REV. CHARLES R. BLISS 
 
The New West 
 
 Education Commission 
 
 1880-1893 
 
 REV. E. LYMAN HOOD, M. A., PH. D. 
 
 Member American Historical Association. 
 
 Author : The National Council of the Congregational Churches. 
 The Greek-Russian Church in America. 
 
 "Sweet odors reach us yet 
 Brought gladly from the fields long left behind. ' ' 
 
 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 
 
 THE H. & W. B. DREW COMPANY. 
 
 1905. 
 
PEEPACE. 
 
 Reformations mark the golden milestones in the history 
 of mankind. From an aroused and indignant conscience 
 have sprung the mightiest endeavors of humanity. Evils, 
 impending and present, have incited minds and hearts to 
 the greatest sacrifice, the noblest achievements. 
 
 Congregational ism had its birth in deep conviction. 
 The "nonconformist conscience" to this day, in the land 
 of its origin, is the term most generally employed to 
 define the attitude of our churches in England toward 
 moral and spiritual issues. Two centuries the churches 
 of the Pilgrim Faith had been established in America 
 when Mormonism arose to threaten the social and reli- 
 gious well-being of our people. Against this insidious 
 foe many were persuaded after long consideration that 
 the Christian school was the most effective weapon. They 
 believed the teacher could get a foothold where the 
 preacher would not be given a hearing. 
 
 The New West Education was an answer to a call from 
 God. The founders of the society were leaders in the 
 churches. The busiest of men were its trusted adminis^ 
 trators, and they gave with commendable example of their 
 money and their time. The response to the urgent appeal 
 was, indeed, remarkable; young and old, poor and rich 
 
 3G0459 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 gave freely. During the period of fifteen years under 
 review in this monograph, a sum amounting to three- 
 fourths of a million of dollars came to the treasury of the 
 Commission from more than two thousand Congregational 
 Churches in the United States. 
 
 The teachers, a noble band, seven hundred and twenty 
 in all, were foreign missionaries. Yet they labored in 
 their own land. Few cared to go where they went, and 
 a welcome at first was rarely accorded them. Year after 
 year, by heroic Christ-like service, they remained at their 
 post. Hostile opposition was thus gradually overcome, 
 and in the end affectionate regard and abiding friendship 
 were frequently the priceless rewards. Among the 
 teachers themselves a spirit of fellowship was early 
 manifest. Common purposes, common dangers, and 
 victories for truth and righteousness in which all had 
 an acknowledged share, drew them together fraternally 
 with ties of mutual regard which passing years have not 
 severed. 
 
 The schools were organized in temporary quarters, 
 often with a mere handful of pupils, which grew in 
 numbers and influence until they gave form and character 
 to the incoming public schools of future states. Among 
 the thirty-five thousand students enrolled were youth 
 of many racesu The religious beliefs were equally well 
 represented; yet, such was the magic alchemy resulting 
 from wise and kindly leadership, these scholars quickly 
 
PREIACE. 5 
 
 participated in the high ideals of Christian education. 
 Not a few of these students have since reached positions 
 of honor and usefulness in their respective communities 
 and states. 
 
 The master spirit, who guided the destinies of the 
 teachers and the schools from the beginning, and up to 
 the time when the work of the Commission was merged in 
 the older Education Society, has passed away. His 
 consecrated life needs no embellishment. A worthy 
 memorial to any man is the work he did. To his foresight, 
 wisdom and energy unstinted praise is due ; hence, it may 
 be said, every page enshrines the memory of the Reverend 
 Charles Robinson Bliss. The history of the New West 
 Education Commission is a unique chapter of American 
 Congregationalism. The teachers have become very 
 widely scattered, and not a few, like their honored chief, 
 have been called from earthly labors. Nevertheless there 
 isi a distinct value to be obtained through the perspective 
 of years. We are enabled to see things in their true 
 relations. The author, who is the only Superintendent 
 the Commission ever had in the Southwestern field, was 
 requested, three years ago, to prepare the volume. 
 Unforseen circumstances have delayed the printing and 
 publishing until now. Names have been omitted, and 
 deeds have been unrecorded, which were eminently worthy 
 of gracious eulogy. The funds at command, however, 
 permitted only this brief monograph. 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 While still the executive chief of the Commission 
 Secretary Bliss resolved to write a history of the work. 
 Arid he did begin the task. When increasing weakness 
 prevented further labor only a treatise upon Mormonism 
 had been completed. To this production the author 
 wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness. The abiding 
 interest and helpful cooperation of Miss Julia M. Bliss, 
 one of the two surviving sisters of the secretary, have 
 made the book possible. Superintendent Isaac Huse, long 
 the efficient chief in the Western field, assisted most 
 successfully in enlisting the interest and support of 
 friends of the Commission. Principal Charles E. Hodgin, 
 Mrs. L. A. Collings, the Rev. W. S. Hawkes are among the 
 number who have very kindly loaned valuable data. Rev. 
 Simeon Gilbert, for many years the vice president of the 
 Commission, and the Rev. G. S. F. Savage, who served 
 with wisdom and zeal as recording secretary through all 
 the years of the existence of the Society, have very 
 courteously read the entire manuscript and made needful 
 corrections. The preparation of the volume, in the midst 
 of pressing pastoral duties, has been a labor of love, and 
 it is sent forth with the prayer that readers may find in 
 its pages fitting praise for the noble teachers of the 
 Commission, and incentive anew to take up, wherever 
 and whenever duty calls, the Master's service. 
 
 Union Congregational Church, 
 Jacksonville, Fla., 
 May 1, 1905. 
 
ORGANIZATION OF THE 
 COMMISSION. 
 
ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION. 
 
 "The object shall be the promotion of Christian civiliza- 
 tion in Utah and adjacent states and territories by the 
 education of the children and youth under Christian 
 teachers, and also by the use of such kindred agencies 
 as may at any time be deemed desirable" is the broad 
 platform upon which the New West Education Commis- 
 sion was established. It was the latest organization of 
 national scope formed by the Congregational churches. 
 Few events in American history have been more opportune 
 or providential. The inception, in the spring of 1879, 
 was an inspiration, which came to the members of the 
 Congregational Minister's Union. A Methodist home 
 missionary from Salt Lake visited Chicago and made 
 addresses in which the evils and growth of Mormonism 
 were very vividly presented. Professor C. C. G. Paine, 
 a teacher in one of the high schools of the city, heard 
 him. The following week the teacher was introduced to 
 the Union by the Rev. Burke F. Leavitt. In an address of 
 remarkable power, the immediate organization of a 
 society to sustain schools in Utah was urged. The extra- 
 ordinary interest resulted in the appointment of a com- 
 mittee. The members of this committee consulted Col. 
 
10 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 C. G. Hammond, formerly superintendent of the Union- 
 Pacific Railway. He had lived in Salt Lake, and was 
 familiar with the social and religious conditions of the 
 Territory. 
 
 This sagacious layman suggested the name for the new 
 society, which it bore ever after, and christened it with 
 the first gift f 1,000. He gave many thousands to the 
 work in later years. In due time the action of the 
 Ministers Monday Union was laid before the Congrega- 
 tional Association of Chicago. A committee, Rev. Simeon 
 Gilbert, Rev. C. N. Pond and Rev. Arthur Little, was 
 requested to bring the movement to the attention of the 
 Congregational Association of Illinois, which was done, 
 with the following results : Unusual interest was manifest 
 and a resolution was unanimously passed requesting 
 the Congregational Home Missionary Society "to take the 
 matter in hand and push it." The men who were 
 instrusted with this resolution were Rev. Simeon Gilbert, 
 Rev. Arthur Little, Rev. E. C. Barnard and Mr. Ralph 
 Emerson. After correspondence and conference the 
 national society decided it was inexpedient to assume the 
 contemplated work among the Mormons and Mexicans. 
 
 In the meanwhile President E. P. Tenney, of Colorado 
 College, Colorado Springs, a man of vision and enthusiasm, 
 heard of what had been done in Chicago. At his sugges- 
 tion a commission was appointed by the trustees of the 
 college. It consisted of sixteen men, F. A. Noble, Simeon 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 11 
 
 Gilbert, E. P. Goodwin, Arthur Little, Burke F. Leavitt, 
 C. G. Hammond, E. W. Blatchford, H. Z. Culver, B. C. 
 Cook, C. H. Case, John Deere, A. P. Sherrill, E. P. 
 Tenney, W. H. Barrows, J. L. Withrow, E. B. Webb. The 
 members of this provisional commission met at the home 
 of Mr. E. W. Blatchford, where so many other important 
 civic and religious movements have been either originated 
 or helped into enlarged power. An organization was at 
 once formed, and later incorporated with the following 
 officers : 
 
 President, Kev. F. A. Noble, the beloved pastor of 
 the Union Park Church; Kev Simeon Gilbert, editor of 
 the Advance, vice president; E. W. Blatchford, a promi- 
 nent business man of the city, secretary; Col. C. G. 
 Hammond, the philanthropist, treasurer. Soon after Eev. 
 G. S. F. Savage was chosen recording secretary. The list 
 of the original corporate members, as announced in the 
 first circular issued by the Commission, is a shining 
 roster of eminent names. Rev. Charles R. Bliss was 
 elected corresponding secretary. He continued to serve 
 the Society with distinguished ability and devotion during 
 the existence of the Commission. Mr. Bliss had already 
 been drawn into the educational work of the New West 
 by association with President Tenney, and was in a 
 peculiar manner qualified for the large task so soon to be 
 committed to him. He entered upon his official duties 
 October 1, 1880. In addition to those already mentioned, 
 
12 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 among the early friends and loyal supporters of the 
 schools were David Fales, an able attorney; William E. 
 Hale, who later served several years as president; E. D. 
 Redington, J. H. Hollister, M.D., Rev. E. F. Williams, 
 C. J. Hurlbut, A. L. Fanning and William H. Hubbard, 
 who long served as treasurer. 
 
 As the schools increased in numbers and expanded in 
 usefulness a larger force was required, not alone in the 
 strictly administrative work, but in bringing the knowl- 
 edge of the pressing need to the attention of the public. 
 In April, 1884, the first issue of the New West Gleaner 
 was published. Six years later the name was changed 
 by prefixing Christian Education to the former title. 
 This attractive bi-monthly paper was the means of 
 enlisting the sympathies and support of a multitude of 
 people. At one time six thousand copies were regularly 
 printed and distributed among the churches. In its 
 interesting pages were to be found the official announce- 
 ments of the officers of the Commission, news from the 
 wide field, letters from the teachers and patrons, and the 
 receipts and expenditures in full. 
 
 The increasing burden of administration that came 
 with the years made necessary the employment of addi- 
 tional helpers in the field of collection. Rev. A. E. 
 Winship, nine years a successful pastor in Somerville, 
 Mass., was elected in May, 1883, district secretary for 
 New England, with office in Boston. The duties of this 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 13 
 
 office were performed by Mm three years, with singular 
 acceptance to the Commission and an ever increasing 
 appreciation by those who were privileged to hear his 
 fervid appeals. Rev. S. S. Mathews was another herald of 
 the Commission, who carried the message from the wide 
 field to many hearts. A pastor of New England, he had 
 also visited the distant West and was familiar with the 
 needs and opportunities of the teachers and schools. Mr. 
 Winship having retired, Mr. George M. Herrick was 
 elected assistant secretary, and not only did he take his 
 full share in the executive duties of the office, but he 
 was a welcome speaker in the churches and before the 
 local and state bodies of our communion. 
 
 Polygamous Mormonism and Romanized Jesuitism leave 
 their blight on nothing if not on womanhood. It is not 
 surprising, therefore, that women, from the very begin- 
 ning, took unspeakable interest in and showed self- 
 sacrificing devotion to the Commission and its chosen 
 work. A very large majority of the teachers were 
 women, and an equally large proportion of the income 
 for the work came from women. For years Miss Lucia A. 
 Manning was in charge of the Boston office; Miss 
 Margaret A. Towne held a similar position in Chicago. 
 With rare tact and courtesy their daily tasks were 
 modestly performed. 
 
 To the Congregational Churches of America the effort 
 of the Commission was a distinctivelv new work and in 
 
14 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 a vast region of our own land little known. Financial 
 support to be continued was dependent upon accurate 
 and personal information. To this end teachers, from 
 time to time, after tried experience, were called from their 
 schoolrooms to be public advocates for the cherished 
 cause. Among the first of the many who were thus selected 
 was Miss Lydia Tichenor, later the wife of Rev. A. J. 
 Bailey. Her addresses everywhere awakened interest. 
 Miss Sybil Carter was another equally gifted in appeal. 
 Misis M. McCullough, Miss Virginia Dox, Miss Grace E. 
 Gilbert, Miss M. A. Hand, Miss Carrie W. Hunt, were 
 others whose names were welcomed in many homes, far 
 and near, because of the insight and uplift their stirring 
 words had given to aspiring hearts. At this point must 
 be mentioned the great service rendered by women whose 
 names were never recorded on earth, yet who were willing 
 to spend and be spent, that the labors of the Commission 
 should be adequately sustained by prayer and gifts. 
 Hundreds of meetings, yes, thousands, without exaggera- 
 tion, were held to promote the cause. In these meetings 
 women were both hosts and guests. 
 
 Among the first of the noble company of teachers 
 employed in Utah was Mr. Isaac Huse, who, in answer 
 to the Macedonian call, left his position in New England 
 to accept a school at the front. So acceptable was his 
 service there, and so imperative was the demand for 
 intelligent supervision by one on the field, he was chosen 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 15 
 
 Superintendent, and served in that capacity ten years. 
 Discreet, faithful, devoted to the interests of the Commis- 
 sion, considerate and wise in assisting the teachers, the 
 success attained was in no small measure due to him. 
 Similar conditions and needs prevailed in the South- 
 western field, which led to the election of the author as 
 Superintendent. For several years he had served the 
 Congregational Home Missionary Society as Superin- 
 tendent. The work of the mission churches and the work 
 of the mission schools were really one ; their support also 
 came from the same sources ; thus unity was given to the 
 efforts on the entire field. 
 
MORMONISM. 
 
MORMONISM. 
 
 The chief features of Mormonism are historic. Its 
 spirit, its purposes, and its impelling forces are inherited 
 chiefly from two men. In this personal origin of Mor- 
 monism mav be found its weakness and its strength. It 
 is a necessity, therefore, in order to understand Mor 
 monism to bring its founders to the witness stand, and 
 subject their characters to rigid examination. Just at 
 this point Mormonism grows fearful and retreats. Yet, 
 beyond question, Joseph Smith has gained the profound 
 and well-nigh universal veneration of the Latter Day 
 Saints. To them he is a prophet with whom God deigned 
 to converse, a trusted disciple of Jesus, an inspired trans- 
 lator of hitherto unknown human history, a restorer of 
 ancient priesthoods, a revealer of the mystery of celestial 
 marriage, a sage, a martyr. In short they have idealized 
 him. 
 
 Briefly must be traced the life history of this remarkable 
 character. Joseph Smith was born in 1805 in Vermont, 
 where his boyhood was spent. He was not fortunate in 
 his parentage: his father being illiterate, superstitious, 
 improvident, poor in purse and poorer in reputation. His 
 
20 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 mother was no better, visionary, impracticable and 
 unstable. Under such influences Joseph grew up, 
 physically strong, mentally vacillating and spiritually 
 weak. 
 
 When fifteen he claims God and Christ both appeared 
 to him and declared that all the churches were false. 
 Much is made of this early revelation by Mormon writers, 
 and it is the subject of a large painting in the temple in 
 Salt Lake. Solomon Spaulding, a Presbyterian minister 
 wrote a romance, which fell into the hands of Joseph 
 in due time. This impossible story, with the aid of a 
 peepstone, an old hat, mythical plates, and the testimony 
 of witnesses inspired by himself, furnished Joseph with 
 the Book of Mormon. 
 
 The business adventures of Joseph Smith were no 
 less ludicrous and disastrous. The publication of the 
 Book of Mormon did not enrich him; it was a wretched 
 failure. A few years later, 1830, the prophet established 
 in Kirkland, Ohio, a bank with a nominal capital of four 
 million dollars, an actual capital of five thousand, on 
 which bills to the amount of fifty thousand dollars were 
 issued. The inevitable happened. The bank was wrecked, 
 and to escape angry creditors Joseph fled at night on 
 horseback. 
 
 We have already seen that Smith has no claim to the 
 authorship of the Book of Mormon. He did, however, 
 rewrite the scriptures. Some of his "corrections" are 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 21 
 
 ridiculously absurd. For instance, Moses failed to fore- 
 tell the coming of the prophet of the Latter Day Saints, 
 so Smith corrects the oversight by inserting in the last 
 chapter of Genesis a prophecy concerning himself. The 
 most important of all the many works in Mormon litera- 
 ture is "Commandments and Covenants." Smith may 
 justly claim partial authorship of this widely known book. 
 It is written in the language of the scriptures, as the 
 following brief extract will show. Smith determined to 
 locate his followers in a certain place in Missouri, which 
 he called Zion. Prophecies, therefore, came rapidly : "He 
 that sendeth his treasures to the Land of Zion shall receive 
 an inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow 
 him, and also a reward in the world to come. Blessed are 
 the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth !" 
 
 "Commandments and Covenants" may be said to be the 
 cornerstone upon which the vast fabric of Mormonism 
 rests. In it is declared that Smith and his successors are 
 the inspired agents of God. The Mormon Church is 
 further defined as having religious, civil and political 
 functions. The work gave to the leaders of the church 
 as complete and effective a religious organization as the 
 world has ever seen. In that fact lies the strength of 
 Mormonism, and its danger to the country. The book 
 professes to give superhuman power to all who believe 
 in its teachings. The priesthood is authorized to perform 
 marriage rites, which shall give dominion, power and 
 
22 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 glory in the future life; to baptize living persons as 
 proxies; to perform miracles. Oaths, rituals, baptisms, 
 anointings, sea lings are far more elaborate than any 
 known in the modern secret societies. Furthermore, the 
 book proclaims polygamy as a divine institution, to be 
 accepted by all Mormons as fundamental in belief and 
 practice. This last prophecy of Joseph Smith, and in 
 many respects the most potent, was uttered in Nauvoo in 
 1843, when his personal immorality made such revela- 
 tion a cloak for disgusting licentiousness. This prophecy 
 was the cause of his arrest and death soon after. 
 
 Another leader was required upon the death of Joseph 
 Smith. Prophecy had ceased to a large degree, but other 
 qualities were now demanded. Departure from Nauvoo 
 was a necessity, and the chosen ruler in this memorable 
 pilgrimage of a thousand miles across the plains was 
 Brigham Young. Supreme and arbitrary power was given 
 him. The new chief was illiterate, and yet intellectually 
 strong. He was an avowed believer in the Bible, and yet 
 put Mormon seers as "living oracles" above the scriptures. 
 Amid a score of wives he conducted daily prayers, and 
 was a regular attendant upon the services of the church 
 in which he professed to be the chief priest. 
 
 With the subsequent marvelous development of Mor- 
 monism in view, it is interesting to note Brigham's- 
 purposes. His ideal for the church, of which he was the 
 head, was not so much spiritual regeneration of man- 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 23 
 
 kind, but rather social reform and political supremacy. 
 Thus, soon after reaching Utah, a convention was called 
 and the State of Deseret established. He was proclaimed 
 governor, with extraordinary powers. It must be said 
 his was a service of inestimable value to Utah. By his 
 iron will he preserved order, encouraged industry, invited 
 immigration, promoted agriculture, laid out and built up 
 Salt Lake City to be one of the most beautiful cities in 
 America. 
 
 An admirer of Brigham Young has written that "he 
 was uncontaminated with books." This furnishes a key 
 to his life and influence. The education of the schools 
 he regarded superfluous because revelation was all 
 sufficient. 
 
 This put a premium upon ignorance. The result was, 
 of course, disastrous. The office of teacher was hence- 
 forth of little honor and small remuneration. Utah was 
 for years a region in which education was discredited. 
 Such environment furnished a fertile field for the 
 doctrines taught by Young, namely, the materiality of 
 God, the secular nature of all religion, the essential 
 inferiority of woman, the plurality of wives, the exalta- 
 tion of the priesthood and the supremacy of the church 
 in social and political affairs. 
 
 August 10, 1877, at the age of seventy-six, Brigham 
 Young, one of the most unique characters in the history 
 of America, was summoned from earth. He was born in 
 
24 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Vermont, and, until thirty years of age, was an ardent 
 Methodist. He was made head of the Mormon Church 
 in 1844, and continued to exercise despotic and almost 
 unlimited power to the day of his death, a period of 
 thirty- three years. He developed to a very marked degree 
 the missionary spirit, and, as a result, men were sent to 
 every portion of the globe to win converts and bring them 
 to the promised land of Utah. The ultimate supremacy 
 of the Latter Day Saints throughout the entire world 
 was the cardinal doctrine of the church. Once granted, 
 this principle permits the church to enter every legislative 
 hall, every municipal council, every court room. There 
 should be no place where its will is not declared and 
 enforced. After Brigham's death the nature and scope 
 of the assumption began to be realized that it was at 
 variance with free institutions, and intolerable in a land 
 of libeity. 
 
CONGREGATIONAL MISSIONS 
 AND SCHOOLS. 
 
CONGREGATIONAL MISSIONS AND 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 After the advent of General Connor's army in 1862, 
 Gentiles flocked to the opening mines, which had been 
 purposely shunned by the Mormons. Salt Lake began to 
 increase rapidly in population. Yet, in 1864, it was 
 recorded, "Utah has no Christian churches, no clubs, no 
 Odd Fellows, no Masons, no politics, and no religion." 
 In the summer of that year Jonathan Blanchard, presi- 
 dent of the Congregational Home Missionary Society, 
 visited the Territory. Later Samuel Holmes, Esq., of New 
 York, made another survey. Both strongly advocated 
 Protestant missionary work at once. 
 
 November 17, 1864, a few brave spirits organized the 
 Young Men's Literary Association. This organization 
 warmly greeted the Rev. Norman McLeod, sent by the 
 Congregational Home Missionary Society as their first 
 evangelist to Utah. He held the first non- Mormon service 
 in the territory January 19, 1865. A Congregational 
 Sunday school and church were soon formed, and funds 
 were speedily raised to purchase a lot and erect a suitable 
 building. Independence Hall was the appropriate name 
 given the structure. The lot cost $2,500, and the building 
 
28 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 $5,000. A year later, while the pastor was in the East 
 collecting funds for the enlargement of the work, the 
 able superintendent of the Sunday school, Dr. J. King 
 Robinson, Avas assassinated. He was called from his 
 house at midnight, ostensibly to attend a man injured by 
 a horse, and was brutally assaulted a few rods from his 
 door. He was carried into Independence Hall where 
 death soon relieved his sufferings. He was the first 
 martyr to Congregational evangelism in Utah. The 
 pastor was warned not to return. Thus the work so 
 auspiciously begun, by murder and intimidation, was 
 suspended. Regular services were not resumed for ten 
 years, or until the Rev. Walter M. Barrows took charge. 
 In the meanwhile Independence Hall was not left 
 unoccupied. In 1867, under the leadership of Bishop 
 Tattle, the Episcopalians arrived and began services in 
 the hall. They occupied this Congregational Church 
 building four years. On May 8, 1870, the Methodists, 
 represented by Rev. G. M. Pierce, began a successful 
 work in the Mormon City, occupying the hall a year. 
 The hall never belied its name. It was the recognized 
 center of Gentile influences. It is said that every 
 evangelical denomination in Utah, except the Baptist 
 and Lutheran, held its first service in this historic build- 
 ing. Here also the Hebrews organized their society, and 
 the Woman's Antipolygamy Society had its birth within 
 its walls. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 29 
 
 When the Mormons left Nauvoo, in 1846, it was the 
 dream of Brigham Young to find some vast uninhabited 
 region, where the church could develop unaffected by 
 Gentile influences. A year later, after a long journey 
 of a thousand miles over vast plains and towering 
 mountains, the colonists came to the broad, fertile Utah 
 valley. It verily seemed the promised land, and, further- 
 more, it was under the sovereignty of Mexico. No wonder 
 he felt they were forever safe from further intrusion. Yet, 
 within a year, by the fortunes of war, the Mormons were 
 again under the Stars and Stripes. And by the discovery 
 of gold in California, two years later, their anticipated 
 secluded city was receiving a stream of travelers from 
 every clime. At length, in 1869, the completion of the 
 transcontinental railway ended forever the dream of 
 isolation. 
 
 The increasing population and importance of the city 
 impelled the Congregational Home Missionary Society 
 to commission the Rev. Walter M. Barrows for the work 
 so long suspended. January 18, 1874, he preached his 
 first sermon, and soon after reorganized the Congrega- 
 tional Church, with twenty-four members. Thus began 
 a fruitful ministry which lasted seven and one-half years. 
 A man of great energy and remarkable tact, he left an 
 abiding impress upon city and territory. 
 
THE ACADEMIES OF UTAH. 
 
THE ACADEMIES OF UTAH. 
 
 The growing influence of the missionary church empha- 
 sized the need of a missionary school. In July, 1878, 
 under the auspices of Colorado College, Salt Lake 
 Academy Was incorporated. In September of the same 
 year the school was opened under the guidance of Mr. 
 Edward A. Benner. Thirteen years this able educator 
 was in charge of this, the most important of all the 
 New West institutions. It need not be said that the 
 potent factor, which the Academy was freely acknowl- 
 edged by friend and foe to be, through all these formative, 
 eventful years, was due in large measure to the talent and 
 toil of Principal Benner. The work speaks louder than 
 eulogy. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say further that in any great 
 battle the general commanding does not do all the fight- 
 ing. Neither in the successful school does the chief 
 executive do all the teaching. Thus the associates of the 
 principal deserve honorable recognition. Among the many 
 were Mr. Marcus E. Jones, Mr. C. E. Allen, Mrs. Kate 
 A. Ashley, Miss Alice M. Keith, Miss Eva Stokes, Miss 
 M. S. Emerson, Miss N. L. Van Voorhis, Miss Ella S. 
 
34 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Danforth. In the later years there were Mr. R. A. 
 Metcalf, Miss Jennie M. Carney, Miss Alice P. Stevens. 
 Mr. Benner was succeeded in 1891 by Oscar F. Davis, a 
 graduate of Vermont University, who remained in charge 
 until the Academy was turned over to the Education 
 Society. Among his assistants were Miss Mary A. Hyde, 
 Miss Lillie W. Dickerman, Miss Ella C. Fitzgerald and 
 Miss Nora Hjelm. 
 
 For three years the Academy was accommodated in the 
 Congregational Chapel and the three rooms adjoining. 
 The prosperity of the school called for more room. In 
 1881 a sightly location, ten by twenty rods, was purchased 
 of Bishop E. D. Wooley, of the Mormon Church, for ten 
 thousand dollars. To build an adequate structure called 
 for a much larger sum than the Commission had thus far 
 been compelled to raise. But the friends of Christian 
 Education rallied to the task. Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, of 
 Maiden, Mass., gave ten thousand dollars; Col. C. G. 
 Hammond nine thousand (and, because of his zeal and 
 faithfulness from the beginning, the building was named 
 Hammond Hall) ; Mr. L. E. Holden, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
 three thousand dollars; Roland Mather, Esq., Hartford, 
 Conn., one thousand. The edifice is a high basement, two- 
 story structure, of white brick with red brick trimmings. 
 The cost, with equipment, was twenty-three thousand 
 dollars, of which the citizens of Salt Lake contributed 
 about one-half. At the time of its completion it was by 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 35 
 
 far the finest educational building in Utah. Among the 
 contributors were John Taylor, President of the Mormon 
 Church; several saloon keepers gave one hundred dollars 
 each. 
 
 The educational factor, large as it was in the upbuild- 
 ing of this important institution, was only one of many. 
 The relation of the Academy to the First Congregational 
 Church was cordial and intimate. Rev. J. Brainard 
 Thrall, the pastor, long served on the board of trustees, 
 and was a special lecturer several terms. The acknowl- 
 edged ability and gift of leadership in its teachers placed 
 the school in the forefront of the social and intellectual 
 life of the growing city. 
 
 The population and importance of Salt Lake made 
 possible and necessary the organization of district schools 
 of primary and grammar grade in the outlying wards of 
 the city. Such an one was the Burlington School, started 
 in 1882 in a small adobe house, but transferred later to 
 a commodious building, largely built by the gifts of the 
 First Church, Burlington, Vt. The first teacher was Miss 
 Edith McLeod, followed by Mrs. H. M. Scruton, now Mrs. 
 Lovering, of Cambridge, Mass. Miss Fannie Hall assumed 
 charge later and was assisted by Miss Emma M. Blodgett 
 and Miss Flora J. Corbett. The extension of the public 
 school system at length afforded educational opportunities 
 to all children and the school was closed. 
 
36 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Plymouth School, opened in 1882, was another ward 
 school of the city, which had an eventful career and 
 hastened the day of efficient public schools. The pupils 
 were mainly from the families of the Saints, yet, as in 
 every other school, religious instruction was regularly 
 given and received with evident appreciation. At this 
 point we may quote from an "official circular of instruc- 
 tion" issued from the headquarters of the Commission, 
 and mailed to every New West teacher: "It must nev.er 
 be forgotten that New West schools are sustained by 
 Christian people, who deem religious results of the very 
 highest importance, and while the directors do not desire 
 to have the teachers discharge any religious duties in a 
 narrow, sectarian spirit, they do expect that they will 
 use all proper endeavors to instill into the minds of the 
 pupils the great truths of the Bible." 
 
 In the tenth ward of Salt Lake, facing one of the many 
 beautiful public parks, a three-room adobe building 
 was constructed by the Commission at a cost of three 
 thousand dollars. The Ladies' Aid Society of the Phillips 
 Church, South Boston, made so generous a gift toward its 
 erection the school was given the name Phillips. It was 
 dedicated in November, 1886, the Kev. Alexander Munroe, 
 missionary of the Congregational Home Missionary 
 Society, preached the sermon. Pupils from other 
 sabbath schools of the New West participated in the 
 exercises, and with their Mormon parents filled the three 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 37 
 
 rooms. The spiritual life of this school for several years 
 was very marked. A prayer meeting was held each Mon- 
 day afternoon at the close of the session. Rev. W. S. 
 Hawkes, the superintendent of Home Missions for Utah, 
 and the pastors of the several Congregational Churches 
 of the city often assisted in the Sunday school and 
 religious exercises of the week. 
 
 A study of the New Testament soon confirms one in the 
 belief that the early evangelists regarded the cities as 
 strategic points in their chosen labors. In battling 
 against a bestial, polygamous Mormonism and an un- 
 American civilization, the Commission felt the few lead- 
 ing towns of each territory must be captured for truth 
 and righteousness. Ogden, the largest center of popula- 
 tion in Northern Utah, was thus chosen. 
 
 Two years after the Congregational Church was 
 organized in Salt Lake Mr. Safford came to Odgen and 
 began church services. The Sunday school, begun with 
 ten, soon grew to eighty. In July, 1877, the church was 
 organized with ten members. After three years of trying 
 missionary labor the pastor withdrew and the organiza- 
 tion became extinct. In 1884 Rev. H. E. Thayer, now 
 superintendent of missions in Kansas, organized a church 
 in the New West schoolhouse. 
 
 As in several instances, the man chosen in the beginning 
 to guide the destinies of the Academy proved eminently 
 fitted for the position and remained to see a worthy monu- 
 
38 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 ment to his years of labor. Mr. H. Waldo Ring went 
 from New Hampshire, and was principal eight years. 
 Assisting him were Miss V. W. Ludden, Miss Alice 
 Hamlin, Miss Abbie P. Noyes, Miss M. L. McClelland. 
 In the spring of 1891 Mr. David A. Curry, a graduate of 
 Indiana University, assumed charge. With him were 
 associated Miss M. H. Nutting, Miss Eva Boney, Miss 
 Ruth E. Gill and Miss Amelia A. Binder. 
 
 That Protestant schools should be welcomed and sup- 
 ported by Mormon parents in the very capital of the 
 Latter Day Saints seems incredible. They realized, how- 
 ever, the inferiority of their own teachers and schools. 
 Rev. D. L. Leonard, of Oberlin, Ohio, several years the 
 Home Missionary superintendent in Utah, has written 
 thus of their schools: "They were unique, and at most 
 points highly original. The schoolhouse and the meeting 
 house were commonly the same building; the themes 
 presented and the spiritual atmosphere diffused on Sunday 
 were but slightly modified during the week. As 
 compared with the pupils the teachers for the most part 
 were but ignoramuses of a larger growth. Free schools 
 were rare exceptions; the children of the poor were 
 excluded by their poverty. The Saints had no fear of 
 religion in their schools. The day's work was closed as 
 well as begun with prayer, which is always heard on all 
 manner of occasions, even at the opening and ending of 
 the dance." 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 39 
 
 Provo contained a population of five thousand, solidly 
 Mormon, when, November 20, 1883, Miss Emily M. Clapp, 
 of East Hampton, Mass., opened a school. The teacher 
 was a graduate of Mt. Holyoke, and had won laurels as 
 an educator in Greenfield, Mass. The city, fifty miles 
 south of Salt Lake, was the third in population in the 
 Territory. The announcement in the press stated : "This 
 school will be wholly unsectarian, and, while good morals 
 and reverence for God will be inculcated, no religious 
 dogma will be instilled into the minds* of the pupils." 
 
 The small beginning of this institution (at the present 
 writing the largest of all the New West schools) is of 
 unusual interest. From the teacher's pen we may read 
 how she went to the building at the time appointed, but 
 no pupil came. Not until the sixth day, when six little 
 children appeared, was work begun. Increasing attendance 
 soon demanded larger quarters, which were found in rented 
 buildings. Mr. Joseph O. Proctor, of Gloucester, Mass., 
 made a generous gift for a building, which was built and 
 occupied at the beginning of the fifth year (September, 
 1887) at a total cost of nine thousand dollars. Miss M. 
 F. French, Miss Sarah C. Hervey and Miss Minnie L. 
 Foster in charge. 
 
 As so often recurred elsewhere, the new Protestant 
 school invited the Mormons to greater zeal, and they 
 constructed a suitable building not far away in which 
 capable teachers were installed. Mr. Forrest E. Merrill 
 
40 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 and Mr. C. K. Tucker were the energetic principals until 
 the school, with others, was turned over to the Educa- 
 tion Society. The mutual helpfulness of the Academy 
 and the Congregational Church, subsequently organized, 
 must be noted. At the present writing the pastor, Kev. 
 S. H. Goodwin, is also principal of the large Academy. 
 This school is of very great interest, as we look back 
 through the perspective of years, because it has come the 
 nearest to the ideal, cherished from the beginning of the 
 New West movement. There were much larger, more 
 conspicuous schools, in apparently more strategic loca- 
 tions, but they are gone. And from one point of view 
 little is left to mark the years of heroic service. Often 
 today we may find the former schoolhouse deserted or 
 sold to unsympathetic tradesmen for other uses, the 
 patrons widely scattered, the pupils also separated. But 
 in the case of Provo the school itself was never more 
 prosperous or influential for good. A loyal constituency 
 immediately surrounds the institution, her sons and her 
 daughters return to the portals on cherished anniversaries 
 as doves to their windows. The question springs up 
 unbidden, "What has been the cause of this evident 
 success?" Without doubt it has been the happy union 
 from the beginning between the Academy and the church. 
 One man, who would have no conflicts with himself, has 
 been the guiding spirit of both. The New West Educa- 
 tion Commission has ceased to be, but the lesson of her 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 41 
 
 defeats and of her triumphs should not be forgotten by 
 the Congregationalists of America. 
 
 "Our elders can outpreach them all/ 7 remarked Brigham 
 Young boastfully, with reference to the futile efforts of 
 the first Protestant missionaries to Utah. There was 
 much truth in the statement. It must be confessed that 
 the preaching of the Protesitant missionaries brought no 
 returns commensurate with the vast outlay of energy 
 and money expended. The most rigorous efforts to convert 
 adult Mormons were seldom rewarded. Even the apostate 
 Mormons, of which there were many, were proof against 
 Christian appeals. But the church of the Latter Day 
 Saints was not secure, as it thought. There were thou- 
 sands of children in the Mormon homes they could be 
 reached. Hence the scorn of the Saints' officials was ere 
 long turned into salutary fear. 
 
THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF UTAH 
 
THE RUEAL SCHOOLS OF UTAH. 
 
 Hurriedly has been sketched the story of the academies 
 in the few cities of Utah, there remains the greater work 
 to be briefly told. At one time twenty free schools in rural 
 districts were sustained by the Commission. It is impos- 
 sible, with the space at command, to take each school 
 separately. Lehi and Kansas, and Fannington, and 
 Hooper, and Bountiful, and Sandy! What romance is 
 suggested by the heroic endeavor of the teachers of their 
 New West schools. They are the uncrowned martyrs of 
 the Commission, who, in lonely and lowly fields, out of the 
 sight of the multitude, beyond the plaudits of the crowd, 
 were willing to spend and be spent if the glad tidings 
 of life and light could be borne to a rising generation. 
 Theirs was a sacrifice, yet a reward. * * * 
 
 "Whose pleasure was to run without complaint 
 
 On unknown errands of the Paraclete!" 
 
 The teachers of these out-of-the-way schools were not 
 heroes, but heroines ; not men, but women, volunteered to 
 go to the firing line, where the fight was the hottest, in 
 the warfare for virtue and decency. It is no wonder that 
 the Mormon ecclesiastics feared the teachings of these 
 
46 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 faithful evangelists of a better day as they did not the 
 instruction given in the larger academies in the cities. 
 The following is quoted from an address issued by Mor- 
 mon elders to the people of a "stake" or district: "The 
 primal purpose of the teachers of the so-called New West 
 Education Commission should receive attention. As 
 avowed by this Society it is to accomplish what the 
 Edmund's bill contemplated, but failed to do. Latter 
 Day Saints, can you understand this? Under pretense 
 of educating your children their mission is a peculiarly 
 delicate one because a religion is being assailed. Its 
 denial would be a piece of arrant hypocrisy, a vain 
 pretense, a willful falsehood. By promoting dissension, 
 inciting rebellion, bringing about disputes between the 
 priests and the people, opposing polygamy, and exercis- 
 ing an influence over Mormon girls, they expect to plant 
 the first gun on Mormon soil." 
 
 Park City is one of the thrifty mining towns of Utah, 
 with a population of two thousand, almost entirely 
 Gentile. Mr. Dana W. Bartlett opened the school in 1882, 
 with Miss Alice Bridges as assistant. Mr. Forrest Merrill 
 was then placed over the school, assisted by Miss Sarah 
 I. Gilbert. Mr. Herbert B. Haden was later principal, 
 Miss Emily H. Dutton assisting him in the lower grades. 
 Mr. David Dennis and Miss Jennie Latham next had over- 
 sight of the school. The success of the school paved 
 the way for the organization of a Congregational Church, 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 47 
 
 which has been through all the years as a light set upon 
 a hill which can not be hid. 
 
 Heber was a large town, almost wholly Mormon, 
 seventy miles from Ogden, in which the New West opened 
 a school. The long list of its teachers would include 
 some of the most faithful and distinguished in the service 
 of the Commission. 
 
 For ten years a successful school had been supported 
 in Sandy, a small smelting town thirteen miles south of 
 Salt Lake, where a church was established. The two 
 worked together harmoniously for the upbuilding of the 
 kingdom. Huntsville, a small town in the mountains 
 ten miles north of Ogden, welcomed a school. The 
 people were Norwegian converts of the Mormon Church. 
 In Lynne, a suburb of Ogden, a school was sustained. 
 Coalville, a Mormon town on the Union Pacific Railway, 
 saw a New West School opened in 1882, which was a 
 fountain of good influences for years. Miss Rhoda Beard, 
 the teacher, formed the first Christian Endeavor Society 
 in Utah. 
 
 In a rented log house in Kamas a school was taught 
 by Miss Nellie D. Biscoe under the auspices of the Com- 
 mission. Lehi was another scene of devoted labors and 
 signal success. Here a fine schoolhouse was erected 
 and a Congregational Church followed. Bountiful could 
 boast of a substantial stone schoolhouse, owned by the 
 Commission, in the center of a Mormon population of two 
 
48 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 thousand. Rev. D. L. Leonard, for years the superin- 
 tendent of Congregational Missions, preached the first 
 Protestant sermon, and later organized a church of the 
 Pilgrim Faith. Hooper has a picturesque location on 
 the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Miss Lydia Tichenor, 
 now Mrs. Bailey, was the pioneer, who later went among 
 the churches of the East to thrill large audiences by the 
 romance and heroism of her experiences. 
 
 In Farmington the Academy of the Commission had a 
 competitor in a famousi Stake academy. The talented 
 teacher, Miss Sarah J. Lester who met a tragic death 
 later, a builded better than she knew" in her labors here. 
 Rev. A. M. Peebles was the missionary pastor whose 
 regular visits assisted in the upbuilding of the school. 
 
 Centreville was given a comfortable stone schoolhouse 
 through the generosity of the First Congregational 
 Church of Montclair, N. J. Stockton was a mining town, 
 with progressive Gentiles, which offered virgin soil for 
 faithful efforts. Morgan and Hoytsville were the strong- 
 holds of Mormonism, but patient Christian teaching 
 brought reward. Bingham Canon, "a one-street mining 
 town, six miles long and a quarter-mile wide," was the 
 scene of the successful labors of Miss Mary E. Pease, a 
 Mt. Holyoke graduate. Two years before she entered the 
 service of the Commission, while visiting the home of a 
 brother-in-law in Kansas, she declared her hope to be a 
 missionary teacher some day. The incredulous business 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 49 
 
 man smiled, and, tossing her a nickel, said, "Here's the 
 corner of your schoolhouse," and a Salt Lake City horse- 
 car ticket was later found, when he exclaimed, "You may 
 have that, too." Four years from that day, surely enough, 
 her aspirations were providentially fulfilled; the ticket 
 was used and the nickel deposited in the cornerstone of 
 her new schoolhouse. 
 
 In the rural schools of the New West, teaching was 
 only a small part of the daily work of the faithful teachers. 
 They visited the sick, comforted the dying in death, pre- 
 pared for the burial. Mothers early turned to them for 
 assistance in learning how to cook, to sew and to beauti- 
 fy their humble homes. The men, so often illiterate, 
 urged them to read to them the papers and to write their 
 business letters. The children soon found in their beloved 
 teachers friends for counsel in every need. Henefer, 
 Wanship and Midway witnessed rewarding labors of this 
 character. 
 
 Slaterville, five miles from Ogden, with no outside aid, 
 built a new schoolhouse and applied to the New West 
 for its intelligent supervision. Miss Anna L. Lyman, Miss 
 Mary O. Tabor and Miss L. L. Yoder were in charge for 
 six years. West Jordan was organized in a room formerly 
 used as a saloon. In the religious exercises, which were 
 a prominent feature in every New West school, God's 
 word was taught and His praise zealously sung where 
 once drunken carousals were nightly occurrences. 
 
50 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 One school was established by the Commission in Idaho 
 at Oxford. Miss Virginia Dox was the pioneer pedagogue. 
 Her novel and thrilling experiences she used with rare 
 power and eloquence in later years as an advocate of the 
 Commission in many states of the Union. The Methodists 
 founded a church at this point with the anticipation of 
 entering also upon educational work as well. Desirous 
 of observing the spirit of comity, our teacher was with- 
 drawn after several years of very successful service. 
 
 Without doubt these country schools saw the best and 
 worst of Mormonism. As a vast economic, industrial 
 system, the followers of Joseph Smith and Brigham 
 Young achieved vast results. A wide area was quickly 
 settled, law and order were established, and prosperity 
 attained. The means employed to bring about these ends 
 were not always commendable. The autocratic spirit of 
 the officials of the church was often insufferable. The 
 theory of government of the early day Saints was as 
 peculiar as their theology. The latter is voiced in the 
 popular hymns of the Mormon Church. The doctrine that 
 God is both male and female is duly set forth in the 
 following : 
 
 "To Kolob now my thoughts repair, 
 
 Where God, my Father, reigns above; 
 
 My heavenly Mother, too, is there, 
 And many kindred whom I love." 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 51 
 
 Oelestial marriage is portrayed in the stanzas. 
 
 "O! when my work on earth is done 
 
 May I be honored as thy son, 
 Called home and crowned with endless lives, 
 
 With glory and celestial wives." 
 * * * * * 
 
 "I want my kingdom to increase 
 
 Nor through eternity to cease; 
 I want the gift, celestial wives, 
 
 Which brings the power of endless lives." 
 
52 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 NEW MEXICO. 
 
 Long the "Children of the Twilight," 
 In the darkness of their race. 
 Eastward looking, have been watching 
 For their God "with shining face." 
 
 ? Tis the twilight hour of morning, 
 Harbinger of sunshine bright. 
 See ! the clearness of the dawning 
 Dissipates the shades of night. 
 
 Christian teachers, self-forgetting, 
 Gladly here their lot have cast; 
 And we hear the children crying : 
 "God remembers us, at last !" 
 
 Comes the looked-for Montezuma? 
 Is it he upon his way? 
 No; it is the radiant Christ-Child. 
 Bringing in the glorious day. 
 
 M. A. T. 
 
TRINIDAD ACADEMY. 
 
TKINIDAD ACADEMY. 
 
 Within a few miles of the southern boundary of Colo- 
 rado, just over the line from New Mexico, is the thriving 
 town of Trinidad. In 1880, when the New West Academy 
 was organized, the place had a population of four thou- 
 sand. After the school had proved its necessity and 
 worth, a larger and permanent home was demanded. 
 The citizens contributed liberally for the purchase of the 
 site, a conspicuous elevation, on the borders of the town, 
 overlooking the city and the wide plains beyond. In 
 digging for the foundation the workmen discovered the 
 hill was in prehistoric ages the site of an Indian pueblo, 
 and many interesting relics of the almost extinct race 
 were found. 
 
 It is convincing proof of the wisdom of the administra- 
 tion of the Commission that in so many cases men chosen 
 in the very beginnings of the work at several points should 
 remain in charge year after year. In other words, the 
 teachers, themselves, grew as the institutions developed. 
 Such was the choice of Mr. Henry E. Gordon, a graduate of 
 Amherst College, for the principalship of Trinidad Acade- 
 my. He remained the beloved head thirteen years, a longer 
 
56 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 period of service than any other teacher of the Society, 
 save Mr. Benner of Salt Lake. Among the teachers associ- 
 ated with him were Miss Susie W. Benedict, Miss Eva A. 
 Hubbard, Miss E. B. Keese. In later years- came Mr. 
 Frederick A. Peck, who had entire charge during a year's 
 absence of Mr. Gordon ; Miss A. E. Jordan, Miss Alys S. 
 Day and Miss Kate Carman. Rev. G. J. Tillotson, of 
 Connecticut, made a generous gift toward the erection 
 of the building, whereupon the trustees voted unani- 
 mously to call the institution by his name. 
 
 The environment of this school was very different from 
 all the others. In the first place it was not situated in 
 a Territory, but in a State. Colorado very early enacted 
 laws favorable to the development of a good graded school 
 system. Again, the population of Trinidad, though mixed, 
 did not contain a large proportion of either Mexicans or 
 Mormons. In fact, the latter were so few in numbers as 
 to be of no significance. The students of the Academy 
 w r ere in consequence mainly from American and Protes- 
 tant families. For years there was no high school main- 
 tained in the public school system, and in consequence the 
 Academy never lacked for pupils of advanced grade. 
 As a feeder for Colorado College bright hopes were 
 always entertained of its increasing usefulness and power. 
 
 As in the case of all the large academies of the New 
 West the intellectual aspects of the work were only a 
 portion of the features manifest. There was a moral 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 57 
 
 training and spiritual enrichment of priceless value. 
 More than once a revival of marked power originated in 
 the Academy and impelled many of the students to confess 
 Jesus as their Saviour and King. Ten years after the 
 founding of the Academy a Congregational Church was 
 organized in Trinidad. The long delay was almost fatal 
 to its growth and advancement, but after many vicissi- 
 tudes the organization has gained strength enabling this 
 church to labor effectively in a difficult field. 
 
58 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 THE FAIR SOUTHWEST. 
 
 "We hail thee now, awakening from thy sleep, 
 Thou land of rare historic wealth and grace; 
 Thy sunlit vales a lovely dwelling place, 
 
 Thy hills and mountains rich with treasure deep, 
 
 Traditions strange thy old cathedrals keep ; 
 And still in thy rich archives may we trace 
 The dusty annals of a Southern race, 
 
 Whose thrilling story makes our pulses leap. 
 
 Long hast thou slumbered ! and thy blinded eyes 
 Have been a stranger to the purer ray ; 
 
 But now the light illumes the Eastern skies 
 And ushers in for thee a brighter day. 
 
 O! land of promise, prophecy and power, 
 
 We hail with joy thy second natal hour." 
 
 ["H." in New West Gleaner, December, 1891.] 
 
NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA. 
 
NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA. 
 
 Columbus, when approaching America on his first voy- 
 age, observed a flock of paroquets flying over his three 
 ships, going northeast. Believing that the birds came 
 from land not far away, he turned his fleet in the direc- 
 tion from whence they came, and ere long cast anchor in 
 the harbor of the island of San Salvador. Had he kept 
 in his original course he would have sailed to the shores 
 of Virginia. Was ever flight of parrots so momentous 
 in its consequences! If the intrepid voyager had landed 
 on the banks of the James he would have claimed pos- 
 session in the name of his soverign, the Spanish monarch, 
 as he did on the isles of the Southern Sea, Thereafter 
 the Latin race, the Spanish language and the Roman 
 religion would have been supreme in a land that was 
 reserved in the providence of God for the cooler blood of 
 the Saxon, the purer faith of the Protestant. 
 
 The thousands of later adventurers from Southern 
 Europe who followed the early pioneers were content to 
 settle in the sunny climes bordering upon the Gulf of 
 Mexico. Their descendants, north of the Isthmus of 
 Panama, now number twelve millions. Only thirty-eight 
 
62 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 years after Columbus discovered the New World Cabeza 
 de Vaca penetrated the region now called New Mexico 
 and Arizona, and claimed possession for his king. It was 
 ninety years before the Pilgrim Fathers reached the bleak 
 shores of New England. Among the early enthusiastic 
 gold seekers were faithful priests, who were willing 
 companions of their danger and toil if they might preach 
 Christ and extend the dominion of the Pope. Their heroism 
 and privations read like a romance. Three hundred years 
 this out-of-the-way country had been controlled by the 
 Spanish government and the Roman church, when Old 
 Mexico declared independence in 1821. Later came the 
 not altogether creditable war with the neighboring 
 Republic, which was terminated by the treaty of Guada- 
 lupe Hidalgo in 1848, which made New Mexico and 
 Arizona a part of the United States. 
 
 The Mexican of today, though of mixed blood, has 
 inherited the Spanish thought, habits, and architecture 
 of three hundred years ago. It is a case of arrested 
 development. As the Province of Quebec in Canada 
 may be said to be more French than France itself, so the 
 far southwest stereotyped a civilization that was utterly 
 alien to the remainder of the country. Even now it is 
 like visiting a foreign land to travel over the wide mesas 
 of New Mexico and Arizona. 
 
 These two Territories, which have plead so persistently 
 for half a century to be admitted into the sisterhood of 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 6S 
 
 States, are imperial in extent, containing nearly 250,000 
 square miles as large as five Englands, or thirty times the 
 size of Massachusetts. It is a vast region of southern lati- 
 tude and immense elevations. The altitude determines the 
 temperature, rather than the former. In other words, the 
 mountains are cool, the lowlands are hot. Thus all climatic 
 conditions may be found. No portion touches the sea, nor 
 are there lakes or navigable rivers. It is an extensive table- 
 land of sudden surprises. Yet from almost any point can 
 be discerned, losing themselves in the blue haze of the 
 distance, ragged sierras and castellated mountain chains. 
 Extinct volcanoes may be found by the seeking down into 
 whose craters one may walk amid scenes weird, gloomy 
 and infernal. Out of these now quiet craters have flowed 
 the streams of lava which may be traced in places for 
 many miles. In the distance these great lava flows of 
 the valley resemble huge black serpents at rest. The 
 crowning features of the landscape are the towering 
 peaks bearing their diadems of perpetual snow. 
 
 Americans are better acquainted with Europe than 
 they are with these wide empires of the Southwest. In 
 the popular mind New Mexico and Arizona have long 
 been associated with arid wastes and torrid heat, lawless 
 whites and hostile Indians, venomous reptiles and poi- 
 sonous insects. Into this far distant land of opportunity, 
 one filled with song and legend, with history so ancient 
 the years were unnumbered, the pioneer teachers of the 
 
64 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 New West Education Commission went as evangels of 
 a new era and civilization to proclaim the Christ had 
 come. 
 
 At the time of their first arrival the population of the 
 two Territories was about one quarter of a million souls. 
 The different elements were and are to this day very 
 distinct; probably more so than in any other portion of 
 the American Continent. The primitive inhabitants are 
 the Pueblos, or, as they are popularly called, "Pueblo 
 Indians." They number 15,000 and are mostly in New 
 Mexico. They are an agricultural people and have always 
 avoided war. The nineteen pueblos (i. e. village houses) 
 are built of stone or adobe, formerly erected with no 
 doors or windows in the first story, but are entered by 
 ladders reaching to the second or third floor. By treaty 
 the United States government has given them title to 
 their farms and the suffrage. They gratefully accepted 
 the former, but have never voted. Aborigines they truly 
 are, still plowing with a forked stick and harvesting their 
 scanty crops with the ancient hand-made sickle. Their 
 carts are crude and clumsy, with the wheels made of 
 cross sections of a log. Nominally they are members of 
 the Roman Catholic Church, but they still practice many 
 heathen customs. 
 
 In wide contrast to these primitive people are the 
 hitherto savage tribes, so well known because of their 
 cruel depredations. But there is another side to the 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 65 
 
 story. Our treatment of the Indian from the beginning 
 is a dark stain upon American civilization. One-fifth of 
 the two hundred thousand still living in the United 
 States dwell in these two Territories, the larger portion 
 being in Arizona. Among the number are the Apaches, 
 Navajoes, Yumas, Pimas, Papagoes and Moquis. Formerly 
 they were nomadic and wandered here and there over the 
 mountains and plains. At present all are confined to 
 government reservations. These Indians are stronger, 
 physically and mentally, than the Pueblos, and capable of 
 a higher civilization, although not so far advanced. 
 
 During the period under review fully one-half the 
 population of New Mexico and Arizona was composed 
 of the so-called Mexican race. They are dark and sallow 
 in complexion, much like the Cubans, with very black 
 hair and eyes, short and slight of stature. The typical 
 native is slow and quaint, primitive, and picturesque in 
 spite of himself. To the more active, nervous, ambitious 
 American he seems a sort of Rip Van Winkle, out of 
 date, a relic of a past and distant age. Yet he is kind, 
 patient, good natured as a rule, with politeness that has 
 the charm of courtly grace. When aroused in anger his 
 temper is something dyamic, and not always wisely 
 controlled. As a money maker and a money keeper he 
 is seldom a success. 
 
 In early life the Mexican woman, "the senorita." is 
 often strikingly handsome, but her beauty soon fades. 
 
66 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Not so the inborn refinement, which endures, for even 
 amidst crushing poverty the Castilian dignity does not 
 forsake her. As in all the Latin races, the women are 
 fond of bright colors, nevertheless, imitating the nuns 
 of the Holy Church, their favorite garment is the black 
 shawl, which they generally wear thrown tastefully over 
 the head. In intellectual life they are all children, for the 
 Roman Church, during a supremacy of three centuries, 
 has never manifested any desire to give the girls the 
 education deemed so essential in all Protestant lands. 
 When the New West began its missionary labors in the 
 Southwest very few, indeed, of the women could read or 
 write. 
 
 Adobe or sun-dried bricks form the low, thick walls 
 of their houses, containing small, square rooms built 
 around the placita, or along a corridor. The roof timbers, 
 or ligas, are large and strong to support the rude planks 
 and hay over which earth is thickly spread. The windows 
 and doors are few in number and small in size. Wooden 
 floors are the exception. Stoves are very rare, but in 
 their stead the little fireplace in the corner, in which are 
 placed the pinon sticks on end, gives 1 needed cheer and 
 genial warmth. The interior is whitewashed, and has a 
 dado of bright colors. With hands of faith, pictures of 
 the saints, the Virgin and the Saviour, are hung upon the 
 walls. Each household has its sacred shrine with the 
 upraised crucifix. A few pieces of furniture suffice the 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 67 
 
 entire home equipment could be purchased fop a small 
 sum. Barns and outbuildings they do not have. When 
 crops must, of necessity, be gathered and stored they are 
 placed upon the roofs of the dwellings, or upon raised 
 platforms. The indispensable red chili and jerked mutton 
 are hung in festoons upon the outer walls to dry and 
 cure. 
 
 The Mexicans are mentally weak. Peonage, a low type 
 of bossism, and a relic of the medieval age, has long held 
 them in bondage. They have not been taught to do their 
 own thinking. The religious ceremonies and holy day 
 festivities, in which their lives center, do not call for 
 intellectual activity. When Abraham Lincoln issued his 
 proclamation he did not emancipate all in slavery in 
 our land. Here is a race that has been shackled in mind 
 and soul for three hundred years in the thraldom of 
 priestcraft. Two centuries the Roman Church, in the 
 two Territories, has been controlled by French Jesuit 
 priests. There is not one native Mexican priest in the 
 diocese, nor is one desired. When a recruit is needed 
 one is called from the Jesuit seminaries of France. Be- 
 fore the writer lies a list of the priests who were called 
 to a "Catholic Synod" in Santa Fe by the Most Reverend 
 Archbishop P. L. Chapelle. The names are taken in 
 order as given, with the names of the towlns in which 
 they served: J. B. Fayet, San Miguel; J. M. Condert, 
 Bernalillo; J. B. Rolliere, Tome; C. Seux, San Juan; A. 
 
68 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Redon and X. Dumarest, Anton Chico ; A. Fourchegu, H. 
 Ponget, L. Mizeon, J. H. Defouri, M. Mayen, A. Jonven- 
 ceau and J. Deroches, Santa Fe; J. Courbon, El Rito; 
 FT. Buyot, Santa Cruz; R. Medina, Penasco; Jos. Volezy, 
 Taos; J. B. Brum and E. Paulihan, Socorro. It is to 
 be noted that these names are deeply significant. These 
 Jesuits have always been bitterly opposed to American 
 ideas and customs, and this opposition explains why to 
 this day the territories appear to the traveled American 
 as a foreign land. 
 
 The above facts prepare the reader to comprehend the 
 environment into which the early teachers of the Com- 
 mission went to carry the Bible and schoolbook two 
 books scarcely known to a majority of the inhabitants. 
 In other portions of our country we have heard much 
 of the dissatisfaction of the Roman priesthood with the 
 public schools. In many places the dissatisfaction amounts 
 to relentless opposition. With added pertinency, the 
 inquiry arises, "What was the result of the unbroken 
 rule of the Church for three centuries in the Territories ?" 
 Surely the ignorance, poverty and superstition of the one 
 hundred thousand devotees of the Pope is a conclusive 
 answer! Until the Protestants went into the Southwest 
 there were no public schools, nor were they desired or 
 permitted. 
 
 In order that the social status of the territories may be 
 understood, several more factors in the body politic must 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 69 
 
 be mentioned. In passing, it is to be said that the term 
 "American" is applied to all not of the above classes. 
 Notwithstanding the southern latitude there are few 
 Negroes. Chinese are not numerous, save in the one city 
 of Tucson. The Jews are numerous in all the towns, and 
 are very prosperous. In the leading cities and mining 
 towns the siettlers from the Northern and Eastern States 
 are influential and constantly increasing. Among them 
 are always to be found men of ability and character to 
 whom the local administration of the schools of the 
 Commission could be wisely intrusted. People come and 
 go to a degree unknown in the North. Society is in a 
 state of flux. As driftwood seeks the edge, so here on 
 the border a class is in evidence, however small in 
 number, that would be no credit to any civilization. 
 Then there are others who have come seeking health. 
 More and more this vast region is becoming a sanatorium 
 for the world, where bronchial and consumptive patients 
 find relief if not cure. It is evident that the region, 
 especially in the 70's and 80's was a hard field for the 
 missionary teacher. He needed great faith, grace and 
 grit equally so. Large classes, fine schoolhouses, con- 
 genial surroundings, stimulating libraries and kindred 
 fellowship were not his. Even to a greater degree than 
 was possible to her male associate in the schools did the 
 woman realize what it was to be a missionary one who 
 is sent. Of such may it be said the world was unworthy 
 
70 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 for they are the uncanonized saints of our churches. All 
 honor to these uncrowned heroines, who, in far out-of-the- 
 way places, at the front where the fight is the thickest, 
 toiled on from year to year. 
 
 The sunlight gleams on the lofty hills ; 
 
 In the lovely valleys the shadows lie; 
 The heart of the lover of Nature thrills 
 
 With the varied beauty of earth and sky. 
 
 I stand by the old cathedral walls ; 
 
 Three centuries now look down on me; 
 A voice from the past through the silence falls 
 
 And blends with the voices of years to be. 
 
 It tells of a long and lonely night, 
 
 When the stars were hid and the moon was pale ; 
 When darkness shrouded the mountain height 
 
 And brooded over the gloomy vale. 
 
 It tells of a blind and servile trust 
 
 In bigot leaders with blinded eyes; 
 
 Of a people who clung to their native dust, 
 Nor heeded the glow of the purpling skies. 
 
 But over the valley I look and see 
 
 The schoolhouse walls, and the church's spire; 
 
 Twin heralds of glories yet to be, 
 
 Whose light shall burn like a living fire. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 71 
 
 I hear the voices of coming years; 
 
 I see a people arise in power; 
 The seed which was sown with toil and tears 
 
 Is bursting now into bud and flower. 
 
 There's a smile on the stolid mother's face, 
 And a gleam of pride in the father's eye; 
 
 For the children are gaining a nobler place 
 And will wield the siceptre by and by. 
 
 For, lo! the shackles are breaking fast, 
 
 They waken who once in slumber lay. 
 
 The light is dawning; the night is past, 
 
 On the Eastern hills are the steps of day. 
 
 And still, as we furrow the fertile earth, 
 The seed we scatter with pain and care ; 
 
 We wait the wonders of death and birth 
 And look for a golden fruitage there. 
 
 Hope gladdens the watcher's weary eye, 
 
 Though the noise of battle is long and loud, 
 
 "Through Christ we conquer!" Be this our cry, 
 For the sign of the cross is on the cloud. 
 
 ["H." in Christian Education and New West Gleaner, 
 November, 1890.] 
 
THE 
 ACADEMIES OF NEW MEXICO. 
 
THE ACADEMIES OF NEW MEXICO. 
 
 Santa Fe, the city of the Holy Faith of St. Francis, 
 from time immemorial has been the capital of the 
 Spanish Southwest. Yea, it is more ; it is the oldest seat 
 of civil and religious government on American soil. 
 When Cabeza de Baca penetrated the valley of the wind- 
 ing Rio Grande, he found there a flourishing Pueblo 
 village. Not until 1804 did the first venturesome Ameri- 
 can trader reach the ancient city. With the exception of 
 St. Augustine, it is the oldest town in the United States. 
 Santa Fe is a queer place, with its low mud houses and 
 its high stone cathedral, with its narrow, crooked streets 
 and inspiring outlook. 
 
 It is a city in which violent contrasts are ever present, 
 the fifteenth century with the twentieth; the lights with 
 its shadows; its palace and its plaza; its dusjt and 
 donkeys and ditches. The writer lived in the city more 
 than two years and bears personal testimony to the 
 unique character of the place and the people. The arch- 
 bishop of the Roman Catholic Church has his seat in 
 Santa Fe. The military headquarters of the United 
 States Army lend a distinct quality to the social life. 
 
76 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 A church erected before the English came to America is* 
 still standing. The city's altitude of 7,047 feet gives it 
 an incomparable climate, which is sought by invalids 
 from far and near. 
 
 Secretary Bliss visited the quaint city several times, 
 and the following from his pen illumines with clear light 
 the strange conditions of the old Spanish capital : 
 
 "The oldest city in the country, it can boast of curious 
 ancient buildings and records, and of many specimens 
 of rude art; but of modern life it can show but little. 
 In some respects it is an Oriental city. Costumes pat- 
 terned after those worn in Palestine can be seen on its 
 streets. Pottery that might have been made in Arabia is 
 sold in its stores. Beasts of burden, apparently imported 
 from Barbary, laden with wood, bound like barrels about 
 them, thread its alleys. Complexions swarthy enough to 
 belong to the Bedouins confront you frequently, and 
 women, closely veiled and clothed in black, flit across 
 your path at every corner. 
 
 "The apparent sadness of the native population arrests 
 your attention. Faces more careworn and depressed than 
 those you will see every Sunday thronging the cathedral 
 can hardly be found on earth. The very religion of the 
 people seems to be fearfully pathetic. A stamp of anxiety, 
 such as the Inquisition must have left on the features of 
 the men and women living under its shadow, is a Mexican 
 heritage. The hard conditions of life to which the people 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 77 
 
 are subject may seem to some to account for this strange 
 fact. 
 
 "Yet the more one studies the problem the clearer he 
 will see that their religion does not relieve, but rather 
 intensifies, their apparent misery. It is evidently a kind 
 of religion that does not touch their better natures. It 
 appeals to their fears, enshrouds them in superstitions, 
 stimulates feelings of dread and awe, and offers nothing 
 to their spirit of inquiry. No wonder the pall of hopeless- 
 ness rests upon their lives. Nor is it strange that under 
 such unnatural conditions vices thrive, ignorance per- 
 petuates itself, the spirit of progress is unattainable, and 
 the people stand in the way of their own prosperity. It 
 will only be when the teacher and the school shall share 
 with the priest and the Church the care of the young in 
 New Mexico that better conditions will prevail, a truer 
 life be attained, and the people become a worthy and 
 helpful portion of American society." 
 
 Two years before the New West Education Commission 
 was organized the Academy was established in Santa Fe, 
 and maintained under the auspices of President E. P. 
 Tenney, of Colorado College, and Kev. C. R. Bliss. It is 
 the oldest of all the New West schools, save that in Salt 
 Lake. Prof. William Strieby Was the capable principal 
 two years. 
 
 In 1880, the Commission having been organized, the 
 academies in Salt Lake and Santa Fe were assumed ; the 
 
78 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 New West paying accumulated bills amounting to f 2,269. 
 Rev. H. O. Ladd, who was prominent in the educational 
 advancement of the city for ten years subsequently, was 
 the second principal. He served one year, when he with- 
 drew to inaugurate a school under his private manage- 
 ment, which was called the University of New Mexico. 
 This effort to establish an university at this time when 
 only pupils of grammar grade were in attendance, did 
 not meet with the approval of the Commission. Mr. 
 Arthur J. Clough was next appointed principal, assisted 
 by Miss Ella C. Atkinson and Miss E. S. Hildreth. At 
 the close of the year the school was closed for prudential 
 reasons. 
 
 After several years, in 1888, the University of New 
 Mexico, which had been supported almost wholly by 
 New England Congregational ists, was closed because of 
 financial difficulties. Its president, Rev. H. O. Ladd, had 
 left the denomination. At the request of citizens of 
 Santa Fe the Commission opened a school under the 
 guidance of Mrs. E. H. Murphy, assisted by Miss Amelia 
 Nehber. Prof. M. R. Gaines, a successful teacher in 
 Japan under the American board, was in charge the 
 following two years. July 1, 1893, after a year of hard 
 work with good results under the instruction of Mr. and 
 Mrs. William H. Perry, the Commission closed the school. 
 
 Santa Fe is not only the capital of the territory, 
 but it is the ecclesiastical center of the Roman Church, 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 79 
 
 which maintains in several very flourishing institutions 
 a large number of priests, teachers and nuns* The lead- 
 ing mercantile establishments are owned by prosperous 
 Hebrews. At an elevation of considerably over a mile 
 above sea level, twenty miles from the main line of the 
 railway, and with a heterogeneous population that has 
 lacked unity of purpose, the city has not been able to 
 compete successfully with surrounding towns more 
 favorably situated. A sum exceeding two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars has been expended in the city by agencies, 
 which have derived their income from the Congregational 
 Churches of the country. In very few cities or towns 
 of the West has benevolence been extended so generously, 
 and, if the truth must be told, probably in no other are 
 the permanent results so few and disappointing. 
 
 Mostly true, no doubt, as to actual and immediate 
 results, but its various indirect influences affecting 
 educational interests in the State have been important 
 particularly as leading to the establishment of the 
 Territorial System of public schools. Certain of the 
 governors of the Territory were of high culture, and 
 society was early and greatly interested in our school, 
 and later in the development of the public school system. 
 
 Prof. H. O. Ladd, though he made some mistakes, had 
 no little influence in promoting the cause of education. 
 
 Albuquerque Academy had its origin in 1879, when the 
 following associated themselves together and incorporated 
 
80 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 the "Trustees of Albuquerque Academy/' Elias S. Stover, 
 William C. Hazeltine, Franz Huning, Albert Grunsfeld, 
 Rufus C. Vose, Henry Springer and Charles W. Lewis. 
 They served as a local advisory board, the school being 
 sustained and controlled by Colorado College, Colorado 
 Springs, Colorado. At the close of the firat term the 
 report that twenty-six pupils had been in attendance 
 elicited applause. 
 
 At the beginning of the second year the school was 
 transferred to the newly organized New West Education 
 Commission of Chicago. For two years the school 
 occupied the characteristic adobe, or mud house, which 
 stood near the old Mexican cathedral, founded two 
 centuries before by the Spaniards. Charles S. Howe, a 
 graduate of Massachusetts Agricultural College, who 
 came with the highest commendations from work in 
 Cleveland, Ohio, was the first principal. Miss Mary 
 Snyder, a graduate of Oberlin, now the wife of W. E. 
 Hazeltine, of the Bank of Arizona, Prescott, was the 
 first assistant teacher. Mr. A. S. McPherron was in 
 charge from 1881 to 1885. H. B. Lawrence, Frank 
 Burnette and F. E. Whittemore each served for a time as 
 principal, or until 1887 when Charles E. Hodgin, a 
 graduate of the Indiana State Normal, was placed over 
 the destinies of the growing institution. 
 
 Among the men who have served on the local board 
 of supervision of this, the largest school of the Commission, 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 81 
 
 may be mentioned, in addition to those already named: 
 D. L. Sammis, A. M. Whitcomb, J. H. Drury, Adolph 
 Harsh, W. S. Burke, M. Ousters, E. D. Bullock, Karl A. 
 Snyder, R. B. Myers, E. W. Spencer, Aaron Rosenwald, 
 F. H. Kent, Edward Medler, J. C. Marshall, M. W. 
 Flournoy, A. G. Otero, 8. M. Folsom, M. C. Nettleton, Dr. 
 C. E. Winslow, Calvin Whiting. 
 
 In the autumn of 1881 the school was moved to the 
 new town, to an adobe building on Lead Avenue, between 
 Third and Fourth Streets. A year later on twelve lots 
 donated on Silver street a structure was erected, which 
 was the home of the school until outgrown. The property 
 was sold to Jesus, B. Armijo for $5,000 in April, 1888. 
 Perkins Hall was first occupied at its dedication Decem- 
 ber 30, 1890. It was erected on lots presented by the 
 citizens of the city, and, counting the high basement, is 
 three stories in height, upon a ground plan fifty-five by 
 eighty -five feet, and cost the Commission twenty-two 
 thousand dollars. The total outlay represented an ex- 
 penditure of twenty-five thousand dollars. 
 
 The New West schools were potent factors in the rapid 
 development of Albuquerque since Secretary Bliss first 
 came as the representative of the Congregational Churches. 
 We may profitably quote at this point remarks made at 
 the dedication by the secretary of the New West : "It is 
 now a little more than eleven years since I first saw this 
 beautiful locality. Armed with letters of introduction 
 
82 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 from the citizens of Santa Fe, I took passage in the old 
 Santa Pe stage one forenoon in June, 1879, and after a 
 journey which it is impossible to forget, a journey of 
 jolting, prolonged through the night and, by reason of 
 overflown acequias, enlivened by threatened overturns 
 and numberless ascents and descents, robbing the only 
 passenger of both sleep and patience, I found myself at 
 early dawn at the door of an adobe hotel in the old town. 
 The proprietor, soon appearing, the uproar of a half-a- 
 score of dogs was silenced, bade me welcome to his 
 hospitable house." 
 
 At the time of the dedication, so rapid had been the 
 growth of the town, it had become the railway, com- 
 mercial and financial center of the entire Territory. The 
 students enrolled in the Academy that year numbered 
 four hundred, out of a population of six thousand. The 
 talented teachers had brought new strength and efficiency 
 to the Congregational Church, which had become self- 
 supporting and worshipped in the most beautiful sanc- 
 tuary of the city. Nowhere can be found annals more 
 resplendent with rare devotion, keen intelligence, quick 
 sympathies, high ideals of duty, unflinching self-denial 
 and heroic perseverance in Christ's name than in the 
 unwritten history of the deeds of the New West teachers. 
 
 Charles E. Hodgin, until placed at the head of the city 
 schools of Albuquerque, was the beloved and capable 
 executive. With him through the years were teachers 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 83 
 
 whose lives and labors are eminently worthy of extended 
 eulogy. Mrs. L. A. Collings deserves to be placed high on 
 the Commission's roll of honor. Among the first of 
 the .teachers to go to New Mexico, she remains to this 
 day in the service, with a generation her acknowledged 
 debtors. Miss Ella J. Buckingham, Miss C. E. Gaston, Mrs. 
 C. E. Lewis, Miss Fannie Overman, Miss Laura A. Hodgin 
 were among the number who did valiant service in 
 Albuquerque, but did not remain long. Miss M. Winslow, 
 a graduate of Oberlin, after years of efficient grammar 
 school work, was promoted to take charge of the high 
 school. Miss Cora E. Marsh, Miss Lou Lee, Miss Ella F. 
 Garlick (who later married a fellow teacher, now Rev. 
 J. Sidney Gould), Miss Sue Harlow were fortunate in 
 laboring at the time of the Academy's greatest prosperity. 
 Miss Jennie L. Pratt did self-sacrificing work in charge 
 of a Mexican school in the suburbs; Miss Virginia Dox 
 was also in a similar school. Miss Ida L. Frost, in 
 another suburb, across the river, after persecution and 
 great self-denial, witnessed the organization of a Mexican 
 Congregational Church as the result of her school's 
 success. One who filled a unique place for many years 
 was Miss Mary E. Gilmore, a woman of rare gifts of heart 
 and rnfnd. She was the talented teacher of music in the 
 Academy, and organist of the Congregational Church 
 eighteen years. 
 
84 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 No other work of the Commission probably was so 
 influential in molding public opinion. Nearly three 
 thousand students were enrolled during the thirteen years. 
 They came from different parts of the territory, and, after 
 instruction, scattered widely. A new law enacted by the 
 legislature permitted municipalities to tax themselves to 
 erect schoolhouses and sustain schools. Thus public 
 schools came more quickly than was anticipated. Mr. G. 
 Byron Smith efficiently served a year as principal before 
 the Academy was closed. 
 
 Las Vegas, the city of the meadows, contained a popula- 
 tion of six thousand in 1880. There are really two towns, 
 one Mexican and one American. It is the county seat 
 of San Miguel County, one of the largest, most populous 
 and wealthy in the Territory. The county contains nearly 
 eleven thousand square miles larger than the States of 
 Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined. 
 
 In the summer of 1880 a corporation was formed. The 
 local trustees at once rented an adobe store of two rooms, 
 in which the school was opened in the autumn with thirty 
 pupils. Soon the academy required more room and a 
 frame building was erected. This proved inadequate ere 
 long. Two years later a substantial brick structure was 
 built at a total cost of fifteen thousand dollars ; one-half 
 was provided by the citizens. It was the first academy 
 to be equipped with a permanent home. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 85 
 
 "Father Ashley" as he will always be called in New 
 Mexico, being the pioneer missionary of our faith to this 
 land of darkness, gave two daughters to the New West 
 work who were among the first to volunteer for its service. 
 In choosing a principal for the new academy in Las 
 Vegas, a son of the above was called, Rev. Walter H. 
 Ashley. He remained nine years, when a change from 
 the high altitude of 6,500 feet was demanded. Few men 
 are ever privileged to witness so great a transformation 
 as did he in the life of the people. In this development 
 the academy bore an honorable share. 
 
 Among the first associated with Mr. Ashley were Miss 
 Annie G. Wood, Mrs. Lucy K. Campbell, Mrs. C. B. 
 Smith, Mrs. Harriet B. Jaynes, Mrs. L. R. Graves and 
 Mrs. J. B. Dickinson. In later years of his administra- 
 tion were Miss Jennie B. Pratt, Miss Bettie Gerrard, Mr. 
 Charles Miller and Miss Lucy Stone. Mr. George S. 
 Ramsay was in charge three years, assisted by Miss 
 Dorrie Stahl, Miss J. H. Hegman and Miss S. E. William- 
 son. Mr. N. C. Campbell was then placed at the head of 
 the institution and remained two years. 
 
 When the academy was opened in Las Vegas, there was 
 not a public school in the entire territory, and, what is 
 more, there was not a law on the statutes to make such 
 an institution possible. The Commissioner of Education, 
 in his report to Congress in 1879, says: "The system in 
 New Mexico seems to be to have no system. There is no 
 
86 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 demand that the teachers shall have any proven qualifi- 
 cations, intellectual or moral; no requirement that school 
 training shall be in English, it being now largely in the 
 Spanish, and no prohibition of sectarian influences in the 
 schools which there is reason to believe prevail exten- 
 sively." This same competent authority states only 
 seventeen per cent of the school population are enrolled 
 in schools, whereas the average for the United States is 
 sixty-three. One-half the adults of New Mexico could 
 not read. 
 
 One of the oldest educational institutions in New 
 Mexico was the Jesuits' College, long maintained in Las 
 Vegas. Like all the Roman Catholic schools the tuition 
 was high and only sons of the well-to-do could attend. 
 Chagrined that the new Protestant academy should 
 prosper, and even draw pupils aways from their own 
 school, they moved their college bag and baggage to Denver. 
 Another school, of similar grade, was organized and 
 sustained by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, two 
 blocks from the New West Academy. This leads me to 
 say that one of the most distressing features of Protestant 
 missionary work in the Western States; and Territories 
 has been the lack of Christian comity. Because of it, in 
 the place of a common enemy, churches as well as schools, 
 maintained by missionary gifts, have been organized only 
 to languish. In the early 90's public school buildings, 
 spacious and equipped with all modern conveniences, 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 87 
 
 were opened and manned by capable teachers, mostly 
 from the East. The New West Academy was therefore 
 closed. 
 
 White Oaks was a town of about a thousand people, 
 nestled among mountains, several hundred miles south- 
 east of Albuquerque. A Congregational Church had been 
 doing the Master's work for several years, when, in 1889, 
 at the urgent request of many citizens, an academy was 
 opened, with Miss Abbie F. Hull, of Connecticut, in 
 charge. During the two years the school was continued 
 the attendance was limited by the capacity of the only 
 building available. Although the academy was so soon 
 closed, the results were abiding. 
 
 I>eming is a town in Southern New Mexico, where the 
 Santa Fe Railway reaches the great Southern Pacific 
 Line. Here a Congregational Church had long been a 
 forceful factor in the upbuilding of the country. In 1889 
 an academy was opened by the Commission under the 
 guidance of Mr. F. W. C. Hayes and his accomplished 
 wife. This school was the forerunner of a public school, 
 which was soon established, and the New West withdrew 
 at the end of the second year. 
 
 Among the leading citizens who assisted in the 
 establishment of the school were the Rev. A. M. Pipes, 
 pastor of the church; Jas. A. Lockhart, S. H. Pendleton, 
 W. P. Tossell, Chas. H. Dane, Sigmund Lindauer and E. 
 A. Kidder. The enthusiasm with which the academy was 
 
88 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 greeted can not efface the remembrance of the opposition 
 aroused. It was always so. The week following the 
 canvass of the town by the superintendent on the field for 
 subscriptions toward the equipment of the building offered 
 by the citizens' committee the following appeared in the 
 weekly paper, inserted by the teacher of a private school : 
 "My school does not seek patronage from the pauperized 
 beneficiaries of any perverted charity. The blush of 
 shame will not be brought to the cheek of such people 
 by the knowledge that the beggar's hat is sent around 
 in Deming for this school, or that servant girls and farm 
 laborers in the East are inveighed into giving five cents 
 for Jesus, and five dollars for Praise God Barebones 
 to teach the pauper children of New Mexico." 
 
THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF NEW 
 MEXICO AND ARIZONA. 
 
THE EURAL SCHOOLS OF NEW MEXICO 
 AND ARIZONA. 
 
 The direst poverty and the most hopeless illiteracy 
 were found in the country. In the cities and towns the 
 people were not so abjectly under the priests, and the 
 exigencies of business made them seek education for their 
 children. So difficult was it found to get a foothold in 
 some communities because of prejudice, persecution and 
 indifference, the history of several schools is little more 
 than the record of baffled attempts. A teacher was sent 
 to Bernalillo, in the Bio Grande Valley. The attendance 
 was so small she was soon withdrawn. Like results 
 followed in Los Ranches de Albuquerque and Armijo, 
 save the schools were sustained a year. 
 
 Cubero is a small Mexican hamlet in the high mesas 
 of Western New Mexico. It is at the foot of the snow- 
 capped peak of Mount Taylor, one of the highest of the 
 high Rockies. Not far away are the ancient pueblos of 
 the Lagunas and Acomas, while to the west are the 
 wide plains upon which roam the warlike Navajoes and 
 the dread Apaches. Never-falling springs are here found. 
 In 1884 Father Ashley was authorized, after a careful 
 investigation by himself, to open a school. He sent his 
 
92 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 daughter, Mrs. Hepsibah Rood. On her arrival the French 
 Jesuit priest forbade, under the penalty of excummuniea- 
 tion and eternal damnation, the parents to send their 
 children. The outlook was not promising, surely. But 
 in time she found in the village a sewing machine, which 
 no one knew how to run, and her skill in the use of it 
 set the people thinking. Her kindness and wisdom in 
 nursing a dying man disarmed the prejudice of others. 
 Then her little organ reached the school, and her singing 
 won all hearts. Mrs. Rood remained six months. Then 
 Miss Emily M. Clapp was sent, but her stay was of a 
 month's duration. Miss Schollenberg then braved the 
 isolation and remained six months, when the school was 
 closed for several years. At length Mrs. L. A. Collings, 
 who had long acceptably served the Commission in 
 Albuquerque, volunteered to go to this distant outpost in 
 January, 1895, and to the date of this writing she has 
 remained, with her daughter, Miss Laura W., faithfully 
 doing the Master's work. She writes lately of her work : 
 "Public sentiment has shown a steady and marvelous 
 development in decency, in cleanliness, in self respect, 
 and in patriotism. The deportment and recitation of the 
 pupils would be a credit to any school." A Sunday school 
 has always been maintained, and through the personal 
 labors of Rev. Gordon E. Birlew, the home missionary in 
 San Rafael, a convenient and comfortable schoolhouse 
 and home were built in 1900. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 93 
 
 In 1002 a school was begun in Seboyeta, which has a 
 promising prospect. Another began in November, 1899, 
 in Cabezon, but was closed at the end of the second year. 
 After many vicissitudes the school in San Mateo was 
 reopened in December, 1895, two years after the New 
 West ceased to exist as a separate society. The hamlet 
 of Losi Ranchos de Atrisco, a suburb of Albuquerque, 
 welcomed a school in 1892, and here a large work has been 
 done, a Sunday school of far-reaching influence was 
 organized by the teacher, Miss Ida L. Frost. Later a Con- 
 gregational Church was established by its lamented pastor, 
 the Rev. Lorenzo M. Ford, a full-blooded Pueblo Indian, 
 the only one of his race ever ordained a minister of the 
 gospel. 
 
 San Rafael is a picturesque hamlet of adobe houses, 
 grouped along the borders of a wide mesa. As is so often 
 the case in Mexican settlements, abundant springs of pure 
 water were the attractive features. Here was opened the 
 first of our purely Mexican schools in the country. A 
 permanent house was; built, as also a church building, in 
 which the Rev. Ezekiel C. Chavez, the second Mexican to 
 be ordained to the ministry by Congregationalists, 
 ministered. The place is ninety miles w^est of Albu- 
 querque, and three miles from a small station of the 
 transcontinental railway. In 1884, when the teacher first 
 reached the town, no one could read or write, man or 
 woman. After many years of loyal service one of our 
 
94 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 most respected teachers writes me: "In my own experi- 
 ence among the parents whose children have been in my 
 school I have never found but one woman of middle age 
 who could read (in Spanish) and write." 
 
 In 1889, in a suburb of Albuquerque called Barelas, a 
 school was opened for the Mexican children of the com- 
 munity. Few of them had ever attended school. The 
 methods of the New West were employed, as heretofore, 
 with success. Again it was/ found the lady teacher is 
 welcomed in homes when the Protestant minister is 
 regarded with suspicion. And in this school for years 
 the lives of consecrated teachers were living epistles, 
 preaching, by daily ministry, the power of God unto 
 salvation. Miss Jennie B. Pratt, of Connecticut, labored 
 here with much self-denial for several years. At one time 
 the attendance was the largest among the schools for the 
 Mexicans. 
 
 In the Rio Grande Valley, south of Albuquerque thirty 
 miles, is the town of Belen. It is a typical Mexican village 
 with its crooked streets, adobe houses and scarcity of 
 trees. Farming is the main occupation, which is carried 
 on in a very primitive way. Mentally, these descendants 
 of the ancient pioneers are children. Miss Emily H. Beck- 
 with, after retiring from teaching in the place, raised 
 among her friends in New England a sum sufficient to 
 erect a tasteful building. In latter years German families 
 settled in the community, and the schoolhouse was sold 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 95 
 
 to the Lutherans, who had previously, bj** permission, 
 used it several years for their religious services on Sun- 
 days. 
 
 Arizona contained 113,000 square miles, and consider- 
 ably less than 100,000 inhabitants when the New West, 
 in September, 1883, established its first schools in the 
 Territory in Holbrook, Springerville and St. Johns. At 
 the time of this peaceful invasion of teachers Arizona 
 needed more water and less politics, more religion and 
 less deviltry, more farmers and fewer politicians, more 
 education, less bigotry, more light, less darkness. 
 
 From the first Arizona had been more progressive than 
 her sister Territory of New Mexico. Although the former 
 contained over 30,000 Indians, a larger number propor- 
 tionately than the adjoining territory, the Mexican race 
 was relatively much weaker. At the time of which we 
 speak California was entering upon an era of unparal- 
 leled prosperity. Thousands upon thousands were seeking 
 the El Dorado, whose fame had gone out to all the earth. 
 
 For a time the development of the Territory was very 
 rapid. Mines were profitably opened, ranches were 
 improved, cities and towns grew in the night. A progress- 
 ive element made its influence felt, especially in the 
 capital city, Phoenix, and in Preseott, the largest town 
 in the northern half. The old Spanish trading center, 
 Tucson, was the headquarters of the Roman Church, 
 
96 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 which had opposed, as usual, the Americanization of its 
 customs and institutions. 
 
 Mormon leaders very early discerned the increasing 
 possibilities and importance of Arizona. They openly 
 boasted that some day the territory would be in their 
 power. To that end, in the early 80's, a systematic 
 colonization began, which quickly settled extensive areas 
 of Northern Arizona. It was not long before all other 
 elements of the population became alarmed at the dangers 
 socially, politically and religiously, which treatened the 
 peace and good name of the territory. Anything that 
 would checkmate the impending evil was welcomed. At 
 the time, Rev. G. L. Goodell, the beloved pastor of St. 
 Louis, speaking in the second annual meeting of the 
 Commission, said: "Mormonism is a rebellion of all that 
 is worst in man against all that is best in the nation, 
 unrelieved by a gleam of chivalry or an emotion of 
 generous enthusiasm to mitigate its vileness and loath- 
 ing. It is a decaying carcass to which the buzzards gather 
 from every land. It is slavery, hard as death and the 
 grave; a plague spot hotter than the breath of demon- 
 working Africa, and foul as the gilded halls of Turkey, 
 without the splendor. Out of the slums and cesspools of 
 society come rniamas that poison life; come leprosies 
 that waste communities; come disease and pestilence that 
 kill republics. Mormonism is rife with all these." 
 
 Miss Mary E. Pease and Miss M. Munsinger were the 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 97 
 
 talented teachers sent to St. John, the center of a 
 Mormon settlement. They remained two years. Miss 
 M. McCullough taught a year in Holbrook, a station on 
 the Atlantic and Pacific Railway. The school in Spring- 
 erville was maintained only six months. This result was 
 one of very many disappointments suffered by the patient 
 administrators of the Commission. A full explanation 
 is not possible here, save to say that swiftly changing 
 environment, lack of local appreciation, costliness of the 
 work, and the feeling that the limited funds in hand 
 could be wisely spent elsewhere all entered into the 
 determination. 
 
THE MEXICAN TRAINING 
 SCHOOL. 
 
THE MEXICAN TEAINING SCHOOL. 
 
 The relations between the Mexicans of Old Mexico 
 and of New Mexico are less intimate than would at first 
 be supposed. With one language, one religion, identity 
 of race and contiguous territories, one would expect to 
 find frequent intercourse over the border, and such 
 intimate mutual relations as would maintain common 
 racial sentiments and aspirations. But no such intimacy 
 exists. The distances are very great. The Mexican is 
 not a traveler, as a rule exceedingly poor, he is also 
 ignorant. The horizon bounds his ambition. Peonage, 
 a type of slavery, has robbed him of energy and hope. 
 
 But a change is apparent. The railway has come, 
 English-speaking adventurers have aroused their sleeping 
 powers. Protestantism is becoming known to the few. 
 The cities are leaders in a new civilization. El Paso, 
 being on the border, influenced both countries. It is a 
 strategic center. After several conferences between Rev. 
 J. D. Eaton, Rev. M. A. Crawford, Rev. A. C. Wright, 
 Rev. J. C. Olds, the missionaries of the American Board 
 in Old Mexico, and Rev. E. Lyman Hood, the joint superin- 
 tendent of the Congregational Home Missionary Society 
 
102 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 and New West Education Commission in New Mexico 
 and Arizona, the several societies represented were urged 
 to establish a training school for Mexicans. 
 
 The school was opened in Juarez, a town opposite El 
 Paso, on the Rio Grande River. Rev. A. C. Wright, an 
 experienced missionary of the Board, was appointed 
 principal, and Miss Dorrie Stahl, his assistant, was 
 appointed by the Commission. The local conditions were 
 not favorable, and, after a second year, the school was 
 moved to El Paso to a commodious building erected by 
 the Commission at an expense of eleven thousand dollars. 
 The truthful historian must record that which is dis- 
 appointing as well as the things which give encourage- 
 ment. It is a long story, but suffice to say the work 
 among the Mexicans of the United States did not prosper 
 as anticipated, so the school subsequently was moved to 
 Guadalajara, a large city in Old Mexico, one thousand 
 miles farther south. At present writing it is meeting all 
 expectations and is the center of wide influences. In its 
 new location it is sustained entirely by the American 
 Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
 
THE NEW WE8T EDUCATION COMMISSION. 103 
 
 THE SONG OF THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 "The mountains and the hills shall break forth into sing- 
 ing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." 
 
 O, ye mountains, pure and sparkling, 
 
 Strangely sweet the songs you sing! 
 
 Hark! I hear them rising, falling, 
 As from peak to peak they ring. 
 
 Sweet ye sing in hush of morning, 
 
 Ere the purpling of the dawn; 
 Sweet ye sing in glow of sunset, 
 
 Ere the evening star is born. 
 
 Sing ye songs the stars of morning 
 
 Sang to hail creation's birth? 
 Sing ye songs the spheres, in rapture, 
 
 Softly sing to listening earth? 
 
 Sunset flashes on the mountains, 
 
 Turns to gold the brooklet's sands, 
 
 While the pine the secret murmurs, 
 And the trees all clap their hands. 
 
104 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 This the secret of the pine tree, 
 
 Murmured where the brooklet flows; 
 
 This the secret that the rain drops 
 
 Buried deep in mountain snows. 
 
 That the mountains sing in triumph 
 
 Songs the little children sing, 
 Which they learn from faithful teachers, 
 
 Sent by children of the King. 
 
 And while children sweetly carol 
 
 Songs of praise for God's dear love, 
 
 All the mountains catch the echoes, 
 Wafting them to heaven above. 
 
 [MARY F. FRENCH in New West Gleaner, April, 1892.] 
 
CHARLES ROBINSON BLISS. 
 
CHARLES ROBINSON BLISS. 
 
 Charles Robinson Bliss was born in Longmeadow, 
 Mass., November 5, 1828, the only son of Deacon (Lieut.) 
 Ebenezer Bliss and Marilla Moore Bliss, a native of 
 Tolland, Mass. He was descended from Thomas Bliss, 
 who came from Belstone, Devonshire, England, to Boston 
 in 1635. A year later this ancestor moved to Hartford, 
 where he received an allotment of land, as did his eldest 
 son, Thomas. The father died in 1640, and the family 
 removed to Springfield. The youngest son, John, later 
 settled in Longmeadow, and was the ancestor of the 
 subject of this biography. 
 
 Charles Robinson was also descended from Elder John 
 Strong, the first minister of Northampton ; also from John 
 Parmelin (later Parmelee), a Huguenot, one of the first 
 settlers of Guilford, Conn. Thomas Robinson, who be- 
 came a resident of Guilford in 1664, was another from 
 whom Mr. Bliss traced his lineage. Inheriting the best 
 traditions of New England from men honored in the 
 upbuilding of the country, it is not surprising that the 
 growing boy early manifested the promise of future use- 
 fulness. He was thoughtful in his school work, con- 
 
108 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 siderate in his dealings with his associates, and to a 
 marked degree obedient in his home. Of this home his 
 sister, Julia, has written: "It was in one of the most 
 beautiful locations in the beautiful town, a site overlook- 
 ing the broad meadows, the Connecticut River and the 
 mountains beyond; on the west and on the north a 
 picturesque ravine with the Longmeadow brook flowing 
 at its base, and fair fields stretching away to the wooded 
 hills beyond." 
 
 His father was very anxious that he should obtain a 
 college education, so he was sent in due time to Westfield 
 Academy, Westfield, Mass., the principal being William 
 C. Goldthwait, formerly of Longmeadow, who had become 
 a prominent educator in the Connecticut Valley. His 
 life in the preparatory school was marked by devotion 
 to duty and chivalric honor which won the esteem of 
 teachers and classmates. In the autumn of 1850, when 
 President Mark Hopkins was in the prime of his intel- 
 lectual vigor, Charles entered Williams College. His 
 associates have borne witness to the regard with which 
 he was held. Never physically very strong, never large 
 of frame, nor robust, he could not enter into much that 
 appeals to college men. But at the close of his collegiate 
 career (in 1854) he had laid broad and deep the founda- 
 tions upon which he could wisely and safely build through 
 subsequent years. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 109 
 
 In his college course he was honored by election to 
 membership in the Alpha Delta Phi and Adelphic Union 
 Societies. Among the most intimate friends were his 
 roommate through college, Mr. James R. Dewey, long a 
 teacher of Greek in the Chicago High Schools ; Rev. Henry 
 M. Grout, whose death many years later, while pastor 
 of the Congregational Church, Concord, Mass., was 
 widely mourned. Young Bliss was not in college the 
 most popular of his class; as in later life, he lacked 
 magnetism, and seemed cold and unsympathetic to many, 
 yet it is proof of his real worth that friendships were 
 won among the strongest men in the student body which 
 endured through life. Among these were Rev. Abbott E. 
 Kittrege, long a prominent pastor in New York City, 
 and Rev. Charles A. Stoddard, the versatile editor of the 
 New York Observer. 
 
 During his college course he had taught several short 
 terms of schools in the country districts of the State. The 
 year following his graduation he was principal of 
 Leicester Academy, Leicester. In September, 1855, he 
 entered Andover Seminary, where three years were 
 pleasantly and profitably spent. He was wont to say 
 that he had had three teachers in his life, Mr. Goldthwait, 
 President Hopkins and Professor Park. Among the 
 students during his course were not a few who achieved 
 abiding fame in later years. In the seminary his leader- 
 ship was not conspicuous, but the deep sincerity of his 
 
110 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 life and the thoroughness of his scholarship won for him 
 friendship that never waned. 
 
 About a year, after leaving Andover Hill, he supplied 
 churches in New England, or until April 28, 1859, when 
 he was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia and 
 settled as pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Beverly, 
 N. J. Two years and a half were pleasantly sipent in this 
 labor. He was dismissed November 18, 1861, to accept 
 a call to South Reading (later Wakefield), Mass., where 
 he was installed pastor of the Congregational Church 
 May 22, 1862. Doctor Kirk, of Boston, preached the 
 sermon, Dr. B. S. Storrs, of Braintree, offered the install- 
 ing prayer and Rev. J. W. Harding, from his old home 
 in Longmeadow, gave the charge to the pastor. Doctor 
 Storrs was the son of Rev. R. S. Storrs, the second pastor 
 of the Longmeadow Church. Mr. Harding had been Mr. 
 Bliss' pastor, and had followed with peculiar interest 
 the young man during his years of preparation for the 
 ministry. Charles' father wasi a delegate from the home 
 church, and had the pleasure of witnessing his son's 
 installation. 
 
 In the autumn of the same year, October 15, 1862, he 
 married an acquaintance of his seminary years, Mary 
 Farnham Smith. She was born in Gloucester, August 
 25, 1831, and was thus about three years younger than her 
 husband. When she was a child her parents, Henry and 
 Susan Johnson Farnham Smith, settled in the mother's 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. Ill 
 
 old home, North Andover. Rarely does a minister of the 
 gospel find so congenial a companion, so willing and 
 efficient a helpmeet as did Mr. Bliss. A parishioner, 
 during the fifteen years of his pastorate in Wakefield, 
 has written thus : "Mr. Blisis was a preacher of persuasive 
 power, possessed of fine scholarly attainments, devoted 
 and judicious as a pastor, a friend and advocate of every 
 good cause in our social and municipal life. In the time 
 of the great war for the Union, he was the active and 
 constant friend of the soldiers and their families. Nine 
 years he served on the school board, much of the time, 
 acting as chairman." 
 
 In June, 1871, his health being poor, the church 
 generously granted him a vacation of several months, that 
 he and Mrs. Bliss might visit the Old World. A hand 
 some gift of money was also presented them. They were 
 absent five months and extended their journey to Turkey, 
 where, in Sivas, a sister of Mr. Bliss, Miss Plavia (later 
 Mrsi F. E. Garner of Longmeadow), was stationed as a 
 missionary. A centennial celebration prompted him to 
 write "A Commemorative Sketch" in 1877. It is an 
 engaging history of the Wakefield Congregational Church 
 from 1644 to date. 
 
 Previously, in 1868, as a correspondent of the Congre- 
 yationalist, he joined a party of journalists, afterwards 
 known as the "Rocky Mountain Press Club," in journey- 
 ing at the invitation of the Union Pacific Railway to the 
 
112 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 terminus of the line. The trip took them into the midst 
 of the towering Rockies. The object of the tour was to 
 interest the public in the developing resources of the 
 continent, and to acquaint the people of the United States 
 with the magnitude of the task undertaken, and the 
 matchless prospect before the rising empires of the West. 
 Thus Mr. Bliss had his first view of the vast region in 
 which he was to take such deep interest in later years. 
 
 In June, 1877, his health having again become much 
 impaired, he resigned the pastorate and started upon an 
 extensive trip to the far West. In Colorado, especially, 
 he spent considerable time hunting, fishing and camping 
 out in the mountains. As the guest of the president, Rev. 
 E. P. Tenney, he was enabled to see the need and increas- 
 ing influence of Colorado College. On other pages we 
 may read how his interest was awakened in the rising 
 educational institutions of the great Rocky Mountain 
 region. Colorado College was generously assisted by his 
 voice and pen on his return to the East. With prophetic 
 foresight he discerned what all did not at that time see, 
 namely, that Mormonism in Utah and the French Jesu- 
 itism of the Roman Church in New Mexico and Arizona 
 were inconsistent with the spirit of America. Mr. Bliss 
 was among the first to warn the people of the United 
 States of the threatening antagonism of both Mormonism 
 and Jesuitism. The passing years since have abundantly 
 fulfilled his predictions. In due time, as we have seen 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 113 
 
 in another chapter, the New West Education Commission 
 was organized in Chicago, and he was elected the chief 
 executive of its work as secretary. Thirteen years, from 
 1880 to 1893, his service in the cause of Christian educa- 
 tion won him hearty support and affectionate regard in 
 all our churches. In passing, it must be repeated, what 
 is necessarily given in detail elsewhere in the book, that 
 the magnitude of his labors may be comprehended, the 
 sum of three-quarters of a million dollars was received 
 and expended in sending more than seven hundred 
 teachers to the distant territories, where thirty-three 
 thousand pupils were gathered into schools and taught 
 the principles) of American citizenship and Christian 
 righteousness. 
 
 In the summer of 1891 the first world's council of the 
 Congregational Churches was held in London. With the 
 writer he was a fellow passenger on the City of Chicago, 
 which bore one hundred and one of the delegates and 
 members of their families acrossi the sea. The memories 
 of that delightful voyage of modern Pilgrims to Old World 
 shrines will never fade. Mr. Bliss was the accredited 
 representative of the Commission, and as such was the 
 recipient of much kindly good will and considerate 
 courtesy. During his stay of a fortnight in London he 
 was the honored guest of Mr. and Mrs. Evan Spicer, who 
 are widely known throughout the British Empire for their 
 zeal in the Master's work and their princely gifts toward 
 
114 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 its support. With many others of the council he attended 
 social functions of the capital, meeting the Prince and 
 Princess of Wales, and distinguished members of the 
 church and government. At the close of the sessions of 
 the council he visited, with several hundred of the Con- 
 gregational ists from many lands, the cradle of the denom- 
 ination in Scrooby and Austerfield. He was also among 
 the party which was entertained by the mayor and 
 citizens of Plymouth. Before sailing for America Mr. 
 Bliss visited the cathedral towns of the North of England. 
 
 A pathetic feature of the work of Mr. Bliss as secretary 
 of the Commission was the fact that, to the degree it was 
 successful, it was rendered unnecessary. In this vein, 
 since the secretary's death, Rev. D. N. Beach (a successor, 
 by the way, in the Wakefield pastorate) writes: "His 
 work became in part a victim of its large success. It 
 changed conditions. It helped to make Mormondom a new 
 world. With education came culture, enterprise, the 
 seething forces of new hope and life. The effect was to 
 obscure his work. But work, for men, is only most 
 successful when it is self-effacing." 
 
 In 1893 the union of the Commission with the older 
 Education Society was consummated. It was not in 
 accord with his wishes and judgment. But he cheerfully 
 acquiesced in the general demand in our churches for a 
 reduction in the number of benevolent societies supported 
 by Congregationalists. Mr. Bliss became editorial- 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 115 
 
 secretary of the united Society. Because of the incoming 
 public schools in the territories, one after another of the 
 higher institutions sustained by the Commission was 
 suspended. It being evident that no one of the several 
 academies in the Southwestern field could be wisely 
 merged into a college, Mr. Bliss was especially desirous 
 that the academy in Salt Lake, which had played so con- 
 spicuous and honorable a part in the years of Christian 
 uplift, should become an institution of collegiate strength 
 and grade. To that end Mr. Bliss was eager to devote the 
 remainder of his life. It proved an impossible task. To 
 tell the whole story would be to narrate what would not 
 be either flattering to our denominational pride or 
 encouraging to our Christian graces. The effort was a 
 losing fight, and the disappointment told sadly on the 
 faithful secretary's! waning strength and vitality. 
 
 During the years of labor with the Commission 
 Secretary and Mrs. Bliss made their home in Chicago. 
 Later Boston was their headquarters. In 1897, however, 
 they decided to make their permanent residence in Wake- 
 field, among the many dear friends of their earlier labors. 
 The summers were passed in part in his ancestral home 
 in Longmeadow. The last summer of their lives was thus 
 pleasantly spent with his three sisters. In the autumn 
 increasing weakness seemed to make a change to a 
 warmer climate necessary, so they journeyed to Fanwood, 
 N. J., where they were near a nephew of hers, Mr. F. D. 
 
116 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Warren. While he was recovering from a severe attack 
 of la grippe Mrs. Bliss was suddenly stricken with 
 pneumonia, and in a few days, Sunday, February 17, 
 died. 
 
 Summoning all his depleted strength, and accompanied 
 by relatives of Mrs Bliss, he took the body to Longmeadow 
 for burial. On reaching the old homestead he was 
 shocked to learn that his eldest sister, Mrs. George Mc- 
 Queen, had passed away the day before. A double funeral 
 was held, the services being conducted by Rev. A. P. 
 Davis, pastor of the Wakefield Church, assisted by the 
 Rev. R. W. Wallace, also a former pastor of the same 
 church. The daily press, in noting the sad occurrence, 
 said: "The circumstances of the occasion were most 
 unusual. These sisters-in-law, after illness of about the 
 same duration, died within seven hours of each other; 
 both were buried from the same house at the same hour 
 and in the same lot in the old churchyard." 
 
 These unexpected and accumulated grief si were too 
 much for Mr. Bliss in his enfeebled condition. In less 
 than a week (Tuesday morning, February 26, 1901) he, 
 too, "exchanged this world for a better." Two days later 
 the funeral was held. A delegation from the Wakefield 
 Church, including the pastor, Rev. A. P. Davis, Chester 
 W. Eaton, G. H. Maddock, John White and Mr. Skinner, 
 came, bringing a beautiful floral offering bearing the 
 inscription, "Beloved Pastor of the Wakefield Church, 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 117 
 
 1862-1877." Mr. Davis conducted the services, assisted by 
 the Rev. R. 8. Underwood. C. S. Newell, Walter Bliss, 
 Mrs. Braddock and Miss Katherine Clark were again in 
 the choir, as they had been a week before. No children 
 were ever born to them; the relatives left at death con- 
 sisted of two sisters of Mr. Bliss, Miss Julia M. and Mrs. 
 F. E. Garner; a nephew, C. M. McQueen, and two nieces, 
 Misses Nellie and Jessie Garner. In addition to the 
 nephew already mentioned Mrs. Bliss left two brothers, 
 John H. D. Smith, of Boston, and Henry Smith, of 
 Concord. 
 
 A noble heritage and living kin of character and' 
 achievement were the inspiration of both Secretary and 
 Mrs. Bliss. His eldest sister, Mrs. Georgiana McQueen, 
 was a graduate of Mount Holyoke. She was married in 
 1855 to the Rev. George McQueen, a missionary in Corisco, 
 West Africa. After a service of ten years in the Dark 
 Continent, her husband having died, she made her home 
 in Longmeadow, where she was long identified with every 
 good work. Mrs. Garner returned from her arduous 
 labors in Turkey to make a home in Longmeadow, which 
 has long been the center of helpful influences. Her 
 brother and sisters returned to the old hearthstone as 
 doves to their windows. It was, verily, as a great rock in 
 a weary land. Without the unremitting effort of Miss 
 Julia this brief monograph would have been impossible. 
 From her hand the writer has received data, carefully 
 
118 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 preserved by her through the years as a labor of love, 
 which made the writing of this memorial volume a 
 pleasure. 
 
 Of Mrs. Bliss it is difficult to write without seeming 
 to use the superlative to an extraordinary degree. The 
 home of her early life approached closely the New England 
 ideal. Christian influences, pure and positive, combined 
 with the rare mental accomplishments of its members, 
 gave rich endowment to life. Later, in the best schools of 
 the day, her heart and mind were trained for the dis- 
 tinguished station in the church and society which she 
 always adorned. Her affection went out to all things 
 pure and good. To spend and be spent for others was a 
 joy. On her lips was the law of kindness. For nearly 
 forty years she was the cheering helpmeet of her husband 
 in his unselfish service. Their marriage was the union of 
 congenial spirits. Combining attractive loveliness of 
 person with strength of character, her gifts won her 
 cordial sympathy and cooperation in whatever her heart 
 prompted her to undertake. 
 
 Three weeks after the death of Mr. Bliss (Sunday 
 evening, March 17, 1901) a memorial service was held in 
 the Wakefield Congregational Church. It w r as fitting 
 that their memory should be thus honored on the scene 
 of their consecrated service. The congregation was 
 limited only by the capacity of the house. The entire 
 service was singularly tender and impressive. Kev. Albert 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 119 
 
 Putnam Davis led in the worship of the hour, and spoke 
 tender words of eulogy which deeply touched the hearts 
 of the mourning friends. Favorite hymns of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bliss were sung : "King of Love," "Jerusalem the Golden" 
 and "Rock of Ages*/' "Asleep in Jesus" and "O Paradise." 
 
 Rev. William J. Batt, of Concord, a classmate of Mr. 
 Bliss in Andover Seminary, bore personal tribute to the 
 sterling worth of his lifelong friend. He called attention 
 to the chaste and artistic program of the evening, in itself 
 a fitting memorial. Rev. S. L. B. Speare, of Newton, 
 spoke especially of "the attractive personality, the cheer 
 of voice and heart" of Mrs. Bliss, with whom he was 
 intimately acquainted in her early days in Andover. 
 u To have met her once was to carry always the memory 
 of her." 
 
 Rev. J. A. Hamilton, the honorary secretary of the 
 Congregational Education Society, was also an Andover 
 classmate. He referred especially to the literary work 
 through many years of his departed friend, whose work 
 as writer and editor was far-reaching in its moral 
 incentive and spiritual uplift. Still another of Mr. Bliss' 
 classmates in Andover, Rev. A. H. Plumb, of Boston, 
 was present and addressed the Congregation. He 
 emphasized the goodly inheritance of both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bliss, whose "ancestors had been noted for their devotion 
 to religion and righteousness, and the cause of educa- 
 
120 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 tion." He said he was himself connected with Mr. Bliss 
 by ties of blood, and with both by lifelong friendship. 
 
 No speaker left deeper impress than did Rev. Robert 
 W. Wallace, of Somerville, the successor of Mr. Bliss in 
 the pastorate. He bore witness to "the universal affection 
 and respect with which Mr. Bliss was mentioned and 
 remembered." The labors of both left permanent results 
 of great value. "The life of Mr. Bliss and his wife had 
 a singular unity of purpose and action. They planned 
 together and thought together. Rarely was* a man so 
 profoundly trusted, so even in temperament, so kindly 
 wise and helpful, and rarely has there been a wife possess 
 ing more beautiful and queenly traits; and qualities than 
 his beloved and loving wife." 
 
 Rev. N. R. Everts made the closing address, in which 
 he dwelt on the warm-heartedness and sympathetic intelli- 
 gence of both, whose memories they had met to honor. 
 He regarded their mutual harmony as the charm of the 
 most sacred wedded love. When Mr. Bliss began to fail 
 "she maintained the same hopeful and cheerful manner, 
 and carried all her anxieties; within herself. 
 
 "Her youthfulness in spirit and expression were 
 retained in spite of length of days and the white hair, 
 which was to her such a crown of glory." 
 
 Commemorative letters had been sent from the Rev. G. 
 S. F. Savage, of Chicago, for many years the correspond- 
 ing secretary of the New West, who was probably the 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 121 
 
 most intimate adviser of Mr. Bliss ; from Mr. Isaac Huse, 
 the efficient Superintendent of the Commission in the 
 Utah field ; from Rev. Frederick A. Noble, of Chicago, 
 the President of the Commission; from Rev. Walter H. 
 Ashley, of Manchester, Mass., long Principal of the New 
 West Academy in Las, Vegas, New Mexico; from Rev. J. 
 E. Raukin, of Washington, D. C., who, from his post at the 
 national capital, had followed the work of the New West 
 with increasing interest; and from Rev. L. H. Cobb, the 
 secretary of Congregational Church Building Society. 
 Resolutions were presented from several societies, reli- 
 gious and philanthropic, with which Mr. and Mrs, Bliss 
 had been connected. 
 
 The literary work of Mr. Bliss has already been in part 
 mentioned. He also wrote "Godless or Not," a pamphlet ; 
 "The Bible in the Schools," "Thanksgiving Sermon" 
 (1863); "Thanksgiving Sermon" (1865); "New Mexico" 
 (1879) ; Papers on the New West Commission, presented 
 to the National Council. The editorship of the New West 
 Gleaner, later Christian Education (1884-1897), gave 
 wide scope for his facile pen. 
 
 In September, 1893, the thirteenth, and last, annual 
 report of the Commission was published. The National 
 Council, the most important representative body of the 
 Congregational Churches of the United States, had 
 repeatedly, in its triennial sessions, passed resolutions, 
 after debate, calling for a reduction in the number of na- 
 
122 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 tional benevolent societies. Agreeably to these expressed 
 wishes, the Commission entered into an alliance with 
 the Congregational Education Society, by which the work 
 of both Societies would be prosecuted by the older Society. 
 Christian education is the fundamental idea in all the 
 work hitherto sustained by them. 
 
 Secretary Bliss, in his last official annual report, says: 
 "And now, in obedience to what seems to be a demand of 
 the churches, after fifteen eventful years, the promoters 
 of a work which has become so widely known as the 
 'New West' work, knock again at the door of the college 
 society, not to beseech a little help for two newly fledged 
 academies, but to offer to its aceptance a broad, 
 established, and widely useful work, having an annual 
 income of eighty thousand dollars, property in real estate 
 and bonds worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
 an annual enrollment of twenty-five hundred pupils in 
 six academies and fifteen mission schools." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 At the present writing, just eleven years after the 
 above was penned, it is a pertinent inquiry, "What has 
 been the apparent result upon the educational work so 
 long ably sustained by the Commission?" In attempting 
 an answer it must be borne in mind that long before the 
 union of the two societies was advocated or consummated 
 changes of very great moment were taking place in both 
 the Western (Utah) and the Southwestern (New Mexico) 
 fields. 
 
 Mor monism was gradually being shorn of its more 
 repulsive features. This was the effect, not alone of an 
 aroused public opinion without the church, but a reform- 
 ing influence among the Saints themselves. Polygamy 
 was doomed. Mormonism was becoming, if not less a 
 religion, more and more a gigantic political, commercial, 
 cooperative socialism. Impartial observers declare that 
 the missionary schools, long maintained by several 
 Protesftant bodies, were considerable factors in bringing 
 about these wholesome changes. The missionary school 
 struck a prodigious blow at Mormonism, and at its most 
 vulnerable point, namely, the home. 
 
126 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 The changes were no less momentous in the Roman 
 Church in the Southwest. Within ecclesiastical circles 
 a growing opposition to the further supremacy of the 
 French Jesuits was clearly manifest. Until the arrival 
 of Protestants in this far-away region the laity had no 
 voice whatever in the government of the church. They 
 foresaw, however, more quickly than the priesthood, that 
 if the pajjal cause was to compete successfully with the 
 incoming Northern churches, it must foster an Arneri 
 canization, which could alone bring it in touch with the 
 militant forces of the day. 
 
 But a greater change, though outside the church itself, 
 was the people were beginning to do their own thinking. 
 By daily experience they saw that the boy trained in the 
 Protestant missionary schools was better educated than 
 the graduate of church institutions. And the contrast 
 was nowhere more in evidence than among the girls. The 
 graduate of the Sisters' convent was cloistered, shut in 
 from the world, taught painting and music. On the other 
 hand, the young woman who went forth from the academy 
 had been made self-reliant, given an enlarged vision, and, 
 with a practical education, was able to hoe her own row 
 in the world. 
 
 In the two fields in which the New West was engaged 
 this reforming, regenerating work was carried on by only 
 a few of the Protestant denominations. The Baptists 
 had very few churches and no schools. The Episcopalians 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 127 
 
 sustained a larger number of missionaries, but no mis- 
 sionary teachers were supported in either Territory. The 
 work of the Lutheran Church was small in both branches. 
 The Methodists were aggressive and successful in their 
 church enterprises, but failed in the little they attempted 
 in education. The Methodist Church South was weak in 
 Utah, but maintained a larger number of missionaries in 
 New Mexico than any other denomination. Only one 
 academy was supported by them at Las Vegas, and it 
 waa never very prosperous. The Presbyterians deserve 
 by far the greatest praise. At one time they were spend- 
 ing almost as much money annually as all others combined. 
 Their missionary pastors and missionary teachers also 
 almost equaled in number all others. The administration 
 of Presbyterian interests was always wise and effective. 
 The lack of harmony between missionaries and teachers, 
 which was so grievous a feature in the work of other 
 denominations at times, did not weaken them, and their 
 presbyteries exercised an oversight and guidance of men 
 on the fields, and kept most thoroughly informed of their 
 conditions and needs, which was of untold value. 
 
 Enough has possibly been said to indicate the relative 
 position which Congregational agencies occupied in the 
 upbuilding of these two great empires of the new West, 
 Utah and New Mexico. In education no other denomina- 
 tion equaled ours. The Presbyterian brethren had a 
 larger number of free rural schools, but they had very 
 
128 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 few of the "academy" grade. In the schools of the 
 Cornmiss/ion the religious influences were potent and con- 
 tinuous. Each day was always begun with the reading 
 of the Bible and prayer. The number who were led to 
 confess Christ as their Savior and Lord was gratifying 
 indeed. The graduates went forth as teachers or business 
 men, bearing a leaven that tended to raise the communities 
 in which their homes* were found. The new American 
 civilization demanded public schools in both territories. 
 No other influence was more potent in creating this 
 demand and making possible its satisfactory fulfillment 
 than the New West academies and schools. 
 
SCHOOLS OF THE NEW WEST. 
 
SCHOOLS OF THE NEW WEST. 
 
 ACADEMIES. 
 
 Salt Lake, Utah Hammond Hall 
 
 Albuquerque, New Mexico Perkins Hall 
 
 Las Vegas, New Mexico. 
 
 Trinidad, Colorado Tillotson 
 
 Santa Fe, New Mexico Whitin Hall 
 
 Odgen, Utah Gordon 
 
 Provo, Utah Provo 
 
 El Paso, Texas Missionary Training School 
 
 FREE SCHOOLS. 
 
 Salt Lake, (Phillips) Utah 
 
 Salt Lake (Burlington) Utah 
 
 Salt Lake (Plymouth) Utah 
 
 Binghani Utah 
 
 Bountiful Utah 
 
 Gentreville . . . Utah 
 
132 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 Coalville Utah 
 
 Echo Utah 
 
 Farmington Utah 
 
 Henefer Utah 
 
 Heber Utah 
 
 Hoytsville Utah 
 
 /Hooper Utah 
 
 Huntsville Utah 
 
 Kamas Utah 
 
 Lehi Utah 
 
 Lynne Utah 
 
 Midway Utah 
 
 Morgan Utah 
 
 Oak Creek Utah 
 
 Park Oity Utah 
 
 Sandy Utah 
 
 Stockton Utah 
 
 Slaterville Utah 
 
 Trenton Utah 
 
 West Jordan Utah 
 
 Willard Utah 
 
 Wanship Utah 
 
 Oxford Idaho 
 
 Holbrook Arizona 
 
 St. John Arizona 
 
 Springerville Arizona 
 
 Armijo New Mexico 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 133 
 
 Belen New Mexico 
 
 Barelas New Mexico 
 
 Cubero New Mexico 
 
 Deiiiing New Mexico 
 
 Los Lunas New Mexico 
 
 Ranchos de Albuquerque New Mexico 
 
 Ranchos de Atrisco New Mexico 
 
 San Rafael New Mexico 
 
 San Mateo New Mexico 
 
 White Oaks . . .New Mexico 
 
TEACHERS OF THE NEW WEST, 
 WITH LENGTH OF SERVICE. 
 
TEACHERS OF THE NEW WEST, WITH 
 LENGTH OF SERVICE. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Benner, Mr. Edward A 13 
 
 Gordon, Mr. Henry E 13 
 
 Collings, Mrs. L. A 12 
 
 Hervey, Miss Sarah O 12 
 
 Ashley, Mrs. Kate M 10 
 
 Colby, Miss Emma J 10 
 
 Huse, Mr. Isaac 10 
 
 Les-ter, Miss Sarah J 10 
 
 Ashley, Mr. W. H 9 
 
 Dickinson, Mrs. J. B 9 
 
 Fitzgerald, Miss Ella C 9 
 
 Hall, Miss Fannie 9 
 
 Pratt, Miss Jennie B 9 
 
 Winslow, Miss M. M 9 
 
 French, Miss Mary F 8 
 
 Gilmore, Miss Lizzie M 8 
 
 Merrill, Mr. Forest 8 
 
 Ring, Mr. H. W 8 
 
 Shute, Miss M. D 8 
 
138 TEE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Garrard, Miss Bettie 7 
 
 Ludden, Miss V. W 7 
 
 Merrill, Miss Susie 1 7 
 
 Pascoe, Miss Mary E 7 
 
 Ashley, Mrs. W. H 6 
 
 Dox, Miss Virginia 6 
 
 Frost, Miss Ida L 6 
 
 Stokes, Miss Eva 6 
 
 Allen, Mr. O. E 5 
 
 Campbell, Miss Lucy R 5 
 
 Emerson, Missi Minnie 5 
 
 Hodgin, Mr. O. E 5 
 
 Hamlin, Miss Alice 5 
 
 Hunter, Miss Georgia 5 
 
 Keese, Miss Emma B 5 
 
 Peck, Mr. Fred A 5 
 
 Pease, Miss Mary E 5 
 
 Stahl, Miss Dorrie 5 
 
 Stoner, Miss M. 5 
 
 Benedict, Miss A. J 4 
 
 Beard, Miss R. 4 
 
 Beard, Miss Florence 4 
 
 Brown, Miss M. A 4 
 
 Blodgett, Miss Emma M 4 
 
 Crosby, Miss F. 8 4 
 
 Foster, Miss Mary L 4 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 139 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 French, Miss M. J 4 
 
 Hunt, Miss Carrie W 4 
 
 Hull, Misis Abbie F 4 
 
 Lewis, Mrs. C. E 4 
 
 McPherron, Mr. A. S 4 
 
 Mcrherron, Mrs. A. S 4 
 
 McCnllough, Miss M 4 
 
 Mason, Miss Carrie L 4 
 
 Metcalf, Mr. K. A 4 
 
 Overman, Miss Frances 4 
 
 Peebles, Mrs. David 4 
 
 Kood, Mrs. H. H 4 
 
 Shepherd, Miss J. A 4 
 
 Smith, Mrs. H. H 4 
 
 Tichenor, Miss S. E 4 
 
 Van Voorhis, Miss N. L 4 
 
 Wilson, Miss G. A. T. 4 
 
 Armstrong, Mrs. J. A 3 
 
 Abbott, Miss Elizabeth 3 
 
 Allen, Miss Emma M 3 
 
 Bailey, Mrs. A. J 3 
 
 Bnckland, Mrs. B. F 3 
 
 Clapp, Miss E. W 3 
 
 Olaflin, Miss Jennie 3 
 
 Corbett, Miss Flora J 3 
 
 Dennis, Mr. David 3 
 
140 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Danforth, Miss E. S 3 
 
 Durham, Miss Kate L 3 
 
 Engstrom, Miss Carrie 3 
 
 Eaton, Miss S. A 3 
 
 Gilbert, Miss Grace E. 3 
 
 Gaston, Miss C. E 3 
 
 Hand, Miss M. A 3 
 
 Hunt, Miss Etta F 3 
 
 Hills, Miss Mary J 3 
 
 Hawks, Miss Mary E. 3 
 
 Higgins, Miss Ada M 3 
 
 Ladd, Mr. H. O 3 
 
 Merrill, Mrs. Forest 3 
 
 Munsinger, Miss M 3 
 
 McClellan, Miss M. L 3 
 
 Nutting, Miss M. H 3 
 
 Pratt, Miss Josie B 3 
 
 Prout, Miss Ruth 3 
 
 Ramsay, Mr. Geo. S 3 
 
 Robinson, Miss E. S 3 
 
 Ring, Mrs. H. W 3 
 
 Smith, Miss F. C 3 
 
 Seward, Miss Kate L 3 
 
 Wakefield, Miss L. A 3 
 
 Williamson, Miss S. E 3 
 
 Almy, Miss Lizzie 2 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 141 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Atkinson, Miss Ella C 2 
 
 Benedict, Miss S. W 2 
 
 Baker, Miss Anna 2 
 
 Bliss, Miss Julia M 2 
 
 Bartlett, Mr. Dana W 2 
 
 Bridges, Miss Alice 2 
 
 Birck, Miss O. F 2 
 
 Beckwith, Miss Emily 2 
 
 Biscoe, Miss Nellie D 2 
 
 Curry, Mr. D. A 2 
 
 Curry, Mrs. D. A 2 
 
 Carney, Miss J. M 2 
 
 Collyer, Mrs. L. D 2 
 
 Carter, Miss H. A 2 
 
 Carman, Miss Kate 2 
 
 Clough, Miss E. S 2 
 
 Corwin, Miss Frances 2 
 
 Davis, Mr. O. F 2 
 
 Day, Miss Allys S 2 
 
 Field, Miss Nella 2 
 
 Foote, Miss Mary S 2 
 
 Gaines, Mr. M. R 2 
 
 Gunn, Miss Nellie M 2 
 
 Gardner, Mr. Chas 2 
 
 Hayes, Mr. F. W. C 2 
 
 Hayes, Mrs. F. W. C 2 
 
142 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Hyde, Miss M. A 2 
 
 Hood, Mr. E. L 2 
 
 Hjelm, Miss Nora 2 
 
 Henry, Miss Mary E 2 
 
 Hegman, Miss Josie 2 
 
 Hegman, Miss Bertha 2 
 
 Hunt, Miss Anna J 2 
 
 Holmes, Miss Jessie F 2 
 
 House, Miss N. A 2 
 
 Jones, Miss E. S 2 
 
 Jordan, Miss A. E 2 
 
 Lancaster, Miss O. A 2 
 
 Lawson, Miss L. M 2 
 
 LaRose, Miss A. V 2 
 
 Latham, Miss Jennie 2 
 
 Lee, Miss Lou E 2 
 
 Lamson, Miss Nina E 2 
 
 Munson, Miss; L. G 2 
 
 Mantor, Miss E. M 2 
 
 Norton, Miss E. A 2 
 
 Parks, Miss A. E , 2 
 
 Pomeroy, Miss Bhoda 2 
 
 Prout, Miss L. J 2 
 
 Pearson, Miss Mary 2 
 
 Ross, Mrs. L. R 2 
 
 Ruel, Miss Anna 2 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 143 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Roney, Miss Eva .. 2 
 
 Samson, Miss Gertrude 2 
 
 Scruton, Mrs. H. M ?, 
 
 Shepardson, Miss A. E 2 
 
 Snyder, Miss Mary 2 
 
 Stevens, Miss Alice P 2 
 
 Stelle, Miss Angie 2 
 
 Slosson, Miss S. H 2 
 
 Smith, Miss Jennie E 2 
 
 Savers, Miss Lena 2 
 
 Shepherd, Miss Etta M 2 
 
 Stoops, Miss Abbie L 2 
 
 Thrall, Mrs. W. H 2 
 
 Thompson, Miss C 2 
 
 Tabor, Miss Mary 2 
 
 Warren, Miss A. M 2 
 
 White, Miss Fanny 2 
 
 Aoy, Mr. O. V i 
 
 Adair, Miss A. E 1 
 
 Arnold, Miss Bessie i 
 
 Allis, Miss F. A 1 
 
 Bosbyshell, Miss M. V 1 
 
 Bailey, Miss M. G 1 
 
 Buckingham, Miss E. J 1 
 
 Bell, Mr. J. D 1 
 
 Bond, Missi Mary 1 
 
144 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Bridges, Miss Vester 1 
 
 Blanchard, Miss F. A 1 
 
 Bray, Miss Alice P 1 
 
 Binder, Miss A. A 1 
 
 Brace, Miss Laura 1 
 
 Clough, Mr. A. J 1 
 
 Carter, Miss Sybil 1 
 
 Cooley, Miss A. J 1 
 
 Cooley, Mrs. W. F 1 
 
 Clark, Miss Rena 1 
 
 Collings, Miss L. W 1 
 
 Copeland, Mrs. M. A I 
 
 Button, Miss E. H I 
 
 Durnford, Miss Lillie 1 
 
 Davis, Mr. E. B 1 
 
 Dickerman, Miss L. W 1 
 
 Everett, Miss Eva 1 
 
 Elliott, Mrs. Sarah C 1 
 
 Emerson, Miss C. E 1 
 
 Fickes, Miss Lulu 1 
 
 Fairchild, Miss Mary 1 
 
 Frye, Mrs. G. P 1 
 
 Graves, Mrs. L. B 1 
 
 Gaston, Miss E. C 1 
 
 Gilbert, Miss Sarah P 1 
 
 Gould, Mr. J. Sidney 1 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 145 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Garlick, Miss Ella F 1 
 
 Gillespie, Miss Agnes B. 1 
 
 Garrard, Mrs. E. S 1 
 
 Hildreth, Miss E. S 1 
 
 Hutchins, Miss S. F 1 
 
 Hoyt, Miss Mary 1 
 
 Howe, Mr. Ohas. S 1 
 
 Harlow, Miss* Sue 1 
 
 Hubbard, Miss Eva 1 
 
 Hunt, Miss Jessie F 1 
 
 Hayden, Mr. H. B 1 
 
 Hoffman, Miss M 1 
 
 Hodgin, Miss Laura A 1 
 
 Hurt, Mrs. W. 1 
 
 Heard, Mrs. Katherine 1 
 
 House, Mrs. Mary 1 
 
 Jones, Mr. M. M 1 
 
 Jaynes', Mrs. H. B 1 
 
 Jamison, Miss N. J 1 
 
 Keyes, Miss Elizabeth 1 
 
 Keith, Miss A. M 1 
 
 King, Miss Mary B 1 
 
 Koller, Miss Bertha 1 
 
 Lawrence, Mr. H. B 1 
 
 Lipper, Miss M 1 
 
 Pee, Miss Rachel 1 
 
146 THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Lyman, Miss Anna J 1 
 
 Lamson, Miss Carrie 1 
 
 Loar, Miss I. G 1 
 
 Mayo, Mr. H. N 1 
 
 McLeod, Miss Edith 1 
 
 Mitchell, Miss Mary 1 
 
 Mover, Mrs. E. F 1 
 
 Marsh, Miss Cora E 1 
 
 Miller, Miss Edith S 1 
 
 Murphy, Mrs. E. H 1 
 
 Moore, Miss F. E 1 
 
 Milligan, Miss M. H 1 
 
 Newman, Mr. W. H 1 
 
 Nehber, Miss Ametia 1 
 
 Noyes, Miss Abbie P 1 
 
 Nichol, Miss M. L 1 
 
 Pishnot, Mrs. C 1 
 
 Pratt, Miss Lizzie 1 
 
 Prescott, Miss Addie 1 
 
 Perry, Mr. W. H 1 
 
 Perry, Mrs. W. H 1 
 
 Quint, Miss Katherine 1 
 
 Roney, Miss Cora 1 
 
 Sprague, Miss Bessie 1 
 
 Smith, Mrs. C. B 1 
 
 Strong, Miss May E 1 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 147 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Scholenberger, Miss E 1 
 
 Stone, Missi Lucy 1 
 
 Schulz, Miss Antoine 1 
 
 Smith, Miss Helene 1 
 
 Smith, Mr. G. B 1 
 
 Stomats, Miss B 1 
 
 Sloan, Miss Cornelia 1 
 
 Sedgers, Miss Lydia 1 
 
 Taylor, Miss Maggie 1 
 
 Turner, Miss Harriet E 1 
 
 Towne, Miss Harriet B 1 
 
 Tompkins, Mr. J. C. 1 
 
 Updegroff, Mrs. R. B 1 
 
 Wilber, Mr. G. F 1 
 
 Woodmansee, Miss E 1 
 
 Whittemore, Mr. F. E 1 
 
 Whitlock, Miss Ella 1 
 
 Wilson, Miss Ada E 1 
 
 Yeatman, Mr. J. S 1 
 
SUMMARY. 
 
THE NEW WEST EDUCATION COMMISSION. 
 
 \ 
 
 151 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 00 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 m. 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 Pi 
 
 'o 
 
 A 
 
 03 
 
 
 3 
 
 + 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 $ 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 1880 
 
 $ 3,004.00 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 
 
 1881 
 
 23,360.00 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 700 
 
 
 
 
 
 1882 
 
 23,528.00 
 
 16 
 
 29 
 
 1,214 
 
 271 
 
 215 
 
 45 
 
 620 
 
 1883 
 
 35,219.00 
 
 19 
 
 33 
 
 1,613 
 
 425 
 
 305 
 
 89 
 
 794 
 
 1884 
 
 52,911.00 
 
 38 
 
 61 
 
 2,925 
 
 896 
 
 604 
 
 286 
 
 1,139 
 
 1885 
 
 48,470.00 
 
 37 
 
 62 
 
 2,686 
 
 812 
 
 500 
 
 298 
 
 1,078 
 
 1886 
 
 55,675.00 
 
 35 
 
 63 
 
 2,560 
 
 764 
 
 541 
 
 142 
 
 1,113 
 
 1887 
 
 61,319.00 
 
 28 
 
 59 
 
 2,383 
 
 727 
 
 653 
 
 155 
 
 848 
 
 1888 
 
 64,896.00 
 
 30 
 
 64 
 
 2,725 
 
 855 
 
 830 
 
 171 
 
 869 
 
 1889 
 
 65,033.00 
 
 30 
 
 71 
 
 3,255 
 
 1,035 
 
 886 
 
 115 
 
 1,219 
 
 1890 
 
 75,301.00 
 
 32 
 
 75 
 
 3,284 
 
 967 
 
 831 
 
 212 
 
 1,274 
 
 1891 
 
 88,209.00 
 
 29 
 
 79 
 
 3,704 
 
 861 
 
 759 
 
 505 
 
 1,579 
 
 1892 
 
 78,395.00 
 
 29 
 
 68 
 
 2,812 
 
 742 
 
 585 
 
 287 
 
 1,198 
 
 1893 
 
 79,361.00 
 
 26 
 
 65 
 
 2,481 
 
 699 
 
 430 
 
 381 
 
 971 
 
 
 $755.081.00 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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