diversified
talents Mr. Appenzeller was active in the founding of nearly
all of the organizations that exist among the foreign
community.
Feeling the need in a heathen land of drawing away
occasionally from all heathen environments and in union
with others of his own race, in his own tongue worshiping
the Deity he took a large part in founding the Union Church
and gladly opened the chapel of Pai Chai School for the
services. Several times he was elected pastor and
conscientiously
fulfilled the duties of that position.
In the fore front of missionary
enterprise stands the Bible.
When the first missionaries arrived they found that Rev.
John Ross, in Moukden, had translated the New Testament
into Korean. They soon found however that this was very
imperfect and that they must have a better translation.
They
then formed the Permanent Executive Bible Committee and
from the first for a number of years Mr. Appenzeller was a
member of this Committee. The purpose of the committee was
to supervise the translation and publication of the
scriptures.
They elected from among the missionaries certain ones
for the work of translation. Mr. Appenzeller was among the
number first chosen and has held his position on the Board
of Translators ever since. It was work in which he took
great pleasure and was careful to attend every session he
possibly
could. In fact it was in going to the performance of this
duty that he lost his life on the ill-fated Kuma-gawa.
Next to the Bible as an evangelistic
agency comes religious
literature. For the preparation and publication of books
and tracts the Korean Religious Tract Society was founded
and Mr. Appenzeller was elected President. This position
he filled for a number of years and until very
recently.
In addition to this he was for a long time the custodian
of the Sunday School Union and Tract Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Mission. In these societies he did
258
THE KOREA REVIEW.
of
his other
many duties. Prior to the organization of these societies,
that is in the fall of 1888,
having experienced considerable
difficulty in the matter of printing the works that had
been translated and also seeking a legitimate enterprise
whereby
employment might be given to boys
who desired to earn
their support while pursuing their studies at Pai Chai, at the
request of Mr. Appenzeller, Mr. Ohlinger opened the printing
establishment now called the Methodist Publishing House.
Shortly afterwards Mr. Appenzeller began the Pai Chai
Bindery as an adjunct to the school. As publications
multiplied
a book depository was needed and Mr. Appenzeller having
purchased property in a very favorable location at Chong
No opened the Chong No Bookstore;
at this place a large
number of books and tracts are sold each year.
Although devoting his energies primarily
to a host of missionary
enterprises Mr. Appenzeller found time to engage in
work of a secular nature for the good of the foreign
community.
He was one of the leading spirits among the group of
influential foreigners whose counsel and example resulted in
the widening of the narrow streets of the city and the
building
of good roads. In all such works his influence as a Christian
missionary was felt after
the widening
of the road through
Peking pass, at the ceremonies in connection with the
completion of the Independence Arch, he was very much pleased
at the invitation extended him to offer prayer in public
acknowledgment of gratitude to God, and thus put the stamp
of Christian progress on what had been accomplished.
In 1892 Rev. Ohlinger and Mrs. Ohlinger
edited and published
a monthly magazine in English which they called the
Korean Repository. After their departure the need of such
a publication was felt by the community and in 1895 Rev.
Appenzeller and Rev. Geo. Heber Jones began to edit
and
publish the Korean Repository. For four years in the midst
of many other weighty duties they continued its publication.
Its influence was felt throughout all the east and it came
to be an authority on matters Korean.
In his social duties Mr. Appenzeller
was never lax; during
his seventeen years in Korea there were very few foreigners
whom he did not know personally. To further cement
these ties and afford a means of recreation and a re
MEMOIR OF REV. HENRY G.
APPENZELLER.
259
lief
from close application to duty, he advocated and assisted in
the organization of the Seoul
Union, an association where the
foreigners and their families occasionally meet and spend an
hour in mental and physical relaxation. The leading papers
and magazines published in the United States are kept on
file and in the summer three tennis courts are laid out.
The Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society was founded
in 1900. The purpose of the organization is to investigate
the history, customs and life of the people of the
peninsula and put such investigations into permanent form
for the public. Mr. Appenzeller has for several months
served
the society in the capacity of librarian.
A few years after the arrival of the
first foreigners, upon the
death of one of the small company great difficulty was
experienced
in the matter of the burial of the body. The Korean
government refused permission to bury near the city, and
only after much pressure was brought to bear did they consent
to the burial on this side of the Han river at Yang Wha-jin.
At this place a large tract of land was purchased and
enclosed for a Foreigner Cemetery. In all this work Mr.
Appenzeller
took a large part and for a number of years was Treasurer
of the Foreign Cemetery Association. It seems truly
a sad comment upon the frailty of man that he who did so
much to secure and carefully preserve a burial place for the
foreign community should find his final resting place in the
wide waste of waters : and yet
we know that he would think
that it is all right so long as he was right with God. For
in all the rush of a busy life he always made sure of his
acceptance
with God. A few days before his death after having
passed safely through an experience in which his life was
in danger he remarked that he had no fear; that if he had
been killed in that trouble it would have been all right with
him for he had that morning committed himself unto God
as he did every morning.
We have sketched in the barest outline the events and works
in the life of a truly good and great man. In all his
relations
with his fellowmen he was upright and straightforward
and he always aimed by
a cheerful, kindly manner to brighten
the lives of those with whom he came in contact,
while
at the same time he had little patience with dishonesty
260 KOREA REVIEW.
or
shiftlessness. He was a loving husband and a kind father,
seeking
to bring his children up in the fear of God. To friends
he was true as steel and those who met him for the first
time found in him a courteous Christian gentleman.
To the public in his many works, he
was a benefactor of high
standing and his work in behalf of this people will go on
producing its beneficial results for many years.
As a missionary he was
capable,
faithful and devoted to his
work, and holds a high record. He was self-sacrificing almost
to a fault. Among the Koreans it is said that he not only
gave many years of service to them but also in the end gave
his life ; for they believe that in attempting to call and
arouse
the Korean teacher and the little girl under his care he
could not take sufficient precautions for his own safety. In
all his efforts he was moved by the highest optimism and had
the greatest faith in the ultimate triumph of Christ's church
in the world. All the distinctive doctrines of evangelical
Christianity were accepted by him. The immortality of
the soul and the glorification of the Christian in union with
“all
those who love His appearing,”
were pleasing themes for thought.
Often in our hearing has he given utterance in prayer
to this couplet :
We meet, the grace to take Thou hast
so freely given;
We meet on earth for Thy dear sake,
that we may meet in heaven.'*
Perhaps we can no more fitly close
this sketch than by a quotation
from a funeral address delivered by him not long ago.
“We stop in the rush of our
every-day duties in order to lay
in our Machpelah by the river one more body to await the
resurrection
morn. It is well that we should for we are forcibly
reminded that we are strangers and pilgrims here below. There
is no order in death. A few weeks ago one slipped from
our midst ere many of us knew of his illness and now another
one from whom we were separated and whose hearty laugh
we did not hear is called hence. May we not say in the
words of Job, ‘are
not my days few before I go whence I shall
not return, without any order.' “Without any
order,” and yet in God's order. God doeth all things well
and, brethren concerning them which are asleep, sorrow
EDITORIAL
COMMENT, 261
not,
even as others who have no hope.’ Jesus who died and rose
again will bring them who sleep in him with him. And so
shall we be ever with the Lord. And truly the last words of
our lesson are for our comfort : “God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him.' This is the will of God and from this
point
God's dealings with us his children must be viewed.”
Wilbur
C. Swearer,