BANCROFT LIBRARY -> THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES WILLIAM NICCOLLS SLOAN SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES BY REV. WILLIAM NIGGOLLS SLOAN, Ph.D, AUTHOR OP "SOCIAL REGENERATION" HODDER & STOUGHTON NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright, 1913 BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE OF HOME MISSIONS AND MY FELLOW-WORKERS WHO ARE LABORING FOR THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL UPLIFT OF THE RISING EMPIRES OF THE WEST, AND THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF AMER- ICAN CIVILIZATION. PREFACE WHILE giving a series of addresses in Eastern cities on home missionary work in the West, I was agreeably surprised at the interest manifested in my story of western con- ditions, especially that part of the West adjacent to or near the Rocky Mountain districts, and more particularly Montana, the state I represented. At the conclusion of these addresses a great many people came forward with inquiries for printed mat- ter covering the general scope of my discourses. I then became conscious of the sparsity of litera- ture concerning missionary work in the West, as seen from the standpoint of the missionary on the field. Books of historical character have been pub- lished, but these contain little information as to the spiritual conquest going on in these rising empires along the Rockies. The idea came forcibly to my mind that there was need for a book giving to the public, from a personal and experimental viewpoint the informa- tion, suggestions and experience here related, fresh from the field of Christian activity. vii viii PREFACE These chapters have been written under the pres- sure of strenuous duties, which necessarily inter- rupted regular hours of study. Some were written in railroad stations, while waiting for delayed trains (one great source of annoyance in mountain travel), and in hotels where quiet was out of the question and concentration of mind difficult. It is with the hope of supplying something in the way of information and suggestion, that will kindle additional interest in the spiritual conquest of these Western States, destined to be potential factors in the future history of our nation, that these chapters on a variety of subjects are given to the public, be- lieving whatever merit they may possess is based on the fact that they come first hand from experience and from a heart sincerely interested in planting the standard of the Gospel in all our land. W. N. SLOAN. Helena, Montana. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I THE FIRST CALL OF THE WEST, OR THE - LURE OF GOLD i II THE SECOND CALL OF THE WEST, OR THE LURE OF THE FARM 18 III OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY . . 36 IV HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS .... 67 V EVANGELIZING REMOTE PLACES . . .98 VI ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? . 117 VII REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN . . . 135 VIII RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST. . .170 IX RECREATION HOURS 196 X LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK 214 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Spiritual Conquest Along the Rockies CHAPTER I THE FIRST CALL OF THE WEST, OR THE LURE OF GOLD- THE rush for gold, the reaction, and the second emigrant tide westward for land, mark three successive periods in the con- quest of the West. The first tide set in when gold was discovered on the Pacific Coast in 1848. The United States came into full possession of Cali- fornia as early as 1847 without any serious conflict in arms. It was a bloodless revolution, if not an entirely peaceful one, that placed this state under the authority and protection of the Stars and Stripes. Yerba Buena was re-christened San Fran- cisco, when the great American seaport on the west coast was established. It had already been partly Americanized by association with trappers and a few early settlers. The possession of California was in reality decided by the results of the war over Texas in 1846. It has been truthfully said i SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES by one historian that " by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico relinquished territory which she had never been able to develop, and made way for the erection of the new America on the Pacific." (The Last American Frontier. Frederic L. Pax- son.) It was not until the discovery of gold in January 1848 at Sutter's millrace, a tributary stream of the Sacramento, that sufficient inducement was offered for emigrants in large numbers to cross the plains and two great mountain ranges, or go around the Cape by sea. It took a year or more for the news to reach remote centres of population thousands of miles away. Then the news of the world was not read every morning in the daily newspapers, but had to percolate through devious and tedious meth- ods. Therefore, it was not until 1849 that the tide of emigration set in from the far East. The water route was very costly and the land route very dan- gerous, but most of them chose to go by land. The emigration of the forty-niners was attended with untold suffering and sickness. Cholera broke out among the trains, ending the earthly journey of hundreds. It is difficult to give in accurate figures the num- ber of overland emigrants, but the most conserva- tive, place the number between forty and fifty thou- sand, who represented all countries and conditions of society. After this there followed in close suc- 2 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST cession of years, the coming of the early pioneers to Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Utah, and last but not least, Alaska. This call appealed to almost every nationality, grade and condition of humanity. The college graduate, the young merchant, the common laborer, the adventurer, the bad and the good; in fact all classes, of both low and high degree were represented among those who followed the star of empire in its westward course. Perhaps the seek- ers for quick fortunes and adventures constituted the larger number. They all came, all saw, but only a few conquered. Large capital was not needed in that day of early placer mining ; only a courageous spirit, strong mus- cle, spade and pick-ax, blankets and frying pan, were the necessary equipments. An optimistic spirit, inflamed by hope, wrought miracles in the wilderness. Deserts were crossed, rivers forded, mountains scaled, life hourly jeopardized by hostile Indians, death by starvation threatened, heat of summer and cold of winter, were all experienced by the early pioneers of the West. " They felt that awful pause of blood and breath, which life endures when it confronts with death." These dangers and hardships beyond description, and many trials un- dreamed, and as yet untold, were endured by those who obeyed the first summons of the call to these now rapidly growing empires. This was the lure of gold. Reports of every new strike in Devil's 3 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Canyon, Spotted Gulch, Poverty Basin, Bonanza Creek, and Last Chance Hollow, were sufficient to start a new stampede for the pot of gold. They came in ship loads as far as old ocean would carry them; from Australia, from the Orient, from Islands of the sea, from South America, and from all parts of Europe. They came on steamboats up the rivers as far as their flat bottom vessels could be forced by steam or oars ; then further on by ox- carts and stage, seeking with feverish haste their expected Eldorado. In every settlement were found the Englishman, the Frenchman, the Ger- man, and last but not least, the Irishman with his natural born wit and optimism. These were strenuous days. Interest became ex- citement, and excitement enthusiasm, and in some cases almost madness. The faith that overcomes (if it does not remove) mountains, inspired courage and forced habitation in hitherto wilderness regions. The first comer staked his claim and held it down with loaded gun, against thieves and robbers, who in the absence of law and order, called might, right. When we remember that gold is the one essential element to make possible all material conquest, and that it is one chief 'source of supply for civilization, there is a manifest reason for the power it exerts. In all cases of unwarranted expansion and ab- normal excitement, either in material or spiritual things, there is sure to follow the depression of re- 4 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST action. The occupation of the far West was no exception to this rule. After the rush of the first few years of gold seeking, there was a period of reaction, the natural result of undue inflation. From the panic of 1893 till early in 1900, there was little increase in the population of the mining states. Silver mines on account of lower values, were closed. Towns and cities were drained of that floating population which constantly seeks high tide for its existence. Mining, however, was not the only inducement that attracted the pioneer to the West. Some saw great opportunities in the vast extent of pasture lands, and turned their attention to stock-raising. This proved to be exceedingly profitable. The buffalo grass on which thousands of buffalo pastured before the days of settlement, was found to be nutritious for horses, cattle and sheep. Till within a few years it was not necessary for the stockman to own extensive tracts of land, in order to support large herds of domestic animals. All the capital needed was enough to purchase a small herd, which, turned loose with the owner's brand, would naturally increase and multiply without much care and scarcely any cost. Horses especially, would grub for their own living both summer and winter. Flocks of sheep had to be herded by shep- herds, corralled at night and guarded through the day for protection from wolves and coyotes. All 5 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES was open land and free pasture on Uncle Sam's do- main. This proved to be an exceedingly lucrative business and free for the most part from the risks and hazards of mining operations. Many of these early stockmen are to-day the retired capitalists of the Rocky Mountain states. In this respect there has come a great change the last few years. Uncle Sam has surveyed his public lands, and in valleys and along streams the homesteader has filed his claim for 160 acres. By a recent act of Congress he can now secure 320 acres by public grant in cer- tain sections of the West. Around his allotment, the rancher builds a wire fence and by complying with the law and rules of the homestead act, can claim these acres for his own personal property. In three years he is granted a patent from the gov- ernment. There is much territory yet unsurveyed and unclaimed, but a large part is barren and rocky and mountainous land, and useful mostly for pas- turage. The big stockmen do not contribute much to the development of a country. The big land owner will some day be considered an undesirable citizen. In many respects he hinders settlement. He closes the door of opportunity to the land-hungry of small capital. His enrichment comes from a vast extent of territory, which requires a very small number of cowboys and sheep-herders to run the ranch. There is no sowing, plowing or reaping. All the 6 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST work required on a stock ranch is mostly done on horseback. There is a great difference between the ranch- man and the farmer. Although all farmers as a rule are called ranchmen in the West, and whoever owns a few acres and raises a few chickens and cul- tivates a potato patch, is called a ranchman. The rapid change which is now taking place con- sists in the diminishing number of ranchmen and ever increasing number of farmers. Before the present rush for homesteads set in, many stockmen were far-seeing enough to read the signs of the times, and recognised the fact that the day was not far distant, when the open land of much value would be possessed by the farmer, who is a tiller of 'the soil. When these lands could be purchased for two or three dollars per acre, vast tracts were bought and fenced for individual use. It is not an unusual thing to find thirty or forty thousand acres in the ownership of one man. These ranchmen did not want settlers to come in, for the more that came, the more limited were their liberties and the more circumscribed their pas- ture lands. The laws of social and civic conditions infringe on personal liberty just in proportion as a country or district becomes thickly settled. Our neighbour's rights must be considered as well as our own. In cities we have not the liberties that are enjoyed in country life. The more dense the popu- 7 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES lation, the greater necessity for restraining laws, as personal rights must conserve the interests of all the community. In cities we must consult mu- nicipal authority as to what kind of a sidewalk we purpose to construct and what kind of a house we intend to build. Sanitary conditions are under the surveillance of a power whose exercise is at least supposed to conserve the interests of all, rich and poor, high and low. This explains why the home- steader's interests conflict with those of the exten- sive stockman. Here is the ground of opposition on the part of the big land owner and stockraiser, to the coming of the farmer. Selfishness of the hu- man heart is the basis of this opposition. How- ever, this prejudice on the part of the stockmen is fast dying out, and the farmer is having the right of way without hindrance or serious conten- tion. The development in the Rocky Mountain states reached its climax before the beginning of the twentieth century, so far as mining constituted the factor of material conquest; not because mining in- terests have grown less, but because they have set- tled down to a more regular and scientific basis. Placer mining has come to be largely a thing of the past. Quartz mining requires large capital and ex- pensive machinery, but less labour. Nearly ninety- nine per cent, of the gold, silver and copper mined in the United States, and forty per cent, of all pro- 8 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST duced in the world, is the product of territory west of the Mississippi. Activity in the production of copper, lead and zinc was greater in 1909 than any previous year. The United States mineral census gives the total out- put of copper from the smelters to be 1,092,951,624 pounds. The total quantity of refined copper, in- cluding domestic and foreign ores, the following year, was 1,391,021,454 pounds, being an increase. In the production of copper, Montana led all other states, with Arizona second, Michigan third and Utah fourth. Amount of mineral produced has been on the in- crease and no doubt will be for several years to come, but new inventions in mechanical appliances, make larger production possible with much less labor. The mining interests of these states, com- posing the mineral region, will continue to be in the future as in the past, one of the chief industries of material growth. However, this source of wealth will gradually diminish in proportionate value to the rapidly growing and ever increasing products of agriculture. In the year 1910, for the first time in the history of Montana, the farm products were larger than those of the mines, yet we are only in the infant stage of agricultural development. Sci- ence has already contributed much and every year is contributing more, to an increased production of the soil per acre. We are greatly indebted to our 9 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES agricultural colleges for the knowledge which has been brought home to the farmer through the far- mer's institutes, published pamphlets and books, giving information of great value in tilling the soil. The time is not very far in the past when education was not deemed necessary for the farmer. Now it is understood, that to be a good farmer, that is to get the best results from the same amount of work and land, intelligence is even more necessary than in some of the learned professions. Lands which a few years ago were considered worthless and called desert because of a limited amount of rainfall, are now discovered to be pro- ductive, through intelligent conservation of the moisture. It is a generally accepted truth among all up-to- date economists, that the real source of wealth is in the land. Therefore, since the Great American Desert has found its mission and purpose, and by scientific culture already has demonstrated its great possibilities, that many parts have become a garden instead of a desert, we are just beginning to realize some of the undreamed wealth so long concealed from the vision of man. What has been said as to mining interests of the West, may also be said of the stock-raising busi- ness. On so large a scale it is on the decline. Great ranches are being divided into small farms, and the small farms by raising a little stock, will 10 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST produce more in the future than the big rancher, owning large herds and big acreage has produced in the past. This is the change that is now going on in the material conquest of the West. The West has entered a new era of progress. The first call of the West, both in the lure of gold and in the en- richment of stockraising on a large scale, either have or are fast becoming things of the past. This first call continues to influence the invest- ment of capital; but a louder and more persuasive call, more conducive to a better state of society, and one that will be more continuous and steady, has become the greater inducement for emigration west- ward. The cow-boy period is a thing of the past. The condition of society as represented in the stories of the "Virginian/' "The Sky Pilot," and the " Squaw Man " are true only of the earliest stages of growth in the 'development of the West. The Vigilantes put an end to lawlessness and disorder, and they did it with neatness and dispatch. The " wild and woolly West " has been transformed into a civilised, intelligent and progressive West. Conditions described by Bret Harte and Mark Twain have long since passed away. Strange to say, some people still think of the West as a region of Indians, cowboys and sage brush. A far dif- ferent West has come, a West far advanced toward a high standard of education. The desert is liter- II SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ally blossoming as the rose. The bad men have either become law abiding or were hung long ago. Sage brush wastes are becoming orchards and grain fields. Three transcontinental railroads cross the state of Montana, each having over eight hundred miles of track. They are the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Pacific Extension of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, built in the order of time in which they are mentioned. Branch lines are be- ing built by these several roads in all directions. They have a vision of the future and are planning accordingly. One company of eastern capitalists has spent about $15,000,000 in building dams across the Missouri River near Helena, for the generation of electrical power. There is no justi- fication for such an outlay of money in the present stage of development. They are building for the future. Thirty years ago, one of the large stock- holders of the Sante Fe Railroad, then being built through Kansas, told the writer, that they did not expect dividends for twenty-five years to come. The dividends came as expected, only in a much shorter time than the years mentioned. It takes the vision of faith to make investments in unseen material riches ; to have seen in the unsettled and in many respects an unpromising country as western Kansas was then, the rich reward already realized. That dry and hot prairie then a parched wilderness, 12 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST is now crowded with rich and fruitful farms, large and flourishing cities and a happy and contented people. It is an inspiring sight to travel across al- most any part of eastern Montana and see the changes that are being wrought. The great broad, magnificent bench lands, stretching for many miles, are dotted now as far as the eye can see with home- steaders' shacks, either in course of construction or completed. Where but a few months ago there was naught on these vast areas but a band of sheep or cattle or stray coyote to greet the eye, today steam ploughs or horse ploughs are at work. Towns are springing up as if by magic hand. Old towns are being jarred into new life. In the northern end of the state from Mondak to the mountains, practically every acre of homestead land within twenty-five miles of the railroad has been taken up. Big ranches are being divided into small farms. Thus Montana is experiencing a movement which is changing it from one of the great mining states, to a commonwealth which will be rated among the wealthiest and most productive agricultural districts in the United States. The awakening has come and a new era of prosperity has dawned for the moun- tain country so long supposed valuable only for mineral production and herding ground for great flocks of sheep and cattle. All the elements of this new movement portend success for the settlers. They are a substantial type of people who are com- 13 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ing from New England and the Middle West. They are a class of people strong of muscle and en- dowed with plenty of common sense and a deter- mination to succeed. They are tackling a hard problem, one that requires lots of brain and muscle. Most of them realize the problem they are facing in attempting to farm these semi-arid bench lands, but they are better equipped to accomplish this work than were those pioneers who met the same prob- lems two decades ago in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. The agricultural college and the experimental farms have already solved many of the problems for these people. They have developed for them drouth resisting grains and root plants. They have proved by actual results what can be accomplished by diligent tillage in the preservation of moisture by summer fallowing 1 and biennial cropping. And better still the state and its various aids are keep- ing their trained agriculturists right on the job, to assist the new settlers, teaching them how to disc, subsurface, pack and harrow the land. With a rapidity of which the states are only half aware, is this Northwest being transformed from a sparsely inhabited land of sage brush, sheep and barons and magnificent distances, to a settled, pros- perous American farming country. New agricul- tural states are being born. The changes of the 14 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST last dozen years have been revolutionary. The men interested in this transformation are not mere ad- venturers, but hard headed men who expect a re- turn on their investments. The railway development in the states of the Northwest in the last few years, is evidence enough that others than mere adventurers see a reasonable hope of permanent development and prosperity. It is difficult to obtain statistics that are up to date on this development now going on, but here are some facts that are helpful. During the summer of 1911, a dozen combined institutes and farmers* picnics brought together more than six thousand Montana farmers, practically all new settlers on the land, who were willing to drop their midsummer farm work for instruction by the farmers' institute workers. The Northern Pacific farm train last May took instruction to nearly twenty-five thou- sand persons in the course of two weeks, some of whom were merely curious sight-seers from the towns, but the majority of whom were farmers anx- ious to learn what the exhibits and the lecturers had to teach them. Ten million acres of public land were homesteaded in Montana alone in the two years ending July I, 1911. Fifty thousand origi- nal homestead entries and five thousand desert land claims in Montana were filed with the United States government in the two and one-half years 15 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ending January I, 1911. Inquiry in many towns fails to show a deserted homestead. These facts give a clue to what is going on in the state. Where are the people coming from? Mostly from the Mississippi and Missouri valleys and the north central states. There are few foreigners, nearly all the newcomers being native born Ameri- cans. This is the complementary fact which ex- plains the stationary or declining farm population in the Upper Mississippi Valley which is a startling revelation of the recent federal census. The losses in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are gains for the Northwest. We feel a little proud of the class of settlers these older states are sending us. If they are the more adventurous, they are also the more enterprising and ambitious. The settlers are largely of that class who are will- ing to take advice and receive instruction. All will not succeed, but many will. Those who fail will yield their portion to those who will make success where others failed. The parable of our Lord will be illustrated, in that the one who has not increased his portion, will resign it to him who hath. I most firmly believe that never in the history of the world were opportunities so great and the rewards of in- dustry so sure, as they are in this splendid country of undeveloped resources of the soil. The first call of the West still invites capital, but always at con- siderable risk. The second call of the West now 16 FIRST CALL OF THE WEST invites the energetic, the tiller of the soil, and promises rewards such as are sure to come from in- telligent exercise of muscle and plodding persever- ance. Large in area, rich in undeveloped resources and small in population, are terms which correctly de- scribe the Northwest. It offers to-day attractive opportunities to the homeseeker and investor of capital. This is called a commercial age. Intelli- gent effort is the price of success. We may point with pride to the fact that for nearly half a century, the West has poured a steady and ever increasing stream of gold into the commercial centres of the nation. This life blood of business has built up great industries, stimulated trade and done much to make our country one of the foremost in com- merce and wealth. This stream first had its source in the mines and ranges, and now the mines, ranges and farms combine to swell its volume. The miners were the pioneers of western settle- ment, the stockmen were the heralds of western de- velopment, and the farmers are now becoming a more permanent factor in commercial life. While the mines and ranges will continue to contribute in undiminished volume, the harvests of our farmers will in the future prove the greater source of wealth. CHAPTER II THE SECOND CALL OF THE WEST, OR THE LURE OF THE FARM THE second call of the West is not in thun- der tones, but in the still small voice. Though not accompanied with the excite- ment of the first, it is far more persuasive and effectual, in bringing more people and of a much better and superior, type, in the virtues which make up a moral state of society. The United States represents about six per cent, of the population of the globe, yet produces forty per cent, of the world's supply of wheat, corn and oats. We raise seventy per cent, of the world's cotton, and twenty-one per cent, of the world's wheat. This indicates clearly that with all our manufacturing interests and mineral wealth, we are preeminently an agricultural people. The present development of the West is now, and will be in the future, in this direction. We have been the ex- porters of the bread-stuffs, for less favored and more densely populated nations. Yet, unless there is both more extensive and intensive farming, the day is not far distant, when we will have to import, 18 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST instead of export our bread. The home demand for wheat, owing to our rapid increase in popula- tion, is eighty per cent, more than the increase of our supply. An analysis of the most important articles that make up our export commerce, shows that while our exports in general are on the increase, there is a significant falling off in the amount of agricultural products sent to foreign countries. The value of these in 1908 was $726,000,000; in 1909 it had fallen to $626,000,000, and in 1910 to $594,000,000. The current writers and economists are saying that the United States has already lost her position as one of the most important granaries of the world; that within a generation we shall be forced to import grain and cattle to feed our peo- ple. We believe, however, that this predicted mis- fortune will be averted by the vast amount of new territory now being brought under cultivation. In January of 1910, at seven o'clock in the morning, from a hotel window in the city of Great Falls, with temperature ten degrees below zero, the writer counted one hundred and fifty men and women, mostly men, standing in line waiting their turn to register on government land. Similar scenes might have been witnessed at other government land of- fices during the winter, with increased numbers in the spring months. The following figures will in- dicate the steady advancement made in Montana the last seven years. 19 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Number of homestead filings in 1905 2,386 Number of homestead filings in 1906 3,398 Number of homestead filings in 1907 3,347 Number of homestead filings in 1908 5,329 Number of homestead filings in 1909 7,942 Number of homestead filings in 1910 21,982 Number of homestead filings in 1911 15,399 Number of homestead filings in 1912 13,419 (In Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Colorado, there was a proportionate increase for the above mentioned years.) The eastern farms have exhausted their fertility, at least their products are growing less both in grains and fruits. The great Middle West has per- haps reached its maximum production, yet land values have increased to such prices as to require considerable capital to own an averaged sized farm. Hence the lure of the farmer to-day is farther west. Not only the cheapness of the land, but the produc- tivity of this western soil encourages the ever in- creasing emigration of farmers westward. (See Table i.) From this table it may be seen that Mon- tana leads in yields of all crops except flax and corn. It has not been supposed that our short summers and cool nights would ever be conducive to a corn crop. But even in this respect experience indicates that at least in eastern Montana, the corn crop may be one of great value. According to the crop reports, only a little more than four millions of Montana's thirty millions of acres of arable lands are in cultivation. Al- 20 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST though the state is growing in population with marked increase in agricultural districts, vast areas of fertile land still await settlement. Its un- equalled advantages are becoming known and set- tlers are coming in ever increasing numbers to possess the land. The energetic man, with small or large capital can find the opportunity few other places offer. In an address at the State Fair, in the presence of President Taft, James J. Hill made the statement that Montana had become an integral part of the world's granary. As for qual- ity of farm products he challenged the world, and Professor Shaw, the agricultural expert of Min- nesota, endorsed this statement unqualifiedly. The reader no doubt will want to know the facts on which such statements are made. For example, the wheat average is shown to be twice that of the entire nation as a whole, and far greater than that of Russia or France. With the exception of Bel- gium alone, it has the world's record average of oats, and the same is true of barley. Table No. 2 in the Appendix, taken from official reports, shows the products of Montana as classified for 1909. The figures quoted in the above mentioned table are not rash estimates or rough guesses. If these are the products when in the infantile stage of de- velopment, estimates of the future possibilities are not likely to be exaggerated. The state possesses an area of 93,000,000 acres, subdivided as follows : 21 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Wooded, 27,00x5,000 acres; forest, reserve 20,389,- ooo; unsurveyed or unavailable, 22,000,000; arable, 30,000,000. Of the latter, in 1909 less than one- fourth were occupied, while forest reserves are also available for homesteads. What is the nature of this new country? Roughly speaking, the eastern two-thirds of the state is made up of valleys of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, running eastward and uniting just over the line between North Dakota and Mon- tana. These two rivers drain a vast region, larger than any northern central state, consisting chiefly of grassy plains, cut up along the southwestern bor- der by spurs from the main range of the Rocky Mountains, which form its western border. This region classed as semi-arid, has a rainfall of from ten to twenty inches annually. These plains in his- toric times have been occupied in turn by the buf- falo, the long horned cattle and the sheep which have made Montana the first of all the wool grow- ing states. The mountain valleys, with surpris- ingly rich soil, furnish also the most favourable opportunities for irrigation projects. The western third of the state, is a strip lying from the northwest to southwest, between two ranges of the mountains and is made up of a series of river valleys running in various directions. It is characterised by a somewhat milder climate than corresponding latitudes east of the mountains and 22 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST toward the north has a much heavier rainfall. The mountains are mostly wooded, held largely by the government as forest reserves. This section of the state, except at the southern end, is drained toward the Pacific coast. It is a common impression that Montana is a waterless region, but in fact it is really the best wat- tered state in the Union, possessing as it does two of the largest rivers in the West, to say nothing of the many streams fed by perpetually snow-capped mountains, while the average rainfall is small on the arable lands, the facilities for irrigation are numerous. The government projects, already in active operation and those being built and in con- templation will cost $30,000,000, and will irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres. Three large tracts have been reclaimed under the provisions of the Carey Act and others are contemplated, while the number of private irrigation projects is unusually large. As an example of what these mean, it may be stated that lands selling for ten dollars before reclaimed are now quoted as high as one hundred in some parts of the state, and nearly all irrigated land sells as high as fifty dollars per acre. In some more favoured sections orcharding has become, and is becoming more and more, one of the most lucra- tive sources of business among the productive in- dustries. In the long settled communities where every possible source of growth and development 23 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES has been promoted, the birth of a new country such as the mountain and other western states have al- ready proved to be, induce thousands to come west- ward, through the lure and rewards and possibilities held out to the seekers of new homes. The beckon- ing hand is pointing such to the land of the setting sun. Out here where wide stretched plain and snow topped mountains meet, where every hope intelli- gently and courageously cherished finds fruition, where the magic touch of honest effort finds re- ward, where empires are being built on desert claims, sentiment draws inspiration for future home building. Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon and Washington are the youthful states, which in the not far distant future will be the controlling factors in the body politic of the greatest nation on the earth. The West is thus the big gate of opportunity for the overcrowded East, yes, for the still farther East, where homeseekers are looking with longing eyes toward this land of promise. Here we have homes for the homeless, food for the hungry, work for the unemployed, land for the landless, freedom for the enslaved, and adventures for the restless. These have been the lure and the rewards which the West has held out to the sons of men. We do not call the West the only field of progress and future development, but it is preeminently more so than 24 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST old settled communities. Its population represents progressive blood from all sections of the East as well as from foreign countries. Its natural re- sources have fanned industrial achievement without parallel in the annals of the human race. A senator in 1843 denounced Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as not worth a pinch of snuff. Their tax- able valuation now runs into the billions. The area west of the Mississippi embodies 60 per cent of the United States and has 35,000,000 inhabitants. The manufacturing interests of this section amount to more than those in the United States before 1870. It will not be many years before half the population of the United States will be west of the Mississippi. Montana is the third largest state in area in the Union, embracing 146,752 square miles. Bigness does not insure greatness, but it is indicative of possibilities. It takes the combined states of Pennsylvania, Indiana and Maryland to equal the area of Montana. The territorial greatness is matched by big 1 business enterprises. In Nevada one mine produced $36,000,000 in one year. There are coal veins 20 feet thick. There is as much coal in Utah as in Pennsylvania. But the deposits in the treasure vaults of mountains, is not the greatest source of western wealth. The agricultural resources far surpass the mineral. (See Table 3 Appendix.) If the spirit of the West 25 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES is boastful and speculative, it is equally vigorous, optimistic and progressive. Its people and re- sources make it such. During a recent visit in the East, called by the Board of Home Missions to address churches and Presbyteries in the interest of mission work in the West, I was frequently questioned concerning the rainfall and character of the climate in general. Some of these questions need to be answered be- cause they indicated erroneous conclusions which had been drawn from newspaper reports published during periods of extreme weather, which are gen- erally of short duration. (See Table No. 4 Ap- pendix.) In western Montana the winters are even milder than in the eastern part of the state. The average temperature for February as given in the Weather Bureau at Missoula, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, for the past nineteen years has been 24.4 degrees above zero. When the tempera- ture falls much below zero, as it often does, it only lasts two or three days. The heat of summer is never oppressive, owing largely to the high altitude. The summers are noted in the Rocky Mountain states for their long sunshiny days and dry atmos- phere, giving many hours of sunlight for the growing of crops. Here is at least a partial solution of the remark- able fruit and grain crops. Speaking of the high 26 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST percentage of bright sunshine, Prof. Atkinson of the Montana State Agricultural College, says, " The light which is usually regarded as unimpor- tant, is a tremendous factor in the producing of crops. All plant production is based on the pres- ence of sunlight, and all plant manufacture is car- ried on by sunlight. An area, therefore, having a larger number of bright days is more fitted to bring rapid and satisfactory plant growth/* This is one of the reasons why crop returns in Montana are greater than in the areas of more rainfall. Quoting from the same authority : " The soils, not having been subjected to the leaching of heavy rains through the years 2Jld not having been reduced by having forests removed, are accordingly rich in plant food. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, those elements, the lack of which prevent crop re- turns in other sections, are present in abundance in Montana soils." In many sections of Montana the continual crop- ping of wheat has apparently had no effect whatever on the yield. It seems probable that owing to all the elements of plant life retained in the soil, with- out loss from leaching, products of nitrification received from the air during fallow years, are quite sufficient to overcome any tendency towards ex- haustion of the soil. These western soils seem to be peculiar in this regard. In Utah, Oregon and Washington are many fields that have produced 27 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES grain for more than a score of years, and the yield is as large as ever. Let it not be supposed for a moment that the ex- pression "dry farming" signifies farming without rainfall. There is no such thing as dry farming, literally speaking. The expression only means areas where the rainfall is light in comparison with more humid districts. We have rainfall in all parts of Montana and more in some parts than in others; much more along the foothills of mountain ranges where farming is conducted with marked success without irrigation. The annual normal precipitation for the state of Montana is 15.34 inches. The largest average for the eastern por- tion is 18.75 inches, and the smallest is 12.63 inches. For the western division of the state the largest annual average is 22.63 inches and the least is 12.56 inches. The average precipitation for the state in 1908 was 20.09 inches. The normal annual pre- cipitation for Utah is 12.29 inches, and for North Dakota 17.79 inches. The latter includes the Red River Valley. Another important characteristic should be noted in connection with the above facts, viz, that in Montana two-thirds of the moisture falls during the growing season of the year. This will make an average of about ten inches for April, May, June anl July; almost as much as falls during the same months in the humid sections of the country. Ac- 38 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST cording to Bulletin "P" of the United States Weather Bureau, the probabilities of rainfall are ten per cent, better in Montana than in states to south, while the rains are more frequent and reg- ular. The statement has been printed by the same au- thority that the rainfall of the country between the looth meridian and the Rocky Mountains for the past three years has been unusually large. Dr. L. G. Briggs, of the United States Department of Agriculture in a paper read before the third Dry Farming Congress, showed by government statistics that the rainfall for the last three years in the region named has been almost normal. It seems to be a matter of common observation that rainfall in a new country increases with set- tlement, cultivation and tree planting. For in- stance, northwestern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota before settlement, were considered dry and fit only for grazing. To-day it is found nec- essary to dig draining ditches in these sections. South Dakota and Nebraska prove the same theory. Admitting this to be a theory not fully demon- strated, nature has provided irrigation possibilities yet unrealized, but already initiated in no small scale. The unsurveyed and unexplored mountains have still revelations for the prospector, of mineral riches which may surpass those now discovered. But in the cultivation of irrigated lands there is 29 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES no uncertainty. There is no risk as with the pros- pector, and no uncertainty as to the rewards of land cultivation. " Countless streams rushing down- wards from snowy summits, unchecked and uncon- trolled, lure the engineer to harness the power now wasted. The desert mysterious, silent, expectant, quivering under cloudless skies holds a promise of freedom and independence to the careworn and disregarded. It offers uplift of unmeasured dis- tances and the individual home with that broader freedom of action which comes from life in the open." (" The Call of the West," C J. Blanchard, in National Geographic Magazine for May 1909.) The same writer gives this summary of reclama- tion work up to January I, 1909. Already con- structed more than 3,458 miles of canals and ditches, which if in line would reach from New York City to San Francisco, One million acres now ready for irrigation, embracing 4,686 farms. Twenty thousand people are settled on these lands, now gar- dens of productivity. Take one instance for example. One of the most interesting of the government irrigation enterprises is the Huntley project, in southeastern Montana. It represents no spectacular engineering features, yet from a sociological viewpoint it is one of the most interesting works so far undertaken. The project embraces about thirty-five thousand acres of land, which was divided by the engineers into 30 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST farms of approximately forty acres each. This was a daring thing to do in a country where men believed themselves entitled to as many hundred or thousand acres as they could fence. The engineers argued that a region so favourably situated in re- gard to soil, climate and crops, forty acres were enough, and the crop report of 1911 recently published indicates that their contention was well founded. In 1911 twelve thousand acres were actu- ally irrigated, but crop returns have been received from only eleven thousand acres. The estimated value of crops on the area reported was $316,759. Much of this area was new land cropped for the first time, and considering the fact that the spring of 1911 was unusually dry and unfavourable for the germination of seed, this is a pretty good show- ing for amateur irrigators. With only one-third of the acreage of the project in crop, the value of the yield was approximately thirty-seven per cent of the cost of building the irrigation system. The set- tlers have also acquired livestock of an estimated value of $224,369 and in addition sold stock during the year, including poultry and dairy products, amounting to $32,509.75. Including these sales, returns during 1911 amounted to an average of more than $31 per acre of the lands irrigated. The cost of building this system amounted to only $30 per acre. Of the lands irrigated in 191 1 three thou- sand acres were reported as devoted to sugar beets. 31 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES The gross value of this crop averaged $60 per acre. The average distance of all farms on the Huntley project is only one and five-eights miles from the railroad. Five thousand acres on the project signed contracts with the sugar beet company to raise beets in 1912. There are seven government townsites on the project, located along the two rail- roads which traverse the tract its entire length. The usual hardships of pioneer life are not encoun- tered on this project. The settlers enjoy the privilege of rural free delivery and county tele- phones. Fourteen schools have been established and seven churches organized hold regular meetings. There is a strong movement on foot to establish high schools in the various towns to which the children of the farmers will be conveyed in busses daily. Who can tell the future possibilities and predict the development in agricultural projects of the com- ing years? There are moral consequences as well as material. This kind of material development means the growth of sturdy manhood and industri- ous citizenship. Mr. Blanchard, in the same report heretofore quoted, says, " May not the influence of its far-flung horizons and its true perspective be potential in character moulding and building ? The cradle of our civilisation was rocked in the desert. Plato and Socrates dreamed their dreams, imbibed their splendid imagery and stately rhetoric in rain- 32 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST less land. May not our own desert develop new systems of ethics and morals to lead us back from the material to the spiritual, into ways of gentle- ness and simple living." Material influences have a part, among the silent forces that work harmoniously in the spiritual con- quest along the Rockies. If environment is a factor in shaping destinies of individuals and na- tions, surely natural scenery has its ministry. Any classification of moral forces with this left out, would be ignoring a potential agency. " A country destitute of mountains may be rich, well cultivated and even beautiful, but it cannot in any instance be sublime or transporting." (C. Bucke, "Beauties of Nature/') From mountain elevations we see the far horizon of the ever- widening Christian civili- sation, as we view the physical plains stretching to infinite distances. Go where we will in this moun- tain country, we never get away from this object lesson of God's strength and greatness. From my study window I have a distant view of the " Gate of the Mountains," through which the Missouri River pours its perennial stream of pure mountain water, in its mad rush to reach the sea. Here it passes through a spur of the Rockies, that reaches out an arm as if to stop its flow in its des- tined course. The mountains on either side crowd its waters into a narrow channel, which, in the hidden history of past ages opened a gate for pas- 33 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES sage through what would seem to human judgment an impassable barrier. The scene reminds us of what changes have taken place and what barriers have been broken down, through the silent force of the ages. Living in the midst of such scenery, we never get far from God's glory, reflected in the massive- ness of His handiwork. The sublime psalmody of hidden strength, the deep tone of the mountain thunder storm, the moaning of the winds in the pine tree tops, the cloud shadows chasing each other over rugged paths, the white purity of snow- covered peaks, are revelations and visions that should bring any mind into the tabernacle for rev- erential and fervent worship. We may rightly assume that Deity had good reasons for the choice of mountain summits, as land- marks on which to make known His sublimest rev- elations. It may be because these are striking topographical localities which designate them from common features of the earth, and as such would not likely fade from the memory of man. Another reason may be found in their isolation and far removal from human interruption and the noise of a busy world. But whatever the reason, we know that many mountains have been world- wide renowned, because of their sacred associations, and places of divine revelation. This West suffers not in comparison with any 34 SECOND CALL OF THE WEST part of the world, in all that nature has ever done to enthrall the senses, to inspire the tongue, and fill the soul with high ideals. Are we mistaken then in assuming that these silent forces and sublime en- vironments, have an important mission in develop- ing a high standard of Christian civilization? Surely they have a quickening power in the growth of physical and spiritual activity. Extended hori- zon enlarges vision. If our prophetic dreams of future possibilities seem to lack the elements that make fulfilment probable, we answer that many of them have already emerged into realization. These sovereign states of the West have been moulded from regions long abandoned to wilder^ ness and desert. From the product of their mines and valleys, they are building enduring monuments of their genius and foresight. The unrealized re- sponsibility of the church, is to redeem these forces of undreamed possibilities of righteousness and the extension of the kingdom of God throughout the world. 35 CHAPTER III OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY "1 AROM the statements in the former chapters, |H there can be no doubt in regard to the ma- -*- terial conquest of the West. Where there are such material rewards for material investments, investments will be made. There is no want of money to buy securities such as the West affords. The lure of profits is well nigh almighty. Those who have capital are telescopic in their vision, and those who have muscle, are not slow to recognize where its rewards are sure. A conservative estimate will give the United States a population in 1950, of 200,000,000. The eastern cities may double their population but the eastern country population will not be much increased. The western country will be the home for coming generations of the tillers of the soil. There are signs already for a new era in rural life. With telephones, automobiles, and post-office at the door, the farmer comes into all the advantages of city life, with all the freshness of country life added. If the country church is dying out in the old settled communities, it is being built in the new, as the only centre of social life and 36 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY religious worship. There need be no fear but the cities, both West and East, will have ample Gospel privileges. How about the village and the country church in the West? This is the problem of more importance to the church than any other at the present time. It is seldom that the people of any age can grasp the significance of events which are most powerful in projecting their influence into future generations. Persons not intimately ac- quainted with this western country have difficulty in appreciating the magnitude of the awakening in agricultural interests, or comprehending the extent of territory involved. Take for example the four states of the Northwest, Oregon, Idaho, Washing- ton, Montana and the adjacent territory of Alaska and state of Wyoming, are equal in area to that of all the states lying east of the Mississippi River, together with the great states of Minnesota, Iowa and a large part of Missouri included in the cal- culation. The most rapid increase in population the coming years will be in this western area. The spiritual vision that fails to appreciate the magnitude of this country and embrace its oppor- tunity, will awake too late to find that the oppor- tunity of a century has passed. Much of this area will always be waste land, but there is so much of it arable that its magnitude is not easy to realize by figures. Thousands of acres which only a few years ago were considered waste lands, are to-day 37 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES some of the richest farm and fruit lands on the continent. It takes a wide perspective to get a comprehensive view of the magnitude of the work the church has before it, in the spiritual conquest of these rising empires. We are not engaged in a hopeless strug- gle, nor are we fighting a losing battle, but in so great an undertaking, the task is no less than the christianization of American civilization. Emerson said, " He was never confused if he could see far enough. That the cure for scepticism was to set the year against the day, and the century against the year; to look at happenings and ex- perience, in the light of a large perspective." Aggressive action, a forward movement, is bet- ter than the most vigorous defensive. One thou- sand dollars spent in the beginning of a new town or community of settlers, in behalf of moral and spiritual welfare of the people, is worth more than ten thousand dollars spent for the same purpose ten years later, when settled indifference has be- come a fixed condition. The real science of medi- cine to-day is prevention, rather than the cure of diseases. The cure is given over to the practi- tioner, while prevention engages the thought of medical science. To save a people from being lost, is better and less expensive than saving them after they are lost. A very large proportion of the new settlers in the West to-day come from Christian 38 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY homes in the East, but sad to say, many of them do not act like Christians in their new home. Accord- ing to my early teaching in theology once in grace, always in grace there seems to be a wide margin between the theory and the practice of this theological dogma. Since my coming to the West I have become a little heterodox as to this Calvin- istic dictum, for I find that the religion of many does not stand the test of transportation beyond the Mississippi. All the more need, however, of meeting these seekers of new homes with the church and Christian influence, before they slip away and neglect so great salvation. One of our chief difficulties, which stands in the way of progress, is that we are compelled to put untrained men into important fields to establish the church and develop our work. With the price of our living higher than it has been for years, making larger financial support absolutely necessary, and the class of people ministered to, requiring a type of preachers possessing the best qualities for work, make our conditions extremely difficult. A man who has been a failure in the East, should never think of coming West, for here his weakness will put him out of a job much sooner than in old set- tled communities. Therefore to meet the responsibility and embrace the opportunity, which confronts Christian endeav- our on home missionary territory in the West, a 39 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES high standard of preparation for the work is de- manded. The writer receives many applications from ministers for locations where they can supply churches and take up a homestead. Such applica- tions are universally turned down, for the reason that men cannot make a success of their work with divided interests. They must either be ministers or farmers, for they cannot successfully be masters of two callings; they will either hate the one and love the other or else they will hold to the one and despise the other. The Rev. Douglas McKenzie, president of Hart- ford Theological Seminary, spoke a great truth when he said, in an address before the World's Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh, " That the modern world everywhere must be supplied with teachers of truth in Christ, whose training has been prolonged, thorough and deep. Those who speak for the Christian religion to the mass of human life must in general be masters both of what they teach and of the moral and intellectual conditions of those whom they address. It has be- come clear that no portion of the church does, per- haps none can, and certainly none ought to give a preparation to its missionary force superior to that given to the various classes of workers at home. For if the growing intelligence of the homeland is to be held loyal to the Truth of the Gospel, it is evident that this only can be secured by keeping 40 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY the interpreters of the Truth abreast of the best education, which is given to any class of scholars and any profession which Christendom produces." We hope and pray for the time when chosen men will hear the call of God as distinctly to go to the needy fields of our own country, as some do hear it for the foreign field; men who will have this work as their choice above all others and who will feel that the greatest talents are not too brilliant for home missionary work. Human wisdom cannot possibly foresee the changes which may take place in this far West in the next few years. Advance is so rapid in ma- terial development, that it is difficult to predict what a few years may bring forth. In many places all that we can do is to occupy the fields ready for the sowing and anticipate through faith and works the coming harvest. There is a call which distinctly says, " Go Forward." W T e face a com- bination of grand opportunities and grave respon- sibilities. In most undertakings there is the chance of glorious success or the risk of awful failure, but as to the extension of the kingdom of God, with all the rich promises for successful conquest His word inspires, there should not be even the shadow of the disappointment failure brings. The only risk in- volved is found in the lack of devotion, in seizing the opportunity and accepting the responsibility. Apathy is the greatest peril that confronts us. SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Heterodoxy is not the besetting sin of the church in this first decade of the twentieth century; it is rather indifference and selfishness. We are com- pelled to work against odds now, because satan has occupied the fields first. In every new town in. the Northwest, the saloon is about the first building erected. As proof of this I can relate an example of personal experience and observation on a recent tour along the Lower Yellowstone, where the gov- ernment has completed one of its extensive irriga- tion projects, and along which the Northern Pacific Railroad is extending its line. In a distance of forty miles, three new towns are located, and in each of these, the first building erected was a sa- loon, and in two of them the first two buildings were saloons. Satan is in advance of the church in occupying new fields. It is no easy matter to dislodge the foe when our delays have permitted him to fortify. I have one example, however, where the church got the start. In the little village of M , a new settlement on the Pacific extension of the C. M. & St. Paul R. R. the Sunday School Missionary and the Pastor-evangelist, arrived be- fore the saloon. Two petitions were already before the County Commissioners for saloon license, but when a petition signed by ninety per cent, of the community against license was presented, the ma- jority petition was granted, and that little church organized without any church building, in a little 42 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY school house only large enough to hold less than half the people that would assemble every Sabbath morning for worship, has held the ground as one dry village in the state of Montana, and as far as the writer knows, the only one outside the Indian reservations. There is no reasonable excuse, ex- cept the apathy of the church in general, for al- lowing the emisaries of evil to first take possession of newly developed localities. Among the many hindrances the missionary has to confront in the spiritual conquest of the Northwest, all combined are not so great as the saloon influence. In this respect the Southwest is far in advance of the North- west. Oklahoma and Kansas are dry territory and a very large part of Texas through local option. The churches make corresponding prog- ress. North Dakota is the only state along the Northwest where the prohibitive ban closes the saloon. All the other states suffer under this curse. The saddest feature of all is that they are appar- ently sustained by a large majority of the people. In Montana, with a very few exceptions, the sa- loon has free course to run, practically without any restrictions whatever, twenty- four hours in the day, and seven days in the week and three hundred sixty-five days in the year. This means a crusade against the powers of darkness, the most formidable of any the church of God has to fight. All the more need in this 43 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Northwest for the church to put forth its most vali- ant efforts, by sending its best men, with equip- ments furnished for contending with such a foe. It only emphasizes the grandeur of our opportunity for a great victory and the peril of weakhearted at- tacks. Were it not for the inspiration from above that prompts all true service and sacrifice, and which assures final victory, we might faint ere the battle is begun. Under the Red Cross banner of our Lord, we march forward to face new openings and gain new victories. In the face of such opposing forces the call for " Retrenchment " sounds like a death knell to missionary advancement. Happily the boards of our churches have almost forgotten this word, and from headquarters no longer do they cry out to stop advance, but to go forward and take new territory for the Lord. The courage of the missionary has quickened the dying courage of the church, and now out on the frontier lines engaged in our desperate, but not hopeless struggle, we are assured that the Eastern churches with more liberal and confident beneficence are standing back of us with the sinews of spiritual warfare. While in Wilmington, Delaware, after an ad- dress somwhat optirriistic in tone, a lady came for- ward and kindly thanked me for the words spoken, " but " she said, " don't you have to whistle oc- casionally in order to keep up courage ? " I assured her that we had something more substantial than a 44 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY whistle to keep up our courage or we would have long since waved the white flag. This reminds me of another instance in this con- nection. While stopping at a hotel in one of our principle cities, a travelling man who had often seen me on the road in different parts of the state, presented his card, saying, " I believe you are a travelling man like myself." On confirming his supposition, he asked me " what line of goods do you sell ? " I informed him that I was a minister, a title I had never been ashamed of except in my imperfections and weakness in representing so worthy a calling. His surprise at my answer was manifest in his countenance, and his opinion of my profession was clearly stated in his re- ply when he said in a very condescending tone, " Well, I am sorry for you." With all the dignity at my command, I told him he had better reserve his pity for some one who needed it, and that he would not find me in the needy class. This reply awakened his interest, and for nearly an hour I con- versed with him on the recompense of the minister's life. He bid me good night, saying, " I am almost persuaded to be a minister." I never learned whether he became altogether persuaded, but I am sure he will never give me any more pity for being a minister. The experience of a travelling missionary in this western country, if written by a ready and expert 45 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES story writer, would make some interesting reading. It is not my custom to travel in ministerial garb, but my profession is very often recognised notwith- standing the fact clothes do not indicate my calling. Sometimes, however, it is the opposite impression, for after a long journey by stage or otherwise, over dusty roads, appearance does not indicate my voca- tion. After one of these long dusty rides I was waiting at a small station, walking up and down the platform, perhaps a little impatient at the tardiness of the train, when a man stepped up to me and said, " If I am not mistaken, I believe you are the black- smith up at the Keating mines." I politely in- formed him that I was not ashamed of being recog- nised as one of such a muscular and worthy calling, but that he was mistaken in giving me such an honourable distinction. He graciously apologized and went his way, without any further information as to my trade. Another recent incident is of a different nature, when, in spite of my citizen's dress, I was recognized as a member of the priesthood. On entering a new town with valise in hand, I was most cordially greeted by a young man evidently not long from the land where the shamrock grows. He was so cordial in his greeting (and full of artificial inspira- tion) that he took my valise in one hand and put his other arm in mine, saying, " Well, father, I am glad to see you in our town ; if you give us a service OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY you can depend on me." Walking a little farther, he stopped me in front of a saloon, saying, " Come in, father, and let us have a social drink in honour of the occasion, for you are the first man of your holy order that has ever been in our town." Of course I refused this kind offer, but he was not satisfied with my denial. Persisting in his purpose to show his hospitality, he said, " Well, father, come in and have a cigar." This like the first offer was kindly refused. But as a final effort to show his good will, he said, " Father, if you will not drink or smoke, you surely can come in and have some chew- ing gum." When the religious service was held that same evening, my young friend was not present. I had the encouragement nevertheless of about forty men and three women at that religious service, the first that had been conducted in that town. In these new towns as a rule, the men are in the majority, not because they are the most pious, but most numerous. As a sequel to the incident of my first acquaint- ance in this new town on the Yellowstone, three months later I made another visit to this same town which in the meantime had doubled its population, and organized a church of seventeen members and ordained three elders. When we consider that home missionary work has been so poorly supported in comparison with the demand and opportunity, the success attained indicates the seal of God's approval. 47 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES We do not claim continuous success, nor can we pre- sent a record that in any way can be called marvel- lous or extraordinary, but the instances of failure are so few, that unless magnified by those preju- diced, they are only spots on the sun of God's con- tinual blessing on home missionary endeavour. When we measure advance by the year, success may seem meagre, but measured by decades growth is marked and encouraging. Revivalistic and spasmodic methods have been in most cases failures in these western states. The people do not take to the modern evangelistic revivalists. The leader in Christian work must be long enough with the people to gain their confidence, respect and esteem, by his manly bearing, Christian virtues and social gifts, before he can do effectual work in enlisting their support. It is the steady pull that counts for sub- stantial gain. Flashlights soon go out and leave the darkness, darker than ever. Vaudeville methods are at a discount and engender only con- tempt and ridicule. Statistics cannot give a comprehensive view of what has been done, but they do indicate beyond a doubt encouraging progress. The past represents largely the seed sowing period, and that period does not show in figures the good that has been done, be- cause the harvest is to be gathered in future years. So far it is distinctively home missionary territory. In one denomination with 62 churches only eighteen OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY are self-supporting. In another with 70 churches only ten are self-supporting. In the larger cities beautiful and expensive church buildings have been erected. For example, the First Presbyterian Churches of Helena and Bozeman have buildings costing over $50,000 each, and represent the most costly Protestant church buildings in the state. These churches were organized in 1872 by Rev. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, and have ever since stood as strong towers of righteousness, and continue to be among the strong spiritual forces along the foothills of the Rockies. The writer attended his first meeting of Presby- tery in the spring of 1899 at Miles City. The Miles City church was then the only Presbyterian church organization east of Bozeman, a distance of two hundred and eighty-eight miles. In the last six years sixteen churches have been organized along the Yellowstone and the Presbytery of Yellow- stone has been organized, where ten years ago there was but one organization of this denomination. These examples of growth are not cited as mar- vellous, nor even as remarkable, for greater rec- ords have been made in different territories in other western states, but they do show that in a reasonable measure the church growth is in fair proportion to the ever increasing population of this the third largest state in area of the Union. This is only a limited vision and prophecy of the 49 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES coming years ; only an index finger pointing to still larger reports of home missionary work in all these western states of the Rocky Mountain region, which not only announce the occupancy of new fields, but show inviting fields in other quarters, making new demands and extensive urgent calls for advance all along the frontier line. What has been said of the Northwest and Mon- tana in particular, may be said of the whole Rocky Mountain region, reaching through the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyo- ming. This region is packed with undeveloped re- sources that are so far scarcely touched, but are al- ready contributing vast sums of wealth to the Na- tion. It includes all the precious ores, while the deposits of coal, marble and asbestos will stand the world's drain for centuries. Its agricultural re- sources exceed the mining output in several states. The government is expending millions to develop irrigation systems and multiply the acreage thus made available for homes and farms. The writer has the privilege of quoting at length from an address given by Rev. R. M. Donaldson, D. D., Field Secretary of the Rocky Mountain states, whose vision is far-reaching and compre- hensive of present and future possibilities. " Irrigation is more than an adjunct to agricul- ture, or a graft on public funds. It is a social and industrial factor. Because of it, civilization rises 50 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY out of desolate wastes. Where civilization dawns, the ministry of the Church of Christ is a necessity. Irrigation and 'dry farming* have given us fully one- fourth of our present fields. The rural church is far from being obsolete. " This is a region whose dimensions are deter- mined by altitude as well as by latitude and longi- tude. Mt. Washington is the top of the world to New England and the whole Atlantic Coast. When they want something better, they hie away to the Alps. One railroad in Colorado and New Mexico reaches fifty-five towns that are higher than Mt. Washington, in twenty-five of which we have or- ganized churches. One of these towns (Leadville) is but a few feet less than an altitude of two miles above sea level. " In the state of Colorado alone, there are eighty mountain peaks which reach an altitude greater than that of the Matterhorn. These are only a part of the great mountain system upon whose plains and foothills and ranges, these seven states are built. "Of the three hundred and seventy-six churches of one single denomination in these states, fully one- third are located above an altitude of five thousand feet. From this altitude, one should be able to see large visions of opportunity and responsibility. In proof of this, the horizon of our churches lies far beyond the parish bounds. " Areas and physical resources are not the most SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES prominent features of this mountain land. We do not see all that ought to be seen, unless we see God. We do not move as we ought to move, unless we march with Him. With marvellous swiftness He is marshalling the material and spiritual forces for the conquest of the nation and of the world. " It is impossible to realize what progress has been made, unless we compare the present with the past. Veterans of the Civil War are still numbered by the hundred-thousands, yet there is not a single Pres- byterian church in the Rocky Mountain district to- day that was organized when the Civil War closed. The report of the Home Board in 1864, names only one missionary at work in Colorado, but no church was organized until nearly four years after that date. It was not till April 29, 1869, that Doctor Sheldon Jackson, T. H. Cleland and John Elliott, held that historic prayer-meeting on Prospect Hill, above Sioux City. The spiritual outlook given to them was one of the contributing causes to the rapid multiplying of church organizations and the pro- moting of religious interests in the Rocky Moun- tains. " The increase of population and the development of our material resources are among the marvels of our generation. There is abundant evidence that the church has not been unmindful of its oppor- tunity. Her ministers have brought the touch of Christian fellowship and of good cheer to the trap- 52 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY per, prospector, miner, stockman, and rancher throughout the region. The history of the West can never be written without paying its tribute to the hardy pioneer. " Those who live in older communities, inheriting homes, churches, schools, public buildings, even their roads and fences, cannot realize at what expense we must build everything from sage brush to civili- zation within a single decade. More than a score of places where we are at work, have reached a population of from two thousand to ten thousand, since the twentieth century dawned, in localities where there was nothing but desert or wilderness, or at most, a hamlet. It is no small task to build a city with modern equipment to meet the need of body, mind and soul; yet it is done by a people whose industry and courage, include spiritual as well as material enterprise. Many of these churches reach rapidly to self support, and become generous contributors to the general work of the church. Contrary to the common opinion, few churches attain the average for local support that is attained by many of our home mission churches. Two of these, in different states, with a member- ship of less than twenty-five, have sustained an average per year of forty dollars per member for pastor's support. While many communities are not so generous, yet the spirit of the people bears this stamp. The problems of pauperism are practically 53 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES unknown. It is generally true that the man who seeks labour can find it ; that the man who is indus- trious and honest has little fault to find with labour's rewards. Many counties have no " poor farm," because they do not need one. A business man says, that there are so few dependents in his county that it would be cheaper for the county to pay their board at a first class hotel, than to own and support an institution in which to care for them. " The church at large has abundantly demon- strated its faith in the mountain states. During a half century of small beginnings, she has invested vast fortunes of the Lord's treasure, prospecting, building, teaching, and evangelizing. Have the time and money been well invested? " The more than one thousand self-supporting churches in the several denominations, ought to be sufficient answer. " Nor does our mountain vision preclude the vis- ion of the world's great need. Our eyes are not closed to the beckoning hands across the seas. Most of our strong churches have their own mission- ary or parish abroad. Oriental classes in many of the churches give evidence that women are willing to render at home the same service they ask from others abroad. " Much land remains to be possessed. Without disregarding the principle of comity or federation-, we are in no danger of running out of work. Colo- 54 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY rado is more nearly supplied with Gospel privileges than any other mountain state, yet fifty thousand of her population are without stated religious serv- ices. Our Utah missionaries have given their summer vacations for the last five years, to tent work in remote fields. During the summer of 1910, their two tents and twelve workers gave eighty-one days of service, preaching to three thou- sand Mormons, most of whom were young people. There are still one hundred fifty towns in the state, with an estimated population of twenty thousand, who have never heard a Christian minister. With this class of people the tent work is the most effici- ent. Only a few days ago, a minister in Idaho told of an American girl, thirteen years of age, who was never in a Sunday school, and never heard a sermon until she spent a week in his home recently. This is true of many well-born, well-behaved, intelligent young men and women whose homes are in the remote places that have not yet been reached. We cannot fulfill the Lord's great commission until we reach our own unchurched communities." So the vision crowds upon us, visions of oppor- tunity, or obligation, of the age-old plans of God and the plans of far-seeing men who are fellow- labourers with Him. It is a vision that stirs the blood, that gives wings to hope, that inspires to Christly service in the spirit of Him who " came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." 55 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Dr. Arthur T. Pierson in his " Crisis of Mis- sions," says with marked appropriateness to pres- ent conditions in the West, " Every conceivable motive, therefore, urges us to undertake a crusade against the powers of darkness. The command of our ascended Lord, the voice of an enlightened con- science, the impulse of the new nature, the leading of the providential pillar, the work of transforming grace, the grandeur of our opportunity, and the peril of delay all these converge like rays in the burning focus, urging us onward and forward to the outposts of civilization and the limits of human habitation with the word of life. Let the trumpet signal be heard all along the lines ; God has already sounded His signal, and like that appeal at Sinai, it is long and loud. The last precept and promise of our Lord, which have inspired all true service and sacrifice, echo with new force and emphasis, louder and clearer, in the face of new openings and new victories. " Blessed is he who, like Paul, is im- mediately obedient to the heavenly vision." One phase of home missionary work differenti- ates it from that of the foreign field and emphasizes the demand for men most thoroughly prepared, who confront the opportunity and accept the re- sponsibility of a home missionary, viz. his task is not the evangelization of heathen, but the Christ- ianization of American civilization. This in many respects is a more stupendous undertaking than the 56 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY evangelization of heathendom. There is a self- righteousness which characterizes our civilization, a sort of self-satisfaction which covers the sores of sin with the flower's fragrance of self-esteem, soothing the human mind into an unconscious state of guilt before God. Civilized society has ad- vantages over pagan, but it is harder to make the former realize its condition and its need of Cal- vary's redemption, than the latter. Heathendom is so destitute that, when the True Light is brought into view, its darkness is the more manifest. Civ- ilized society has so much that is truth, moral, and beautiful, that the one thing lacking is difficult to realize. It is hard to convince a civilized people that they are sick; that a scholarly and educated Nicodemus, must seek salvation and be born from above, as well as the pagan in ignorance and dark- ness. The distinction made by society which is only civilized, between the "Light of Asia" and the "Light of the World," is not clearly defined, and much less understood. Thinking of God as too just to condemn the heathen, surely He is not so unjust as to condemn the enlightened. That the condemnation is still greater for those who know the truth and do it not, than for those who know it not and therefore can- not do it, is a part of the teaching of Jesus this state of mind has not studied to a final conclusion. Let it be understood then that we are undertak- 57 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ing no little task in the Christianization of a civi- lized people. Therefore we are not asking mis- sionary aid for this country, to simply assist in maintaining struggling churches, but to aid in es- tablishing the Kingdom of God in a section of the United States which is being rapidly settled by America's best sons and daughters, and destined in the near future, both religiously and politically, to be among the influential factors of the continent. Two score years ago the record of this country along the Rockies was that of several big mining camps and a few cattle and sheep ranches ; two gen- erations ago a few fur traders and here. and there a lumber camp and a few settlers who spent most of their time in hunting, fishing, trapping and drinking whiskey. The class of people who were in this region then had no interest in religion. They were here as transients with no purpose of making it their home. The early missionaries who had to deal with this class, laboured under difficulties of which strangers to the conditions existing in that day can form no just conception. The work ac- complished by these early pioneers was most re- markable in results when all things are taken into account. But the class of settlers coming West to- day are coming to stay and make for themselves and their children permanent homes. They want and seek religious privileges and are the making of 58 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY that class of citizens who represent the influential factors in every community. But without the edu- cational, social and religious influence of the church, any community is in a state of decay. We do not claim that the kingdom of God is bounded by the church, but the church is bounded by the kingdom of God, and represents in every well ordered com- munity an institution that affiliates with every force that has for its goal the uplift of society. The laissez-faire principle does not and will not save societly, build empires of righteousness, nor establish constitutions of freedom. Eternal vigil- ance is the watchword of liberty, and the constant necessity of great achievement. Men worthy to be called prophets are pointing out signs which indi- cate " the speedy approach of some mightier crisis than has ever yet been registered on the pages of history," and it may be that the crisis is near at hand. Surely delay for a more auspicious season for a forward movement, can be designated by no milder terms than criminal hesitancy. It has been said by some one that " nations rise to the climax of their life and humanity unfolds its enormous dor- mant capacities, only when religion enters into a living and inspiring relation to all the rest of human life." Our country must have more than civilization. It must have Christ as a controlling force. There 59 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES is no excuse if we as a nation do not achieve a his- tory and destiny whose ruling passion is the altru- ism of Calvary's cross. Material wealth and prosperity, and the grand enterprise of commerce, cannot work out our sal- vation without holiness and the sacrificial altar. Great continental railroads already cross our plains, pass over or through the mountains, and still more are being built, great cities are rising along the foot- hills and on the vast stretches of prairie, but unless these material signs of marvellous progress, shall be accompanied with regenerating power of the Gospel, unless churches and a Christian conscience erect bulwarks of social order, morality and piety, the foundations of peace and prosperity are not se- cure. Material riches and physical features are only to be looked upon as God-given opportunities for the church of Christ to use in planting Chris- tian institutions that will keep pace with the star of empire in its westward march. While spending a vacation in the Puget Sound region, I was permitted to visit one of our splendid $12,000,000 battleships. Although the building of these great warships is impoverishing civilized na- tions, we have nevertheless a sort of patriotic pride in these mighty dreadnaughts of the sea. On this occasion I learned something about our Navy I never knew before, but which I was glad to learn. The captain after showing me the splendid equip- 60 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY ment and elegant furnishings, took me into the watch tower for a general view of this monster vessel. There were floating all the flags of the nations. The captain with patriotic pride in- formed me that it was a rule of the Navy that the stars and stripes were never allowed to float under- neath the flags of other nations; it always hung from the top-mast, " Except," he said, " on one occasion when there was an exception to this rule, and that was on Sabbath morning when the sailors and officers of the ship were assembled for religious worship; then the flag of our nation was lowered and the Red Cross Banner of Christ was lifted above them all." When I learned this fact, my blood tingled a little quicker with fervent patriotism. On think- ing of this official and national act in the acknowl- edgment of the sovereignty of our Lord and Sav- iour Jesus Christ, for a moment at least, in spite of the sins and graft and present day revelations of political corruption so rife, I was thankful as never before, of being an American citizen. Should it not inspire every one of us to a truer patriotism as we think of our nation in humble worship thus honouring the Cross, the symbol of our Lord's sovereignty and His redemptive power. Not only our nation, but let it be said to the honour of some other nations and great powers, that the Christ is acknowledged Lord over all. SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES This inscription is found on the fly leaf of an old Bible, presented to the old Bruton church, Wil- liamsburg, Virginia, at the three hundredth anni- versary of the permanent establishment of English civilization in America. The inscription is as fol- lows : " This is presented by his Majesty, King Edward, the Seventh, King of Great Britain and Ireland, and Emperor of India, to the church of Bruton a shrine rich in venerable traditions of worship, in solemn memories of patriots and states- men, and in historic witness to the oneness of our peoples. The King will ever hope and pray that the ties of kinship and language and the com- mon heritage of ordered worship and ennobling ideas, may through the saving faith in our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, revealed in these sacred pages, continue to unite Great Britain and America in a beneficient fellowship for setting forward peace and good-will among all men." While therefore we may feel a certain patriotic pride in the defence afforded by our great and magnificent battleships, yet may we not believe that the sacred teachings of the Book has still more defensive power in deciding all questions of dispute between nations, and a still greater influence in unit- ing all kindred and tongues " in a beneficent fellow- ship for setting forward peace and good will among all men." On a pinnacle of the Cordillera of the Andes, 62 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY fourteen thousand feet above sea level, surrounded by other peaks of perpetual snow, stands a monu- ment to Christ. The statue cost about one hundred thousand dollars, and was paid for by subscriptions from the people, the working classes contributing liberally. Chile and Argentine have lifted it as a tangible witness of international brotherhood. On the granite pedestal of this monument is this in- scription : " Sooner shall these mountains crumble to dust than Argentines and Chileans break the peace which at the feet of Christ the Redeemer they have sworn to maintain." On the opposite side of the base, the angel song of Bethlehem, " On earth peace, good will toward all men." So it has come to pass that He is recognized as the way, the life and the truth, more powerful than dreadnaughts, for maintaining international peace. Let this truth be proclaimed in all lands and to all people, until the dynamic power of its person- ality in the revealed Christ, touch capital and make it kind; touch education and rid it of paganism; touch politics and engraft righteousness ; touch cor- porations and make them servants of God; touch nations and make them obedient to the King of Kings. Now is the opportunity and may the responsibil- ity be accepted with that devotion and loyalty by the whole church which is sure to crown effort with success. There have been times when the church SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES confronted crises as great as those before it now on certain fields; but never before has there been such a synchronizing of crises in all parts of the world. This is a testing time for the church, and if it neglects to meet successfully the present world crises by failing to discharge its responsibility to the whole world, it will weaken its power both on the home and foreign fields, and seriously handicap its mission to the coming generations. Nothing less than the inadequacy of Christianity as a world re- ligion is on trial. This is a decisive hour for Christian missions. The call of Providence to our Lord's disciples, of whatever ecclesiastical connection, is direct and urgent to undertake without delay the task of carry- ing the Gospel to all the world. It is high time to face this duty and with serious purpose discharge it. The opportunity is inspir- ing; the responsibility is undeniable. The Gospel is all-inclusive in its scope, and we are convinced that there never was a time more favourable for uniting our forces, and by prayerful action make the universality of the idea a practical reality in the his- tory of the church. Dr. Charles L. Thompson said in an address be- fore the General Assembly at Denver in 1909, " The day of small things between nations is past. The battles around the Mediterranean were trifles com- pared to the marshalling of final forces on the Medi- 64 OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY terranean of the west. And the flag those forces shall fly white in friendship, or bloody in battle will be determined most of all by the moral char- acter of our country, and especially of the Pacific Empire. Wake up, O Church of God: before op- portunity stiffens into destiny." It seems that we have machinery enough. What is needed is power, that will put this machinery into active service in the great conquest going on be- tween the powers of light and darkness. It is related that when Ole Bull was in the zenith of his triumph, he played before the students of Princeton university. As he played they heard the birds warbling among the trees of the forest; they heard the storms as they thundered back and forth among the crags of the mountains, and then the tones became so soft and so sweet they could almost believe a mother was singing her babe asleep. When he finished, they crowded around him with congratulations and expressions of praise for his wonderful gift. He said to them, " It is not in the instrument or bow, though I use the best that money can buy ; it is not in the fingers that press the strings or in the hand that draws the bow. If there is anything to tell, it is this, I never play until my soul is full, and the music is the overflow of the soul/' If we have been trying to play the melodies of Jesus, without this soul-fulness ; if we have been wondering why men did not stop and listen and 65 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES bow in homage before our Lord, may it not be that the secret of our disappointment has been in our lack of soul earnestness? Unless our education, our doctrines, and all our equipments are animated with the Divine Spirit, the Gospel we preach will fail to manifest the power of God. The greatness of our task and the weakness of our earthen vessel, both emphasize the need, yea, the necessity of keeping close against the heart of the Infinite One, for the fellowship that will put the touch of power into our ministry, and enable us to accomplish that which pleases our Master. I cannot more fittingly close this chapter than by quoting the language of Bishop Charles H. Fowler on the missionary idea. " Behind Calvary, beneath the Cross, older than the Book, the sacrament, the sacrifice, the ceremonial all the panorama of re- demption is the eternal love of God, who purposes to save man by the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of the church. This love which stoops to the guilt and need of man, is an infinite shore- less ocean beyond our thought or description. Here is the missionary idea. To apologize for it, is to apologize for Calvary, which is its expres- 66 CHAPTER IV HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS WE both hear and read a great deal about heroism in foreign missions, but much less has been said or written about the heroic element in home missionary work. The story of self-sacrifice and the courage required in pioneer work in our own country has not been writ- ten and perhaps never will be, for much of it is that kind of service, generally unnoticed and un- recorded by the publicity bureau. The demoniac out of whom Christ cast the dev- ils, besought Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, " Return to thine own house and show how great things Jesus hath done unto thee." He went his way and published through the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. It would have been much easier to have followed Jesus and joined the disciples, than to have returned to his own city and there testify for Christ. With Jesus and His disciples, he would have had the personal and present inspi- ration and sympathy of their direct fellowship, but SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES to go back to his own town and home, required more courage and fortitude. There is a certain glamour thrown around the foreign missionary, that is not manifest in the case of a home missionary. Let me give a single illus- tration as proof of this statement. It is an in- stance that came under my personal observation. In the city of B there was a meeting of the Synod. An esteemed and eminently successful foreign missionary lady was to be present to ad- dress the Synod. Also an equally eminent and successful home missionary lady, who had devoted her life to the Christianizing of a certain tribe of In- dians in our own country. The story of her sacri- fice and devotion was known to only a few who were intimately acquainted with her work. She was a graduate of college and had prepared herself for this special work. When announcement was made the previous Sabbath to the convening of Synod, the pastor had ten applications to entertain the foreign missionary lady, but not one for the home missionary, and in fact solicitation for her entertainment was necessary. After she had made her address and the people heard the story of her work, and what great things had been accomplished through her devotion, invitations to dinner were not wanting, for then there was no little competi- tion in efforts of the entertainers to show her hos- pitality. They did not expect such gifts, refine- 68 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS ment and ability from a home missionary. Why did they not expect it? Let the reader draw his own conclusion. We would not detract in the least from the glory and honour the foreign missionary deserves and re- ceives, but we should be a little more ready to recognize the heroic element in the self-denial and self-forgetfulness of those high-souled men and women, whose lives have made it possible to tell the story of missionary enterprise in America. There are student volunteer associations, whose purpose is to enlist young men of ability and con- secration as heralds of the Gospel in foreign lands. The heroic element has been emphasized (and it is right that it should be) and appeals for volun- teers have been made along this line with marked success. Many of our strongest young men have volunteered to become foreign missionaries through such an appeal, and consecrated their gifts and set their faces thitherwards long before the finishing day of their preparation. There is a patriotism in human nature that re- sponds to the call for self-sacrifice, and which turns a deaf ear to any call with this element left out. Our country is experiencing great difficulty in these days of peace to secure volunteers in suffi- cient numbers to keep up our regular army. The low wages paid the private soldier has been assigned as the principal reason why men will not enlist. 69 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES But this is not the reason. Times of peace are not so heroic as times of conflict. It is rather because the call for volunteers in the army to-day does not carry with it opportunity for heroism. When our nation has been engaged in war there has always been a ready response. During the Civil War, mothers, wives and daughters, stitched and sewed through tear-lensed eyes, because the fathers, hus- bands and sons had listened to their country's call, and had gone to the tented field, ready for that sacrifice which counts not life too costly. Thou- sands volunteer in times of war, for one in times of peace. The question of low wages is not a con- sideration when a nation's life is in peril. So it is in missionary work. For foreign work there are more volunteers than can be sent by the limited means at command of the foreign boards. These volunteers represent the highest grade of scholarship and include the most promising men en- tering the ministry. But when a similar call is made for home missionary work out on the firing line, there is an indifferent response. But why the difference? We are insisting that there should be no distinction between foreign and home mission- ary work. It is one work, the extension of the Kingdom and the fulfillment of the great com- mand of the Captain of our salvation, " Go ye into all the world." So it is one work and should be designated as missionary work, without any quali- 70 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS fying adjectives to indicate our own country or a foreign people. All who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord over all and in all, are foreigners to the kingdom of God, whether they live in so- called Christian or heathen lands. Whence then the difference ? The needs here in the far West are as great as any place in the world, when we take into consideration the proportionate influence, and we would think ought to be a stronger appeal to Christian patriotism. But such is evidently not the case. In our eastern cities a prominent man writes me that ministers are falling over each other in their efforts to get a hearing in some vacant pul- pit; that from ten to fifty applications are made for every vacancy, and yet they tell us there is a dearth of ministers. So there is in some places, but not in others. It is the policy of tramps to frequent those localities and beg their subsistence where there is the least to do, and they shun districts where there is a demand for labour. So it would seem that min- isters seek localities already crowded with minis- ters and shun the places where there is the greatest need. In our seminaries we have a class of men, who before their course of preparation is finished have enlisted for the foreign field. To that work they are ready to go and will go, in spite of flattering calls from other churches, where remuneration is really tempting to such as can be tempted by assur- SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ance of comfort above the average. But if there is such a class in our seminaries consecrated to work on the western frontier of our own land, we, who have the responsibility of securing ministers for these fields, have not so far discovered it. If there is no such class in our seminaries it indicates a need that should be supplied. Men for work on the frontier firing line need special training and preparation for this kind of service. They need to know something more than philosophy, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, theology, church history and eccle- siastical government. A knowledge of all these will not by any means be a disqualification. The men who build the church of God in this new country, must as a rule build on foundations of their own digging and erect the superstructure of their own planning, without any cabinet of elders and spiritual advisers. fThe construction must be from raw material. They must solicit funds and know how to approach business men and plead the Lord's cause with those who rather boastfully acknowledge no church relation and who are reached only through the social side of life. They may be generous often times to a fault, for both good and bad objects appeal to their beneficence. The successful minister is sometimes designated out here as a good "mixer." I do not like the term, but it means social qualities that can be all things to all men, without lowering the standard or dig- 72 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS nity of his high calling. To meet the conditions of success in these frontier fields, the minister ought not to be in that state of preparation where all the practical things must be learned after he undertakes his work. There is much that must be learned in the ministry that no seminary can teach, but there is much of the practical that can be learned, and ought to be learned without the expensive lesson of experience. The ministerial supply for home mission work has come to be a more serious question than the church realizes at the present time. It is com- paratively easy to organize new churches and plant missionary stations along frontier lines. The more serious problem is to supply these churches with a ministry consecrated and adapted to the work. The requirements for such a ministry are simple and few. A great head is not always essential, but a great heart must ever be. All the eloquence re- quired is the product of an inspired heart intensely positive and spiritual. Not dogmatic, but construc- tive ability, that knows how to make something out of raw material; the gift which stimulates no doubts, but directs thought to definite conclusions; a man having the power of initiative and sympathy broad enough and strong enough to help in all phases of soul struggle, especially appreciative of the difficulties of young people, for this is the class he has to win and save ; preaching with no uncertain 73 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES sound concerning the fundamentals of religious life, so that those who hear him fed that they are brought in touch with a man who believes his mes- sage, believes it intensely and is anxious to have others believe it also, these epitomize the need. If these are simple requirements, they are such that can only be taught to those who have hearts prepared by nature and grace. Education and bril- liant gifts, accompanied with the above mentioned graces, insure certain success on the home mission field. The appeal for such men cannot be made on the basis of material reward, but only to the recom- pense of reward God gives to every faithful serv- ant. Unless men have an open ear to hear the call of God to go where the need is the greatest, and where there are few to supply that need, the call will be made in vain. Home mission work ac- cepted as a last resort had better go unheeded. There shall be no attempt in these chapters to re- late the hardships of the missionary on the frontier. If I wished to do so there is plenty of material with- in my knowledge. Some of the stories I could relate would be pathetic, and some might be called tragedies. It is not deemed wise to publish them, for the reason that they are the rare exceptions and not the rule. In fact the real hardships of pioneer life, the pathetic and tragical, are more common in other professions than in the ministry. The 74 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS courage and bravery of many a man and wife, in their arduous and often times hazardous efforts to provide for themselves and their children a home they can call their own, deserves the honour heroes merit. The men and women living in the shacks, which now dot the bench lands and foot-hills of the mountains, are not the crude, rude and uneducated their habitations would indicate. Having been invited recently to hold a religious service in a new settlement, so new that a post- office had not been appointed, where about twenty homesteaders had filed on claims, the above state- ment finds illustration. The only place for gather- ing an assembly was the living room of a log cabin. There were seventeen gathered for this meeting, it being the first religious service conducted in the new settlement. They represented six eastern states. In that small gathering there were three men and two women graduates of eastern colleges. One man had been receiving three thousand per year in a government position, which he resigned on ac- count of failing health. He came to the West for other than material gain. He and his wife were living in a small one room house, the one room being kitchen, parlour, dining and bedroom. A happier home would be hard to find. Their renewed health, prospects of better conditions and promise of future independence, all contributed to their un- speakable joy. Hardships are not serious hind- 75 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ranees to the blessings of home. The failure of first crops, the disappointments of unrealized ex- pectations, the stringent economy and want of com- forts deemed necessary by those who have never had the experience of such deprivation, develop a type of character which refuses to accept defeat. These first homesteaders are bearing the brunt of those adversities which must be met in all newly settled countries. They blaze the trail for a second or third generation of comfortable homes with mod- ern conveniences. The missionary who comes as their spiritual ad- viser and helper, cannot expect the luxuries of a well furnished home, nor the adornments of what we call up-to-date church building in which to worship. Let me however assure the reader that there is a pleasure in preaching to a small company of pio- neer settlers in a log school house, with only benches for seats, that cannot be appreciated without the ex- perience. There is a loftier inspiration than comes from organ gallery or cushioned pew. The missionaries' recompense is of a quality in- comprehensible to the fastidious clergyman, whose environment has constantly been such as wealth could furnish. The inspiration comes from shaping things out of raw material. Just as an Angelo sees in the rough stone, beautiful forms of angels to be wrought through his skill and touch, so with the HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS ministry under crude conditions. The building on no other man's foundation, carries with it incen- tive to enthusiasm, and is exultant in the process of completion. The man who has given his all for the Master's use, will not be deterred or frightened when confronted with a service that means self- denial. The missionaries' recompense, or in fact, that of any minister, is not measured by dollar marks. The average minister's salary in the United States, as reported by the census of 1906, is six hundred sixty-three dollars. The statistician ad- mits, however, that results in this first attempt to secure official figures concerning the salaries paid ministers, is not entirely satisfactory, on account of the failure of some to report the salary, and of others to report with sufficient clearness. In some instances it could not be determined whether the amount reported was yearly or monthly salary. Therefore we cannot place dependence on the ac- curacy of such statistics. That ministers' salaries are very meagre in comparison with earnings of other professions, demanding long preparation and large expenditure of money, we must readily admit. The minister is not supposed to choose his profes- sion under the influence of salary inducement. Let us then dismiss the subject of material wages. The chief recompense in any profession of life, more especially that of the ministry, consists in self-sac- rificing devotion to the interests of others. This is 77 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES the teaching of Calvary's cross. Prompted by its teaching and living under its influence, we come into the possession of the highest conceivable recom- pense for this life, and the only service that has any promise of reward in the future. The great- ness of any man's power is the measure of his sur- render. Judging from my own experience, the salary question looms up more largely in the view of the young minister, than it does after ten or fif- teen years of active service. A senior in one of our theological seminaries wrote me a few years ago, refusing a call given him to a missionary church on the frontier, on the ground that he could not possibly live on less than twelve hundred dollars and free manse per year. He accepted a call in an eastern village, which had reached its possibility of growth a quarter of a century before. He was promised what was in his estimation the minimum salary on which a min- ister could live. Recently I received a letter from the same person offering his services for frontier work, saying, that salary was no consideration, if he could only be given a field of labor with possi- bilities of growth. In the meantime, the mission church which seemed so small to him ten years previous, had now grown to such proportions and strength as to pay its minister eighteen hundred dollars per year and manse. Here is another illustration of the opposite kind 78 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS that has come under my personal observation. A young man about to graduate from the seminary a few years ago, applied for a missionary field, say- ing, that he wished to devote the first five years of his ministry to strictly missionary work, and that he was willing to take any field however difficult, where there was opportunity for usefulness. He was given a most difficult field, which he soon de- veloped into a self-supporting church. Then he asked for another mission charge and undertook an- other apparently hopeless field and was as eminently successful, where others had failed. His success- ful ministry in small places attracted attention from larger places, and now he preaches every Sabbath to the largest Protestant congregation in the state. Who will not recognize his heroic spirit from the beginning and all through the steps by which he was led to his present attainment and eminence. He is still fired with the missionary spirit, and in addition to his work in his large congregation and rapidly growing city, gives unsparingly of his time to mission fields near by. His success has been his recompense as well as an inspiration for larger things. Only the heroic can make such a record. But there are other compensations than the joy of success. In all our frontier villages and coun- try districts there is the reward that comes from a most sincere appreciation of self-denial and conse- crated endeavour in the Master's service. I do not 79 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES mention this as the reward that belongs exclusively to the missionary, but it is an undisputed fact that sharing of hardships cements friendship. Every pastor knows the value of friends, but the most en- during ties are those which have been made through the ministry of sanctified sorrow. There is no comparing the blessings of a big salary in any secular pursuit, to those which come to the ministry of one whose unselfish devotion has won the hearts of a community, and especially of a new community, where common hardships pro- duce social equality and form friendships through a ministry that is marked by the altruism of the Cross. He becomes the uncrowned king before whom the people bow with reverence, in acknowl- edgment of an authority obtained by merit of good works. Our age has been characterized as lacking the reverential spirit; that the ministry no longer en- joys that respect due so holy a calling. If this be true, may it not be as much the fault of the min- istry as that of the age in which we live ? However true the above inference may be in some parts of the country, out here along the Rockies, or what has been fictitiously called the " wild and woolly West"; a virtuous woman and a consecrated min- ister, have the devout respect they deserve. This is true, not only in the fellowship of religious peo- ple, but also in the rougher elements of society. 80 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS The writer has often been thrown in the association of the latter in his itinerary through the state; on stage coaches, in hotels, and in some instances where saloons have been given for religious service ; yet in no instance have I ever been treated with any other than real and sincere respect, and in most cases with devout reverence. There is no need of carry- ing concealed weapons for personal protection in any part of the West. We have many " undesir- able citizens," but even those who may -be thus classified have not lost the instinct to act in a gentlemanly manner when occasions require. Another source of recompense is found in the satisfaction of building on no other man's founda- tion. If the great Apostle to the Gentiles could boast of this as one of the inspiring features of his missionary endeavours, we may with like modesty find in this a similar source of recompense in pioneer work. To know that in one respect at least we are doing the same kind of work that fanned the zeal and fired the courage of the Apostles of the early church, is some compensation for the hardships of present day pioneer service. The organization of churches, the gathering of foundational material, fostering the beginnings of promising enterprises, sowing the seed and nur- turing the infant growth of undertakings that promise rich fruitage in the future, richly compen- sate the missionary for the necessary denial of many 81 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES material comforts. It requires a high order of heroism to see compensation in such service, for it is visible only to the vision of faith. It is the pioneer missionary's common function to know something of the fellowship of Christ's suffering. He could not prevent spiritual conquest from be- ing enormously costly. This kind of service ex- acts vicarious travail of soul in behalf of an unre- generate world. It exacts toiling burdens, like a mother's, in bearing the infirmities of the weak and sinful. It exacts self -abnegating service for which earthly rewards will not compensate, no proxy sup- plant, and no lesser gift than divine love requite. " That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die." " He that loveth his life shall lose it." The crucified is not the only great substitute for dying sinners. His prototypes are on the earth to-day in the living heroes who are enduring hardness as good soldiers in the great world conquest for souls. Herein is the high ideal of missionary service, and the recompense is as great as the ideal is high. Any lower appeal is fruitless and unworthy of seri- ous consideration. When a man falls below his profession, he will miss the only real recompense that inspires unfailing courage in spiritual conquest, let it be along the Rockies, or in the fever stricken jungles of Africa. We are not told that our vic- tories will come without conquest, but we are told that we may ever rejoice in their certainty. 82 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS The calamity plea, and cry for pitying sympathy in behalf of the poor missionary is humiliating to say the least. Missionary boxes are out of date or ought to be. Men sent out by Christ, as Christ was sent by the Father, are degraded by such senti- mental efforts to relieve destitution. All sentimen- tality about high purposes and divine callings and Holy Spirit leadings, shrivel under the blighting influence of a coddled ministry. The men on the frontier, blazing the trail for a future church, lift- ing the standard of the cross in the name of Him who died thereon, who have come into such a serv- ice, not from necessity, but from choice, are not wasting time in exposing their hardships as a beggar his sores, to obtain alms through sentimental emo- tion. They have meat to eat and bread to strengthen of which the world knows not and can- not know, because not spiritually discerned. This is therefore no field for dull and phlegmatic minds, or hearts too small for sympathy for the worst, nor spirits so holy and heavenly as to be happy only with saints. In the West we have passed the cowboy period. The missionary does not need to carry a gun, nor need he be a pugilist. He must be however able to command the respect of men by his manly bearing; of the college graduate, as well as that of the rough pioneer. As a rule the people do not go to church simply to worship. Un- less the minister can speak and preach and have 83 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES something to present to a thinking people, he will not likely draw many to hear him. There are more educated people and college graduates in these western towns than in the average eastern village. A high degree of intelligence and education is de- manded for an efficient missionary. To go to China or Japan, to South America or the North Pole, is esteemed heroic; and no doubt it does demand heroism ; but it should be thought no less heroic to go to a mining camp or a rural dis- trict in Montana. Such service may be thought of as commonplace by those who are unacquainted with conditions and difficulties the home missionary has to contend against, but those who have the ac- tual experience know well enough that more than the commonplace is required for successful work. If the facts were known, the hardships and self- denials of the home missionary demand a truer type of heroism than any work to which the Lord calls on the foreign field. I wish to put emphasis on the fact, that the highest scholarship, the truest manhood, and deepest consecration, are even more essential to success in Montana than in China. A man's denomination and cloth count for very lit- tle, but the man counts for the degree of his suc- cess or failure. If a man can show himself de- voted to his calling, free from priestly pretention, possessing tact in social relations, with extraordi- nary common sense and prudence, free from ecclesi- 84 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS astical mannerisms, with a big heart, with love and sympathy for his fellowmen, he will not want for temporal support, and the Lord can be trusted to supply his spiritual bread. Here is a single instance of what western big- heartedness can do for their minister in time of need. We have a little church in the town of C unable to support a regular minister, even with a large allowance from the Board of Home Missions. A young man of the junior class in the seminary came out last year for work during his summer va- cation. He won the hearts of all the people of every denomination and all classes of society. To- wards the close of his vacation period, he was taken with appendicitis and had to go to the hospital for an operation. It was not a normal case, and he lay in the hospital for six weeks. The hearts of the people were moved with compassion, and such a compassion that expressed itself in raising money enough, extra and above his salary, to pay all his hospital expenses, a special nurse and the doctor's bill, all of which made an account of no small pro- portion. The people of the town did not have to be solicited, after they knew who the solicitor was; they came with their money without asking and with that good will which betokens the generous spirit of the West. The young brother came among them an absolute stranger three months be- fore, but it was long enough for him to win the re- 85 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES spect, esteem and affection of nearly every house- hold. When I visited the brother and stayed with him three days, he was so overjoyed in the kindness of the people, that he called it a rich compensation for his affliction. Yes, there is heroism in such work. There are large compensations of which the world knows not, and never can know, because the secrets of the Lord are for those who love Him. There is also heroism in doing the work the vast majority refuse to do, but which must be done by some one. To choose the work that others refuse is heroic. The home missionary work must be done, and those who are willing to put every energy of mind and heart under draft for the Master's use, in fields that go begging for harvesters, pos- sess qualifications of which heroes are made and which insure success. If the fields are not ripe for the harvest, they are fallow for the sowing, and this is the kind of work that should appeal to the heroic in the soldier of Jesus Christ. To irrigate a Sahara from the fountains of the unseen, with the expectation that another generation will reap the prolific harvest, requires faith of a very high order. When this heroic element is discovered to be an essential part, and made as prominent as it has been in foreign work, may we not hope and believe that strong men will recognize at home as clear a chance and as big opportunity and as loud a call for the 86 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS Sky Pilot to display courage and serve the Master, in the pure ozone and health giving atmosphere of the Rockies, as in the fever stricken jungles of Africa, or on " India's coral strand." Thomas Hastings must have had this land in vision when he wrote, "Lo, in the desert rich flowers are springing, Streams ever copious are gliding along; Loud from the mountain-tops echoes are ringing, Wastes rise in verdure, and mingle in song." Also when William Cullen Bryant sung as early in our history as 1859, the inspiring prayer to the God of mercy and might, for the people benighted, who dwell in the land of light. "In peopled vale, in lonely glen, In crowded mart by stream or sea, How many of the sons of men Hear not the message sent from Thee. "Send them Thy mighty word to speak. Till faith shall dawn and doubt depart, To awe the bold, to stay the weak, And bind and heal the broken heart. "Then all these wastes, a dreary scene, On which with sorrowing eyes we gaze, Shall glow with living waters green, And lift to heaven the voice of praise." As far as America has been won for Christ, the home missionary has played a conspicuous part, and exhibited heroic fortitude. He has everywhere 87 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES followed the tides of emigration westward, preach- ing the Gospel, planting churches, and laying foun- dations on which great structures were built in later years. Beginning with the work of John Eliot and David Brainard among the Indians, there has been ever since those who emulated their devotion and heroic zeal. We cannot tell how much the great succession of missionaries since Eliot's time have had to do with America's prestige and power, but we may safely assert that their influence has played a much larger part, than will ever be credited them in history. The work of the home missionary, though unap- preciated and unnoticed, has acted like leaven among the unseen forces, which produce well-ordered and industrial communities. The writer has personal knowledge of how many of them have denied them- selves the comforts of home and endured hardness as good soldiers of the Cross, without murmurings or complaints, counting all sacrifice as incompar- able with the joy of seeing the forces of righteous- ness prevail and their Master's kingdom extended. When Marcus Whitman said, " My death may do as much for Oregon as my life can/' he expressed the spirit that animated the heroic achievements of many missionaries who have followed his trail across the continent. A striking illustration is found in the forty years' work of Rev. Stephen Riggs among the Dakotas. 88 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS He and his wife left their home in the eastern state as early as 1837, having for their destination Fort Snelling, then a far outpost at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, near the laugh- ing waters of Minnehaha, made famous by Long- fellow's Hiawatha. His " melodious repetitions " contributes a beautiful poem to literature, by weav- ing legends and traditions into a song of pure ro- mance, but he hides Indian squalor and cruelty under the cover of rhythmic verse, largely the product of vivid imagination. At least these first missionaries discovered that the " land of the Da- kotas " where the falls of Minnehaha " dash their spray," was a hostile land for the white man, though, he came with the message of love and peace. The record of their hardships is more than we can believe possible for man to endure, but through Christ who strengthened them great things were ac- complished. A chapter in the " Romance of Mis- sions" sums up the achievements of these heroic servants as follows, " Through all his years of- toil and peril, often with no better study than a room which served at the same time for kitchen, bedroom and nursery, and no better desk than the lid of a meal barrel, he had carried on laborious researches into the language of the Indians, which resulted at last in his Dakota Grammar and Dakota Dictionary and brought him the well earned degrees of D.D. and LL.D. But his highest honours were 89 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES written not in the records of universities, but in the changed lives of the Dakota people. In his old age looking back over forty years of service, he could trace a wonderful change between " then and now." " In 1837, when he came to the far West, he was surrounded by the whole Sioux nation in a life of ignorance and barbarism. In 1877, the majority of the Sioux had become both civilized and chris- tianized. Then, in the gloaming his young wife and he had seen the dusky forms of Indian warriors flitting past on their errand of blood. Now, the same race was represented not only by sincere be- lievers, but by native pastors in churches and native teachers in the schools. On the same prairies where the war whoop of the savage had once been the most familiar sound, the voice of praise and prayer might be heard to rise with each returning Day of Rest, from Indian cabins, as well as Indian sanctuaries." What great things the Lord hath wrought in these seventy years? Now, the territory, once scenes of tribal war and bloodshed, of squalor and cruelty, has become the centre of the busy religious and commercial life of the Northwest. This is only one record of many not yet written and perhaps never will be written, of those who have carried the banner of the Cross with the tide of advancing civilization through the years, until 9 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS now the high tide has swept over the Rockies and Cascades, establishing all along the pathway, not only civilization, but christianization of its people. Among missionary lives which are of more recent date, there are many not less thrilling than the inci- dents already cited. Such as that of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, of whom Dr. Charles L. Thompson said, " Not only the Apostle of the Rocky Mountains, but also of the Mississippi Valley where he began his westward march fifty years ago, and of Alaska, to whose regeneration his latest labours were given. His fame is not that he was Commissioner of Edu- cation for Alaska, nor that he was Moderator of the General Assembly. But only this he was a home missionary, of such enthusiasm and consecra- tion, that hundreds of churches are his monuments. Towns and territories around us had not been what they are, but for the labours of this man of God. The Home Board desires to lay on that new grave this leaf of loving appreciation of the dauntless courage, the unselfish devotion and statesmanlike vision of him who for half a century bore its com- mission, and in every throb of his great heart hon- oured its service." The name of Thomas C. Kirk wood, who for twenty-five years was Sy nodical Superintendent of Missions in Colorado, deserves a place in the list of those loyal servants who gave their all to the cause they loved. It will take more than one gen- 9* SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES eration to realize the blessings his life has trans- mitted to future generations. Dr. Timothy Hill of the Southwest, Dr. Samuel E. Wishard of Utah and Idaho, Dr. A. K. Baird of Montana, who still live to cheer others on whom their mantles have fallen, are worthy of all honour for the part they have acted along the frontier lines. There are others as worthy of mention, though not as conspicuous in the records of the church, who deserve crowns of honour for what they have done and are still doing for the upbuilding of Chris- tian civilization in these growing empires of the West. Some have laid down their lives, a sacrifice to the cause they loved, and now wear the martyr's crown. " Theirs was no painted sea or painted desert." They faced the real thing in hardship. " They undertook the real thing in enterprise. They illustrated the real thing in heroic unselfishness and noble striving for a larger humanity. The pioneer is a spirit courageous, who see visions and dream dreams. Thirst for the horizon is the measure of his appetite. The setting sun is not too far away to be included in his picture; nor is heaven so near as to cut the nerve of his effort. He sees neither hardship nor failure. He has no kinship with the pessimist or the ascetic. To him the world is good enough to live in if he lives right; and he falters not at the attempt to make it better. To him Op- portunity beckons with a perpetual waving ; and for 92 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS him the unattained is a perfect Eldorado. The trail of the larger future is no Via Doloroso. He is a man with a hope that falters not, and with a song that cheers the human race. It is by way of the trail that he blazes that ' the world sweeps into the broader day/ Writing little history, he makes all history throb with human interest. In the wake of his prairie schooner come the winged chariots and palaces of modern travellers. By the side of his smouldering camp-fires and overshadowing tents, rise the splendid habitations of men and their in- dustries; their schools and libraries; their factories and furnaces; their temples and shrines, in whose sacred walls the civilization that is to be, catches its inspiration from the God who is. Their visions were not only of this life, but of that which is to come. As the altars of faithful Abraham were strewn from one end of the land of Promise to the other, so the altars of Godly men and women formed the corner-stones of our later civilization and reli- gion. " These flames, lighted afar, were the beacons of prodigal feet, that were far from home and peace. Great battlefields we have not the fields ploughed with shot and shell and moistened with human life- blood. Ours is a history of days, still easily within the memory of our generation, of states cradled in hearts that are still pulsing with vigour; states whose stars in their rising are but the reflected glory 93 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES of the lives that gave them birth. The Nation lays grave responsibility upon the leaders of its armies. But what shall we say of the man who, with holy egotism, assumed just as grave responsibilities for God and Home and Native Land ? The heart must speak its own tribute, for human words fail. Like our sturdy Scot in the struggle for American In- dependence, they risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour. We cannot know the cost they paid ; but we can sacredly cherish the boon they bought, and hand it down with rich increase, to the coming generations of the mountains, the Na- tion and the world like the soldiers of the free Republic, many have gone to their rest in unknown graves. But thank God, they did not fight in vain. Their struggles and their tears, their prayers and their devotion, are written indelibly on the full pages of American progress, and in God's own book of remembrances/' (Dr. R. M. Donaldson.) The Rev. Henry C. McCook, D.D., after men- tioning some of our great and devoted missionaries, says, " These are some of the men who framed the policy of imperial missionary extension, which has spread our great church, with all its beneficent acts and institutions, from the Atlantic slope to the Pacific Coast. Having sublime trust in God and in the future, they threw down the gauntlet to the seemingly impossible and challenged the religious chaos of a continent and claimed it for God. Since 94 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS the times when the Lord's apostles sallied forth, a mere squad without money, or rank, or social power, to evangelize a hostile world, there have been few acts of sublimer faith or loftier Chris- tian heroism." The Rev. William Bryan, D.D., has also written his appreciation of the home missionary, saying "If half as much testimony was given to the hero- ism of the home missionary, as is given to the hero- ism of the foreign missionary, an excellent library might be published. People say in a general way that the home missionary does not have to live among the heathen. How do they know? Have they ever tried it? The heathen do not all live in Asia and Africa and the isles of the sea. There is plenty of favourable soil in both Europe and Ameri- ca for cultivating varieties of heathenism; and the crop is very large. It grows midst winter frosts and summer droughts. Any community that ig- nores God, is heathen; and the intentional heathen is several shades darker than his unintentional yel- low or black brother. Think of a land, with the heritage of the Pilgrim Fathers, surrendering its heritage for mere sordidness. That is heathenism, and unpardonable heathenism at that. Whether that community is in Maine, or California, in Mon- tana or Florida, it matters not ; it is heathendom if it votes God out of life. A missionary who goes to such people needs the grace of God fully as much 95 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES as does the man who goes to China, or to Africa, as an embassador for the Master. In fact there is a great deal more of the poetry of life in going to China than to any part of a nominally Christian land where religion has been declared to be a need- less luxury. " Then there is another phase of heroism about the genuine home missionary, that is one who travels and preaches over a big, needy territory, he is as lonely as most of our foreign missionaries. Prob- ably he has counted the cost, and is happy in his work; but the isolation is no less real. He volun- tarily devotes his energies and abilities to trying to bring men into personal relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Plans for study are abandoned in the pressure of a life largely made up of journey- ings over prairie or mountain side. He never be- fore realized what the Master's ' Follow me ' meant. He is very likely quite unconscious that he is doing anything heroic. His reward will not come in this life. But it will come in God's way and time/' If Thomas Carlyle were living, he might add a new chapter to his " Hero Worship," and if the pulpit ever wears out by much preaching on the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, a new roll of heroes may be found in the record of our home mission- aries. Nor is there any volume on chivalry or knight errantry in our libraries that will surpass 96 HEROISM IN HOME MISSIONS these stones of devotion on the part of home mis- sionaries. In his life, heroism is a living, vital principle and force. For the most part they live in obscurity and sad to say in straitened circum- stances as to this world's goods. There are no monuments erected to their memory, nor do they need any beyond those that now stand to their honour. The countless churches, the schools and colleges, the redeemed communities, these are their monu- ments, these the symbols of their reward. 97 CHAPTER V EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES THE word " evangelism " has become a very familiar term in our religious vo- cabulary the last few years. It has been written in both small and big letters; it has been the prologue and the epilogue for many religious articles; it has been the salutatory and valedictory of many public discourses, and the climax of many spiritual orations. It is the fashionable modern substitute for the word revival as used in the days of Wesley, Whitfield and Finney. But when present day evangelism is compared with that of Peter and Paul, there are only a few things in common. Apostolic evangelism had for its field missionary territory. The professional evangelist of to-day, however, could not be per- suaded by the love of Christ to go elsewhere than to churches well organized, where there are set- tled pastors to make all conditions ready for his convenience, and where a large number of Chris- tian people will pledge their prayers weeks ahead 98 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES for his success. There must be engaged for his comfort the best accommodations in the best hotel with bathroom attachment. A certain amount of money must be raised to meet all expenses before his meetings begin, ostensibly that no material things interfere with the spiritual flow when the fountains of the great deep are once opened. Some unsanctified minds may be uncharitable enough to suggest that the real reason is, that the way may be opened for a big freewill offering later when enthusiasm is at its highest. This latter sugges- tion seems to have ground for its conclusion when some of the questions asked by the modern evangel- ist are made the basis of judgment. It is a little surprising how different evangelists put practically the same questions in the preliminary arrangements for their coming. How big is your city? What is the membership of the churches? Has there been a recent revival? Can you secure a good financial committee? Are all the churches united? etc. Missionary territory cannot answer any of these questions in the affirmative. The an- swers touching the money questions will be any- thing but encouraging. The professional evangelist has no call from the Lord to other fields than those of big population and large church membership, sufficiently large to insure big congregations, big contributions and many other big things too nu- merous to mention. 99 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES On strictly missionary territory there are no organized churches with large membership, fre- quently no pastors, no finance committee, no pray- ing bands of Christians to prepare the way. Modern Philips are not called to the wilderness to save an occasional Ethiopian. The preacher who goes out into these untilled fields has no heralds to go before proclaiming his great powers in win- ning souls, no flaming announcements of the hun- dreds converted in the previous cities so fortunate as to have secured his valuable services. No, the conditions are far otherwise, at least out here in the mountain states. The home missionary goes into the town un- heralded. There is no church building. There has not been a prayer-meeting and probably no re- ligious service of any kind for six months and perhaps longer. There is no meeting place to be found except a dance hall or a school house. He must secure his hall or school house by first ob- taining the consent of the trustees. He must personally visit every family in town and neigh- borhood to announce the meetings, for there are no newspapers to announce his coming. He must kindle his own fires and collect some lamps to light the building 1 . When meeting time comes he must conduct his own singing, play the organ if there hap- pens to be one; in other words, he must be choir, organist, preacher and janitor, leading the music 100 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES for a people who have not attended religious service for so long that even the most familiar songs are unfamiliar. His congregation may consist of ten, twenty, thirty, rarely fifty people. Some of them were Christians before they came West, but through long deprivation of religious service, they are probably as near heathen as those who were born and reared under nature's tuition. Perhaps there will be one or two who have not lost their faith in crossing the Mississippi, and in them the preacher will find a sympathetic response to his efforts. His mission is largely to deal with raw material. Results will be like those the apostles experienced in the towns where the Gospel was first preached, a few believe, a few scoff, and the majority will be indifferent. The " free will offering " probably pays for the fuel. In a good many cases it will cover the hotel bill, not big enough to justify private bath, for such a luxury is not thought of in country hotels. Most of them however do furnish undesirable compan- ions, who do not sleep at night and do their level best in keeping the guests from sleeping, and gen- erally succeed. Very seldom are travelling expenses met in this kind of evangelistic work. A few believers will be gathered into the kingdom and a society or church may be organized with small membership. The 101 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES day of small things is not to be despised, for this humble beginning may in a few years grow into a self-supporting church. The harvest will come only after patient nurturing and fostering infantine growth. The work is breaking up fallow ground, shaping raw material, digging stones from the quarry, cutting timber from the forest, and fitting it all into a spiritual house through patient endeav- our, heroic endurance and steadfast faith. This is a typical case of evangelism on home missionary territory. This kind of work is made possible through the Board of Home Missions, as- sisting the superintendent, the pastor evangelist, and an itinerant ministry. It is a work that cannot be reported by statistics, by so many churches or- ganized, or number of conversions. It is simply blazing the trail for a future civilization and a fu- ture church. This kind of work is thought by many too commonplace for a man of brains and scholarship, who is capable of doing bigger work in big cities, with big congregations, with all the modern equipments furnished to satisfy an esthetic Christianity. Strange to say, bigness plays a very important part in the Lord's call as men usually interpret it. There are nevertheless immediate re- sults that bring inspiring and encouraging recom- pense. An illustration will indicate the type of rewards which follow such efforts. In a little village of 102 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES about one hundred inhabitants, the writer was called recently to conduct a series of meetings. There had not been previous to this time any reli- gious service for more than two years. There was no organized church. Meetings were held for a week without any visible results. The attendance was small and interest less. A spirit of general in- difference prevailed in the community. At the closing meeting, however, there was one remarkable conversion. I was making a last plea for confes- sion of Christ, when to my surprise, a roughly dressed young man of about thirty years of age came forward and announced his desire to be a Christian. He had been a cow-puncher for several years. He had a wife and three small children. They were reduced to a state of poverty and want through the husband's intemperate habits. His wages, which he earned in the interval of his peri- odical debauches, were wasted at the bar or the gambling table. These generally occurred after each pay day. After prayer and conversation with him, he made a public confession of his sins and faith in Christ, promising henceforth to lead a new life. He sat down by the table and signed a tem- perance pledge. While doing so his wife came for- ward, with a babe in her arms. She placed the sleeping child in my arms and threw hers around her husband's neck and both wept tears of joy. There was scarcely a dry eye in the house, so im- 103 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES pressive was the scene. This was the only conversion I knew of during that series of meet- ings. Afterwards I baptised the whole family, following the custom of the Apostle Paul, when the Philippian jailer was converted " he and his house- hold were baptised the same hour of the night." Six months later I spent a Sabbath in this same town, when I received and baptised another family of eight, and with this small beginning organized a church of the few believers in that town, the cow- puncher and his family being among the number. Two years later there were thirty-eight members enrolled and three years later it was my pleasure to assist in the dedication of a new church building costing $4,000, and paid for mostly by the people of that town and neighbourhood. It is to this day the only church within one hundred miles east, sixty- six miles south and fifteen miles in other directions. There is also a flourishing Sabbath school and the whole community has been elevated morally; there is a marked change for the better among the citi- zens, who were at first absolutely indifferent, if not antagonistic to the church. One of the two elders had been a pronounced unbeliever before his con- version, but is now a devoted servant of the Master he once ridiculed. Both by practice and precept he is giving testimony in that community to the saving power of his Lord and Saviour. JVhen I made my monthly report to the Board 104 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES of Home Missions, after the first series of meet- ings in that town, I reported only one conversion. How small and insignificant the results seemed on reading that report, yet as after fruits showed and as seen in the light of after years, how far reaching were those efforts at first so manifestly barren in results. The harvest to be gathered in future years cannot be measured; God only knows. But leaving out of account after fruits, the one conver- sion of a cow-puncher was worth all the effort put forth and a sufficient reward in itself beyond any possible compensation in dollars and cents. The conversion of such a man, his restoration to his family, as a new husband and father, saved from a life of dissipation, signifies a good deal more than the reception into the church of children of reli- gious homes, who have been counted as born in Zion, whose lives have never been blighted by ex- cessive sin, and whose public confession is little more than a formal assent to the baptismal vows of their parents. It is not always the number of converts as counted by newspaper reports in measuring the number of converts in big revival meetings, that bring forth the sweetest music from the angelic choir where we are told there is rejoicing over one sinner that repenteth and turneth from his evil ways. It is the prodigal's return for whom the feast is prepared in the Father's house, because he 105 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES was dead, and is alive. In one sense any saved soul is worth just as much as another, but there is a sense in which some are worth more than others, because of what they are saved from, and what they are saved for in the Master's service. The secret of apostolic success in evangelism was the love of Christ (not the love of money) con- straining them. The sensational methods of some evangelists are condoned by pointing to the num- ber of conversions reported, with childlike trust in the accuracy of press agents' reports. Let us not think of pronouncing wholesale condemnation on all modern evangelists who are professionally such, for many of them are highly to be commended as consecrated workers and helpers in saving the lost and the outcast of society, whom ordinary meth- ods fail to reach. But I am not hasty in my judg- ment, nor do I deem myself uncharitable in affirming that newspaper reports do not always tally with the record of the recording angel who writes the names in the Lamb's Book of Life; however that may be, it should be plain enough, that no one is justified in prostituting the sacred work of evan- gelism to vaudeville methods, whatever the re- ported results may be. The true language of evangelism must ever be the language of love, if it is to bear the test of divine approval. The Holy Spirit, when moving in the hearts of men, produces a sensation, now as 106 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES well as on the day of Pentecost, but the symbol of His power was from above, not from below. While I firmly believe in producing religious sensa- tions, the methods employed by some are, to say the least, questionable. The important thing as indicated by our Lord in His question to Peter, when giving him his great commission, was, "Lovest thou Me?" This He taught as the great essential for success in a loyal and faithful witness of the Gospel. It was not a question of theology, of science, nor of the head, but one of the heart. Christ's own ministry, as we all know, was a ministry of love. Love was the point of contact between Christ and His dis- ciples two thousand years ago, and it has been ever since and will continue to be till the end of time. Christ said, "If ye love Me, ye will keep My com- mandments." There were no needs so great, no suffering so intense, no cry so inaudible, but He supplied, relieved and heard. Christ had the gift of a perennial spring, always giving out, but in- capable of exhaustion. " My life I give unto you." Paul uttered one of the most divine prayers ever sent to the throne of grace, when he cried out in the longing of his soul's desire, saying, " That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrec- tion and the fellowship of His suffering." He was ready to share the fellowship of His suffering to 107 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES share His glory. Belief is more than notional, it is actional. It is more than creedal, it is vital. What does it profit a man if he gains a telescope and lose his sight; or what does it profit a man, to have faith if not moved with compassion for the lost. Herein is the substance of Christian living and the evidence of Christian faith. " By their fruits ye shall know them." It is doing, not say- ing, or listening, or looking, but being moved with compassion to beneficent action. At West Point, some one asked. "What is Christianity ? " The answer was, " Oscar West- over." When we can so live our daily life so near like Christ, that we may define Christianity, then we shall have reached the ideal life. Christ, in all His preaching made the secret of righteousness, the secret of love. For this there can be no substitute. This makes His Gospel a re- ligion that reaches down to earth and brings it into practical relation to the needs of this mortal life. It is not so ethereal as to be out of reach, nor so incomprehensible as to be impractical. In the matchless poem of " Building the Ship," our own poet has beautifully expressed heart power in action, saying, "Ah: how skillful grows the hand, That obeyeth love's command ; 'Tis the heart and not the head, That to the highest doth attain. 108 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES And he who obeyeth love's behest, Far excelleth all the rest." Virgil's Ascestes aimed at the stars, and though he had strength and skill, the shot was thrown away. His arrow was followed by a track of daz- zling radiance, but it struck nothing, failing to reach the mark. " If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal." Macaulay, in his essay describing ancient philoso- phies as impracticable except for a few select scholars, men of brains and leisure, compares it with Bacon's philosophy, which brought science down to common people, into the workshop, and the ordinary things of life, where the vast majority of mankind live, and affirms that "an acre of earth is worth more than an empire in Utopia." The smallest actual good being better than the most magnificent promises of impossibilities. It is the practical feature of the Gospel of Christ that has made it the bond of charity, the curb of evil passions, the consolation of the wretched, the support of the timid, and the hope of the dying. It teaches a love that dulls defects in its object. Christ loved Peter for his virtues and forgot his defects in his vision of future good. If, in any place this spirit of evangelism is needed, it certainly is in these remote places of the West, where Chris- tian service is measured by its worth, and not by 109 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES the theology preached or the garb of the minister. Here above all other places men are quick to rec- ognize priestly ism, and just as ready to appreciate a man for his virtues. Here, the mourners bench style of religion is not popular or effective are a matter-of-fact people, who do not try to cover their faults, and want their preacher to strike out straight from the shoulder, to speak the truth without equivocation, evasion or apology. They detect shams as quickly as a trout an artificial fly. When they are moved to confession it is with boldness and straight- forwardness that guarantees sincerity. The sensational revivalist will be far more suc- cessful in an eastern city, than in one of these re- mote towns along the foothills of the Rockies. The theory that justifies questionable methods, be- cause of immediate and visible results, will not stand the test among these people. Emotionalism is not despised, but it is not valued very highly as a spiritual asset. The Apostolic Church only wit- nessed one Pentecost. After that, Peter and Paul had meagre results to report, except persecutions and opposition, wherever they went. Yet some be- lieved in almost every city. They had immediate fruit in a few converts. So has the evangelist in these remote places and small towns in the West. The invisible results count for more, perhaps, than no EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES the number of converts. The apostles projected their influence into the centuries. The more spir- itual a man's efforts, the more truly is he con- strained by the love of Christ, the more he is filled with the Holy Spirit, the less he will rely on ap- parent and immediate results as an essential sign of the divine approval, or make a display of nu- merical success an evidence of his being the servant of God. These truths need to be emphasized for the en- couragement of the evangelist on home missionary territory, and to inspire confidence in contributors to home missions. The pastor-evangelist is in dan- ger of being unduly cast down when results show so small, in comparison with the widely advertised triumphs of evangelists in large cities. The con- tributor on the other hand, when he reads of meagre effects and small ingatherings from evangelism on home missionary territory, and compares these with the large number of conversions reported from spe- cial evangelistic endeavour in the cities, may be tempted to conclude that the latter sort of work is more worthy of his benevolence. Nevertheless, the pastor-evangelist on home mis- sionary territory has real reward in a proportion- ate number of conversions, and especially in the inspiring thought that he is blazing the trail for the future triumph of the church of God in a wil- iii SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES derness that is one day to blossom as the rose, and bear fruitage in bringing the nation under the sovereignty of the Cross. The Rev. S. Parker Cadman said in a recent pub- lic address that " The missionary fields cannot be conquered by the unaided teacher. The missionary must have more than a system of truth, more than a program, more than a reasonable discourse. The life which was given for the life of men, the di- vinest gift of all, is alone sufficient for this regen- eration." Before we can dismiss the black apathy which rests on so many professedly Christian com- munities, before we can dominate the social struc- ture in righteousness and justice, the church must be raised nearer to the standard of New Testament efficiency, which rested upon the Divinity and per- suasive Mediatorship of Christ and Him crucified. It embraces the height of good, the depth of love, the breadth of sympathy, and the width of catholic- ity. When messengers of the cross are imbued with such a spirit, " enthusiasm cannot be soured, nor courage diminished." The culture of the missionary must have the " passion-flower of Jesus Christ " as the para- mount trait. Technicalities, niceties, knowledge remote and knowledge general, must be appropri- ated and made dynamic in this life and death con- flict. 112 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES Quoting again from the same address, "Let us redeem our creeds at the front, and prove the weld- ing of our weapons and their tempered blades upon every evil way, darkness and superstition that af- flicts humanity." From the above suggestions, the following con- clusions are emphasized. First, That the Church has a serious problem to solve in the evangelization of remote places and isolated communities. The country church must not be thought of as obsolete. Special evangelistic efforts in large cities are essential. Out of the great centres of congested and mixed population, go influences, potent and far-reaching, in purifying or poisoning the atmosphere in remote sections of the country But it must not be forgotten that the influential personalities that are most prominent in our great cities, were born in the country. As the soil is the source of all wealth, so from the healthful exercise, pure ozone, educational forces and social relations of country life, are the impulses and vigorous virtues nurtured, which attain great re- sults in business and professional careers in the larger spheres of human activity and usefulness. The city bred people sit in pews and listen to the preaching of the divine who was in early life a country lad. The chairs of instruction in our uni- versities, the seats of judgment in our highest SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES courts, are occupied mostly by men who have learned their first lessons of achievement in village and coun- try. Hence the importance of the rural church. Here in the West, the difficulty of the problem is in- creased on account of the sparsely settled communi- ties. Farms are big and homes widely separated, so that within a radius of ten miles, it is difficult to gather a sufficient number to sustain Sunday- schools and church organizations. Being chairman of Committee on Survey of Re- ligious Conditions Strategic Western States, un- der the direction of the Home Missions Council and Federation of Evangelical Churches, reports are already coming in from different parts of the state. These reports reveal many large districts with small population and few children, without any Sunday-school or church organization. The follow- ing selections are not made from extreme or un- common cases: SCHOOL DISTRICT SQ. MILES POPULATION CHILDREN Report No. I... 20 77 26 Report No. 2... 56 80 19 Report No. 3... 20 100 25 Report No. 4... 18 125 43 These are not rare but common examples. The final census and summing up of results will reveal hundreds of school districts similar to the above. These are cited to show the difficulty in reaching 114 EVANGELIZING THE REMOTE PLACES such large districts so sparsely settled, with adequate Gospel privileges. None of the above mentioned have either Sabbath-school or church organization. It increases the difficulty of the missionary, who must necessarily have several districts under his charge, to centralize effort. As population increases and farm land becomes more valuable, these hin- drances will diminish and rural evangelization will become less expensive and more efficient. Second. There should be a higher conception of the mission of the local church; for after all that may be said in behalf of special evangelistic effort, the local church must realize its own respon- sibility in the evangelization of its own vicinity. It is to be regretted that many churches, influenced no doubt by the evangelistic tendencies of the times, depend almost entirely upon the professional evan- gelist and general movements for the winning of souls, rather than upon the regular work of the settled minister and the ordinary services of conse- crated church members. Under such prevailing sentiment, church work becomes spasmodic and the preaching of the settled minister educational, in- stead of evangelistic. Third. A more evangelistic ministry is greatly needed. This means men, serving the Lord with the whole heart, impressed with the infinite prac- tical reach of their work, their responsibility as SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES messengers of the truth which is the saving power of men being lost. In the West, perhaps the su- preme temptation on the part of country ministers, is to become a homesteader, under the inducement that by this means he can obtain a worldly posses- sion with so little effort as not to interfere with his duties as a minister. Results generally prove the contrary. Only he attains the expected and desir- able efficiency who gives his time, talent and energy to his divine calling. Perhaps this is the supreme suggestion of the whole subject. Any man called of God to the ministry should realize that such a responsible and so divine a calling demands all the energy and tal- ents with which he is entrusted. Men devoted to the Master's cause, which means the highest inter- ests of the people, are honoured as such and achieve success in winning souls. 116 CHAPTER VI ARE WESTERN TOWNS O VERCHURCHED ? AN eastern man in his hurried trip on a trans- continental railroad, looked out through the window of his palace car, and saw a number of church buildings in a small town. He at once made use of this superficial knowledge and hasty conclusion, by writing an article for one of his church papers, declaring that he had been on a tour through the West, and everywhere he saw too many churches for the population, and kindly hinted that the money contributed by eastern peo- ple might be spent to better advantage at home. From his viewpoint, perhaps he was justified in his conclusion, but he was not justified in reaching any conclusion from such a limited and narrow view. Further investigation would no doubt re- veal a different state of things. Some of these churches which he saw from his palace car window, represented a foreign-speaking people. Let it be clearly understood that the evangeliza- tion of foreigners is largely a problem of eastern cities. Out here on the western plains and among 117 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES the mountains, the foreigners are more generally evangelized than the natives. For example, in a certain city of about twelve thousand people, the traveller, as he passes through on the cars, can count five churches where the Gos- pel is preached in a foreign tongue. About fifteen per cent, of that city are Norwegian and Swede. They have five churches, while the English-speak- ing Protestant churches number ten, or four-fifths of the population. So with one-fifth of the people, the foreigners have half as many churches. Where their money comes from to build so many churches and support their ministers, the writer is not prepared to say. Their membership is very small and composed almost exclusively of the la- bouring class, which I mention not as any reproach. I had a servant in my house for three years, who was a loyal member of one of these churches, and one of ten, all servants in various homes, com- posing the membership and support of said church. Their minister, however, had five other similar charges in other towns, so that he was not depend- ent on this small membership for his entire support. These churches are extremely exclusive. They do not pretend to do any work except among their own people. Their services are all conducted in a for- eign tongue. Therefore while their sphere of use- fulness is very limited, they represent several distinc- tive denominations of the Lutheran faith, and thus 118 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? give the impression to the passerby of overchurched towns. The building and supporting of these churches are outside the authority, control and sup- port of the English Protestant population. The multiplicity of said churches does not re- lieve us of the responsibility of establishing and sustaining English-speaking churches, although in doing so it may give the superficial observer the appearance of an overchurched town. Inasmuch as the West is largely dependent on the East for means of church extension, it is very proper to inquire whether gifts to Home Missions are wisely and judiciously distributed. Speaking of Montana (for I can speak of this state from personal knowl- edge) the towns as a rule are not overchurched. There may be a few exceptions, but the exceptions are more likely to be found in the larger cities than in small towns. In cities of over five thou- sand population there are generally too many churches for the number of people who attend them. This is even more true of eastern than western cities. In small towns in the West, this overgrowth of churches is the rare exception. There are some overzealous sectarians and super- intendents of missions representing various denomi- nations, who are over anxious to organize churches, for the sake of making a record which looks big in reports, but in reality is no index of the good being done. When we succeed in gathering a few 119 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES believers together and organize them into a church where no other church exists, we feel that some- thing has been done which was actually needed, but if such work is done where there is already an evangelical church, it is only entering into com- petition with other Christian workers and not add- ing any special force in the Christianizing a com- munity. Some of the leading denominations have an un- written law which in most cases has been quite effectual in preventing unnecessary organizations. This comity is generally respected among Eng- lish-speaking denominations, and especially between Congregational and Presbyterian churches. There is not a city or town in the state of Montana to my knowledge, of less than five thousand people, where there can be found both Congregational and Pres- byterian churches. There may be some friendly rivalry between us in entering new towns, as to which has the prior right, but this is generally conceded to the denomination first beginning regu- lar service. At the present time there is so much for us all to do and so many new towns springing up, that there is plenty of opportunity for us all without any unfriendly competition. The writer has organized eight churches in the last year, and not one of them where any other church existed. Very seldom are there more than two English-speaking churches found in towns of 120 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? less than one thousand people. In towns of more than one thousand population our experience has been that two churches thrive better than one. The cost of supporting two churches in said towns is no more than the expense of one, for the reason,, that the pastors of these churches generally have another charge in an adjoining village and public service is held alternately at each place, and so with the other minister of another denomination; thus the support comes from two churches. By this plan which I know to be adopted in many places, one town supports one minister, where there are two organizations. These are facts that ought to be known by con- tributors, when appeals are made for missionary money. We in the West feel truly grateful for large contributions from the East for support of our missionary work. We also recognize our re- sponsibility in the use and distribution of money so freely and generously given. The Board of Home Missions also zealously guards said benevo- lence, that it be sent and used in places where there is actual need. We have instructions from head- quarters not to multiply churches, only where there is a mission others do not fill. There is another side to this question worth con- sidering. It arises from the personality of those who are most forward in their objections to the organization of so many churches. They are not 121 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES usually the most generous givers and not un fre- quently the loudest objections come from those who give only mites, if they give at all, for missionary work. They seem to see no objection to three mercantile companies, where there is a good living and reasonable profits for only one. In all these new towns, business is much more overdone than religion. Ten saloons and one church in their view represents the proper balance of power. The busi- ness man invests his money, not for the present profits assured, but for the future. He anticipates growth and in most cases he is not disappointed. The same may be said of churches. Few organi- zations are justifiable without a vision of the fu- ture. If the formal organization is postponed until a time when self-support is assured in a new and promising town, it would be giving full sway to evil influences during the formative period of each town's history. Towns are like individuals. Left without Christian nurture they are likely to follow the flesh and the devil. We put special emphasis on Christian nurture of children, and it is right that we should; not to do so would be criminal neglect. Childhood is the formative period, which in most cases decides destiny. So with towns, if they are to be saved, they must be saved from the beginning, they must have the saving salt of organized Chris- tian endeavour in their behalf. Communities rise to the height of their life, and humanity unfolds 122 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? its dormant capabilities only when religion enters into a living and inspiring relation to all the rest of human life. Our plea then is not for fewer churches, but for more. While we should discourage and strongly condemn the multiplying of churches prompted by sectarian zeal, and while we should hasten the rap- idly growing sentiment and spirit that fosters fed- eration of all the churches, until that time comes when we shall be one in the unity of faith, we should the more loyally, devotedly and earnestly lift up everywhere at any cost, the standard of the Cross, for which every church must stand if it de- serves the name of a Christian church. While all this may be truthfully said, in answer to the question, " Are Western Towns Over- churched?" it must be recognised as a source of weakness among Protestants, that there are so many distinctive denominations, all working for the same cause, prompted by the same motives, (differ- ing only in non-essentials) in perfect harmony as to all cardinal and foundation truths. The organ- ized divisions of Christendom present a pitiable sight to the unbelieving world, and one which Chris- tians have reason to lament. What ever may have been their provocation or justification in the past, there is no justifiable basis for their existence in the present. When bigotry narrowed the way to heaven, by teaching that the only entrance was through 123 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES some particular denominational door, there was excuse and some provocation for building fences and drawing lines of separation. But these same lines and fences then erected, are now an offence and disgrace to our enlightened Christianity of the twentieth century. Protestant unity is demanded in the solution of the present day problems, and espe- cially in the working out of the greatest of all prob- lems, the world's evangelization. The reflex influence of foreign missions has perhaps been more powerful than all others^, in hastening Christian fed- eration throughout the world. The great missionary convention and conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 15-23, 1910, had for its key-note throughout, the necessity and ac- tual demand for the united forces of Christendom in the forward movement of world-wide evangeli- zation. It has been pronounced by many to have been the greatest religious conference ever con- vened, not only because of its world-wide represen- tation, but also for its progressive, optimistic and far-reaching influence. The composition of the conference itself, in the cosmopolitan character of its delegates, when all phases of Christian propaganda were presented by experts, was an illustration of the spirit of the times that is pressing with dynamic energy towards Protestant unity. A writer in the British Weekly gives his impres- 124 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? sion of this phase of the Conference. " The won- der of the Conference is not in its outlook or purpose, for with these we have been familiar now for many years. All Christians recognize that Christianity is meant for the whole world, and, lat- ently at any rate, wish to communicate its truth to all. No, the wonder is in the compact, solid, busi- nesslike combination of all these varied elements into an organism, a brain, a voice, which seems to be actually filled with and used by Christ through the Holy Spirit. Here all nations and all churches (except, alas: the so-called Catholic churches, East- ern and Western) sit side by side, with no conscious barriers between them. They speak as one, they pray as one. In this amazing Assembly, so vast that the eye can hardly take it in, so orderly that there is no confusion, so harmonious that it might have been drilled and prepared beforehand, an Anglican Bishop is sitting side by side with a Non- conformist minister, a black man is sitting by an American pastor, an Anglican monk or nun is sit- ting beside a Chinaman in native costume, a Jap- anese or Korean, in European dress, with gold spectacles, is sitting by an equally civilized Finn or German or Dane. All ranks of all nations are united; English and Scotch noblemen have seats in this house of the Lord; the Archbishops of the English Church address these representatives of all Protestant churches as brothers. When this As- SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES sembly prays, it is the most overwhelming revela- tion of spiritual power I ever witnessed. It is an intercessor for the world." Missionary workers on both home and foreign fields come in contact with and therefore recognize the evils of sectarianism in a way, that those who labour in old settled communities and long estab- lished churches, cannot easily comprehend. Out here on the firing line of the Western Frontier, in sparsely settled communities and small villages, with a great extent of uninhabited territory be- tween, there is a community of feeling and a social relation which looks upon religious sectarianism as worthy only of condemnation and unworthy sup- port. There is a fashion in ideas as in styles, and at present the fashionable idea is Christian unity. There is scarcely an organ of public opinion that does not applaud the project of a truce in religions. The scandal of disunion among Christians effects deeply large numbers of persons to whom Chris- tianity, under ordinary circumstances, is not in- debted. Old points of controversy between the churches are pronounced dead issues, and the con- troversial temper has died with them. Nothing is wanted but a little of goodwill to triumph over triv- ial misunderstandings, and now is the auspicious hour. Public opinion is on the side of union, and, indeed is so strongly on its side that it will not 126 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? tolerate with patience and grace any ecclesiastical action that is not willing to sacrifice everything to this supreme good. Organic union may be too radical, but a more complete federation is practical. Federation on some such plan as that of the Y. M. C. A., Chris- tian Endeavour Societies and reform movements like the Anti-saloon League, is eminently practical. All the above mentioned organizations have been almost universally recognized as forces of far-reach- ing influence in religious propaganda. Dr. Henry Van Dyke has recently written a timely article on this subject for the Continent, a part of which is here quoted by his permission. " What we want first is a closer fellowship, a fuller and freer cooperation in work and worship among professed followers of Christ; and then a removal of the dividing walls, a coming together, first of those sister churches which are separated for reasons invisible to the naked eye; then of those kindred churches whose differences are more apparent but still of no vital importance compared with their agreements; and finally, it may be of the whole family of God, the visible church con- sisting of 'all those throughout the world that pro- fess the true religion, together with their children.' " The fullness of that vision seems a long way off. But the first steps that lead toward it are very close to us and some of them have already been 127 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES taken. It must be admitted that they are only beginnings, and that their success, as yet, is limited. But there is certainly more recognition and coopera- tion among Christian churches than there used to be, and there will be more yet if we have a real revival of religion. The proposed conference of churches, ' for frank statement of their differ- ences ' is full of hope. It is bold, it is original, and if it is done in the right spirit, not with a de- sire to exalt differences, but with a willingness to yield the non-essentials, it ought to open men's eyes to some of the absurdities of the present state of things. Lord Macaulay said in India, ' In a coun- try where men pray to cows the differences that di- vide Christians seem of small account.' We ought to see to-day that in a world where evil is rampant and idolatry increases, the disputes that separate Christians are shameful. " What trials and delays must be endured, what obstacles and difficulties overcome, what long and perilous journey accomplished, before the vision is realised, God only knows. It may be that the con- flict with evil must grow sharper and more bitter, before Christians learn that division means defeat. It may be that the shame of forsaken temples, and a vanishing Sabbath, and a system of education without religion, must grow deeper, to make men see the fatal consequences of disunion, rivalry and mutual mistrust among the disciples of Christ. 128 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVER CHURCHED?. It may be that disaster and humiliation and weak- ness must befall the Christian forces and they must be driven to some dreadful battlefield of Armaged- don to make them stand together against the united powers of darkness and unbelief. Or it may be (and God grant it) that the lesson will be learned in brighter paths and slowly spelled in syllables of hope. It may be that the success of the Christian associations which have made a league of youth to girdle earth with the name of Jesus will teach the churches something. It may be that the great world conference of missions at Edinburgh, which gathered men of all creeds and communions to hear of the victories of Christ in heathen lands and to plan together for wider triumphs, may kindle a joy fire in the churches that will burn the barriers away. But whether by bright ways or by dark ways, whether through suffering or rejoicing, God lead us toward the consummation of Christian unity in church union, God keep us obedient to the heavenly vision. " Christendom reunited on the tHree-essential basis, God, Christ and the Bible a glorious church, adorned as a bride for her husband, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, overwhelming as an army with banners oh, how that vision shines and glows upon the far horizon, beckoning our hearts and hopes. " How shall we obey it far away? How shall we 129 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES really serve it now, so that our services shall count for the glorious future? Three things let us all do: " i Be loyal in will and work to that branch of the church which we joined to the kingdom of Christ and which gives us personally our broadest chance to labour for Him. "2 Simplify our faith, clarify our worship, open our communions to all who trust Christ, our pulpits to all who preach Christ. "3 Bear a hand in every effort that brings Christians together, and close every day's work and worship with the prayer of brotherhood : * Grace be with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.' ' Something very practical is also being accom- plished along this line in the way of co-operative ad- vance in home missionary work, as indicated by a recent report of the joint committee, whose object is to unite all protestant churches in an effort to remove an existing disgrace of overchurched dis- tricts and towns. This committee was appointed in the spring of 1909, through the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. The Fed- eral Council was organized by the specific and for- mal action of thirty denominations acting as entire denominational bodies, composed of over sixteen million communicants. The Home Missions 130 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? Council is a combination of the Home Mission Boards and officers of fifteen communions, includ- ing nearly all the larger denominations. This joint committee consists of forty representative men from twenty-one denominational bodies. This committee undertook as its first task, to make an investigation as to the actual conditions in the home mission field, to discover in what degree there is overlapping of effort, and to what extent home mission territory is neglected by all. As a beginning in this direction the committee re- quested the Federal Council of Churches to make inquiry concerning a single and typical western state. The result of this investigation covered the entire state of Colorado, county by county and town by town, giving the population, area, the post offices, the churches, the membership, the current expenses of the churches and the amount of home mission aid received. The results of this investigation made it very plain from general conditions that there is occasion for the Home Mission Boards to give fresh consideration to this feature of their re- sponsibility. This single instance and first effort, prompted the National Home Mission Boards and Societies of Evangelical Churches in the United States of America to undertake a general survey of religious conditions in the strategic western states. The report and results of this more general survey will not be before the public for several months to SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES come. It indicates however a movement in the right direction. The purpose of making such a survey of religious condition is: First That the officers of Home Mission Boards may confer with each other, and arrange to allot the entire unoccupied fields among the various bodies, so that each shall feel especial responsibility for given fields. Second To decline to endorse for home mis- sionary aid in places where the Gospel of Christ is earnestly and adequately promulgated by others and where assured prospects of growth do not seem to demand the establishment of other churches. This movement so wisely and timely initiated, looking towards the federation of Protestant churches, indicates hopeful progress in unifying all home missionary endeavour, and if put into effectual practice (as we sincerely trust it will) will act as a source of appeal against the multiplication of un- necessary churches in small towns, as well as a source of information concerning localities destitute of adequate Gospel privileges. We have reason to rejoice in the fact that essen- tials in religious life and growth are being empha- sized, while non-essentials are minimized. Dogma- olatry is less respected, and good fruits more hon- oured. The surprise is that the churches have been so long finding out that their true mission in a world of sin, does not consist so much in promulgating a 132 ARE WESTERN TOWNS OVERCHURCHED? system of doctrine, as it does in establishing a sys- tem of works. The unerring test is that " by their fruits ye shall know them." The denominational divisions in Christendom, present a pitiable picture of the oneness for which Christ prayed, imploring for His disciples the rich- est blessing God could give, " that they may be one, even as we are one." We have not advanced far enough in the fulfillment of this prayer to consist- ently sing Sir Arthur Sullivan's hymn : "Like a mighty army, Moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod; We are not divided, All one body we, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity." There are two kinds of unity: one a unity of law or principle, and one a unity of manifestation. The unity for which our Saviour prayed, is a one- ness of principle, not uniformity in manifestation. Uniformity is contrary to all the works of God. Unity of principle is everywhere in evidence. Di- visions may have been a necessary evil during cer- tain periods of growth in the Christian church, but these conditions have long since past. The two hundred or more denominational divisions in exist- ence, cannot be looked upon otherwise than an un- speakable injury to the cause of Christ. At the 133 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES present time we are wrestling with a condition, not a theory. Doctrine asserted and adopted by ecclesi- astical authority, contrary to that which is the re- sult of experience, should not any longer be bind- ing on the individual conscience. Ox-carts were supplanted by the horse carriage; the horse carriage is being supplanted by the auto- mobile, and each change affords a quicker method to reach the goal. In earlier days, schism and secession were justi- fied on the ground that error is taught in the church. If it be a doctrinal error which does not subvert personal faith in Christ, it should not be allowed to divide believers into denominational orders. Christ is more than doctrine and charity better than knowledge. This principle is now uniting a long divided church and hastening the federation of be- lievers in one grand army of the living God. " He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me, scattereth abroad." 134 CHAPTER VII REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN WHATEVER may be said for or against the Indian, his history is replete with heroic achievements and martial deeds. What- ever may be said concerning the policies of the government in its treatment of the red man, the purpose has been altruistic. The greatest mistakes have been confessed and corrected. The same may be said of Christian Missions. Much has had to be learned by experience. Mistakes have been many, but in all the annals of Christian Missions, home or foreign, the history of Indian work fur- nishes most heroic and inspiring records of devo- tion and untiring effort. The history of America records deeds which are worthy to be called heroic; that are unparalleled in the world's account of great achievements. But, amid these resplendent deeds, none deserve greater honour than many of the missionaries, both Prot- estant and Catholic, who literally gave their lives for the redemption of the red man. 135 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Prescott said, "every step that the white man has taken in the new world has been over the corpse of an Indian." But amid the dark shadows of human greed and avarice, are the deeds of self- sacrificing missionaries, who laboured not for gold, but for the love of souls. They were men of un- daunted perseverance, who endured hardships and dangers, to achieve the redemption of a race, sup- planted by a stronger people. Many of these men are now sleeping in unmarked graves and without epitaphs of praise. It is time public impression was corrected, that the Indians are a decadent and vanishing people. It is true, that they are passing through a transi- tional period. Both the church and the government must assume the responsibility as to whether this transitional period shall terminate in his extinction or redemption. " America is the great mixing bowl of races, wherein by some cosmic alchemy the great ruling race of the world is produced. Every racial ele- ment that is in the country to-day, or which is com- ing into the country to-morrow, is a potential ele- ment of the American race of the future." Arthur C. Parker, Assembly Herald, Feb., 1910. This involves the responsibility of state and church, as to the education and Christianizing the 300,000 Indians now looked upon as the wards of our nation. 136 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN There is also a common opinion abroad that the Indian is a poor and vanishing race. It has long been customary for poets to sing the dirge of the dying race, and for orators to declare that the In- dians are disappearing as the results of wrongs at the hands of white men; but whatever may have happened to individuals, the Indians as a race are farther than ever from extinction. Statisticians of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Washington say that the pioneers and early historians greatly over- estimated the number of Indians in the country, and that, as a matter of fact there are more now than there were when the white man came. Certainly, since their actual numeration has been possible, the increase in their numbers has been marked. The Indian population grew from two hundred and forty-eight thousand in 1890, to three hundred and five thousand in 1910. In spite of popular opinion to the contrary, the Indians, moreover, are not poor; they form in fact, one of the wealthiest races in the world. In landed property and in cash the fhree hundred and five thousand Indians possess six hundred million dol- lars, a per capita wealth of about two thousand dol- lars, or more than twice the per capita wealth of white Americans. The government now holds approximately thirty-seven million dollars in trust for the various Indian tribes, most of which bears interest at from three to five per cent., yielding an 137 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES annual income of about one million and eight hun- dred thousand dollars. Although the red man was the victim of much unscrupulous treatment in early years, the government has been most generous in atonement, and in seeking earnestly and honestly to solve the problems connected with his welfare. The wild Indian surely will pass away. He must either level up to civilisation or level down to ex- tinction. When that comes to pass, there will be no Indian problem. But will this ever come to pass? We answer in the affirmative, if the pure blooded aboriginal type is meant. This type is fast disappearing. Ethnologists affirm that at the time of the dis- covery of this continent, there were 300,000 In- dians occupying the territory now comprising the area of the United States, not including Alaska. Whether this estimate be correct or not we are not prepared to say. The present population is not half so large, and a very great majority of these are half-breeds, many seven-eighths white. Along the northwestern border of New York to the Rock- ies, the mixed bloods are more common than the aboriginal type. Amalgamation is their ultimate destiny, not extinction. The nation's wards are to become independent, self-supporting and intelligent citizens. All government assistance and missionary effort should be given and rendered with this as an ulti- 138 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN matum. Whatever might have been the wisdom of the reservation policy as a beginning, as a step to something better, its folly has been acknowledged and is rapidly being corrected. By this mistaken policy the Indian's descent from the independence of his original condition to mendicancy and pauperism was made sure. If there is any truth in the criti- cism that the red man has stood still or retrograded in spite of the efforts made to lift him up, our gov- ernment is largely responsible through its policy of segregating, clothing and feeding him as an ox from the public manger. It was treating him as a race incapable of citizen- ship ; as if the best that could be done for him was to pen him up within definite limits, provide for him the necessities of life without any effort or cost on his part whatever. It is a matter of congratula- tion that this un-American absurdity of keeping one class of people thus segregated, has been clearly dem- onstrated, and that the reservation system is being broken up as fast as circumstances will allow, and replaced by the allotment policy, which as far as we can see at the present time is sane statesman- ship. The Indian is thought of as possessing certain racial tendencies, such as to eat, to drink and prefer pleasure to work ; that these tendencies are so deeply rooted in the race as to unfit him forever for honour- able citizenship. What may be said of the Indian 139 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES in this respect, might also be said of all primitive tribes of all other races of mankind. Francis Leupp, who was United States Commis- sioner for many years, and who is among the most efficient and sympathetic friends of the Indians, re- lates this incident, confirming our belief that the Indians as a whole despise being treated as paupers. " An Indian chief begged the government agent not to send free rations to his tribe, because he did not wish their young men to be ruined by learning to eat free bread out of the government's hand." On my missionary tours through the state of Montana, I have often been in the homes and con- versed with the chiefs on the Flathead and other reservations, and from what I have learned as the prevailing sentiment among them, it is not alms they desire, but assistance and encouragement towards self-support and honourable citizenship. To accomplish this end, is the work of the gov- ernment in cooperation with the philanthropic so- cieties and missionary efforts supported by the church. Certain characteristics of the Indian make it im- possible for his race to attain worthy citizenship un- aided. He is too greatly deficient in imitative quali- ties and business ability, to successfully compete with the white man's industrial gifts. If the first duty of a nation in its educational system is to in- sure its future quality, these characteristics should 140 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN be kept in view, in efforts put forth to render assist- ance and encouragement. This is evidently the in- tent of the government in the policies adopted in the last few years. The purpose is to establish an Indian citizenship along a definitely defined plan. First. To grant him a home of his own. Second. To lay upon him a personal responsi- bility for the management of his own property. Third. To protect him through paternal over- sight and superintendency, for a term of years in the title of his lands. Fourth. To give the young people, through the government schools, industrial education near their homes. All this places emphasis where it belongs, and where it should be placed, as a means of encourage- ment towards self support and in preparation for citizenship. The supreme moral responsibility imposed upon the United States in the annexation of Porto Rico, the Philippines and other islands of the sea which became our inheritance as the result of the Spanish- American war, was promptly recognized by Presi- dent McKinley when he said, " The Philippines are ours, not to exploit, but to develop, to civilize, to educate and to train in the science of self-govern- ment. This is the path of duty we must follow or be recreant to a great trust." All that can be expected from the government is 141 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES recognition of the same moral responsibility for the Indians, who were the first Americans and now live within our borders. That recent policies are being pushed with considerable degree of ear- nestness, is evidenced from the fact that as early as June, 1909, nearly 81,000 Indians had received allotments, aggregating 12,500,000 acres of land. Special attention has been given also to primary schools and industrial training. So well has this system been prosecuted and so far reaching is it in promises for the future, that it seems as though the Indian problem has been practically solved so far as policies are concerned on the part of the gov- ernment. It has come now to be largely a matter of more efficient administration, which we hope will grow better as experience teaches. One thing the government might do and ought to do at once, is to give more scientific treatment to the sanitary conditions of the Indians. The In- dian tribes are ravaged by two of the most dreaded diseases, tuberculosis and trachoma. The Crow Indians of Montana, numbering 1,725, live on one reservation, and 98 per cent, of the tribe are tainted with tuberculosis. This tribe is worth $9,000,000 in lands and cash in the United States treasury. It is said that the death rate from tuberculosis among all Indians of the United States is 30.72 per 1,000 of population. When consideration is given to the splendid work our government has done in Cuba 142 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN and the Philippines for health and sanitation, our record in this regard among the Indians is, to say the least, shameful neglect. This question calls for prompt action. To have it delayed threatens the health of the white race, who are compelled in many ways to come more or less in contact with the Indians. In this chapter it is the purpose of the writer to speak especially of missionary work and efforts that are of religious and philanthropic character. Among the agencies working for the good of the Indian, aside from the government, are philan- thropic societies deriving their impulse and interests from ' purely humanitarian motives. Such as the " National Indian Association," composed mostly of women, whose interests in the welfare of the red man, have prompted their efforts and enlisted phil- anthropic support. " The Indian Rights Associa- tion," " The Indian Citizenship Committee," " The Indian Branch of the Anti-Saloon League of America," the names of which indicate their special sphere of labour and service in behalf of the Indian race. That such a large number of respectable and influential citizens, as well as the government itself, are so deeply interested in behalf of this long abused and neglected people, too long forgotten by the Christian citizens of our nation, indicates a brighter future. But the salvation of this people is a work pecu- 143 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES liarly committed to American Christians. The in- stincts of religion and patriotism should prompt the effort. A sense of responsibility and obligation to the heathen in our own land should kindle enthusi- asm and impel heroic zeal. The history of the often unjust and cruel dealings with this native race in the past, should create sympathetic impulse to speedy and effective measures for their redemption. The religious influence of a large number of Chris- tian teachers in our government schools, should be reckoned among the redemptive forces employed for the Indian. Like most of the real forces of life, their labours are not appreciated as they should be. In a quiet way and apart from public observa- tion, they teach the fundamental truths of the Bible, Biblical texts, selections from the Psalms and other portions of Scripture are committed to memory and Christian hymns are sung in the schools. Such teachers exercise a powerful influence by their per- sonal touch over the Indian home. Many of them also become teachers in the Sabbath-schools and zealous helpers in Christian churches established for the Indians. While this may be said, we all know that the government schools cannot be utilized for distinc- tive purpose of teaching religion, or for the para- mount necessity of imparting religious education. We recognize, and we ought to appreciate as well, that there is much religious work accomplished 144 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN through the devotion of the individual teacher, but the sooner the Christian churches of America realize that distinctively religious training must be given, apart from our public school system, either on or off the reservations, the sooner will the seriousness of the problem which confronts us be understood and acted upon. The secularization of national schools has be- come an accepted fact, and the only well-founded hope of religious training is in the distinctively re- ligious home and school. This must be supported by the church. American citizenship, north and south, east and west, is already civilized. It is not Christianized, although we may call it a Christian civilization, because permeated with Christian prin- ciples and teachings. Without the influence of Christianity leavening secular education, our repub- lican institutions have no more assurance of per- manency than the Grecian republics of ancient his- tory. All our missionary work in these growing em- pires of the West, must have for its chief aim and purpose, what has been emphasized in previous chapters, the making of Christian Citizenship. Our aim is higher than that of the state. The saving and redemptive power of the Gospel is more than intellectual and industrial training. Is the Gospel efficacious in saving the Indian? Has the Indian a basic sense of moral responsibility 145 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES sufficiently robust to be capable of high religious de- velopment? We who believe with the Apostle Paul, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, these questions are absurd. However, some very intellgent persons, do ask such questions, favouring a negative answer. A lady missionary among the Indians for sev- eral years, whose health was impaired through de- votion to the work, whose labours showed excep- tional results, was returning East, seeking renewal of bodily strength, when a friend said to her in a sarcastic tone, "Are you a missionary among the Indians?" "Yes," she replied. "Do you not think it will take a long time to civilize the In- dians?" She answered, "Judging from the time it has taken to civilize the white man, no doubt it will." I do not put as much stress on statistical reports of Christian work as correct indices of what has been done, as some do. Nevertheless, some ap- proximately correct estimate may be reached by statistical reports of missionary work among the Indians. Inasmuch as I am writing of the spiritual con- quest of the Northwest, my citations will be prin- cipally of work done in the northern states. It should be noted that missionary work among the Indians began long before reservations had 146 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN been considered. Had it not been for the prelimi- nary missionary work ; had it not been for the thou- sands of devoted and Christian Indians, the direct result of missionary endeavour, the efficiency of the government schools as seen to-day, would not have been possible. The missionaries sowed the seed in years gone by, and the harvest is the opportunity of to-day. Among these early heroes of Christ, whose labours were in behalf of the Dakota Indians, are the names of Steven W. Riggs, John P. William- son, D. D., Bishop Whipple and Bishop Hare, saints whose records stand with honour among the great hosts of valiant servants of God. Dr. John P. Williamson says, " There are about five thousand communicants of all denominations among the twenty-five thousand Dakota Indians. Under their influence, idol worship in public is a thing of the past." As to self-support he says, "Of the thirty-two Presbyterian churches, twenty pay over half or more of the salary of their pastors, and one of them pays the whole." Under Presbyterian care there are three white missionaries and seventeen Indian ministers. There are thirty-two churches with a membership of 1,713, and 650 children in the Sabbath school. All this work is supported by the gift of $10,000 from the Home Mission Board. These churches re- turned of this amount, $750.00 by voluntary con- 147 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES tributions, and $4,000.00 they give to Presbyterian Missionary Society, while their contributions for supporting their own churches amounts to $6,- 400.00. Dr. Williamson further says, " Fifty years ago when I received my appointment as missionary to the Dakota Indians, there were only a score of Christian families in the whole nation. Notwith- standing the inherited impress of paganism on their hearts, God has shown his power and mercy in calling eight of their descendants into the ministry, out of twenty-one Dakotas who have been or- dained in the Presbyterian church. And looking at the church members, we find that about fifty per cent, of the 1,600 communicants in our churches are Christians of the third and fourth generations." The Episcopal church in its missionary work among the Dakotas, reports seventeen native min- isters, and sixty-three licensed assistants; an in- crease of communicants in twenty years from 900 to 3,800, and the offerings of Indians from $1,500 to $9,500. The American Missionary Society has some twenty churches among the Dakotas, with sixty preaching stations and thirty-five native ministers. In Montana the Baptists and Congregational churches have very successful and flourishing mis- sions among the Crows, and the Presbyterians at Wolf Point. 148 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN It is only a few years since that vast territory of our country, known now as Minnesota, North and South Dakota, parts of Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana, was the hunting ground of the Sioux nation, numbering about sixty thousand Indians. There are pioneers still living in Montana who re- member those days and recall many incidents illus- trating their warlike and treacherous deeds. The Williamsons and Riggs, the earliest missionaries to the Sioux nation, instilled in their early converts a missionary spirit. The Christian Sioux organized for themselves a missionary society, with the object of sending the Gospel farther West, where many of their people were moving. A mission station was established at Wolf Point, on the north bank of the Missouri River, near the boundary line be- tween North Dakota and Montana. A young boy of the Sioux, named Richard King, became a con- vert at the Good Will Mission. Being filled with the missionary spirit, he was received into the Da- kota Presbytery, and commissioned to preach to his far away Sioux brothers. He and his wife estab- lished the station at Wolf Point among the warrior tribes of the Assiniboines. The work so heroically begun was of brief duration. Mr. King died after a few months' labor. The mission, however, was continued by Mrs. King, who took up her husband's work after his death. The story of her devotion, patience and zeal is worthy a place among such as 149 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES are recorded in the eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. We have heard her speak in our churches and plead for her cause with becoming modesty, yet with a warmth of feeling and love that never failed to win sympathy and support, as she told her story of unselfish service. There is another record of missionary work, which because of its unique character and remark- able success deserves a much larger place in the annals of Indian missions, than it has ever re- ceived. Some of the writer's personal friends have visited the island of Metlakathla, and testify to the truthfulness of the following narrative, that re- cords perhaps the most successful and far-reaching service ever rendered by one man in behalf of the Indians. Only a very brief outline can be given in these pages. An account of William Duncan's wonderful mis- sion has been written by Geo. T. B. Davis, entitled, " Metlakathla/' a true Narrative of the Red Man," published by the Ram's Horn Company of Chicago, in 1904. (I have been informed that the book is now out of print.) Since that time a larger and fuller account of his missionary work has been pub- lished, but few persons have so far learned of this unique work of William Duncan in the far north. William Duncan, in 1856, was a student in the Highbury Training School, London, when he re- ceived his call from the Church Missionary Society, 150 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN to go to the far north as a missionary to the Indians at Fort Simpson. He sailed December, 1856, at the age of 26. The narrative speaks of him as a man whose " whole countenance and posture indi- cates a young man of strong resolution and iron will." He was an idealist, but had the force of character necessary to transmute dreams into realities, in the face of obstacles however difficult. After a voyage of six months he reached Victoria. It was not until the latter part of September, 1857, that he was permitted to continue his journey to his destined mission. The tribes he went to save were perhaps the most savage and bloodthirsty of all the Indians in this far Northland. Several months were spent in studying the language, before he could begin his real work. Fort Simpson was a garrison five hun- dred miles north of Victoria, occupied by only twenty English soldiers and officers, where three thousand Tsimshean Indians lived near by. After a few years of untold hardships, yet with marked degree of success, Mr. Duncan's far vision discov- ered the folly of effort in civilizing and Christian- izing his converts in the environment of savagery and worst forms of superstitious rites of paganism. It was then he resolved to adopt the colonization plan that proved to be the crowning achievement of his life. The island of Metlakathla was selected, some SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES seventeen miles from Fort Simpson. Here he planned a model village for his converts and re- solved to separate them from their barbarous en- vironment. The necessity of separating his con- verts and especially the children under instruction in the schools, from the vice and immorality and heathenism around Fort Simpson, became the ma- tured plan wrought out from his experience of several years. The conviction grew that the spiritual welfare of the Indians demanded a Christian colony, where peace and quiet would reign, where industries would be taught and toil rewarded, and where the terrible evils of fire-water would be unknown. The island being selected, fifteen rules were for- mulated which all should sign who joined the colony. These rules were considered essential to social order and prosperity. They are worthy of study as foundation principles of good government and reveal profound statesmanship. They are as follows : I. To give up "Ahlied" or Indian deviltry. 2. To cease calling in " Shamans " or medicine men. 3. To cease gambling. 4. To cease giving away their property for dis- play. 5. To cease painting their faces. 6.< To cease indulgence in intoxicating drinks. TCO REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN 7. To rest on the Sabbath day. g. To attend religious instruction. 9. To send their children to school. 10. To be cleanly. ii. To be industrious. 12. To be peaceful. 13. To be liberal and honest in trade. 14. To build neat houses. 15. To pay the village tax. It is related that Mr. Duncan realized fully what an eventful page in the history of the Indians was being turned, and that his joy was great, when the canoes left the shore, the sun which had been hidden beind the rain-clouds, broke forth disclosing a beau- tiful rainbow, a most happy omen to the pilgrims departing for their new home on the island of Met- lakathla. The stories of some of the conversions are as wonderful and miraculous as that of the Apostle Paul. The conversion of Paul Lagaic, chief of all the Tsimshean tribes, and notorious for his cruelty and revengeful spirit, is a remarkable incident of God's saving grace in redeeming the chief of sin- ners. As the year passed, Metlakathla became a Gos- pel beacon, radiating law and order throughout all the surrounding country. When the new church building was dedicated on Christmas day, 1874, there was great rejoicing. 153 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Mr. Duncan said, " Over seven hundred Indians were present at our opening service. Could it be that this concourse of well dressed people in the new and beautiful church, but a few years ago made up the fiendish assemblies at Fort Simpson ? Could it be that these voices, now engaged in solemn prayer and thrilling song of praise to Almighty God, are the very voices I once heard yelling and whoop- ing at heathen orgies on dismal winter nights ? " There are sixteen elders in the Metlakathla church, and they are all lay preachers as op- portunity affords. The testimony of Mr. Duncan, after his long years of experience and remarkable success, is briefly stated as follows: " I firmly believe that missionaries all over the world should adopt the Christian settlement plan of procedure. Just as soon as a small group of Chris- tians have been won from heathenism, they should remove and form a separate and distinct colony. The converts will in that way grow and develop far better and faster, than when living in daily contact with all sort of vice common among the heathen." Industrial progress and possibilities of the In- dians has a practical illustration among the Crows in Montana. Since fairs and expositions conducted by civilized nations are looked upon as evidence of products and manufacturing interests, so may the 154 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN exhibition on the part of the Indians be a prac- tical illustration of what they are capable of doing when given a chance. For several years, under the encouragement and supervision of the Government Agent, the Crow Indians have held an annual fair, which has attracted attention and marks an epoch in the progress towards advanced conditions of civilization. A description of the " Crow Indian Fair " written by Mrs. E. A. Rich- ardson, is here given in full, believing that it will furnish instructive reading for those interested in the moral and industrial growth of the Indians. (Mrs. Richardson was a teacher in the govern- ment schools on the Crow Reservation for sixteen years. Both in education and experience, she is eminently fitted to write intelligently on the sub- ject.) " One would never forget it, especially if unfa- miliar with Indian customs. The festivities were scheduled for five days, but interest attached to preparatory work over a week previous, when vis- iting tribes or their representatives arrived in ever increasing numbers, on ponies, in wagons, and on cars. All showed by dress and manners a transi- tion stage of development towards the ideals and apparel of their pale face conquerors. [< The Crow districts or settlements nearest head- quarters acted as hosts, and for about two weeks 155 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES were upon the camping ground, exercising them- selves to entertain these first visitors, providing gifts and extending to all the courtesies and cere- monies so much a part of Indian life. " The Crows are truly princely hosts, and their guests know well the worth of such visits for them- selves. In fact no one knows better than Mr. Indian how to look after the " loaves and fishes." The visitors represented many tribes; Black feet, Piegans, Crees, Assiniboines, Umatillas, Nez Perces, Shoshones, Southern Arapahoes, and Cheyennes, and about two hundred Sioux, under the noted American Horse, but from various points; .princi- pally Yankton, Fort Berthold, Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Crow Creek, and lower Brule. Practically the whole tribe of Northern Cheyennes (more than 1200) under Old Two Moons of Custer battle fame, arrived on Sunday, the twelfth, thus keeping up the great procession that characterised the day, as the Pryors, Big Horns and Lodge Grass Crows all reached the Agency. " A noticeable feature was the transportation of tepee poles on farm wagons, which was not nearly so artistic as the old way of fastening one end to a pack horse and letting the other drag on the ground. For many hours they passed in steady stream, mak- ing one of the most interesting features of a truly unique event. It was a remarkable sight to an outsider, the long files of loaded trams, ponies, lum- 156 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN ber wagons, all winding their way slowly over the hills from three different directions, into and through the Agency, and on eastward over the river to their camping ground. " In the camps all was orderly confusion, great activity and pleasant excitement. Tepees and tents arose on every side, the camp criers adding to the general stir and hum of life, to which innumerable dogs added a big share. Each district had its par- ticular location with its medicine tepee in the midst. These are all painted a terra cotta and have some symbolic design, including the medicine pipe. A large dance tent and the poles of a tobacco dance tepee were also a feature of each district village. Monday morning found the camp details completed, and presenting a beautiful sight, with the handsome tepees clustered in district groups among the au- tumn tinted trees, the brownish grey hills forming a perfect background, while bright days gave that peculiarly, clear atmosphere condition that makes this climate an ideal one for such scenes during In- dian summer. Artists and artistic photographers were in ecstacies of delight over Nature's finishing touch to the fine effect produced by these children who live so close to her heart. Bright colours and fantastic costumes all combined to make one long for the powers to reproduce the picture for the benefit of others. Driving from district to district, the Black Lodge, Reno Lodge Grass, Big Horn and 157 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES Pryor Crows, the Cheyenne and Sioux encamp- ments, we could but realize how much freedom, fresh air and sunshine meant to these people, and how truly the average eye is pleased with bright colours and spectacular display. This was especially noticeable during the night dances, when painted bodies and all the paraphernalia used on such occa- sions formed a never ending source of amusement to the white visitors who were on the ground in large numbers all the week, many camping near the In- dians. Perfect moonlight nights added comfort and beauty to the occasion. Friday night the dances were held in the open air around a huge camp- fire, and the dancers from all the various villages (about a thousand in all) took part at once. This was a very weird and beautiful scene, making a much finer spectacle than those given other nights in dance tents, each district for itself. Those who arose early enough to see the camp astir and watch the preparations for and partaking of, the primitive meals, felt well repaid for the sight; while every effort was made to see the camp by fire and moon- light, even those who had long wearied of dances found this too beautiful to forego. " The festivities were opened Monday morning with a tobacco and medicine dance at each village, thus propitiating their gods for the Fair and for the coming year. Each day's program was started 158 ' REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN with a grand parade formed in the camp and headed by all the great chiefs, with Plenty coos at the head carrying the American flag, followed by a squad of police, headed by Captain Big Medicine carrying the flag of the tribe, and lieutenants Fire Bear and Scolds Bear. " Next came the band composed of Indian school children (a band which would do credit to a town of 10,000 inhabitants). Then followed camp In- dians, in carriages, wagons, and on horseback; the school children, the old people, camp followers and visiting Indians bringing up the rear, making a pro- cession over two miles long. It was a sight to be remembered; the various costumes, war bonnets, blankets, police uniforms, elk-tooth dresses, school garbs and citizens' clothes, making a wondrous ex- hibition. The formal line of march included a visit to each district, and a stop at the villages of visiting tribes, where the usual ceremonies were performed in their honour. " One of the loveliest sights was that of the pro- cession crossing the Little Horn River, where the clear water reflected the brilliant pageant, enhancing its beauty manifold. All this is supposed to be a minor consideration of the Fair; but what visitor ever gave it the second place ? However, of the Fair proper, its races and industral displays, there was no need to be ashamed. The tickets were on sale at 159 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES the rear of the trader's store on the only direct road to the fair grounds. The crowds were so great that the tickets could not be sold fast enough to admit attendance at all the races, so after the first day, the tickets were on sale before noon to enable the people to reach the grand-stand in good season. It took more than two hours for the main body of Fair visitors to pass through the entrance. " The entire management of the Fair was in the hands of a committee composed entirely of Crow Indians, who had been selected in Indian council; and it was much better managed than many county fairs, due to the advice of their energetic agent, Major Reynolds. This industrial Fair is one of the many things that Major Reynolds has inaugu- rated to help elevate and encourage the Indians' industrial work. It is prophesied by many, as well as ourselves, that this Fair will be one of the great- est exhibitions of the state, if it increases propor- tionately the next five years as it has in the past three. We must congratulate Major Reynolds for this originality; for while two or three tribes have "Annual Meets/' with dancing and horse racing, as a feature, we are sure that this is the first to make a point of the industrial side, and we are acquainted with Indians and their doings in general. An in- spector assures us that this is the only thing of its kind in the United States. Some Indians exhibit at fairs conducted by white people, but this is the 160 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN only place where the Indians really run a fair, take the gate receipts, and have full charge of everything. " The relay races were particularly enjoyable, and the crowd went wild over the bucking bronco riding, and that of the school girls and boys. Charles M. Bair gave special prizes for school children, the other prizes being paid for from gate receipts. " But to the industrial display : The large building used for this purpose exhibited the products and work, in sections, for each district and the four schools on the reservation. The government school at the Agency attracted, particular attention for the beauty and variety of exhibits. Basketry made from sweet grass, raffia and willow, was one of the important features. Visitors attested their ap- preciation by orders for goods. Black Lodge Grass, Pryor and Mission schools each showed good work. Black Lodge made the most artistic display of any of the districts, while Lodge Grass exhibited a greater variety of products. Every one was as- tonished at the fineness of the exhibit, especially at the size and quality of the pumpkins, squashes and potatoes the potatoes causing comment more than anything else. Many experienced farmers said they were the finest potatoes that they had ever seen at any place. Louis Bompard's prize pigs at- tracted attention, as did. Mrs. Gordon's turkeys and chickens. Jellies, pies, bread, butter, cake, all looked fine enough to please any housewife's soul. Truly 161 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES nothing could so inspire effort to raise the Indians' love for industrial pursuits as this plan so success- fully adopted by the Agent of the Crows. " Five prize tepees were of great interest to visi- tors, they were so beautifully kept, so artistically furnished and of such magnificent proportions, be- ing much larger than usual. The tepee poles shone as if they had been polished every day for weeks. The tepee is certainly a thing of beauty, and my Indian lady well knows how to adorn it, in keeping with its purpose, the walls being hung with Indian work of all sorts. " Saturday was pronounced the best day of all. In the morning the convention was held, where all business pertaining to the Fair was settled and officers appointed for the next year. Horses and people showed effects of the strenuous week, but by two o'clock were at the closing exercises, the dance of the Sioux and the Cheyennes, at the dis- trict villages in honour of the Crows. The hand- some head dress and garb of the Sioux caused much excitement, as well as comment. They gave in the open space of each village a mimic war dance and sham battle. The motley crowd in wagons, on horse and on foot, which pressed close up on the dancers, often requiring the marshal's attention to keep them back, moved rapidly and seemingly in solid mass with the dancers in their rapid march from village to village, make as great a picture as 162 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN the dance itself. At one time the marshals led the way to an open space before the Agent's team and the ceremonies performed there in his honour. This particularly pleased many visitors who had fre- quently commented upon Agent Reynolds' unassum- ing conduct, always taking his chance with other people, and never asserting any more rights to see or be seen than the lowliest visitor, this particular notice being entirely unsought. Before all the vil- ages had been visited, about thirty Crows, represent- ing a war party in full war regalia, mounted on decorated horses and dressed with handsome beaded blankets and fine head dresses, rode to the hills, there breaking up into small groups and scattering through ravines and down hill- sides hunting for the enemy. It was a fascinating sight to see them winding in and out on the hills ever on the alert, searching for the un- known foe till finally the search was given up, the enemy not being in sight. Returning, they dismounted, making an impressive sight in their picturesque groupings upon the grey background with their harmonious colours. Soon they re- mounted and charged upon the village, surrounding the camp, winding in and out in the manner of ye olden days, when they run the people out of camp. After this mad ride they gathered at a certain point and gave a buffalo dance, part of it being enacted on horseback. A striking feature of this part was, SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES one of the players would fling away a war bonnet, or some other part of their fine costume, and the wild scramble that ensued to secure it. Dismount- ing, they danced in full abandon to the music, thus finishing the ceremonies with all the zeal of an Indian's love for a telling climax." Since the above was written, the last two years the Navajo Indians of New Mexico have also had a Fair, of which the Board of Indian Commission- ers says in its report for 1910, " The influence of the Crow and Navajo Indian Agricultural Fairs will be far-reaching, we believe; and we trust that many superintendents will at once enter upon simi- lar plans with the Indians who are under their supervision." Hon. James S. Sherman, ex-Vice President of the United States in an address before the Lake Mo- honk conference, in 1911, said, " Until half a century ago, the minds of the people and the government were so occupied with other matters, that the man- agement of the Indian problem was neither sys- tematic nor effective. Since then, however, we have conducted the affairs of the Indians systematically and progressively. Every agreement between the Indians and the government has been carried out; honest and intelligent supervision, coupled with kind yet firm discipline, has brought them to a state of contentment; millions of dollars spent for their education and their industrial welfare have been 164 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN well invested, as evidenced by their progress along lines of civilization. I am sincere in the belief that the progress of the American Indian in the last fifty years has been greater, numbers considered, in all paths leading to enlightenment and better- ment of condition, than that of any uneducated peo- ple on the face of the earth." The Hon. John G. Brady also gives a similar testimony and tribute in speaking of the Alaskan Indians of to-day, in contrast with what they were in 1877. "They are not manufacturing rum; they are not torturing and putting witches to the stake ; they are not holding and dealing in slaves. The old communal structure and the icht, or Shaman, have disappeared. In their stead one beholds the single family dwelling and the visits of the phy- sician at the call of the sick. The canoe and the paddle are giving way to the more serviceable boat ribbed with oak and sheathed with spruce or red cedar, and propelled by oars or gasolene. Young men are carpenters, machinists, smiths, shoemak- ers, coopers, boat builders, miners, engineers on land and water; young women eagerly pursue the do- mestic arts as one can see when he enters a home and beholds the children and surroundings. That they have changed is well established by a visit to the store which supplies their wants. The character of the old trading post can no longer be discerned; flour, sugar, tea, coffee, cured meats, fresh fruits, 165 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES canned goods of all kinds even to salmon, tables, chairs, bedsteads, bureaus, cooking stoves, pictures, musical instruments, ready-made suits, fine coffins factory made, knives and forks, and cups and saucers, are all kept by the merchant who caters to the trade. I should say a word as to their patriot- ism. They know from their own experience the difference between Russia and the United States, and the young generations have been taught from our school histories. Almost every family has a fine American flag, and on all gala days it is flung to the breeze. Nearly every large house has a flag pole. They observe Memorial Day and the Fourth of July with great interest. I am confident the country could find no more willing and braver de- fenders if their services were asked." From all these records and testimonies it must be manifest that the Indian's moral sensibilities are not so hardened, that he is incapable of reaching citizenship, or beyond the possibility of redemption. Both in an industrial and religious way, he is a willing learner, and can be made a desirable citizen and faithful Christian. If the results are not commensurate with the la- bours and money expended on his behalf, a partial explanation may be discovered in the fact that na- tions are not born in a day, nor are they lifted from paganism to civilization in a generation. " When the Gothic tribes swarmed down upon the civiliza- 166 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN tion of the feeble Roman Empire, they had already been under the influence of Christian teachers, some of them for fully one hundred years, and yet Pro- fessor George Burton Adams says they had hardly attained a condition as advanced as that in which some of the better Indian tribes were when Colum- bus discovered America. " Some of these European races who were ex- posed to a better environment, and perhaps endowed with superior natural talents, advanced to a toler- able fair state of civilization within two hundred years, but the work of civilizing Europe and bring- ing the mass of the barbarians under the subjection of law, and to something approaching a true civiliza- tion, was the work of fully one thousand years." (Hon. John J. Delany, an address before the Lake Mohonk Conference, 1907.) The superior material aids and better facilities for spiritual conquest of the present century, ought to make the work of barbarian evangelization much easier and warrant a greater assurance of speedier accomplishment than in former years; but we need not expect the completion of so great an undertak- ing in one or two generations. It is very evident that the greatest success in redeeming the red man has been attained by those missionaries who have been in the work from ten to fifty years, and the greatest of all by those who have given their lives to the Indian's salvation. 167 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES As a concluding suggestion, which is not intended to imply criticism, the most important thing in the present stage of missionary development among the Indians, is not more money, but that it be more economically and wisely used; not more mission- aries, but a better quality of them ; for quality, not quantity is the great need for more rapid develop- ment and progress. Men and women who will make it their life work, who have vision and sym- pathetic hearts, who will give practical expression and direction to gospel truth. Right thinking and right feeling can only find appropriate expression in welldoing. Let it be remembered that the In- dian problem, like some other racial problems, does not consist in the large number involved, but rather because they are spread over such a large territory. On the West Coast they reach from Arizona to Alaska; on the East from New York to Florida, and along the Rockies from Mexico to Canada. This makes the work more expensive and more difficult than if located in more limited territory. Again, let it be remembered that the secret of success in redeeming the red man is very much the same as it is in the redemption of other men. It requires constant, persevering and self-sacrificing devotion. The missionary must carry with him something more than a Bible. He must take the hoe and the plough, as well as phylacteries and min- isterial garb. Our Saviour not only had compas- 168 REDEMPTION OF THE RED MAN sion, but he was moved with compassion, because the people were as sheep without a shepherd. So let the church of the living God be moved with com- passion, untiring patience and increasing effort, anticipating the glorious triumph of the saving truth of the Gospel, which is the power of God unto sal- vation to every one that believeth. 169 CHAPTER VIII RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST THE decadence of the country church in eastern states strikes a note of alarm for the religious life of rural communities in every part of our country. In the great forward movement, country districts and small villages as a general rule, have not kept pace with the progressive spirit evident in large centres of population. The farmer has not been tardy in the introduc- tion of new and labour saving machinery, for tilling the soil. Backwardness is especially manifested in lack of economic domestic conditions, and in- difference to organizations that are for the general interests of community life. In more thickly settled districts, rural delivery and telephone advantages are generally enjoyed. But while the farmer is using all modern machinery to do his work, the housewife is doing hers very much as she did twenty-five years ago. The slav- ery of old household methods has been very little lessened. Modern machinery enables the farmer to till larger acreage, with much less cost of manual 170 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST labour, but the housewife with few conveniences toils laboriously as ever, from early morning till late at night. The home has come to be looked upon too much as simply a feeding and sleeping place. While machinery has lightened labour, it has not shortened labour hours for the farmer. The possibility of cultivating more acres has in- creased the lust for material gain. Both in the kitchen and on the farm all efforts seem to be put forth under the inspiration of this sordid motive. It has thus come to pass that the farmer's horizon is widened only in the direction of selfish pursuit. The general welfare of the community in which he lives, is lost sight of through complete absorp- tion of individual interests. A charitable interpretation of this growing lack of community interests in rural population, is ac- counted for not so much by indifference as for want of leadership. But whatever may be the excuse, local and civic pride are suppressed through selfish direction of individual energy. The ethical, moral and religious needs of life are sacrificed to the mammon of material gain. The story of the rich farmer losing his soul, while planning and build- ing larger barns, is repeated. But this chapter is intended to speak especially of rural conditions in the West. While many things are found in common, the West differs from the East in several particulars. 171 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES First, in the West rural population is scattered over a very large territory. Land being cheap, large tracts are easily possessed. Neighbours are distant from each other, and schools are small in proportion as farms are large. A few rich valleys might be mentioned as exceptions, where land is more valuable and population more compact. This fact makes it difficult to sustain religious organiza- tions and increases the tendency to exclusiveness. The difficulty in fostering community interests in such conditions, increases proportionately to the sparsity of the settlements. Second, the West is new. There are no old settlements in the West. There are no decadent churches. Our work is that of building, not re- pairing. We have not come to the twenty-fifth birthday of our country churches, and most of them have scarcely reached school age. They pos- sess the vigour of youth, the buoyancy of early manhood and the hopefulness of wonderful growth. Third, the West has an advantage over the East, in that denominational rivalry is not so mani- fest as in old settled communities. In small vil- lages and country places, the people show a disposition to lay aside sectarian preferences, and a willingness to cooperate with any Christian ef- fort that is for the common good. This is an advanced step in solving the problem of the coun- try church. Persons going West cut loose from 172 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST hide-bound traditions when they left their homes and roamed over the vast areas spread out around them. There is bigness in the stretch of the plains, newness in the forest and prairie, and generousness in the soil, that broadens life. The rural districts on these wide plains and among the hills, may yet become a demonstration of ideal country life. If so, it will likely be done along certain lines of pro- gressiveness. First, the country school will adopt a different course of study than that of the city. Both have their own problems as varied as their surroundings. Certain elementary studies will no doubt be the same in all schools, but beyond the elementary, subjects for study should be chosen which will most interest as well as help the scholars to meet conditions of their immediate environment. It is a very common complaint that so many of our country young people are flocking to the cit- ies. To them city life has more attractions than the country. The only way to counteract this tendency is to change the situation so that the country may become more attractive. It passes our understanding why some people are willing to live in the city, apparently for no other reason than to be near the bright lights and the crowd. Tucked away in a few rooms at the back end of a dirty tenement building, without sunlight, trees or even a view of mother earth, your neighbours you may 173 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES not know to speak to, without friends who care little whether you live or die, brought in touch every day with all manner of poverty and degrada- tion, this is city life for the man and woman who lives on a small wage in the large cities. The longer one lives that way, the less fit one becomes for any sort of life. Compare these conditions with the average farm life of the Northwest. It is like coming out of the pest house into God's out-of-doors. What sensible man or woman, working out a practical destiny, would be willing to exchange the one for the other ? The city needs the country, and the country needs the city. Without the country from which to draw fresh blood occasionally, (it has been said) the cities would perish from mere corruption. Country life may mean hard work, it may mean isolation, but does not mean poor compensation; it is, to say the least, healthy. It breeds sane men and women. Rural life is the backbone of Ameri- can citizenship. The true perspective of city life, the bad with the good, to the thinking man, to the man who appreciates the advantages of life on the farm, would have little attraction. An old farmer once remarked, after a visit to the city, " that the more he saw of some people the more he liked his hogs." There is however another view. While the civ- ilization of the past has been rural and agricultural, 174 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST that of the future will be more largely of the city. In this age of the world, we cannot, and would not if we could stop the flow of country blood into the city. The tendency is stimulated by the appli- cation of machinery, which now enables four men in the country to do what required fourteen for- merly. This decreases the number required to do a certain amount of work in the country, and in- creases the demand for more men in industrial cen- tres. But for those who are required to meet increasing supplies for growing industrial centres, the country should be made so attractive that it will be adopted from choice, not from necessity. This is an educational process and a small beginning has already been made. A few of the Western states have accomplished something very practical in this direction. To in- terest the boys and girls in fanning and domestic science, so that they will not be so eager to leave the farm for the false allurements of the cities, the State Fair Association of Montana has provided for an encampment of a certain number of boys and girls from each county. The boys are awarded prizes for agricultural products of their own raising, and the girls are encouraged to com- pete for prizes in some branch of domestic science. Aside from prizes awarded, the State Agricultural School through its professors, furnished instruction certain hours during Fair week. Thus they are SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES privileged to inspect farm products from all parts of the state, and hear lectures given by experts on poultry raising, dairying, live stock diseases and farm machinery. This is only an initiative to- wards introducing in the public school system a special course of study for country schools. Sev- eral other states have adopted a similar plan as the above mentioned, and in every instance the experi- ment has proved satisfactory. At present the course of study for country schools is the same as that in the city, but the coun- try schools should be for country children, and the city schools for city children. Human nature is just the same in the country as in the city, but means and methods used in the city, beyond a cer- tain elementary stage, should be greatly modified for the country. It would certainly prove to be one way of making country life more attractive, if in the country school, the science of dairying, dry farming, rotation of crops, the importance of good seed, soil chemistry, bee culture and other such practical subjects were taught. By this means the minds of young people may be brought into intimate knowledge of the beauty and wealth of the land. It would train the coun- try youth in all the social practices that foster con- tentment and good fellowship. Rural renaissance will come through the young people, and the coun- try school can be made a very important factor in RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST bringing about this transformation. What does it mean for the future of our country when boys and girls who advance above the eighth grade, have to go into towns for their education. It means not only that country schools should teach agriculture, but that they should interpret to the children the beauty and the inspiration of God's great out-doors. Second, farm life would become more attract- ive, especially for girls, by improvements in house- hold economy. Here again the West affords exceptional opportunities for better conditions. The mountain streams and springs so numerous are in many instances easily conveyed into the house, so as to have the luxury of running water of the purest kind. Drainage is very simple. Hot and cold water may be available in most country homes along the Rockies, and at much less cost than in the cities. Yet these conveniences are not thought of by hundreds who might have them were they taught the comforts they afford. Many farm houses I have frequently visited in my missionary work, have water piped into the barnyard for the horses, cattle and hogs, but the thought of having it in the house for the use of the wife, had not dawned in the mind of the farmer, as an advantage within reach. Third, better roads would add much to the attractiveness of country life. The rancher in the West will perhaps awaken sooner to the economy 177 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES of good roads, than the eastern farmer, because of long distance to market and exceptionally good soil for roadmaking. It takes a long time to teach the fanner that bad roads rob him of a very large por- tion of his hard earned profits. Perhaps he is not so ignorant of the fact, as he is apathetic in co- operative attempts to remedy it. In many instances half a mile of poor roadway easily repaired, in- creases transportation expenses twenty-five per cent. Fourth, cooperative organization would add much to the attractiveness, as well as profits of farm life. The rural population is slowly but surely making progress in this direction. Philanthropists were interested in the awakening of local and civic pride in cities, before the needs of the country were seriously considered. One of the glaring sins of the country both east and west, is the lack of local and civic pride. Ambition for a higher life in the direction of moral and religious uplift, does not take a very strong hold on the average country com- munity. The city leads in that kind of improvement that can only be fostered by cooperative endeavour. It is nevertheless encouraging that at present both the church and philanthropists are awakening to the crying need for something to be done, and done quickly, for the moral salvation of the country. The Country Life Commission appointed by Ex- 178 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST President Roosevelt has attracted public attention, and no doubt inaugurated a new interest in im- provement of conditions in rural life. This Com- mission has at least initiated a movement that will result in incalculable value for the moral welfare, social life and industrial conditions of country com- munities. The conservation of religious life in the rural West, while in the formative period, is one of the most pressing demands along the line of home mis- sionary endeavor. If it is ever to be done, now is the time to do it. Along the bench lands and valleys of the Rockies, there are settlements composed mostly of families from the Middle States. One deprivation they sorely feel in these new settlements is lack of church privileges. If the church habit can be continued in these new conditions, it is likely to remain steadfast, but a year or two of their absence results too often in settled indifference and neglect. Recently, the writer has had an experience on the field that illustrates the above statement. Two country communities only ten miles apart are the subjects of the following observations. The one is an old country village (old in the west) where ranchmen and stockmen have been settled a number of years without any church privileges or religious influence. Through the interest of a Christian family recently from the East, my atten- 179 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES tion was called to their spiritual neglect. This field has been visited four times and as many religious services held. All in the village and nearly all the ranchmen have been visited or interviewed within a radius of seven miles. Among the old settlers it seemed almost impossible to awaken interest in re- ligious matters. Most of them have been greatly prospered in worldly affairs, and many have become rich in herds of sheep, cattle and large tracts of land. By gathering a nucleus of a few recent settlers, a regular service has been established and a church of ten members organized. Most of the people were willing to subscribe towards the ma- terial support of the church, but would not promise to attend religious service. Several of them when invited, said, " they had not been to church for so long that they would not know how to behave." In this instance we have a church liberally supported so far as the financial part is concerned, but dis- couragingly sustained in attendance and spiritual interest. Perseverance, constant endeavour and wise administration will no doubt in time change the moral atmosphere and create a religious interest. The old inhabitants will soon pass away, joined to their idols in death, as they have been in life, but the young men and women, through social organi- zation and influence of the church, may be trained for something higher and better than that for which their fathers lived. The process will be slow and 180 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST discouraging. The fixed indifference and almost absolute neglect of religion through one generation cannot be changed in a day. The only entertain- ment this community has enjoyed, the only social function bringing them together for the last twenty years, has been the country dance, an established institution, liberally patronized for many miles distant. Three saloons have flourished, in which three murders were committed in two years. On account of their bad repute the Commissioners were compelled to close them down and took from them their retail license. At present only two saloons exist with a wholesale license, which does not allow drinking on the premises. Can any one imagine a more serious task than to undertake the regenera- tion of such a community? Only men who are true heroes, soldiers of the cross who can endure hardness, are willing to assume such responsibility. This is not an isolated case in the mountain states. It is typical of many others. The other community near by represents a new settlement of farmers. A district embracing 28,- ooo acres recently brought under irrigation by the Carey Act. About fifty families have already taken up homesteads and more are coming every month. This locality was uninhabited three years ago, but now rich harvests are being gathered for the first time. The settlers are mostly poor, with mere shacks of buildings for homes, depending on suc- 181 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES cessive crops for a living and first payments on their land. They represent an industrious and en- ergetic class of people, with righteous ambition and courageous spirit in making for themselves homes in the presence of the " shining mountains." Nearly every family has been represented in the few religious services held in their community. They are sincere and united in effort to establish a religious work in their midst. A church of twenty members has been organized. The membership represents five denominations and six different states, all united heartily in a community church under a denominational name. At every service so far, the attendance completely filled the little school house, the only place where a service could be held, and perhaps the only place they can afford for some- time to come. . This is a sample of a great many new settlements in the West, where a fine oppor- tunity is afforded for demonstrating what a modern church administered on progressive methods can do for the uplift of a rural community. The above examples are given as types of many recently organized churches in newly developed terri- tory and older communities in the West. After organization comes the real problem, which is to supply them with a ministry adapted to the needs and conditions of such settlements. There are no fields so promising in results when wisely adminis- tered. There are few fields so inviting to the man 182 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST who has vision to see the opportunity for service in the Master's Kingdom. Here is the opportunity of the church which is almost criminal to neglect. To the young man seeking a field ready for harvesting, these country parishes are alluring in their possibility of develop- ment. The man who can enlist his sympathies with the common interests of such a class, can mould a whole community after his own pattern and bind his people to him with unfailing affection and rev- erence. The following is another example, that has gone beyond the experimental stage. It is the story of a mountain village, consisting of a railroad station with a ten by ten waiting room, a dingy stove, a similar room for the agent, five residences, none of which would cost more than seven hundred dollars, a mercantile store, lumber yard, grain elevator and small hotel. These constitute the makeup of this little town located in the midst of mountains rising high on every side. Three wagon roads centre in the village, leading up the ravines to benches and uplands where considerable farming is carried on with profitable results. The school house is a two story building. The first story is used for school purposes, and the second, for a general utility hall. It has been used for dances once a month, sometimes every two weeks and not un frequently every week. -There was organized also a whist- 183 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES club which met at frequent intervals, often times having a dozen tables of players. The town people and country lads and lassies from the bench lands all join on the basis of social equality. They play cards or dance until about midnight, then go to the hotel for luncheon (sometimes so early in the morn- ing that it might be called breakfast) after which the boys and girls and some married people mount their ponies and hie up the gulches to their homes distant five to ten miles. The nearest farm house to this village is three miles away, the space between being filled with rugged mountains almost impas- sable, except along the ravines where wagon roads lead through scenery wild and romantic. At some of these dances as many as fifty couple have been present, while the card parties numbered from twenty to fifty persons, mostly young people. For ten years these card parties and dances constituted the only social functions and the only community interests bringing the people together. Possibly once a year an itinerate missionary might hold a religious service attended as a curiosity, rather than with a desire to worship. There was one redeem- ing feature in this village which made it an excep- tion to the usual mountain centre. It had no saloon. Many efforts had been made by different parties to secure a license, but in every case refused by the Commissioners under the protest of the citi- zens. A short time ago permanent and regular re- 184 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST ligious service was established. A minister of ex- ceptional ability, with open vision, initiative gifts, pleasing personality and thoroughly consecrated to his work, was engaged. The change wrought by him among this people is an illustration of what can be done by the village minister in like con- ditions. A Sabbath-school was first organized which in six months reached a membership of one hundred. A social club for the promotion of com- munity interests was constituted with twenty-six members. A country choir was organized which gave occasional concerts and led the singing for re- ligious worship. A library committee was ap- pointed which in a short time secured a fine collec- tion of books and all the principal magazines and daily papers. So it came to pass that the upper room formerly used only for dancing and card play- ing was converted into a reading room and used for religious worship. A ladies' society was or- ganized whose functions were of a social character. They furnished through some months of the year a semi-monthly entertainment. A luncheon was served early in the evening and varied entertain- ments followed. Sometimes a picture show, some- times a dramatic play, sometimes a concert. Also occasional lectures were given free of charge by professors from the State Agricultural College on various subjects pertaining to farming. These enter- tainments were largely attended by the whole com- SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES munity and became events looked forward to with great interest, both on account of their instructive features and the entertainment furnished. The Club has undertaken road improvement and the building of a church, as first efforts among other plans to be carried out in the future. This young minister engaged with the young people in sports such as base ball and other games. He became one among them, their leader and sky pilot by setting a worthy example to follow. He never uttered a word against dancing and card playing, but in six months these forms of amusement had become a thing of the past, having other amusements substi- tuted of more interest and profit. All this change was brought about through this young minister, and yet done in such a quiet unassuming way, that the people themselves seemed to be the leaders. Through his personal touch, he became the uncon- scious force moulding this people after his own high ideal. He took up the burden of this rural community and bore it in the spirit of loving conse- cration till he has witnessed a transformation of moral conditions most inspiring and far reaching. He generated enthusiastic public spirit and civic pride. He conceived and initiated a rational pro- gramme of reform, and steadily pursued it with energy and zeal courageous. The theorist has de- scribed the ideal rural minister as a sort of general superintendent in all agricultural affairs. Of 186 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST course this is all foolish and unreasonable and shows to what extremes theorizing may be carried. The successful features in this case cited, has been the spirit of self-sacrifice, the enkindling per- sonality of an earnest soul, with a contagious en- thusiasm, resulting in unity of social action, if not in belief, and stimulating organization to this end. The difficulty is to find such men. There are many promising opportunities calling for this kind of leadership. Many fields here in the West are alluring to the man of vision. In eastern Mon- tana, the writer has organized ten rural and village churches in the last four years, and only two of them have been able to secure pastoral oversight further than that of the occasional visit of the pastor evangelist and students from the seminaries during a few months in the summer. The follow- ing is a type of many letters being received from these newly organized rural churches. "Dear Doctor: " Our congregation is hungry for a permanent ministry. It is now three years since you organized our church. We have been supplied two summers with students from the seminary. They were both good men and gave us good service. They have been practicing preaching on us I trust to their advan- tage and our edification. It is a question whether the hearers or students have been helped the most. We hope it has been mutual. We would gladly have retained them and would have waited till they had finished their studies, but both re- fused to promise to return, saying, 'they expected a call to a larger field of usefulness.' We can stand this kind of work for a little while, but it does not meet our needs. We are SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES losing ground rather than gaining. Our community needs a permanent ministry, and unless given us soon our organiza- tion which has great possibilities will go to pieces. It is weaker now than when organized. Cannot you get a man for us who will come with the purpose to stay as our leader. We are like lost sheep in the wilderness without a shep- herd. " Sincerely Yours, ." This is a sample of many letters received. The great heart-ache of the superintendent of missions is his powerlessness to supply these pressing needs. We make our appeal to the young men graduating in our seminaries and the response is monotonously the same, " We expect a call to a larger field of use- fulness." The young men are not altogether to blame. Are we not safe in saying that the tendency of seminary training puts the student out of sym- pathy with the country parish? The courses in pastoral theology are given by professors who have been pastors in large city churches. It may be said to the credit of one seminary at least, that last year an eminently successful country minister was in- vited to give a series of lectures before the students on " The Country Parish." One reason for slowness in growth of country churches is the lack of permanency in the pastorate. Many of the students who accept a country field, do so with no other intention that that of making it a stepping stone to a city charge. There are many reasons assigned for the short rural pastorate. Small salaries ; aged ministers who 188 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST take these fields as a last resort; isolation and sepa- ration from ministerial fellowship; publicity given pastors in cities through the religious press, while the hard working, underpaid country minister is ignored; all these have been suggested on the part of the country field. Another reason on the side of the ministry is that of him who comes into a country charge with a conscious superiority, with pre-conceived ideals and theories which he endeavours to enforce, before he has gained confidence by getting into sympathetic touch with his parishioners. His first effort is al- most sure to irritate, to scold and to hector his people. Before many months and in some cases weeks have passed, he has lost out and the necessity is upon him to move on. But whatever be the cause of short pastorates in the country, the fact is manifest. The long country pastorate is generally the one that has a record to be proud of; the one on which the Divine Master has set His seal of approval through a prosperous church. A man with inspiration in his soul can go into any ordinary community or sleepy neighbourhood, and kindle them into a lasting fire of enthusiasm. To do so he must become a constructive community leader. He need not necessarily be specially skilled in any particular task, but he must have a love for whatever task is set before him, dreaming all the 189 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES while in concrete images of possibilities, improving the situation whatever it may be. The few really inspired preachers whp are transforming their parishes, are not possessed of remarkable mental gifts. Their success is not due so much to genius, as to consecrated application. The four great needs in rural life are, intellectual stimulus, eco- nomic reform, social enjoyment and religious faith. The forces the country minister has to contend against are stagnation and discontent, rather than total depravity. Hence a leader must be impelled by the force of an awakened enthusiasm. Instead of possessing ideas, ideas must possess him and push him on to realization. We have cause to be thankful that a new interest has been awakened in behalf of better rural con- ditions. The horizon of the rural minister is being broadened and the responsibility of his position pre- sents opportunity so commanding that it ought to challenge the service of our most gifted men en- tering the ministry. The country is surely coming into recognition of its opportunity. There is no danger of its being magnified beyond its importance among the contributing forces in a progressive church. This is especially true in western rural conditions, for the reason that they are in the plastic stage, unbiased by sectarian preju- dice and untrammelled by denominational rivalry. 190 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST But efficiency must be the watchword of the country minister. Without a winning personality and quali- ties of leadership, he had better look elsewhere for a vineyard to cultivate. Our faith is still in the church as the only or- ganization capable of making these western rural conditions what they ought to be in high ideals, more attractive homes, sounder health and broader lives. " This job of leadership requires the wisdom of the serpent and the tenderness of the dove. Gen- eralities have no place in its success. Concrete cases and definite results mean victory. Volley fir- ing sounds like big business. Sharpshooting is the deadly thing. The first concern of the country minister should be the awakening and developing of religious life in the individual and the home; not religion for the sake of religion, but religion for the sake of character and righteousness. By this time the church should have outgrown evangelism through emotional appeal, and ought to be attain- ing standards of conduct and home training that will make the highest religious life the normal, and the mean and dishonest and shiftless life the un- natural. If the appeal of religion is weakened it is because the individual sense of right and wrong has become confused. If the church has lost its power it is because the home has lost its religion. The 191 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES country church will be energized as the country home is Christianized." (Homiletic Review, May, 1910, page 373.) Along the foothills of the Bridger range we have an example of an ideal country church, that has literally revolutionized the moral condition of a whole community. This settlement was called the " hillers " by those who lived on lower lands. These " hillers " had an unenviable reputation as godless and wicked. Into this hill settlement there came a minister over sixty years of age, who had a vision of future possibilities. The hills produced rich harvests and the farmers were generally pros- perous. A church was organized and worship con- ducted in a school house for five years. Then the people rose up and built a beautiful and commodious house for worship. The membership constantly in- creased. The church became the centre of religious and social life, illustrating the truth that religious and social conditions must go together. Before the organization of the church, Sunday was as any other day of the week. Ploughing, sowing, reaping and threshing went on just the same as any other day. The few church members were in sore straits in the threshing season. If their turn should come on the Sabbath, they were compelled to accept it, or be put down at the bottom of the list and thus be indefinitely postponed. The difficulty was fin- ally met by a combination of Christians buying a 192 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST threshing machine of their own. It proved to be a very successful undertaking and came to be called the " Sunday threshing machine," because it rested on the Sabbath. At first it was a contemptuous designation, but in time commanded respect akin to reverence. It proved to be the beginning of almost universal Sabbath observance in that neighborhood. There are now only a few families who do not at- tend regularly divine worship. All this has been accomplished largely through the influence of one man, after he passed what is commonly supposed to be the ministerial dead line. If asked the secret of his success, he would not hesitate to tell you that it is the prayer of the right- eous and untiring perseverance. Spiritual vision and consecrated service were and still are the im- pelling forces of this successful minister among the " hillers." Yes, the country church still has its mission. May it not have a brighter future than in the past ? The present interest in its welfare indicates larger possibilities to be realized. Give us consecrated leadership, and a new era of the country church is well begun. " The prospects and results in the rural parish present infinitely greater possibilities than the aver- age city church with its secretly aggravating limita- tions to a man's full exercise of his ability and proper scope. The lure of the city has been to 193 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES many ministers a snare and delusion, rilled with a mixture of small and seeming success, loss of some fundamental elements of manhood, trimming and disappointment. The lure of the country looms up larger and gives him free and full scope for all there is in a man, developed and latent. " Back to the country" should be the slogan of the church, for on its fulfillment depends the foundation of city and church vitality, of national prosperity, and of candidates for the ministry. Let no one imagine that the country will be overrun with ministers in such a movement, for only those choice spirits with a vision, enterprise, determination, and a heart de- siring to be of unselfish usefulness in a great and crying cause will respond to the call. The open country neds and beckons to men, spelled large. The rewards are gradual, sure and as broad and full as life itself, both in this world and eternity." (Bulletin of the Western Theological Seminary, April, 1912, page n.) When rural population fails to make its full con- tribution to national character and the spiritual forces of the church, we shall lose one of the most effective sources of supply for religious propaga- tion. The great problem of home missions is the task of re-invigorating village and country churches in the East, and stimulating their organization and equipment in the West. 194 RURAL CONDITIONS IN THE WEST About three-fifths of our population still live in districts of less than 2,500 inhabitants. A very great percentage of ministerial supply, and a very large proportion of religious leaders in cities, are from the village and rural surroundings. For this reason the rural problem is one of the most vital in the whole catalogue of Christian en- deavour. The rural church indicates a centre of in- terest in the onward movements along the lines of progressive work in advancing the Kingdom of God, and the upbuilding of national righteousness. 195 CHAPTER IX RECREATION HOURS FOR scenery and enjoyment, for health and recreation, for all that delights the lover of the outdoors, where can one go for that which is more satisfying and inspiring than up and down the canyons and flower covered slopes of the Rockies? There is an unspeakable charm to an outdoor life amidst the great variety of panoramic beauty, a trip in the mountains affords to those who have taste and appreciation of nature's wildness, unadorned by the touch of human hand. Since engaged exclusively in missionary field work, the writer has had little time for pleasure trips. When a pastor I always had my summer vacations. While they are not denied me now, yet for the last five years, work has been so pressing, that I have not left it for even two or three weeks' outing. I have been limited to two or three days' time when my work happened to call so near a mountain stream, that its irresistible and tempting invitation was too strong for my power of resist- ance. There is something indescribably charming 196 RECREATION HOURS in a mountain stream. When riding through the canyons on the cars, I always have a longing to change my plush covered seat for one on the rock, around which whirls and swirls foaming waters. The eye never gets weary in watching the curls and eddies and waves as they dance over their rocky bottoms. There is that kind of fascination that soothes the mind, while kept in activity, like the activity of the running water; it stirs to action, but is tireless in motion. It produces that kind of in- dolence defined by Dr. Henry Van Dyke, as a virtue. " It comes from two Latin words, which mean freedom from anxiety or grief. And that is a wholesome state of mind. There are times and seasons when it is even a blessed state of mind. Not to be in a hurry ; not to be ambitious or jealous or resentful; not to feel envious of anybody; not to fret about to-day nor worry about to-morrow, that is the way we all ought to feel at some time of our lives; and that is the kind of indolence in which our brooks faithfully encourage us." These words describe that state of mind often felt in the cheerful companionship of mountain streams, which have the power to separate from the arti- ficial life in the throngs of commerce and trade. Here is the land of forgetfulness and delightful pleasures, pure as the water flowing from under the rock, or the melting snow from yonder mountain top. 197 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES For those who seek the purest air and water, scenery unsurpassed, and all that goes to recreate tired bodies, overstrained nerves, and weary minds, let me recommend Montana, which according to Joaquin Miller, has the only classic name among the constellation of states. This poetic and most appropriate name was familiar to the school boy so far back as the time when western Europe was still the vague and dim ultima thule. " Nearly all the states have Indian names. The few exceptions are those named in honour of foreign rulers, and the Father of our country, and two or three that are of Spanish origin. But here is one that stands apart and alone, distinct even in name as in many his- toric incidents, characteristics, soil, products and physical features." Such a country is mentally in- spiring as well as' physically invigorating. Quoting again from the same author, " The mountains have ever been the bulwark of freedom. Valour is born there, virtue is cherished there, and these are the seeds of song and story. No land ever yet had a literature to endure, that had not these for its theme, these offsprings of the pure, sweet atmos- phere, and sublime splendour of the mountains ; and the more glorious the mountains, the more glorious the song and story. Here great men in the glorious pursuits of peace laid the foundation stones without the cement of blood, and reared a great state of material, fresh from the hand of God. There is 198 RECREATION HOURS nothing in all the history of civilization more pa- thetic, more dramatic, than the untold story of the Montana veteran. In truth, which ever way you turn, whatever you may say of valour and endur- ance, whatever you may see in the magnificence of nature, be it in river or mountain, lake of fire or head-heaved chain of frost, Montana stands match- less, peerless and alone, a thousand miles from the seas, garmented in silver and gold, a diadem of precious stones, a mantle of green or gold about her stately figure as the seasons come and go, there she stands above the world. Those who stood as veterans by the cradle of this stateliest of all the sisterhood of states, should have their memory kept green in song and story, as among the brave and courageous founders who have erected the altar in presence of the " shining mountains." Flathead, McDonald and Swan Lakes, are all pictures of beauty, encased in the very heart of the Rocky Mountain range and surrounded by thickly timbered forests extending from the lofty peaks of Mission range and Kootenai mountains to the water's edge, making a frame work of varied and exquisite setting, are among the many resorts which invite nature lovers and sportsmen. Game of all kinds are in the mountains, and fish in the lakes and tributary streams; the latter so abundant that the law makes no restriction for any season of the year. For large game, districts near or adjacent 199 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES to the Yellowstone National Park afford the best hunting of any place in the state. There they have become plentiful through protection in the Park, and as there is only an imaginary boundary line separating the reserve, bear, elk, deer and antelope, wander over the line with little regard to danger, except that which their natural instincts prompt. But in the Northwestern lake country, the skill- ful and tireless hunter is richly rewarded in his search for big game. Swan lake region especially is the paradise of the sportsman. A wagon road leads from Flathead Lake to its foot, where it emp- ties into the Big Fork River, but beyond that for many miles there are only trails which lead into thousands of acres of timbered reserve, through which here and there flow mountain streams empty- ing into the lake, all so full of trout that the fisher- man's basket can be filled in a few hours with speckled beauties. I well remember my first trip to this lake. We were met by an old guide at the end of the wagon road with our camping outfit. He was a typical man of the woods. When we arrived, he was waiting for us with his little scow in which were to be packed our camping outfit for two weeks. This guide possessed all the virtues and vices of his class. The first question on our arrival was, "Where is your jug?" It happened that we had brought with us a jug of blackberry un- fermented wine, for it was really a temperance com- 200 RECREATION HOURS pany. He was not long however in scenting it. He lifted the jug over one arm, pulled the cork out and took a smell of its contents. He was not easily fooled and discovered at once the mild character of the liquid, and put it down with a disgusted grunt and disappointed look, saying in language (a part of which I will not repeat) " that stuff is good only for women and preachers." He did not know at the time that there was a preacher in the company, so he spoke truer than he knew. His appetite craved for something much stronger, and in such mild drinks he had no temptation to indulge. The sixteen miles to the head of the lake was one continuous panorama of mountain scenery that would charm the most unobservant soul into excla- mations of delight. What an ideal place for a camp ? It was a little knoll some twenty feet above the water's edge, with background of gently sloping mountain, and foreground of as beautiful a sheet of water as ever kissed the sunlight; beyond, the Kootenaies lifted their lofty peaks in all the vari- gated colouring with which the first frosts of autumn tinge the forests. In the sloughs were plenty of ducks, in the woods, grouse, deer and bear; in the waters the most beautiful fish God ever made. The marks of bear were all around us, where the thorn bushes were broken down in their efforts to reach their favourite berry, but not a bear did we see. They are the wildest of game and hardest to find of 201 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES any in the woods. They are not to be feared, ex- cept when wounded or in defence of their young. After the second day we had venison, grouse, duck and trout on our bill of fare, and for dessert wild strawberries gathered near our tent. What Isaac Walton said, as quoted by another, that " doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did," was in reference to the wild strawberry, not the cultured one, for what advantage the cultivated strawberry has in size, is more than lost in flavor. The description given by Dr. Henry Van Dyke, may carry with it much that is imagination, but is worthy of frequent quotation, " Each one as it touched my lips was a drop of nectar and a crumb of ambrosia, a concentrated es- sence of all the pungent sweetness of the wildwood, sapid, penetrating and delicious. I tasted the odour of a hundred blossoms, and the green shimmering of innumerable leaves, and the sparkle of sifted sunbeams and the breath of highland breezes and the song of birds and the murmur of flowing streams all in the wild strawberry." Such a feast of good things the gods might envy, and along with it the consciousness that none of these good things were brought from the store around the corner. They were first hand from nature's provision for man in the wilderness. Because fishermen have been called proverbial liars, I hesitate to tell fish stories. When the 202 RECREATION HOURS Psalmist said that "all men are liars," he might have had in mind this class of men. It has been suggested that Peter, fabled to be the gate keeper in heaven, being a fisherman himself, will make great allowance for fishermen when they apply for admittance. At the risk of being considered guilty with all the rest, I will relate the results of one afternoon's fishing on Flathead Lake, when with two others and trolling lines on a steam yacht, we caught thirty-three bull trout weighing in all fifty-five pounds. After all, this kind of fishing is not that which the true sportsman is proud of. It is too easy and does not require much skill. It is not to be compared to the fascination, as well as skill, on the stream with rod and fly. (The grasshopper is more attractive, though its use would not be con- sidered sportsmanlike.) Speaking of lying, let it be said that the sin is entirely too common, and is not to be laid always at the door of the fisherman. A few years ago, my book on " Social Regeneration " was published. I had a very close and intimate friend, then occupy- ing a very prominent and important political posi- tion in our state. He was a member of my church, and a regular attendant at the morning service on the Sabbath day. I gave him a copy of my book to read. Some four weeks later he returned the book with thanks, saying that " he had read it with profit and pleasure." To my surprise and no little cha- 203 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES grin, not a leaf, not even the introduction page, had been cut. After our appointed time we returned down the lake, loaded with a great variety of game. One of our company was taken sick just as we were leaving the camp, and was later given over to the care of the good lady who kept a log cabin inn at the foot of the lake where we remained over night. She was very kind in administering to our unfortunate brother, restoratives of an intoxicating character, but dealt them out in very small quantities, for she mistook the sick man to be the minister, knowing that one was in the company she was entertaining. The small dose had the effect however of reviving our friend to such an extent that he wished for more of the same kind, on the supposition that if a little would do so much good, a larger dose would surely make him well. But she positively refused his request for more, saying that she would not be guilty of making the minister drunk, for if he had not sense enough to exercise judgment for himself, she would exercise a little sense for him. This was one time our friend regretted being taken for a minister, however much honour the title might do him. The Bitter Root Valley is a noted and popular re- sort for recreation hours. It is no less remarkable for its agricultural interests, and especially for apples and other fruits. It has an ideal climate 204 RECREATION HOURS and rich soil; well watered by the many mountain streams which flow into it from the Bitter Root range on the west, and the less abrupt Hellgate range on the east. From this valley are shipped annually thousands of car loads of the far-famed Red Mclntosh apples, to adorn the tables of the most fashionable hotels in the East, and in fact sent across the sea to London and other Euro- pean cities. The little mountain streams from either side of the valley, pitch abruptly from the canyons and feed the Bitter Root, extending south- ward a hundred miles from the city of Missoula. The river itself is the place to fish for the big three pound cut-throat trout, but the tributaries have plenty of good fish and afford pleasure and exhila- ration for the sportsman. On a certain occasion when buying a railroad ticket at Pony, Montana, the agent, R. F. Welliver, began reciting a classic poem, on the picturesque "Bitter Root Valley," where he had been on a recent visit. It awakened his poetic genius, ex- pressed in the following lines, which contain more truth than vision. "There's a fabled land somewhere in the West, Where all is joy and man is blessed, Where the Hesperian Gardens their beauties unfold, Bright trees of silver, bearing apples of gold, Tis the Bitter Root. Rasselas, the prince of happy valley fame, Whose search to get out was silly and vain, 205 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES If Dr. Johnson had placed in the fair Bitter Root, His royal "nibs" would have made no effort to scoot From the Bitter Root. 'Tis said St. Peter binds the Missourian with a chain To keep him from going back to Missouri again, If in the Bitter Root he had heaved his last sigh, He would need a steel cage built strong and high, To keep him from going back to the Bitter Root. Montana has many rare gems in her crown, Brilliants of world-wide fame and renown, Fields of golden grain, mountains of copper, silver and gold, But the fairest jewel her diadems hold, Is the Bitter Root. If a few years ago I had bought Bitter Root dirt, I might, now in a " Buzzer " ride and with dame fortune flirt, Have mushrooms on my beefsteak, pockets full of cash, My women folks togged out in silks cutting a big dash, In the Bitter Root. If there is a land that is fairer than this, J Tis over the great divide in the realms of bliss. The half to me had never been told, Of the Mclntosh orchards bearing apples of gold, In the Bitter Root" But the choice of all the streams in Montana is the Big Black foot. None to me are so fascinating or possess such a variety of interests for the pleas- ure seeker. Here you will find the big salmon, rainbow and cut-throat trout in great abundance. It undoubtedly furnishes the best fishing on the western slope of the main range of the Rockies in Montana. The railroads have not yet invaded its seclusion, although at present writing one is pushing its iron rails up this valley. Miss May Ellis, has 206 RECREATION HOURS written in song a description of the Black foot as seen with a poet's eye. The last two verses are descriptive of the coming of the iron horse and the laying of the iron rails. "THE BLACKFOOT." "'Neath a sky like an arch of turquoise, You ripple and laugh and sing. And time sleeps to your music, Folding his idle wing. The wind in the pines is singing A melody soft and low Sings thro' the dream of the lonely stream A song of the long ago. The Indian's campfires smoulder By nooks where the grey trout sleep, The deer's wide antlers are lifted From the alder thickets deep, The far-off call of the night bird, Floats in thro* the tepee door, Where the braves asleep in the shadows deep Follow the chase once more. The faint perfume of the wild rose Steals far thro* the silent night, The mists drape the mountain's bosom With a veil of bridal white, The silver spears of the moonlight Break 'gainst the cliff's grey wall While the river leaps o'er its rocky steeps And sings as it nears the fall. Oh, wide free stretch of the prairie : Oh, pines where the night winds sigh: The smoky finger of commerce Is writing your doom on the sky. The soft grey mists are lifting From the mountains the dusky face, 207 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES From the lofty brow that soon shall bow 'Neath the yoke of an alien race. The peaceful hush of your forests, The wild flowers' garlands of bloom, The velvet robes of your mountains Shall sink 'neath an asphalt tomb. The scream of the slaver's whistles Shall silence the night bird's call, And Mammon's chains as he counts his gains Shall bind the land in thrall." For forty years or more it has been the favourite fishing and hunting region with lovers of sport. It is reached on the eastern side from Helena, dis- tant sixty miles, by crossing the main divide. The trip over the range from Helena is of itself worth a long journey. Both sides of the mountain are thickly timbered, except-here and there, where there are slopes and bench lands, some under cultivation, but mostly used for pasture, and where flowers grow of a hundred or more varieties in such pro- digality as to make these slopes look like rich gar- dens, whose fragrance is wafted on the winds for many miles. Speaking of fragrant wild flowers, the geolo- gists inform us (whether they are correct or not I do not know) that all the eras of the earth's history previous to the Micene period, were destitute of perfumes. "Forests of club mosses and ferns, hid in their sombre bosom no bright-eyed floweret, and shed from verdant boughs no scented richness on the passing breeze. Palms and cycads, though 208 RECREATION HOURS ushering in the dawn of a brighter floral day, pro- duced no perfume breathing blossoms. But when it came to the period of man's birth, he was placed in a sweet scented garden as his home. It was adorned with labiate flowers, exhaling a rich aro- matic fragrance." However true the above theory, we do know that now there is a fragrance in the breath of the woods and wild flowers, that throws a charm and fascina- tion about the mountain's presence. As you near the higher elevation and approach the summit of the Rockies between Helena and the Blackfoot in the month of June, you will see acres of bear- tooth, with its cone-like shape, spread out before you like a white sheet of most exquisite blossoms. Along the Blackfoot are many choice places for camping, by springs sending forth their waters cold as ice and pure as can possibly be found or pro- duced any place in this beautiful world God has made for us to enjoy. There is something morally elevating in such an atmosphere and surroundings. In the presence of such entrancing scenery the soul is lifted up to its Creator. The strength and tower- ing majesty of the hills exalts the Maker and humbles man, but brings him into friendly rela- tions with the source of all power. Humility is a very desirable grace. Pride goeth before a fall. Ministers above all others need to learn this lesson, and if it cannot be learned in pres- 209 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES ence of Creative power as witnessed in God's handi- work, we are apt to learn it through experience, when our conceit gets the better of us. The following incident is an illustration from personal experience. I was spending a part of my vacation in Spokane, where I had an appointment to supply a pulpit for two Sabbaths. While stop- ping at the hotel, I made the acquaintance of a resident of the city, but who was at the time stop- ping at the same place. We became quite friendly, and one Sabbath morning I invited him to go to church with me, which invitation he kindly ac- cepted. In the afternoon, I met him in the lobby of the hotel, when he took my hand and thanked me for that very excellent sermon and pronounced it in his judgment the very best he had heard since he came to the city. I could not help but feel con- siderably elated at such a compliment from a man whose intelligence would make him a good judge of a sermon. But after he had inflated my balloon of self-esteem, with the gas of unmerited praise, he suddenly punctured it and let it all out by inform- ing me, that it was the first and only sermon he had heard since he came to Spokane. Another incident of a very different character, happened during one of my vacations on the Black foot. It was my custom to preach on the Sabbath in the little school house, which was the only religious service held in that part of the coun- 210 RECREATION HOURS try for several years. I thus became acquainted with a good Christian family living on the west side of the valley through whose ranch flowed a small stream out of the mountains near by. I was invited to dinner in this home, during the week with a view of becoming better acquainted and spending a part of the time fishing. I found it to be a very interesting family and a genuine Christian home. The father had been in the habit of holding a Sunday-school in his own house, composed of his family, consisting of two girls and one boy. They had lesson papers and kept in touch with the Inter- national series of Bible study. After dinner I took my basket and rod and went out for an hour or two of fishing. The little boy, eight years of age, re- quested the privilege of going with me, and of course the request was readily granted. My first cast was a very successful one. With a little sur- prise the boy looked up and said, " Well I guess you can fish as well as preach." It was truly an ideal stream for fishing, and after I had caught as many as desired, we sat down together on a rock by the water's edge, for a little social chat. The boy .said to me in a very confidential tone and sincere man- ner, " Doctor, did you know that I am going to be a preacher some day when I get big?" I asked him when he had reached that decision. He replied, " Two years ago when I was converted at the serv- ice you held in our school house," I had no knowl- 211 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES edge of his conversion at the time, but he insisted that he became a Christian on that occasion and de- cided he would be a minister. I was very much im- pressed with the sincerity of his manner and wis- dom beyond his years, and on making further in- quiry was convinced that it was more than a child- ish fancy. I have kept in touch with that boy ever since. He has never swerved or wavered from his deter- mination and is now pursuing his studies with a view of entering the ministry. If my life is spared long enough I expect to see and hear him in the pul- pit. And thus the seed is sown. It takes root in unexpected places. In recreation hours and busy days, unconsciously we are witnessing for the Master. I have spoken of the wild flowers on the moun- tains. Before I close this chapter I want to speak of a bird whose friendship for mountain streams and waterfalls is such that we never fail to hear and see him on our vacation trips along the water- ways of canyon and valley. It is the Ouzel or Water Thrush. Dark days and sunny days are all the same to him. His voice suffers no winter of eclipse. He sings through all the seasons and every kind of weather. John Muir, calls him " the mountain streams' own darling," the humming bird of blooming waters, loving rocky, rippling slopes and sheets of foam as a bee loves flowers, as a lark 212 RECREATION HOURS loves sunshine and meadows. " Among all the mountain birds none are so cheery, so unfailingly happy and full of song. Both in winter and sum- mer he sings, sweetly, cheerily, independent, alike in winter and summer, in sunshine and cloud, re- quiring no other inspiration than the stream on which he dwells. While water sings, so must he, in heat and cold, calm and storm, ever attuning his voice in sweet accord; low in the drought of summer and the cold of winter, but never silent." To-night, we sit around the campfire near our tent. The full moon comes up from beyond the mountain and looks down on us with beaming face. We hear the song of the waterfalls rushing over the boulder bottoms, mingling with the sound of cas- cades half a mile away; the tall yellow pines bow- ing their heads gracefully in the evening breeze, and the brooding spirit of the valley, with a chorus of subdued sounds ; all these possess the soul, under a canopy of stars. To-morrow, we lift our stakes, fold our tents, and return to the sterner duties of life, which have been cast off for a time. We are sadly conscious that this is only a resting place, a quiet hour of preparation. Our tabernacles are to be built amidst the throng and busy marts of trade, where the fever of strenuous exertion, cares and worries of life need the comforting, controlling and uplifting influence of infinite compassion and Divine love. 213 CHAPTER X LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK ON my first trip as field missionary, I met on the train a brother minister and veteran in similar work. For twenty years he had been travelling through the state, his zeal and en- thusiasm increasing with his years. Knowing of my appointment to this new field of service, he took my hands, congratulating me in the great opportunity for usefulness, with assurance that the work would prove to be a surprising means of grace. After these years of actual experience his prophecy has come true, for I can now testify that my vision has been enlarged, the spiritual horizon broadened, and service for the Master more inspiring and en- joyable than ever before. I have found more real hardships than in the regular pastorate and much less material compensation, but the assurance that I have been used in a larger and broader service, has more than compensated for any sacrifice made through the deprivation of home comforts and in- conveniences which must necessarily be met by the travelling missionary. 214 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK This closing chapter of an imperfect and to the writer an unsatisfactory portrayal of the spiritual conquest going on along the Rockies, will be devoted to a few brief narratives, incidents and suggestions gathered on the field. A MONTH'S RECORD Jan. i. The beginning of a new year marks an- other mile stone, not only in the years of an earthly pilgrimage, but also shows manifest progress in the spiritual conquest of a new West rapidly filling up with a population whose redemption is imperative. Jan. 2. Enjoying a few days' rest and quiet medi- tation and preparation for a series of special meetings planned for two months in advance. Jan. 6. The first of a series of meetings at C began to-night with a small audience and indi- cations of very cold weather. Jan. 7. A cold wave struck us, interfering very seriously with our meetings. Twenty degrees below zero last night, and holding on with in- dications of lower temperature. Jan. 8. Larger attendance in spite of cold weather and increasing interest. Jan. 9. Cold wave continues, but larger audience, yet apparent lack of spiritual feeling. Had five invitations for meals to-day, but as I can- 215 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES not stand more than three and can get along very well on two, was under the necessity of declining some of them. When one preaches every night, he would rather be excused from social duties. The kindness of these Western people surprises me more and more, as I go through different parts of the state. Also I find the general standard of morality higher than was supposed. Back of rough exteriors there are big and generous hearts. The king- dom of God is coming where we suspect it not, in the still, small voice of growing goodness. Jan. 10. Twenty-two degrees below zero last night. Sinners are not flocking towards the church in great numbers, but to-night we were made glad by two remaining for the inquiry meeting at close of service. Jan. 12. A clear, bright Sabbath day with sunshine. It has been a day of great blessing and spir- itual uplift. The evening meeting was char- acterised by intense spiritual interest. After the sermon a young man of high social stand- ing and influence, who had been a church mem- ber before he came West, but who had fallen into the ways of the world, came forward, put his hand on my shoulder in a friendly way, confessing that he had been living a fast and loose life, but was now determined to be a bet- ter man. 216 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK Jan. 13. Monday evening small attendance, but deep interest prevailed. Jan. 14. Largest attendance of any meeting since the beginning but no marked results. Jan. 15. Seventy-five persons at the meeting to- night, which may seem very small, but when we consider that the town has a population of less than four hundred, it represents an au- dience for which to be thankful. Jan. 1 6. Closing meeting with reception of ten new members on profession of faith in Christ. Closed with the largest attendance of any of the meetings. Many regrets expressed that they could not be continued another week. It takes nearly two weeks' meetings before the people become aroused and awakened to such opportunities offered in special efforts of this kind. Jan. 17. All day on the cars' going to another ap- pointment for the Sabbath. Another cold wave has come. Landed at M station, where there is nothing but a section house. No one to meet me. Had to walk three miles into the country to find entertainment, facing a fearful blizzard all the way. Jan. 1 8. Saturday a day of rest in the home of a Scotch elder whose hospitality is free and cordial. On the banks of the Yellowstone, his little home of three rooms, is like a street 217 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES car, always room for one more. For me the latch string has always been out, and a hearty welcome on all occasions. Jan. 19. Sunday morning very cold. Thermom- eter registers forty-two degrees below zero. .We drove three miles to the school house, where we were to hold service, and where we organized a church three months before of fif- teen members, all ranchers and their families. When we reached the school house there was no fire. It seemed like a very cold reception, and imagination was not required to be very vivid to make it more than seeming. It was the real thing. This is the coldest weather I have ever experienced in this or any other coun- try. Some consolation in the fact, as they tell us, that such cold weather never lasts more than two or three days. One day would fully satisfy me. Yet this I must say, that I have suffered more from cold in San Francisco in the month of August than I suffer here in this low temperature. There is perfect stillness in the atmosphere, and the smoke from the chim- neys ascends straight towards the sky without a waver. We soon had the school house com- fortably warm. Twenty-three persons came to the service. At the conclusion of the ser- mon, I announced that on account of the se- vere weather, we would cancel our appointment 218 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK for the evening. Some of the young people spoke out in the meeting, saying that they were coming to the Christian Endeavour meet- ting anyhow. I took it as rather a rebuke to my weakness, so I told them if they could come, I could also. To my surprise, in the evening there were thirty present, which was certainly a good congregation under such weather conditions. One family came five miles and had no complaint to make about cold weather. At the conclusion of this service I rode three miles to the station, where I had to take the train at four o'clock the next morning to reach my next appointment. The only sleeping ac- commodation I had was on the dining-room ta- ble at the section house. But I was thankful for that, as I had plenty of fuel and a stove by my side to keep me warm. Jan. 20. Arrived at G early in the afternoon, where I had to stay all night to get the stage next morning which left at seven o'clock. Jan. 21. Rode thirty-five miles by stage and reached my destination at two o'clock in the afternoon. It was really a very pleasant ride through a very interesting country. A Chinook wind prevailed raising the temperature to twenty- five degrees above zero. These Chinook winds nearly always follow a cold spell of weather, 219 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES which are a puzzle to the Weather Bureau and scientists generally. I have seen a foot of snow melt away in eight hours. We cannot tell whence they come nor whither they go. Jan. 22. F is a small town and new, with few and very poor accommodations. The only place I could find for entertainment, was in a lumber yard office, through the kindness of the clerk, who allowed me to share his bedroom, which was used for office as well. Held serv- ice two nights with encouragement to organize a church later in the season. Jan. 24. Rode twenty-five miles farther on to a country village where I am to preach and ad- minister the Lord's Supper. We have in B a nice church building with thirty members, who last year raised seven hundred dollars for support of their minister. At the present time the church is without a pastor. Found de- lightful and hospitable entertainment at the home of Elder B , who is a well-to-do far- mer, living two miles from the village. Jan. 27. A beautiful Sabbath morning, moderately warm. Preached in the morning to an audi- ence that filled the church to the extent of its seating capacity. Received two new members and administered the Lord's Supper to as in- telligent congregation as can be found any- where. 220 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK Jan. 28. A friend took me to the railroad ten miles distant. Crossed the Missouri River on the ice. Boarded the train for my home five hundred miles away, where I knew loving ones were anxiously waiting my coming and I was none the less anxious to see them. Jan. 29. Reached home after an absence of four weeks. Think I never lacked appreciation of the blessings of home, but after such a trip as just described, it seems a little more precious than when it is an uninterrupted enjoyment. A TYPICAL WESTERN TOWN The town of Three Forks is being built on one of the most historic spots in Montana. In the jour- nal of Lewis and Clark, when on their exploration trip in 1805, there is written the following record. " The southeast fork we call Gallatin's river, in honour of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treas- ury; the middle fork we call Madison's river, in honour of James Madison, Secretary of State; and the southwest fork, we call Jefferson's river, in honour of that illustrious personage, Thomas Jef- ferson, President of the United States." The meeting place of these three rivers, which form the headwaters of the Missouri, is not only rich in historic incidents, but also one of the most beautiful spots along the Rockies. More than a 221 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES century has passed since the encampment of the Lewis and Clark exploring party on this historic spot. I am now writing in a hotel, named after Saca- jawea, the Indian girl guide, who next to Lewis and Clark themselves did more than any one person toward making this expedition a success. Sacajawea, the "Little Bird Woman" as she was afterwards called, was a Shoshonee Indian girl who had been captured by the Black foot Indians, and taken East to the Mandan country five years before Lewis and Clark found her. She was res- cued by them, and became their faithful guide and was brought back to her native country. She was of invaluable help, for to her natural shrewdness and wisdom, the success of the expedition is largely due. Sacajawea lived the last part of her life on the Wind River Reservation and died April 9th, 1884, almost one hundred years old. There was erected in Portland, Oregon, in 1905, a splendid statue of the "Little Bird Woman" Princess of the Sho- shonees. Three Forks in years past was Indian battle- ground. Here numerous Indian trails centred, and the tribes gathered and camped, preparatory to going on their big buffalo hunts at certain sea- sons of the year. If the hills and plains hereabouts could speak of those wild days, when the wigwams of the Indians were the only dwellings in this beau- 222 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK tiful valley of the " Shining Mountains," what thrilling tales they could tell ? Great changes have taken place in the last few years. Two transcontinental railroads pass through this valley, and only four years ago, Sep- tember, 1908, the little city of Three Forks was christened, and is growing amidst these historic as- sociations. Near Three Forks three other small rivers empty into the Jefferson, which Lewis and Clark called, Wisdom, Philosophy and Philan- thropy, also in honour of President Jefferson, whom they said, was " the embodiment of these virtues." For some unexplainable reason, these rivers since have been called Willow Creek, Big Hole, and Ruby. The town was located about one mile West of where the three rivers join to form the Missouri. It received its impetus by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, making it a division point for both passenger and freight trains. It was the writ- er's privilege to conduct the first religious service held in the new town four years ago. At that time there were about one dozen buildings mostly for business and saloons. The people lived in tents. There were thirteen saloons opened be- fore the town had a population of three hundred. They have since been reduced to eight, and the council refuses to license any more. I came into this town Saturday morning, and at 223 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES once began looking around for some place to hold religious service on the coming Sabbath. Fortu- nately I found an empty store-room, that was to be opened for business the next Monday. Some boxes of goods were already stored there, and the flour was covered with shavings and debris the carpen- ters had left. Providentially I found a good Chris- tian man, who was a contractor, engaged in building houses, and several others working under him, all favourably disposed in assisting my prepa- rations for religious service. Empty boxes were found and placed each side of the room. Boards were put on the boxes for seats. After these prepa- rations were finished, I visited the tents, the few stores already doing business and also the saloons, and gave them all a personal invitation to attend the meeting. There were only a few women in the town and the audience Sabbath morning was com- posed of thirty-five men and four women. There is an indefinable fascination about these new towns, composed mostly of young people full of hope and energy. This one especially, entwined by rivers and circled by mountains snow-covered many months in the year, appealed to my sympathy and interest as few others have in my experience. I made arrangements to visit them once a month. Our chief difficulty was in finding a place to hold our service, for as yet there was no school house or hall of any kind where an audience could be as- 224 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK sembled. New store rooms were being built and our services were generally held wherever an empty room could be found. On my fourth visit I started out to raise money to build a little chapel. The people had small means to assist in such an undertaking, but I succeeded in raising about four hundred dollars and begged some three hundred more from friends East and West, from near and far. In six weeks we had our little Chapel ready for service. While canvassing the town for money, I visited a lady whose husband was a leading saloon keeper. She subscribed ten dollars, and requested me to call on her husband and tell him to give the same amount. This request I complied with and called on him in his saloon, at the time full of men drink- ing, playing cards and having a good time generally. I called the proprietor to one side and made known my business. He very willingly subscribed the same amount as his wife. I said to him however, that I would have him distinctly understand that ac- cepting his subscription in no sense meant any com- promise with his business, and that the church stood for temperance and sobriety. He gave me a very interesting look and asked for the subscription pa- per, which I surmised was for the purpose of eras- ing his name and withdrawing his subscription. In taking the paper, he said to me, " Parson, I guess you are kind of white," and to my surprise put 225 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES down ten dollars more, went to his money drawer and paid it in cash. On the opening day of our little chapel, we organ- ized a church of twelve members. To illustrate the transient character of the population in a town of this type, one year later all but two of these mem- bers had left for other parts of the country. Others however came in to take their place. The town has been steadily advancing and has now a popula- tion of about twelve hundred, with two bank build- ings, three lumber yards, a high-school building, and the Sacajawea Hotel, costing nearly fifty thou- sand dollars, having all the modern conveniences, such as are found in hotels in the large cities. The town has electric light, cement side-walks, a water and sewer system underway, a branch railroad run- ning through the far famed Gallatin Valley to Boze- man, and another being built as a branch line to Helena, and every indication that in a few years there will be a population of five thousand people. The little chapel was soon overcrowded. An addi- tion has been finished, giving a seating capacity of one hundred and fifty. Another denomination was organized later, but so far has no church building. The promising future justifies another organization. Preparations are being made for a more pretentious building the coming summer. To the stranger, and one not acquainted with western conditions, this little city seems crude and 226 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK rough as he looks at the small cottages and two- roomed houses, but a closer observation fascinates, because of the buoyant, energetic and wide-awake spirit of its citizens. Everything indicates that in a short time we shall have here, not only a self-sup- porting church, but one contributing largely to the extension of the Christian cause throughout the world. AN ISOLATED COMMUNITY Clarke's Fork River, on leaving the Yellowstone Park Reserve, breaks through a canyon twenty-five miles long. Below the mouth of the canyon, there is a valley from five to ten miles wide, extending down the river several miles, where the mountains reach out an arm cut in two by the swift running water. In this valley, shut in by the mountains on every side, about fifty families have taken home- steads, attracted by the fertility of the soil and fine climate. The nearest railroad station is twenty-five miles distant. A few are settlers of an early date, but most of them are recent comers in this pictur- esque valley. They came from the Middle States and were accustomed to religiqus privileges in their former homes. Being so far from railroads, the raising of alfalfa hay, is the chief business of the ranchmen. This finds a ready market among the sheep and cattle men who herd large flocks in this western corner of Wyoming. Cody is the county 227 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES seat, thirty-five miles distant, and most of the year the road is impassable on account of unbridged rivers and deep snow. Their mail comes from the Mon- tana side three times a week. Being so isolated in this corner of the mountains, they are cut off from all centres of thickly settled communities. Only a few tourists find this lonely, but beautiful spot among the mountains. A few fishermen have dis- covered it to be a sportsman's paradise. The settle- ment is not large enough to support a town, nor even a blacksmith shop, but they have a postofiice. Uncle Sam never neglects the remotest subjects of his kingdom. The postofiice is at the end of the stage route, in a large log house, where the occasional traveller and in certain seasons sportsmen are entertained. These settlers being mostly Christian people, at first keenly felt the deprivation of religious worship for here they were too thinly settled and scattered to sustain even a Sabbath-school. On one of my missionary trips I met a ranch- man from this settlement, who was on his annual visit to the nearest town and railroad station to buy supplies for the winter. From him I learned of this community and received a most pressing invitation to visit them and conduct a re- ligious service in their school house. I was very much impressed with his earnest desire to have me do something for them in a religious way. He told 228 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK me that for more than a year they had not seen a minister or missionary, in that part of the country. I then resolved to make them a visit on the first oc- casion I could spare from pressing engagements. It was about six months later when I found the opportunity to visit them. It was a long and dusty ride in the heat of summer. The stage route led along or near the river through a very interesting though rugged country. The mistress of the only house where entertainment could be furnished, was a good Christian woman, a splendid cook and very neat housekeeper. It being in mid-summer, garden vegetables were ripe, and they were certainly prepared in a style that would quicken even an ordi- nary appetite. The good lady appreciated my visit, for it was a rare privilege to entertain a minister in her home. Not only vegetables of great variety, but fried spring chicken, for which ministers have some reputation, were a part of the menu. The following incident which occurred after supper is evidence of some special attention she gave me. Two fishermen from Billings were there spending a short vacation. After supper, we were sitting in the yard, talking over the day's catch and the rattlesnakes killed and those seen and not killed, the big fish that got away and so on. One of them said to me, " Parson, we had good living before you came, but no fried chicken, and if your presence will bring forth such meals, I will 229 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES willingly pay your boarding the rest of the week." The postoffice being in her house, we did not have much difficulty in notifying the neighbourhood of the religious service to be held the following Sabbath. It is seldom the privilege of the preacher to ad- dress a more interesting congregation than was gathered in that log school house on this occasion. Two families came seven miles in a big wagon, loaded with others they picked up on the way. The school house was crowded to its utmost capacity. The inspiring influence of that service to the preacher cannot be described in words. It is very different from preaching to audiences accustomed to hear the Gospel every week. There is an appre- ciation and interest that make such a service mu- tually helpful to the minister and the people. There are many districts in the West similar to this one just described, that are without adequate Gospel privileges, and in fact without any religious service whatever. There is however this difference, that many of these communities have settled down to stolid indifference and religious apathy, from which they are hard to arouse. After the service they gathered around me with expressions of sincerest thankfulness for my coming, and plead for a regular service, pledging support as they were able. I mention this incident because it presents one 230 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK of the problems yet to be solved in furnishing ade- quate Gospel privileges to all the people. A regular minister in a community like this would have to be supported almost entirely by the board of home mis- sions. The people are willing to give liberally ac- cording to their means, but their ability to give is very limited. Furthermore, there is no possibility for a community like this one to make much growth in the future. In time these new settlers will be able to give larger support, but their number will increase very little on account of the limited amount of land available. However arrangements were made for a summer service by a student from the seminary and an oc- casional visit provided for during the winter sea- son. This is the best we have been able to do for this isolated community. Since my last visit, a church of small membership has been organized and all efforts possible have been put forth to give them preaching as often as practicable with other duties and obligations. How little we know of the de- privations of these good people, who for love of a home they can call their own, live in this isolation and separation from the great centres of population. Very few western towns of two hundred popula- tion and upwards are without the means of grace, or the ministrations of some organized church. There are nevertheless many country communi- ties of from twenty to fifty families, with post- 231 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES office and school houses, that have practically no religious instruction through the preaching of the Word of God. Some are as religiously neglected as if in a heathen country. How these communities are to have the Gospel preached to them, and where the men are to be found who will minister to them, remains a prob- lem still to be solved by the missionary boards of our several churches. A JAPANESE PRAYER-MEETING When the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R. was building the Pacific & Puget Sound ex- tension through Montana, many Japanese were em- ployed. They were generally used for some special labour that required a small number of men, such as cement work on foundations for water tanks, culverts and bridges. The Musselshell River, along which the road runs one hundred fifty miles, flows through a narrow valley and is crooked as the area of the valley will allow, zig-zagging from one side to the other. It was necessary in obtaining a reasonably straight line to build bridges where it was not prac- tical to change the channel of the river. The foun- dations of these bridges and all the culverts were laid in cement. A gang of about twenty-five Jap- anese was employed in this kind of work for more than a year, with headquarters at Harlowton. 232 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK I was frequently called to Harlowton during that period, where we had organized a church, but up to that date had been unable to secure a minister for the field. Hearing from various sources, all quite vague and indefinite, that the Japanese held a prayer-meet- ing every Sabbath evening in their bunkhouse near the depot, I determined to investigate and if pos- sible discover the facts in the case, though some- what sceptical as to the truthfulness of the report. The prayer-meeting was said to be held at six-thirty in the evening, and as my service was held at eight, there was time to attend their meeting before my own. I found their headquarters in / a building about sixty by twenty feet, with kitchen at one end and dining-hall at the other. It was a tempo- rary building covered with tar paper. At both ends of this building there were bunkhouses of like con- struction with double-deck sleeping berths. On en- tering the dining-room, I found two Japs clearing away the dishes, their supper having just been fin- ished. I made inquiry as to whether a prayer-meeting was to be held, and if so at what hour. The cook could not speak English as well as he could under- stand it; our conversation was a little like hearing someone talk through a telephone. The cook evi- dently understood my question, but could not an- swer in my language, so he pointed to a notice 233 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES written in Japanese letters hung on the side wall of the dining-room. The notice to me was about as intelligible as chicken scratches. However I noticed six-thirty written in figures I could understand, and concluded the meeting was to be held at that time. In a few minutes a Jap came in from the bunkhouse carrying a hymn book and Bible. Soon another followed and another until nineteen were seated around the dining-room table. One who was a lit- tle better dressed than the others (they appeared in their working clothes) took his place at the end of the table. He proved to be their leader or chap- lain, and the only one among them who could converse in English. He came to me before the meeting commenced and inquired my wish. When I told him I was a minister and interested in their meeting, he was very cordial and thanked me for coming. The meeting was conducted as our own ordinary prayer-meetings, except as it seemed to me, there was more spontaneity and reverence. The leader in opening the meeting gave out a hymn and all joined heartily in that part of the service. Their voices were much more musical than the Chinese type and to me were very pleasant and worshipful. Their song books and Bibles were printed in Jap- anese language. The tunes, and I presume the words, were the familiar gospel hymns we com- monly use in religious worship. After singing the 234 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK opening hymn, the leader made a very short but earnest prayer. During the prayer he stood, while the rest reverently bowed their heads on the table. After the preliminaries the leader read the scrip- tures, while the others opened their Bibles and fol- lowed the reading throughout. Then the leader made a short address, which to one who could not understand a word, was impressive on account of his earnest manner and devout spirit. At the con- clusion of his remarks, I was called upon to speak, which I gladly did, but with considerable embar- rassment from the fact I was speaking an unknown tongue to all but one of my audience. I was very brief, simply commending them for their loyalty and faithfulness to the religious phase of their life, expressing my pleasure in being with them, and invited them to attend my evening meeting to be held at a later hour. The leader, as far as I could understand inter- preted the substance of my talk, for six of them were present at my evening meeting. After my remarks, another hymn was sung, and the meeting was open for voluntary testimony and prayer. Not a moment was waisted by silence or one waiting for another. Five or six took voluntary part. The whole service was characterized with a devo- tional and reverential spirit that left a very deep and abiding impression on my mind. It was not emotional, but apparently thoughtful and rational. 235 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES The Japanese are philosophical, rather than emo- tional in their make-up, and if ever they are to be converted, it will not be in what we commonly call revival meetings. They are not influenced by senti- ment or emotional rhetoric. The appeal must reach them through the head, rather than the heart. Before the meeting closed, there was a little in- cident happened, which illustrates their refined courtesy, and which is worthy of notice. The leader feared that I might be late for my service which had been announced, and crediting me for the courtesy that would prevent my leaving before the closing, he left his seat at the end of the table and came to me in the rear, saying that he would be glad to have me remain, but if in doing so I would be detained too long, he would excuse my leaving any time I wished. I appreciated exceedingly this act of gentlemanly etiquette and thanked him for his thoughtful consideration. At the conclusion of the meeting as they passed out, each one gave me a cordial handshake. The leader being the last, I took the opportunity to ask a few questions which he kindly answered. I was not a little surprised to learn that eighteen of the number were professed Christians and members of the Presbyterian church. I learned also that about half of them were converted in the Presbyterian Mission in Tokio, Japan, and the rest in the Pres- byterian Japanese Mission in Seattle, Wash., sus- 236 LEAVES FROM MY DIARY AND NOTE BOOK tained by the First Presbyterian church, of which Rev. M. A. Matthews, D. D., is pastor. They had all been associated with this mission, and when they went out as employees on the railroad, they were counselled and exhorted to help each other and to hold a prayer-meeting every Sabbath. The leader informed me that they had been out two years and during that time never once omitted this Sabbath evening prayer-meeting. My reflections on leaving this prayer-meeting sug- gested the question, where in America can there be found a band of common labourers associated to- gether by such ties of practical fellowship and loy- alty to God, that will compare with the faithfulness of these Christian foreigners as illustrated in the above incident. It reminded me also of the Centurion whose daughter Christ healed. The Centurion's request and prayer to Christ for the healing of his daugh- ter manifested such implicit faith, that " when Jesus heard these things he marvelled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed, ' I say unto you I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel/ ' So I felt as I witnessed the faith of these Japanese, that I had not found so great faith in Christian America. There is a sequel to this story I regret to relate, but shall do so for the rebuke its shame may of- fer. The next morning after this prayer-meeting 237 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES incident, while waiting at the depot for the train, I saw a group of these same Japs working on a switch leading from the main track. Wishing to observe them at work as well as in their devotions, I went to them and with a salute bade them good morning. They were working under an American boss. While watching them, one of their number made a mistroke with his hammer which seemed to anger the boss beyond reason. He immediately let out a stream of oaths so terribly blasphemous as to make even a hardened sinner shudder. I said to myself, What will this Christian Jap think of Christian America? What would be his thoughts of the people who brought him the Gos- pel of Jesus Christ, and the people of whom he might have expected better things. May God speed all foreign missionary endeavour, and may it widen and deepen until all nations shall know our Christ and the story of His redemption, but let us also be reminded that the Christianizing of America, is doing the most for the Christian- izing the world, for as goes the Anglo Saxon race, so will be the final destiny of the kingdoms of this world. 238 APPENDIX TABLE NO. i This table shows how much more can be raised to the acre, though to the Easterner, the soil looks barren and unproductive. Comparative yields for 1909, Compiled from the Government Crop Reporter Published by the Sec- retary of Agriculture, December, 1909. Bu. per STATE Acre Wheat Montana . . . 30.6 Illinois 17-4 Iowa 18.1 Missouri . . . 14.7 Kansas 13.0 Nebraska ... 16.7 Minnesota . . 16.8 Wisconsin . . 19.7 Michigan . . . 18.8 Indiana 15.3 Ohio 15.9 North Dakota 13.7 South Dakota 14.1 United States 15.8 Bu. per Bu. per Bu. per Bu. per Bu. per Acre Acre Acre Acre Acre Oats Barley Rye Flax Potatoes 51-3 38.0 29.0 I2.O 180 36.6 28.0 17.8 . 9i 27.0 22.0 17.8 9,8 89 27.0 25.0 15.0 8.1 85 28.2 1 8.0 14.0 7-0 79 25.0 22.O 16.5 8-5 78 33-0 23.6 19.0 IO.O 155 35-0 28.0 16.3 14.0 IO2 30.5 247 15.5 105 30.5 23-5 16.5 95 32.5 25.9 17.2 93 32.0 21.0 18.3 9-3 no 30.0 19.5 I7.S 9.4 80 30.3 24.3 16.1 239 9.4 106 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES TABLE NO. 2 Official Reports Showing the Products of Montana. Classified for 1909. FARM, FIELD AND ORCHARD Hay $15,000,000 Wheat 9,337,000 Potatoes and other vegetables 8,400,000 Oats 7,840,000 Fruits and Orchard products 7,500,000 Barley 1,600,000 Sugar Beets 1,500,000 Rye r 1,180,000 Flax 150,000 Total : $52,507,000 LIVE STOCK AND WOOL Cattle $10,000,000 Wool 8,000,000 Sheep 8,000,000 Lambs 4,000,000 Horses 1,250,000 Hogs 350,000 Total $31,600,000 MINERAL PRODUCTION Qopper $43,000,000 .Silver 8,000,000 Gold 4,000,000 Lead 2,250,000 Coal 7,500,000 Stone , 11,500,000 Total $66,250,000 FOREST PRODUCTS Lumber, ties, etc $ 6,000,000 240 APPENDIX RECAPITULATION Farm and Orchard $ 52,507,000 Livestock and wool 23,600,000 Home consumption 36,000,000 Mineral 66,250,000 Forest products 6,000,000 Grand total $184,357,000 TABLE NO. 3 Showing percentage of growth in Montana for ten years. Per cent 1900 1910 Increase All Farms $ 13,37 $ 25,496 94 Total Acreage 8,344,000 13,499,000 64 Improved Acreage 1,726,000 3,631,000 no Average acre per farm. 624 520 Value of land and buildings 55,026,000 250,485,000 355 Value of land 45,686,000 225,819,000 394 Value of buildings 9,340,000 24,666,000 164 Value of implements and machinery 3,672,000 10,522,000 187 Average value per acre of land buildings 6.59 18.56 182 Average value per acre. 548 16.73 205 TABLE NO. 4 Comparison of Temperature with other localities covering a period of ten years. Average temperature: Miles City 44.3; La Crosse 45.9; Houghton 40.2; Pierre 45.6; Dubuque 241 SPIRITUAL CONQUEST ALONG THE ROCKIES 47.9; Average wind velocity for Miles City six miles per hour. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June Miles City , 14.5 16.8 28.6 44.7 56.7 66.0 La Crosse ..15.2 184 30.9 47.3 59.5 69.2 Houghton 14.5 16.0 23.8 36.9 49.7 59.4 Pierre 13.9 16.9 29.5 46.5 59.3 68.9 Dubuque 18.3 21.6 33.2 49.9 60.8 69.6 July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Miles City 72.9 71.5 61.2 46.5 30.9 21.0 La Crosse 72.6 70.0 61.7 49.9 33.8 22.8 Houghton 65.3 63.3 56.1 45.1 31.5 20.9 Dubuque 74.7 72.0 63.6 52.0 36.0 24.5 THE END 242