The environment on we stay influence a lot on our character and behavior.

There is a story of a young merchant Duncan, who redeemed a whole tribe of cannibals who lay entrenched in barbaric customs, habits and practices they had inherited from heredity as well as from environment. He accomplished this near-miracle through unique sacrifice, ceaseless effort, and through unsurpassed dedication. His saga of sacrifice can be a perennial source of inspiration in guiding people along the path to progress.

A British merchant ship lay at anchor near the island of Alaska on the Pacific on the north-west of Canada. It was as long as 1857. The young merchant was chilled to the bones by the macabre sight he saw on the island. More than twenty mutilated corpses were lying there helter-skelter. Witnessing Duncan’s shock and anxiety, the officer on the ship said, “These people are Simazhin Indians. They are traditionally a belligerent people who die fighting. No less significant is the fact that they are cannibals. Killing others is their favorite pastime. Moreover, these people are addicted to drinking. They sell the fur collected through a hard day’s work at throw away price in order to buy liquor. Why, for that matter, they do not hesitate to sell their own daughters just in exchange for a drink”.

One day Duncan himself was flabbergasted to see a man compelling his daughter to submit to soldiers. He was beside himself with distress.

“These gullible people are badly in need of proper guidance. They need a reformer”, he repeatedly muttered to himself. He was deeply moved by their pathetic plight. His love for these less fortunate fellow beings prompted him to take a solemn oath to accomplish what no white man had achieved till then. In other words, Duncan, decided to dedicate his life, body, heart and soul to the upliftment of these fallen people.

He knew that his decision was fraught with disastrous consequences; he knew that what was at stake was his life itself. Making up his mind to beard the lion at its den, Duncan lived in the midst of these barbarians, learnt their language and tried to win their faith. He visited all their huts and taught them the rudiments of cleanliness. Duncan trained the unemployed youth in several occupations and formed a dedicated work force. He implemented several plans for their economic and social welfare and saw to it that they were usefully employed in productive work. He founded several churches and instilled religious- mindedness into them. He has to struggle hard for years with firmness and patience to uproot the bad habits that had taken deep roots in their mind. It had never been a smooth sailing. He learnt the hard way that the course of service never runs smooth. He met with resistance on several fronts. Thus the very people whom he wanted to help resisted his attempts and so did their chieftains. Even the Christian priests opposed his every move tooth and nail. Undeterred and undaunted, he braved all storms with unfailing zeal, inexhaustible self-confidence and indefatigable perseverance and emerged victorious. It was along-drawn struggle that lasted for sixty long years. At long last his cherished goal was achieved. He caused a far reaching change in their lives. The Simshines who had earned notoriety for their horrifying barbaric deeds had since been transformed miraculously into a peace-loving community with exemplary conduct. Heinous crimes have since been unheard of there and more significantly; these people no longer take intoxicants.

Swamy Vivekananda has opined that old habits can be overcome by means of new habits. Duncan subjected these immortal words to acid test and proclaimed from house tops the truth of this statement through his experimentation. Nevertheless, Duncan had to pay a high price for this in terms of exacting exertion, sacrifice and struggle.

Duncan passed away in 1918 in his eighty-sixth year. But he will be remembered in the grateful minds of the Simshin Community for ages to come.

Article Posted By : sreevani  On April 29, 2013lView All Articles

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Influence of Environment