ABSTRACT
The first year of Rassam's service was marred by the tragic start of the American mission to the mountain Nestorians. (At that time the United States had limited diplomatic relations with oriental countries; in the Ottoman empire American missionaries operated under British protection, in Persia sometimes under British, sometimes under Russian, protection.)
The Prudential Committee of the American Board, impressed by Grant's achievements and prospects, assigned two missionaries to proceed with their wives from the United States to Mosul, which would serve as the year-round base for mission work in the mountains. In the summer of 1841 Grant was back in Hakkari on his third visit, paving the way for his new colleagues, when his work was cut short by the news that one missionary had died en route, his wife had died on arrival in Mosul and that the other couple, Rev Abel Hinsdale and his wife, were gravely ill. Grant hastened back to join the survivors in Mosul and nurse them back to health. 3
seated on a rug in one corner of the room, richly attired in silks of purple and scarlet. The house, which contained but one apartment, was made of small stones laid in mud, and plastered on the inside with clay; the walls about six feet in height, with thatched roof and clay floor, the clay broken.
