Solitary places made glad: being observations and experiences for thirty-two years in Nebraska; with sketches and incidents touching the discovery, early settlement, and development of the state

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

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UNITED STATES OF AMEKICA.

Solitary Places Made Glad:

BEING

OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES FOR THIRTY-
TWO YEARS IN NEBRASKA;

WITH

SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS TOUCHING THE DIS-
COVERY, EARLY SETTLEMENT, AND
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
STATE.

BY THE ^

REV. HENRY T. DAVIS,

OF THE NEBRASKA CONFERENClf.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ;
md the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

—Isaiah xxxv, i.

cincinnati :

Printed for the Author by Cranston & Stowe.

1890.

Copyright, by

HENRY T. DAVIS,

1890.

who have been, and are now,

engaged in laying the foundations and building up the

Church of Christ on the frontier, is this

book dedicated by

* THE AUTHOR.

s

PREFACE.

OME time before his death, the late Dr.
W. B. Slaughter had in contemplation the
writing of a book on Nebraska. He requested
me, as I was one of the first pioneers, to furnish
him material touching the early settlement of
the Territory. The request was complied with,
and a limited amount furnished. He afterward
said : '' You have not furnished me the tithe of
what I expected; I shall expect a great deal
more from you.'' Soon after this remark he was
called to his heavenly home.

Later, one of the leading members of the
Nebraska Conference said to me : " You owe it to
the Church and posterity to leave in permanent
form your early experiences and observations
in Nebraska.'' A leading pastor in a sister
denomination of the State suggested the same
thing, and similar suggestions have been made
by others. These remarks impressed me with
the thought that perhaps I did owe it to the

6 PREFACE.

Church and the world to follow out their
suggestions; hence this volume.

I give this unpretentious book to the world,
earnestly praying the blessing of God upon
every one who may chance to read its pages.
If it shall be the means, in the hands of God,
of leading a soul to Christ, or a believer up to a
higher plane of religious experience or to more
active service for the Master, my labor shall not
be in vain.

H. T. DAVIS.

Lincoln, Nebraska, June 4, 1890.

CONTENTS

Chapter I.

THE "great AMERICAN DESERT " A MYTH.

Early Views of the West— The Sahara of the United
States disappears before the March of Civiliza-
tion, ^^^^ 1^

Chapter II.

DISCOVERY OF NEBRASKA.

Coronado's Expedition in 1540-41— De Soto discovers the
Mississippi— Father Marquette and La Salle— Nebraska
twice owned by Spain, and twice by France— Ceded
to the United States in 1803— Organized as a Territory
in 1854— Admitted as a State in 1867— Piosperity, . 26

Chapter III.

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES OF NEBRASKA.

Position— Area— Elevation — CUmate— Soil— Resources-
Intelligence of the People, 38

Chapter IV.

CALIFORNIA GOLD EXCITEMENT IN 1848-50.

Gold discoverd— Anxious to go— "Outfit" obtained—
Farewell to Friends— Trip from South Bend to Old
Fort Kearney — Perilous Passage over the "Big
Muddy "—First Night in Nebraska— Beautiful Scene, 46

7

8 CONTENTS.

Chapter V.

ACROSS THE PLAINS.

Old Fort Kearney — Nebraska City — Platte River — In-
dians — New Fort Kearney — Wolves — Midnight
Alarm — Chimney Rock — Court-house Rock — Buflfa-
loes — Sweet Water — Summit of the Rocky Mountains —
Green River— Bear River— Humboldt— Desert— Car-
son River— Summit of the Sierra Nevadas— Journey
Ended, Page 56

Chapter VI.

CALIFORNIA IN 1850-52.

Disappointed Gold-seekers— Long Illness— Doctor-bill—
Wickedness Rampant — Lynch-law — Summary Punish-
ment tlie Palladium of the People— Vigilance Com-
mittees—Bold Robery— The Victim [^captured and
hung, 83

Chapter VII.

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF THE ISTHMUS.

San Francisco— San Diego— " Wonders of the Deep "—
Acapulco — Terrible Storm — Panama — Crossing the
Isthmus— From Aspinwall to New York— Home, . 94

Chapter VIII.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS.

Memorable City and Church— John Brownfield— David
Stover — Conversion — Parental Influence — Call to
Preach — Attend Asbury University — Licensed to
Preach— Join Conference— First Circuit— Second Cir-
cuit — Two Gracious Revivals — First Convert's
Triumphant Death — Ordained Deacon — Bishop
WauKh, 108

CONTENTS. 9

Chapter IX.

ATTENTION TURNED TO THE WEST.

Fascinations of the West — Belle vue Mission offered Us —
Acceptance — Adieu to Friends — We reach St. Louis —
Up the " Big Muddy "—Arrive in Omaha, . Page 122

Chapter X.

THE PIONEER EVANGEL.

Methodism Cosmopolitan — Missionaries sent to Oregon
in 1834 — Planning to capture Kansas and Nebraska
for Christ — The Territories organized — The Bishops
send out W. H. Goode as a Scout — Our Superintend-
ency an Element of Power— Kansas and Nebraska
Conference organized — Quantrell burns the City of
Lawrence — Second Conference — Bishop Ames and Dr.
Poe on the Missouri River — A Heroine — A Sermon
instead of a Dance — The Third Conference, . . . 128

Chapter XI.

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA.

Crude Ideas of Nebraska — Bellevue — Story of a Diamond —
How the People viewed Us — Hunting for a Town
without Houses — First Sermon in Nebraska — Wild
Speculation — Its Demoralizing Effects— First Quarter-
age received— Glad of Green Pumpkins — Tliankful
for Potatoes and Salt — Hospitality of Friends, . . 147

Chapter XII.

When Founded — Indian Tradition of the Name— Amusing
and Thrilling Incidents — George Francis Train — Moving
in an Ox-wagon — Indians — First Methodist Episcopal
Church — Ride on Horseback Two Hundred Miles to

10 CONTENTS.

Conference — Falls City in 1860— John Brown— The
Conference divided, Page 163

Chapter XIII.

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE.

Members — Statistics — "Crowned Ones" — Martyr Spirit
Stili in the Church — Nebraska City District in 1861 —
A Fearful Ride in the Cold— Popgun Elder— S. P.
Majors — Belle vue Conference — Bishop Simpson —
Crossing the Platte in a Skiff— Laura Beatty — An Aw-
ful Tragedy — A Death-bed Repentance, 182

Chapter XIV.

CIVIL WAR INCIDENTS.

The Dark Cloud — The Rainbow of Promise — National
Prosperity — " Jayhawkers " — Ordered to Halt — Camp-
meeting near Falls City — Bloody Fray — Dave Stephen-
son, 206

Chapter XV.

Location — Salt Basins — First Settlers — Indians — First
Sermon in the County — Elder Young — Lancaster —
Visit to the New Town — Act providing for the Change
of the Capital — Lot Sales — First Legislature in the
New Capitol — First Methodist Episcopal Church —
Other Churches, - - - 212

Chapter XVI.

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS.

Rev. Z. B. Turman, the First Preacher in Lancaster
County — Salt Creek Circuit — Great Revival — Coon-
meat — Preaching to " Spotted Horse " and His War-
riors— The Captive Squaw and Her Sad Fate — A Mush-

CONTENTS. 11

and-milk Tea— Indian Troubles— The "New Ulm
Massacre," Page 231

Chapter XVII.

DISTRICT INCIDENTS.

Eleventh Nebraska Conference — Bishop Ames — Old Ser-
mons— U. P. R. R. completed — Rapid Growth of the
Church— Hastings — Overtaken in a Fearful Storm —
Three Memorable Quarterly Meetings — Sad Death of
a Worldling — The Dutchman's Curse — The Confused
Hostess — No Desire to Dance, 244

Chapter XVIII.

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK.

Marvelous Growth — Privations and Toils of the Preach-
ers— The Christmas-box — Touching Incident — Confer-
ence of 1873 — Bishop Andrews— Conference of 1874 —
Bishop Bowman — Dr. J. M. Reid — Conference of 1875 —
Bishop Gilbert Haven — His Triumphant Death — Rev.
George Worley, 269

Chapter XIX.

THN SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

Appointed to Omaha District — Columbus — Osceola— Ris-
ing City — David City — The Work in Omaha — Confer-
ence at Falls City — Bishop Foster — Appointed the
Second Time to Nebraska City District — A Remark-
able Meeting — West Nebraska Mission formed — Dr.
T. B. Lemon — Division of the Conference, .... 287

Chapter XX.

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS.

Their Origin — Depredations in all Ages — An Atheist re-
nounces His Atheism— Wonderful Answers to Prayer—

12 CONTENTS.

A Touching Incident — Another Atheist changed—
Annie Wittenmyer — Assistance from the East —
Mrs. M. E! Eoberts — Keflex Influence of Work
done for Others — Man's Weakness and God's
Power, Page 298

Chapter XXI.

BEATRICE.

Location— Founded in 1857— Emigrants on a Missouri
Steamer organize a Colony — Beatrice in 1661 — Albert
Towle — Governor Butler— First Homestead — First
Methodist Preacher— First Quarterly Meeting— In-
dians—Terrible Massacre— The Great Change, . . 319

Chapter XXII.

Location — First Settlers — First Grave in the County —
Methodist Class organized — David Baker — Buffaloes
invade the County — Friendship of the Early Set-
tlers—W. E. Morgan— First Quarterly Meeting— Other
Churches— Appointed to York Station 1883— Great
Revival — The Little Girl and the Dark Cloud — Second
Year— Another Great Revival — The New Church —
Subscription — Third Year — Church completed— Dedi-
cation by Bishop Warren, 332

Chapter XXIII.

METHODIST EDUCATION IN NEBRASKA UNIFIED.

Methodist Schools in Nebraska During the Past— The
Nebraska Wesleyan University, 352

CONTENTS. 13

Chapter XXIV.

Methodism's distinctive doctrine revived.

What the Doctrine is — The Great Revival— History of
the Bennett Camp -meeting, Page 373

Chapter XXV.
The Distinctive Doctrine Examined, 398

Solitary Places made Glad.

CHAPTER I.

THE "GREAT AMERICAN DESERT" A MYTH.

Early Views of the West— The Sahara of the United
States disappears before the March of Civiliza-
tion.

THE waters of the Missouri River, on the west,
were once supposed to wash a country unin-
habitable by civilized men. This country was
thought to be a vast sandy plain, stretching away
to the Rocky Mountains, with but here and there
a shrub and spire of grass, and wholly unsuscep-
tible of cultivation.

In the earlier history of our country the '' Great
American Desert '^ was considered about the same
in extent as the Sahara of Africa; and it is really
amusing to read the opinions held, only a few
years ago, by some of our best geographical
writers touching the territory of which Nebraska
is now a part.

In 1793, Jedediah Morse published his "Uni-
versal Geography," and in this work he gives the
most advanced knowledge of his time touching

15

16 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the interior of the North American continent.
An extract or two will indicate the extent and
accuracy of his knowledge. Much of his informa-
tion was derived from the Indians. He says:
"From the best accounts that can be obtained
from the Indians, we learn that the four most
capital rivers of the continent of North America —
namely, the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the
River Bourbon [the Missouri], and the Oregon,
or Eiver of the West — have their sources in the
same neighborhood.''

Touching the nature of the country west of
the Mississippi, he says : " It has been supposed
that all settlers Avho go beyond the Mississippi
will be forever lost to the United States.''

When the United States proposed to purchase
from France the Louisiana territory, some of our
ablest statesmen seemed to know but little of its
extent or topography. Mr. Jefferson said with
regard to it: "The country which we wish to
purchase is a barren sand, six hundred miles from
east to west, and from thirty to forty and fifty
miles from north to south." "In 1803 Congress
attempted to extend the Indian trade into the
wild northwest, and so organized the expedition
that has become historic as that of Lewis and
Clarke. The instructions for it were draughted
in April, 1803. On the last day of the same
month Louisiana was ceded to the United States ;

THE " GREAT AMERICAN DESERT:' 17

and so the expedition, which consumed two years,
four months, and nine days in the round-trip from
and to St. Louis, resulted in an exploration of our
own territory/^

In the Geography of Morse, and the report of
the Lewis and Clarke expedition, the shadows of
the Great American Desert first appeared.

Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike commanded two
Government expeditions into the country in 1805-
1807. He was sent out to examine the sources
of the Mississippi, Missouri, Platte, and Arkansas
Rivers, and he first gave prominence to the un-
fortunate myth in American geography. In his
report to the War-office he declares the vast re-
gions explored as repulsive to all emigrants and
impossible ever to be settled, and then says :
" From these immense prairies may be derived
one great advantage to the United States ; namely,
the restriction of our population to some certain
limits, and thereby a continuation of the Union.
Our citizens being so prone to rambling and ex-
tending themselves on the frontier, will, through
necessity, be constrained to limit their extent to
the west to the borders of the Missouri and Mis-
sissippi, while they leave the prairies, incapable
of cultivation, to the wandering and uncivilized
Aborigines of the country. It appears to me to
be only possible to introduce a limited po})ulation
to the banks of the Kansas, Platte, and Arkan-

18 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

sas.'' "In the year 1819-20, Major Stephen H.
Long, of the Army, by order of John C. Calhoun,
Secretary of AVar, Avent out to explore the Mis-
souri and its principal branches; and then, in
succession, Red River, Arkansas, and the Missis-
sippi above the mouth of the Missouri. The ex-
pedition took winter-quarters near Council Bluffs,
and then swept the eastern base and slopes of the
Rocky Mountains, along and among the heads
and tributaries of the Missouri and its lower val-
leys. A few extracts from the report of Major
Long will show how the ^desert' grew in area
and in terror before the American people, and
how good material it furnished to Europeans who
wished to disparage the United States and dis-
courage emigration, and prepare the way to cap-
ture Oregon. 'Of the country between the Mis-
sissippi and Missouri, it is reported that the
scarcity of timber, mill-seats, and springs of
water — defects that are almost uniformly preva-
lent— must, for a loug time, prove serious imped-
iments in the way of settliug the country. Large
tracts are often to be met with exhibiting scarcely
a trace of vegetation.' The ^ Great American
Desert' manifests itself thus authoritatively in an
official document in this report of a United States
exploring expedition. Of the mountainous coun-
try beyond, Major Long says: 'It is a region
destined by the barrenness of ^its soil, the inhos-

THE " GREAT AMERICAN DESERTS 19

pltable character of its climate, and by other
physical disadvantages, to be the abode of per-
petual desolation.^ '^ *

From the reports of the Government explora-
tions of Lewis and Clarke, Pike and Long, the
material was furnished for the school histories
and geographies of that day. These reports were
considered authentic.

^^n 1824, Woodbridge and Willard j)ublished
their ^Geography for Schools,^ and they thus
spoke to the generation of pupils whom a better
information is now correcting.'^ They say :

^^From longitude 96°, or the meridian of
Council Bluifs, to the Chippewa Mountains, is a
desert region of four hundred miles in length and
breadth. On approaching within one hundred
miles of the Rocky Mountains, their snow-capped
summits became visible. Here the hills become
more frequent, and elevated rocks more abundant,
and the soil more sterile, until we reach the ab-
rupt chain of peaks which divide it from the
western declivities of North America. Not a
thousandth part can be said to have any timber
growth, and the surface is generally naked. . . .
The predominant soil of this region is a sterile
sand, and large tracts are often to be met with,
which exhibit scarcely a trace of vegetation. . . .

*"The United States of Yesterday and of To-mor-
row," p. 99.

20 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Agreeable to the best intelligence we have, the
country, both northward and southward of that
described, commencing near the sources of the
Sabine and Colorado, and extending to the north-
ern boundary of the United States, is throughout
of a similar character/'

The Edinburgh Review , of 1843, contained the
following, from the polished pen of Washington
Irving : " There lies the desert, except in a few
spots on the border of the rivers, incapable, prob-
ably forever, of fixed settlements. This is the
great prairie wilderness, which has a general
breadth of six hundred or seven hundred miles,
and extends from south to north nearly fourteen
hundred miles, so complete in the character of
aridity that the great rivers — the Platte, Arkan-
sas, and Rio Grande — after many hundred miles
of course through the mountains, dry up alto-
gether on the plains in summer, like the streams
of Australia, leaving only standing pools of water
between wide sand-bars/'

In his work entitled "Astoria," Washington
Irving describes the Great American Desert in
the following language : "An immense tract,
stretching north and south four hundred of miles
along the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and
drained by the tributary streams of the Missouri
and the Mississippi. This region, which resem-
bles one of the immeasurable steppes of x\sia, has

THE "GREAT AMERICAN DESERT." 21

not inaptly been termed the ' Great American Des-
ert' It is a laud where no man permanently
abides; for in certain seasons of the year there is
no food, either for the hunter or his steed iUe
herbage is parched and withered; the brooks and
streams are dried up; the buffalo, the elk, and the
deer have wandered to distant parts, keeping
within the range of expiring verdure, and leaving
behind them a vast, uninhabitable solitude, seamed
by ravines, the former beds of torrents, but now
serving only to tantalize and increase the thirst

of the traveler Such is the nature of this

immense wilderness of the far West, which ap-
parently defies cultivation, and the habitation ot
civilized life. It is to be feared that a great part
of it will form a lawless interval between the
abodes of civilized man, like the wastes of the
ocean or the deserts of Arabia."

Mr. Irving's knowledge of the country he de-
scribes was not obtained from personal observa-
tion, but was gained at second-hand. He de-
pended upon others for his information, and,
relyiug upon their representations, unwittingly
made erroneous statements that became current
throughout the world. The men who gave Ir-
vino- much of his information, were interested in the
fur-"trade, and it was to their interest to keep con-
cealed many facts touching the country. It was the
policv of these men to keep,the world in ignorance

22 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

with regard to this region, that it might be kept
as long as possible " luioccupicd as a game reserve/'

Mr. Irving afterwards made the following
confession touching his own writings : '^ I have
read somewhat, heard and seen more, and dreamed
more than all. My brain is filled, therefore, with
all kinds of odds and ends. In traveling, these
heterogeneous matters have become shaken up in
my mind, as the articles are apt to be in an ill-
packed traveling trunk, so that, when I attempt
to draw forth a fact, I can not determine whether
I have heard, read, or dreamed it, and I am always
at a loss to know how much to believe of my own
stories.'^

As late as 1849, on the map of Olney's " Quarto
Geography, '^ from Northern Texas to the British
Line, and from the Missouri to the Rocky Mount-
ains, was a space in which was found, in large
letters, the words, " Great American Desert. '^

At a still later date an English writer in the
Westminster Review says : '' From the valley of
the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, the United
States territory consists of an arid tract, extend-
ing south nearly to Texas, which has been called
the ^ Great American Desert.' This sterile re-
gion, covering such an immense area, contains
but a few thousand miles of fertile land. . . .
Nature, marching from east to west, showered her
bounties on the land of the United States, until

THE " GREA T AMERICAN DESERTS 23

she readied the Mississippi, but there she turned
aside and went northward to favor British ter-
ritory."

It is related of Benjamin Franklin that, in
one of those courtly halls and gatherings in Europe,
when nobility and statesmanship and diplomacy
were toying with the young Republic, there hung
a map of the United States, with that dishearten-
ing inscription, curving from the Texan to the
Biltish Border, '' The Great American Desert."
Franklin took a pen and drew a broad, erasing
line through the title. The prophecy uttered by
Franklin's pen has been fulfilled. The desert has
disappeared.

For a number of years an army of " agricul-
tural invaders" has been crowding the ^' Great
American Desert," and this ghostly domain has
been displaced by the best grain lands and graz-
ing lands and mineral lands of the world. To-
day, a net-work of railroads covers the " Great
American Desert," and hundreds of thousands
of the finest farms in the world, whose fields yield
from twenty to fifty bushels of wheat per acre, and
from thirty to ninety bushels of corn per acre, dot
the vast plains, once supposed to be uninhabitable.
A few years have entirely dissipated the delusion
touching the West, and the Sahara of the United
States has been found to be one of the most fcr-.
tile, picturesque, and inviting regions in the world.

24 SO LIT A RY PLA CES MADE G LA D.

The salubrious climate; the dry, pure air; tiie
clear, blue sky ; the hills and valleys clothed with a
rich, green sward, and decorated with ten thousand
beautiful flowers; the beautiful winding streams,
skirted with timber, along which herds of buifalo
and antelope once grazed, — all combine to en-
hance the beauty and loveliness of the rich and
rolling prairies of Nebraska.

And now, w^here but a few years ago the wild
Indian lived in his wigwam, the beautiful city
stands ; where the buffalo, unmolested, grazed
and ruminated, is seen the beautiful farm, with
fields waving with luxuriant harvests. The war-
whoop of the savage had scarcely died away w^hen
the sound of the church-going bell and the voice
of prayer and song were heard. Where the buf-
falo, the elk, the deer, the antelope, lived in peace
and held undisturbed sway, are now seen the
church with its beautiful spire pointing heaven-
ward, the university, the college, the common
school, and all the institutions neccessary to the
culture of the head and the heart.

The forces that are at work to-day for the de-
velopment of the country are tenfold greater than
they were thirty years ago. Cities groAv up as by
magic ; large farms are opened in a year ; inter-
nal improvements are made wnth a rapidity that
would stagger the faith of the most credulous who
lived a generation ago.

THE " GREA T AMERICAN DESERT." 25

We have seen the biifFalo-path transformed
into the piiblie highway, and the Indian-trail to
the railroad, with its fiery steed snuffing the
breeze, and sweeping with lightning speed from
the Missouri River to the gold-washed shores of
the Pacific.

We have seen ignorance and barbarity melt
aww before the mild and genial rays of civiliza-
tion and the gospel ; and the air that but a little
while ago resounded with the wild war-cry of the
savage, now resounds with the songs of peace.

We are living in a wonderful era — the bright-
est and most inspiring of all the past. This is
an age of wonderful advancement. And I am
glad to chronicle the fact that the moral and in-
tellectual development of the country keeps pace
with its material advancement. It has been the
pleasure of the writer to witness the making glad
of these solitary places. He has seen, with his
own eyes, the dreary and desolate plains of Ne-
braska transformed into gardens of beauty and
glory. And it is the purpose in the following
pages to delineate, to some extent, from actual
observation, the progress of this work.
3

26 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER II.

DISCOVKRY OF NEBRASKA.

CoBONADo's Expedition in 1540-41 — De Soto discovers
THE Mississippi — Father Marquette and La Salle —
Nebraska twice owned by Spain, and twice by
France— Ceded to the United States in 1803—
Organized as a Territory in 1854— Admitted as a
State in 1867 — Prosperity.

THE discovery of Nebraska dates back to a
period far more distant than many really
suppose.

Judge James W. Savage has given much time
and thought to the study of this subject. In an ad-
dress delivered before the State Historical Society,
April 16, 1880, he says: "Fourscore years before
the Pilgrims landed on the venerable shores of
Massachusetts; sixty-eight years before Hudson
discovered the ancient and beautiful river which
still bears his name ; sixty-six years before John
Smith, with his cockney colonists, sailed up a
summer stream, which they named after James
the First of England, and commenced the settle-
ment of what was afterward to be Virginia;
twenty-three years before Shakespeare was born,
when Queen Elizabeth Avas a little girl, and

DISCOVERY OF NEBRASKA. 27

Charles the Fifth sat upon the united throne of
Germany and Spain, Nebraska was discovered,
the peculiarities of her soil noted, her fruits and
productions described, and her inhabitants and
animals depicted." Three hundred and fifty
years ago Nebraska was discovered by the brill-
iant and adventurous Coronado. The expedition
of Coronado from the City of Mexico to the
plains of Nebraska, in 1540-41, was one of the
most wonderful undertakings in the history of the
North American continent. Leaving the home
of the Montezumas with an army of eleven hun-
dred men, scaling the mountains of Mexico, push-
ing across arid plains and deserts of burning
sand, meeting and conquering hostile tribes,
swimming rivers, and surmounting almost every
conceivable obstacle, he at last reached the valley
of the Great Platte, it is supposed, near where the
city of Columbus now stands. He and his noble
band of brave and toil-worn men were the first
to traverse the beautiful prairies, climb the hills,
and cross the streams of the country destined in
future ages to be one of the most thrifty and
wealthy States of the American Union.

Not long after the conquest of Mexico by Cor-
tes, in 1519, Nunez de Guzman governed the
northern portion of Mexico. Guzman was a
bitter enemy of Cortes, and envious of his brill-
iant discoveries. He had a burning desire to

28 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

eclipse Cortes in his marvelous discoveries and
the magnitude of his conquests. Visions of vast
cities of wealth, beauty, and splendor, which he
was to conquer, constantly rose before him. Guz-
man had a slave — a Texas Indian. This slave
was cunning and shrewd. He went to his
master one day, and told him a strange story
touching the wealth and splendor of seven cities
lying away to the north. He said, when a boy
he often went with his father to these cities, and
that in beauty, wealth, population, and magnifi-
cence, they compared with the City of Mexico
itself ; " that whole streets blazed with shops of
gold and silver smiths, that the most precious stones
abounded, and that the inhabitants were gor-
geously attired, and lived in all the ease and lux-
ury that wealth could bestow.^'

This story excited the curiosity of the gov-
ernor, and inflamed his lust for gold. He deter-
mined, if possible, to find these cities of wealth ;
but all efforts to find them failed.

In 1536, four men, half-starved, half-naked,
sun-burnt, and foot-sore, from eight years' ex-
posure to cold, heat, hunger, thirst, shipwrecks,
and battles, reached the City of Mexico. They
were Spaniards. Eight years before, they had
landed on the shores of Florida, with four hun-
dred companions. Reaching the New World,
they started out on their mission of discovery,

DISCOVERY OF NEBRASKA. 29

expecting to find vast cities of wealth and splen-
dor ; but, alas ! their expectations were doomed
to disappointment. They waded through swamps,
swam rivers, climbed mountains, and fought bat-
tle after battle with hostile tribes. They went
north and then west, and after months of weary
travel gazed upon the " Father of AVaters,^' after-
wards called the Mississippi. They crossed this
mighty stream, and traveled several hundred miles
in a northwest, and then in a westerly, direction.
In their wanderings they doubtless passed over
the territory that is now Kansas and Colorado,
and over the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mount-
ains. During the eight long years of weary
travel, through drenching rains and blinding
snows, pelting hail-storms and savage tribes, suf-
fering from intense cold in the winter and heat in
the summer, one after another of these brave
men fell, either from thirst or hunger or exposure,
or from the hand of the bloody savage, and only
four of all the four hundred reached the City of
Mexico to tell the sad story of their sufferings.
In their travels west of the Mississippi River,
they heard of vast cities of wealth lying away to
the north. They related what they had heard
from the aborigines they had met at different
points in their long and lonely journey. The
story of these four men kindled anew the desire
in the hearts of the Spaniards to discover the

30 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

rich cities of which they had so often heard and
dreamed.

In 1540 the viceroy of Mexico nominated Cor-
onado to head a powerful expedition for the dis-
covery of the Northwest. Coronado was a Spanish
cavalier. He came to Mexico in the bloom of
manhood. He was a brilliant man, of pleasing
manners, and skilled in all the arts of war. He
soon won the aifections of the daughter of a wealthy
Spanish nobleman, and they were married. His
marriage to this beautiful and accomplished lady,
as well as his own superior talents, soon brought
him into note among the Spanish nobility, and he
was chosen to take the responsible position of lead-
ing the new expedition of discovery.

Early in the spring, at the head of eleven hun-
dred men, Coronado left the City of Mexico, scaled
the rough mountains, passed over the plains,
crossed the Rio Grande, and late in the fall reached
a number of cities lying, it is supposed, not far
south of wh'ere the city of Sante Fe now stands.
The natives of these cities received Coronado and
his men with the utmost kindness ; their kindness,
however, was returned by Coronado with the
greatest cruelty and the most inhuman treatment.
He burned their cities, put to death many prison-
ers of war, while he made slaves of many others.
Having completely subjugated them, he remained
during the winter. In May, 1511, he and bis

DISCOVERY OF NEBRASKA. 31

men left the beautiful valleys wlier^thcy had re-
mained during the Avinter,and proceeded on their
way to the north. Day after day this little band
pressed their way northward, traveling over tree-
less prairies, with the blazing sun above them,
and burning sands beneath them. They measured
the distance they traveled by each man's counting
the steps he took during the day.

Late in July, 1541, Coronado reached the
southern boundary of the State of Nebraska,
and soon after explored the valley of the Great
Platte. His description of the soil, the Indians,
the buffalo and antelope, the wild grapes and
plums, and the terrible hail-storms were exactly
as we saw them with our own eyes more than
three hundred years afterwards.

The next spring Coronado was thrown from his
horse, and received an injury from which he suf-
fered great pain for a long time ; and as he had
been told when a boy, by one who professed to
foretell future events, that he would die from the
effects of an injury caused by the fall from a horse,
he imagined that the end of his life was near, and
returned with his wife to the City of Mexico.

The viceroy received him with great coolness,
looking upon his expedition as a comparative fail-
ure. While he had discovered a vast, rich, and
beautiful territory, the cities of wealth and splen-
dor, such as Pizarro had found in South America,

32 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and wblcli floated in visions before the mind of
the governor, liad not been realized. Here the
history of Coronado ends. The cnrtain of ob-
livion drops, and he is seen no more ; but the
country discovered by him gladdens the hearts of
millions. ,

So the territory of Nebraska first belonged to
Spain by the right of discovery. Relics that be-
longed, it is thought, to the soldiers in Coronado^s
expedition, have been found at diiferent places.
*' Near the margin of the Pecos River, New Mex-
ico, in a little crevice between the rocks, and
among bones gnawed by the wolves, there were
found, some years ago, the helmet, gorget, and
breast-plate of a Spanish soldier. Straying per-
haps from his companions, perhaps wounded in a
skirmish, perhaps sick and forsaken, he had
crawled to this rude refuge, and, far from the
fragrant gardens of Seville and the gay vineyards
of Malaga, had died alone. The camp-fires of
Quivera were consumed more than three centu-
ries ago ; the bones of the profane Moor and the
self-devoted Turk have bleached in the sunshine
and decayed ; the seven cities of Cibola have van-
ished; the cross of Coronado has moldered into
dust, and these rusted relics are all that remain of
that march through the desert and the discovery of
Nebraska.'^ Not many years ago an antique stirrup,
of the exact shape and character of those used for

DISCOVERY OF I^EBRASKA. 33

centuries by the Moors and Spaniards, was found
near the Republican, at a spot seven miles north of
Riverton, in Franklin County, Nebraska. It was
buried very deep in the ground, and was sup-
posed to have belonged to one of Coronado's
soldiers. Touching the above statements, I leave
the reader to draw his own conclusions.

While Coronado w^as slowly pushing his w^ay
through unknown regions to the prairies of Ne-
braska, another brilliant expedition under the
folds of the Spanish flag was going forward aAvay
to the southeast. De Soto, at the head of six
hundred men, was pressing his way through the
swamps of Florida to the north, and in the same
year (1541) that Coronado discovered Nebraska,
De Soto discovered the Mississippi River. While
f this mighty river had been crossed by a com-
pany of men a few years previous, their transient
sight of it can never rob the name of De Soto of
the honor which justly belongs to him as Its dis-
coverer. Descending the stream in 1542, De Soto
died, and to conceal the knowledge of his death
from hostile Indians, his body was sunk In the
middle of the stream at the hour of midnight,
and the rolling tide of the mighty river still sings
his requiem.

But little was known of the Mississippi for
the next hundred and thirty-one years. Mat-
ters of greater importance than its exploration

34 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

engaged the attention of Spam and France, and
the New World was almost entirely lost sight of.
In 1673, Father Marquette, a Jesuit mission-
ary, with Louis Joliet and five Frenchmen,
launched their birch-bark canoes on the Wiscon-
sin Eiver, determined to explore the " Father of
Waters/' Descending the stream, they soon
reached its mouth, and sailed out into the broad
and majestic Mississippi. They passed down the
stream until satisfied it flowed into the Gulf of
Mexico ; then they returned, and made their re-
port accordingly. Nine years later — in 1682 —
La Salle left the mouth of the Illinois River, and
sailed down the Mississippi to its mouth, thus
completing the work begun by Father Marquette
and Louis Joliet. La Salle gave the name of the
whole country drained by the Mississippi, Louis-,
iana, in honor of Louis XIY, and took possession
of the same in the name of the French king. The
province of Louisiana included the vast country
between the Rocky Mountains on the west, and
the Alleghanies on the east. In this vast territory
was the present State of Nebraska. In 1762,
France ceded the province of Louisiana to Spain,
and Nebraska was again the territory of Spain.
In 1800 it was re-ceded to France, and Nebraska
was again French territory. In 1803, France
ceded Louisiana to the United States, and Ne-
braska becomes the territory of the United States.

DISCO VER Y OF NEBRASKA. 35

In 1805 the district of Louisiana, by an act of
Congress, was changed to the " Territory of Lou-
isiana/^ In 1812, the Territory of Louisiana be-
came the Territory of Missouri, and Nebraska was
within its bounds. In 1834, by an act of Con-
gress, all that part of the United States west of
the Mississippi, and not within the States of Mis-
souri and Louisiana or the Territory of Arkansas,
was called the " Indian Country/' In this terri-
tory was the present State of Nebraska. On May
30, 1854, Congress passed an act organizing the
Territory of Nebraska, and President Pierce ap-
])oiuted Francis Burt, of South Carolina, Gov-
ernor. Governor Burt reached Bellevue, October
7, 1854, and became the guest of Rev. William
Hamilton, who had charge of the Presbyterian
mission located at that place. Shortly after reach-
ing Bellevue, the governor was taken sick, and,
on the 18th day of October, died, having talcen
the oath of office only two days before his death.
The vacancy in the executive office was filled by
Secretary T. B. Cuming. The first official act
performed in the Territory by an executive officer
was the issuance of the proclamation of the death
of Governor Burt. That official act bears date
October 18, 1854.

On the first day of March, 1867, Nebraska was
admitted as a State into the Union. The Ilon-
orable David Butler was the first governor of the

36 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

State, and under his able administration the State
witnessed the most marked prosperity.

The first reunion of the old settlers of Lan-
caster County was held at Cushman Park, June
19, 1889. In his address to the Association on
that occasion, Hon. C. H. Gere made the follow-
ing reference to the first Legislature of the State,
and to Governor David Butler : ^^ Every law
passed by that memorable Legislature of '69
weighed a ton.' Its work was original and cre-
ative, and it did it well. Its moving spirit was
the governor, David Butler. Some of its mem-
bers came down to Lincoln from hostile localities,
and had it in their hearts to destroy him and his
works; but before the session was a fortnight old,
his genial though homely ways, his kindness of
heart, his sturdy common sense, the originality
of his genius, and the boldness of his conceptions,
captured them, and when the forty days were
done, no man in the two houses avowed himself
the enemy of David Butler. The history of Ne-
braska can not be written without giving large
space to what Governor Butler did." No man
has done more for the State than Governor Butler.

The beginning of the rapid development of the
State dates back to the period of her admission
as a State into the Union. From the time of her
admission her growth has been a marvel.

An unbroken tide of emigration has been

DISCO VER Y OF NEBRASKA. 37

flowing in ever since. All over her beautiful
prairies, towns have sprung up, and grown, as by
magic, into cities. Moral growth has kept pace
with the material development of the State.
School-houses and churches are seen everywhere.
They dot the prairies, crown the hills, nestle in
the valleys, and crowd the cities. The once
dreary and desolate plains of Nebraska rejoice
and blossom as the rose. What a marked differ-
ence between Nebraska now, and when the wild
and half-nude savage threaded her trackless
wilds ! Following in the wake of civilization and
the gospel come the railroad, the telegraph, the
telephone, and all the valuable improvements of
the age.

38 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER III.

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES OF NEBRASKA.

Position — Area — Elevation — Climate — Soil — Re-
sources— Intelligence of the People.

GEOGRAPHICALLY, Nebraska is situated
near the center of the United States. It
lies mid\yay between the two oceans, and between
latitude 40° and 43° N. The extreme width of
the State from north to south is about two hun-
dred and ten miles, and its extreme length about
four hundred and fifteen miles. It has an area
of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-
five square miles, or forty-nine millions two hun-
dred and twelve thousand acres, almost every
acre of which may be cultivated. It is almost twice
as large as the State of Ohio. If England and
Wales were placed on top of Nebraska, they
would not carpet it by sixteen thousand eight hun-
dred square miles. It has eight thousand four
hundred and thirty-one square miles more than
all the New England States combined. If the
great State of New York were set down in the
center of Nebraska, there would be twenty-nine
thousand 'eight hundred and ninety-five square
miles untouched. It has been said, ^^ Nebraska

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES. 39

is an empire in itself.'^ Its soil is fertile, its scenery
beautiful, and its climate as healthful as its area is
large and its scenery charming.

A Boston minister once went to Europe to
rest and recuperate. While in London he was
called on to make a speech. He rose before the
assembly and said : ^' My home is on the third
planet from the sun. The Western Hemisphere
is the center of the planet ; the United States is the
center of the hemisphere ; Massachusetts is the
center of the United States ; Boston is the center of
Massachusetts ; my Church is the center of Bos-
ton, and I am the center of my Church.^' I might
not claim for Nebraska all that the Boston preacher
claimed; and yet the rich soil, balmy atmosphere,
undulating prairies, thrifty towns and cities, cul-
tured, live men and women, make it one of the
most desirable of places in which to live. The
atmosphere is clear and pure. The average eleva-
tion is 2,312 feet above the sea. The almost
constant motion of the air, the perfect natural
drainage, and consequent freedom from all low,
marshy lands, combine to give the State the pur-
est, the most healthy and exhilarating atmosphere.
It has been said, "The atmosphere of Nebraska
is as clear and much purer than the far-famed
skies of Italy and Greece."

The winds are very strong, and sometimes
blow for three days in succession with such tre-

40 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

mendous force that the pedestrian must struggle
hard to keep his feet. While tornadoes are
rare, gentle zephyrs and winds are almost con-
stant. A gentleman after visiting the State said
to a friend : " The air of Nebraska is purer, and
there is more of it, than in any other country I
was ever in.'^

Samuel Aughey, late professor of natural
sciences in the University of Nebraska, gives the
temperature of the State as follows : " The mean
temperature of the summer months in Eastern
Nebraska is between 72° and 74°, or, more ac-
curately, close to 73°, Fahrenheit. During the
winter months it averages 20°; during the spring
mouths 47. 8° ; during the autumn mouths 496°.''
The soil is a black, sandy loam, very rich,
and producing grains, vegetables, and fruits in
great abundance.

An estimate has been made by competent and
thoroughly posted men, and the conclusion has
been reached that the two Dakotas are capable of
supporting a population of 50,000,000. Nebraska
is more than half as large as these two States, and
her soil equally as good, hence she is capable of sup-
porting a population of 25,000,000 souls. And the
time comes on apace when that number will be
within her borders. The average annual growth of
the population of Nebraska for the last nineteen
years has been sixty-one thousand. During the

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES, 41

past few years, one hundred thousand people
have come iuto the State annually.

Nebraska is one of the best corn-producing
States in the Union. The rate of progress in Ne-
braska from 1880 to 1888, in the production of
corn, was more rapid than in any of the adjoining
States, as the following statistics show: " In 1880
Illinois produced 326,000,000 bushels of corn.
(Round numbers are used in all these illustrations.)
Iowa produced 275,000,000 the same year ; Kan-
sas, 105,000,000; Nebraska, 65,000,000. In 1888
Illinois harvested 278,000,000 bushels of corn ;
Iowa, 278,000,000 bushels ; Kansas, 158,000,000;
and Nebraska, 144,000,000. Here it will be seen
that Illinois did not maintain her record. Iowa
gained a very small percentage, Kansas improved
her record by a little over fifty per cent, and Ne-
braska leaped forward at the rate of one hundred
and twenty-one per cent. Here Nebraska soil
meets and overmatches the giants in her rate of
progress.^'

Nebraska soil is well adapted to wheat-growing.
The striking superiority of Nebraska soil and
climate is shown in the subjoined table compar-
ing the wheat-crops of 1880 and 1888 in Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Nebraska was the
only one of these cereal-producing States that
made progress on the record of 1880. Here is
the exhibit of that fact, taken from the tenth

42

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

census and report of the Washington Bureau of
Agriculture for 1888:

States.

1880.
Bushels.

1888.
Bushels.

Per cent of

Gain or

IjOss.

51,000,000
31,000,000
17,325,000
13,850,000

34,000,000
24,000,000
16,000,000
14,500,000

Loss, S'Si
Loss, 22 J
Loss, 7^
Gain,4|

Nebraska

In a similar way it can be shown that Ne-
braska is in the front rank of the world's most
progressive States in the production of oats, hay,
potatoes, and other farm grains and vegetables.
Being one of the best corn and hay producing
States in the Union, she is also one of the best
stock-producing States. At her age, Nebraska
has had no superior as a stock-growing State.
Then, the dairy resources of Nebraska are un-
surpassed.

Look at the following figures of the ^^ Ne-
braska Dairymen's Association '^ for 1889:

Nebraska has 300,000 milch-cows, valued at, $7,200,000
Nebraska's butter product in 1888, .... 45,000,000 lbs.
Product of Nebraska creameries in 1888, . 4,000,000 "
Value of Nebraska dairy products in 1888, $10,500,000

" In no state in the Union can milk, butter,
and cheese be produced at less cost per pound
than in Nebraska.''

At the American Dairy Show, at Chicago, in

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES. 43

1889, Nebraska took the first and second pre-
mium on creamery butter, first on granulated,
and the diploma for the best and largest collec-
tion on exhibition.

As a fruit-growing State, Nebraska is abreast
Avith other States. The flavor of her fruits is
unsurpassed. Nebraska carried off the first pre-
mium on fruit at the meeting of the American
Pomological Society, Richmond, Virginia, in
1870; again, at Boston, in 1873. At Chicago, in
1876, and at the Exposition in New Orleans, in
1 884, she presented the largest collection of fruits,
and would, without doubt, have taken the pre-
mium ; but none Avas offered.

In popular intelligence Nebraska is at the
front. By the census of 1880 Nebraska had the
lowest percentage of illiteracy of any State in the
Union, and Wyoming Territory alone had a bet-
ter record in all the United States. A few years
ago one of our most intelligent ministers had an
appointment in a sparsely settled neighborhood
on the prairies northwest of Omaha. The meet-
ing was in a private house, and it was made of
sod. The congregation consisted of about twelve
persons. The minister was very much discour-
aged when he looked upon his audience. The
men looked rough and hard. They Avere sun-
burnt and shabbily dressed, and, from their gen-
eral appearance, he felt that he had an illiterate

44 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

congregation before him, and greatly feared his
sermon would not be at all appreciated. He
preached, and the most profound attention pre-
vailed throughout the entire discourse. At the
close of the service, all remained to greet the
preacher, and he learned that seven out of the
twelve who had listened to him were graduates
from Eastern universities. According to the num-
ber, this was one of the most, if not the most, in-
telligent congregations he had ever preached to
in his life. The wonderful possibilities of the
rich soil and charming climate of Nebraska
brought into the Territory the most intelligent
class of settlers at the very commencement.
From the organization of the Territory, in 1854,
to the present time, not only in the cities and
villages, but in the rural districts, all over our
broad prairies, in sod-houses and dug-outs, might
be found the most highly educated men and
women. To the push and energy of these cul-
tured, live men and women are we indebted, to
an extent at least, for the wonderful development
and rapid growth of the State.

The soil of Nebraska is peculiar. It retains
its moisture with wonderful tenacity, so that long
periods of dry weather do not materially affect the
cro'ps. On the other hand, the heaviest rains re-
tard the farmer but little in his work. In a few
hours after the heaviest rain-storms the farmer

TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES. 45

may be seen in the field with his plow, culti-
vating his crops with as much ease as if no rain
had fallen. This peculiarity of the soil guaran-
tees to the faithful husbandman a good crop every
year. A failure in crops is rarely ever known in
Nebraska.

The autumns are remarkably lovely. They
are usually long, mild, and dry. The " Indian
summers '' are delightful, even beyond descrip-
tion. To understand and rightly appreciate them,
one must be present and enjoy them. I have
lived in Ohio, Indiana, California, and Nebraska,
and have traveled quite extensively through other
States, and it seems to me that Nebraska com-
bines more natural advantages than any other
one State of which I have any knowledge.

46 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER IV.

CALIFORNIA GOLD EXCITEMENT IN 1848-50.

Gold discovered — Anxious to go — "Outfit" obtained —
Farewell to Friends — Trip from South Bend to Old
Fort Kearney — Perilous Passage Over the " Big
Muddy " — First Night in Nebraska — Terrible
Storm— Beautiful Scene.

IN the year 1848 rich gold-mines were discovered
in California. During that year, and in 1849,
the most intense excitement on the subject pre-
vailed throughout all the States. Flushed with the
glowing reports from the mines that came by
every mail, and with high expectations of becom-
ing independently rich in a few mouths, tens of
thousands rushed to the land of gold. The gold-
fever, like a tidal wave, rolled from ocean to
ocean. Many went ^' over the Plains,^' crossing
the Missouri River, passing up the Great Platte
Valley, thence over the Pocky and Sierra Nevada
Mountains. To make this trip, from three to
four months were required. Others went by
water, doubling Cape Horn, a voyage requiring
five or six months ; while many others went by
way of the isthmus, crossing from Aspinwall to
Panama, and from there on the Pacific to San
Francisco.

CALIFORNIA GOLD-FEYER. 47

In South Bend, Indiana, my home, the " Cali-
fornia fever '^ raged fearfully, carrying hundreds of
the people to the Pacific Coast. Several companies
were organized, and set out for the far distant
West. Just before bidding their friends farewell,
as their teams stood hitched to their wagons in
the street, the Hon. Schuyler Colfax was called
on for a speech. He was in the second story of
a large store-building on Washington Street. He
stepped forward to an open window, and looking
down into a sea of upturned faces, spoke to the
emigrants. He assured them that they would
lave the sympathy and prayers of the friends they
left behind, and that during their absence the
citizens of South Bend would never allow any of
their families to suffer want. His few felicitous
remarks touched the hearts of all. The faces of
the emigrants, and the hundreds who crowded
the streets to Avitness their departure, were bathed
in tears. The scene was a most touching one. I
shall never forget it. I shall never forget how I
envied the young men that were among the emi-
grants, and how ardently I louged to be one of
their number. The desire already kindled in my
young heart for the new El Dorado, was fauned
to a flame, and burned with a white heat. I said
to myself, " I will go some day.^' During all
that year the excitement continued, becoming,
if anything, more intense. The mail from the

48 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Pacific Coast came only once a month. When it
arrived, hundreds gathered in and around the
post-office, eager to learn the latest news from the
mines. Nearly all the letters from friends were
read aloud to the citizens. When a letter was re-
ceived, after glancing over it himself, the person
receiving it was called on to read it aloud for the
benefit of all present. He would climb upon a
chair or a dry-goods box, and read, while the hun-
dreds around him stood in breathless silence,
bending forw^ard, eager to catch every word that
fell from his lips. I have seen a large crowd
standing in front of the post-office in the midst
of a drenching rain, and while one held an um-
brella over the person reading the letter, the crowd
listened, seemingly unconscious of the terrible
storm that was raging. And I do not suppose
there was one in the vast crowd more oblivious to
the storm, more anxious to hear, and more in-
tensely interested than myself. We talked of
California by day, and dreamed of it by night.
Visions of the far-famed gold-regions often rose
before us. In the spring of 1850 the long-wished-
for time came. Judge E. Egbert, a brother-in-
law, offered an " outfit '* to my brother Albert
and myself, with the understanding that we were
to give him one-third of all the profits arising
from any business we might engage in while in
California.

CALIFORNIA GOLD-FEVER. 49

I was then seventeen years old. With buoy-
ant spirits, bright hopes, and visions of immense
treasures of wealth before us, we bade adieu to a
weeping mother, brothers and sisters, and friends,
and started for the far West. Little did Ave
know, or even dream, of the privations, suffer-
ings, and disappointments that awaited us in the
future. And well is it that a kind Providence
keeps all these things hid from us ! Well is it
that the future, so far as these things are con-
cerned, is all unknown. Little did we know of
the dangers that would beset us on every hand,
ot the many imminent perils to which we should
be exposed. Even now, when I think of the
many narrow, hair-breadth escapes of life, I feel
a peculiar chilly sensation creeping over me. I
often ask: ^^How was it we escaped?" The an-
swer coines in an instant : " God's guardian angel
watched over us."

There is truth, as well as poetry, in Shake-
speare's words :

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."

Thomson, too, utters a great truth when

he says:

" There is a Power
Unseen, that rules the illimitable world,
That guides its motions, from the brightest star
To the least dust of this sin-tainted mold."
5

50 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

I verily believe that that '^unseen Power '*
wliich guides the motion of all worlds, all sys-
tems, and all atoms, guided and guarded us.

The patriotic Roman cried out : ^^ If I had a
thousand lives, I would give them all for my
country."

With greater emphasis, and greater love for
God than the Roman had for his country, I have
often said: ^^If I had a thousand lives, they
should all be given to God.'^

We were just four Aveeks going from South
Bend, Indiana, to Saint Joseph, Missouri. The
roads through Illinois and Missouri were very
bad. We had never seen anything like them.
There was snow and rain and mud. We had
black, sticky mud in Illinois, and yellow, sticky
clay in Missouri. In that early day there were
but few bridges, and but very little work had
been done on the roads. It is hard for any one
now, in these days of improved roads and easy
travel, to imagine the difficulties that Avere in the
way of travel at that time. Illinois was full of
sloughs. These have since been bridged, and no
longer impede the traveler. We Avould cross
several of these daily, and often our horses would
go down to their sides in mud. We came to one
of these one day ; it looked ominous ; we hesi-
tated about attempting to cross. A team was just

CALIFORNIA GOLD-FEVER. 51

in front of us, and the driver said to the man on
the other side :

^^ Is the bottom good ?"

" Yes/' was the reply. So he cracked his whip
and started in. His horses began to flounder and
soon went down to their sides in mud, and the
whole wagon was buried except the box. The
driver cried out in a rage to the man on the

other side :

^'I thought you said the bottom was good

here?''

^^It is," said the man, coolly, ''but you are not
half-way down to it." It was a common remark
among the emigrants that the bottoms had dropped
out of all the roads in Illinois.

Twenty miles east of St. Joseph, Mo., we
stopped four weeks to rest our horses, lay in pro-
visions, and prepare for the long journey over the
plains. At that time St. Joseph was the extreme
western border of civilization, and the outfitting
point for emigrants starting for California. Beyond
this, all was a wide, desolate waste. There were no
white settlements west of tnis. The whole territory
belonged to the Indians. St. Joseph was a small,
unsightly, filthy town, of a few hundred inhabit-
ants, and in looks the people compared very fa-
vorably with the dingy houses, filthy streets, and
general repulsiveness of the place. Here we saw

52 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD,

what we had never seen before. Many of the
men we met wore about them leather belts, in
which were large bowie-knives and revolvers.
These they carried openly, and no attempt what-
ever was made to conceal their deadly weapons.
E-obberies were of almost daily occurrence, and it
was unsafe for a man to walk the streets alone at
night. We felt peculiar. We realized, for the
first time, that we were in a " strange land,^'
among thieves and robbers and cut-throats, and
that life was none too safe. The impression made
upon one, unaccustomed to such scenes, was very
strong. I sometimes felt my heart creeping up
into my throat, and a certain unpleasant choking
sensation. But this little, unsightly, unattractive
village has grown to be one of the beautiful, flour-
ishing, and inviting cities of the West.

From this place we passed up the east side of
the Missouri River into Iowa, to a point just op-
posite old Fort Kearney. Old Fort Kearney
stood right where Nebraska City now stands.
Here we crossed the " Big Muddy '^ in an old, di-
lapidated ferry-boat. The river was high, the
current swift, and to undertake to cross the tur-
bulent stream in such a rickety craft was indeed
a hazardous task. The ferrymen managed the
boat with oars and long poles. Only the day be-
fore the current got away with them, carried them
some distance beloAV the landing, capsized the

CALIFORNIA GOLD-FEVER

53

boat, and a span of horses and a loaded wagon
went down and were lost. The ferryman said,
while there was danger, still he thought he could
land us safely on the other side. We were rest-
less, anxious to proceed on our journey, and un-
willing to wait for the water to fall. We said,
" We Avill risk it/' and drove our team on board ;
and, with bated breath and trembling limbs, held
the horses and watched the oarsmen with the
most intense anxiety. When the dangerous cur-
rent was passed and the pilot cried out, '' Safe,'*
the heavy strain was gone ; relief came, and we
breathed easy. A few moments afterwards the
boat struck the shore, and on the 2d day of May,
1850, our feet pressed Nebraska soil for the first
time. We pitched our tent on the western sk)pe
of " Kearney Hill ;" and as it was raining and the
ground wet, we cut hazel-brush, on which we
placed our blankets and made a comfortable bed.
That night the rain fell in torrents, and the thun-
der-peals were deafening. Lightning-flash vied
with lightning flash, and thunder-peal with thun-
der-peal, and the elemente seemed holding a grand
carnival. In the morning we found the water
running like a perfect mill-tail through our tent
and under our bed. The brush, however, kept
the bed from the water, and we were i^erfictly
dry. Early that day the clouds cleared away, the
sun came forth, pouring his mellow rays of light

54 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

upon all around, and the scene that swept before
us from the west was beautiful, even beyond all
description. The lovely prairies, stretching away
in every direction as far as vision could extend,
with swell rising above swell, carpeted with living
green, and beautified with flowers of almost every
hue, made a scene Avhich caused us involuntarily
to exclaim, ^^ Grand!''

Our first meeting with Nebraska w^as like the
first meeting of many a young man and woman —
it was " love at first sight/' And that love, kin-
dled when we first gazed upon Nebraska's beauty,
has been growing in intensity for forty years.

As we stood upon Kearney Hill, it never once
occurred to us that, in a very few years hence, on
this very spot, would rise a great and beautiful
and flourishing city. And still more remote was
the thought that, in eleven short years, I should
be a minister of the gospel and presiding elder
of a district embracing near half the Territory of
Nebraska. If such a thought had entered my
mind at that time, I should have banished it in
an instant as one of the wild visions of the
young.

I was then an uneducated, unconverted boy
of seventeen years. My heart was on this world.
Bright visions of the future rose before me.
Vast treasures of wealth were soon to be mine.
A life of unalloyed pleasure, with everything

CALIFORNIA GOLD-FEVER 55

earth can give to make man happy, was within
my grasp. These were the dreams of my young
heart. Little did I imagine that all my worldly
plans and hopes, in a few brief years, would be
dashed to atoms.

Momentous events and wonderful scenes were
crowded into the next ten years. When I think
of the stupendous events and wonderful changes
that took place during that short period, a sensa-
tion I have no language to describe thrills my
whole being.

56 SOLITARY PLACES MADE QLAD.

CHAPTER V.

ACROSS THE PLAINS.

Old Fort Kearney — Nebraska City — Platte River —
Indians — New Fort Kearney — Wolves — Midnight
Alarm — Chimney Rock — Court-house Rock — Buffa-
loes— Sweet Water — Summit of the Rocky Mount-
ains— Green River— Bear River — Humboldt— Des-
ert— Carson River— Summit of the Sierra Nevadas —
Journey ended.

KEARNEY HILL, where we spent our
first night in Nebraska, is now a part of
Nebraska City. Table Creek winds along the
foot of Kearney Hill. Just across this creek, and
a few hundred yards to the northwest, stood Old
Fort Kearney. On the 5th day of May we left
the Old Fort. We were then beyond the bounds
of civilization. There were no white persons re-
siding in all the Territory of Nebraska, save a few
traders and United States troops, garrisoned at
different points for the defense of the emigrants.
The garrison here consisted of a block-house,
made of logs, with port-holes for cannon and
muskets, and two rows of barracks in the shape
of an angle. In 1848 this military post was
abandoned by the Government, and the troops

ACROSS THE PLAINS.

57

moved to New Fort Kearney, on the Platte River,
about two lumdred miles west. In 1850, when
we first saw the fort, the Government property
was in the care of H. P. Downs. Eleven years
later, when presiding elder of Nebraska City Dis-
trict, we became well acquainted with Mr. Downs
and his family. They were then active members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Nebraska
City. When the war broke out in 1861, Colonel
Hiram P. Downs assisted in raising the " Nebraska
Regiment," and in August of that year he was
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.

When Nebraska City was founded and platted
in 1854, the old block-house stood on Main Street,
near the center of the city. Here it remained
until 1886, when it was removed. Many of the
old citizens strongly protested against the removal
of this "old landmark.'' If I could have had
my voice and my way in the matter, it never
would have been removed, if it did stand in the
center of a beautiful city of fifteen thousand in-
habitants. We first saw it in 1850. We next
saw it in 1860; and in 1861 we moved to Ne-
braska City, and for seven years, almost daily,
looked upon the old garrison. And for many
years afterwards, whenever we visited the city, we
expected to see the "block -house ''—the people's
old defender. It was like looking into the face
of an old familiar friend. We were sorry, and

58 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

ready to drop a tear over its departure. Lay not
rude bauds upon the old landmarks. Let them
stand as monuments of the good they have done
in the past!

What a change has taken place since 1850!
The old log garrison has given way to a large
and beautiful city; the grass-covered prairies to
the most lovely farms, whose fields wave with
luxuriant grain, and whose orchards bend under
the weight of rich and luscious fruits.

From Old Fort Kearney w^e started west, trav-
eling over undulating prairies and across winding
streams, skirted with timber, as beautiful, it
seemed to us, as any on which the eye of man ever
rested. After several days' travel we struck the
valley of the Great Platte River. The Platte is
the largest river in Nebraska. Its head-waters
rise in the mountains of Colorado and Montana,
some of them being fed by the ^^everlasting
snows.'' It flows east, through the central por-
tion of the State, and empties its waters into the
Missouri just above where the city of Plattsmouth
now stands. It is a wide, rapid, and very shal-
low stream ; and its valley — eight to fifteen miles
Avide — approximates, in fertility, the valley of the
Nile. This stream has been known by two differ-
ent names— " Nebraska " and ''Great Platte."
Nebraska is an Indian name; Great Platte is a
French name. They are both of the same im-

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 59

port, signifying "broad water/^ It is a danger-
ous stream to ford, on account of the rapidity of
its current and its quicksand bottom.

Descending an abrupt bluff, we struck the
valley of this great stream. Here, for the first
time, we met Indians. Several hundred Pawnee
warriors gathered around us. They were painted,
feathered, and dressed in almost every conceivable
fantastic style, and armed with muskets, knives,
spears, and bows and arrows. They were on the
war-path against the Sioux. Being armed to the
very teeth, they seemed anxious for the bloody
fray. We came upon them very suddenly. Just
as we descended the steep bluff into the valley,
before we were aware of it, we were completely
surrounded with these savages. I do not know
how the other members of our company felt. I
know very Avell how I felt, and I shall never
forget the feelings I then had. At the first sight
of these savage looking "red-skins," my heart, it
seemed, leaped right up into my throat, and as
hard as I tried, I could not possibly keep it down,
and it really seemed to me I should choke, and a
most strange sensation crept all over me, such as
I had never felt before. It was a time that tried
a man^s nerve, but I did not care to have such a
test repeated. There was but a handful of us
compared with them, and we were wholly in their
power. We knew very well they could, if they

60 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

wished, kill and scalp every one of us, or take us
prisoners, and put us to death by inches, with
the most inhuman tortures, as they had done to
many others ; and we well knew that torture was
their favorite amusement. And as they were on
the war-path, and needed munitions of war, we
knew that our provisions and teams and weapons
and ammunition were a temptation to them to
put us out of the way. I confess, I felt a pecu-
liar weakness about the knees, and a strange,
trembling sensation all over. However, after
giving them a few articles of food, they left, pass-
ing on to the south, and we went our way re-
joicing, feeling wonderfully relieved, and breath-
ing with ease again.

Two days after this we reached New Fort
Kearney, which we found situated on a lovely
spot in the valley of the Great Platte. Here Ave
found a number of United States troops quar-
tered. The commander of the post ordered every
emigrant to pass into one of the offices, where a
clerk registered each name, his former residence,
and destination.

From here we traveled up the Platte for days
and days, with the same monotonous scenes be-
fore us, the same turbid stream, the same low
range of bluifs in the distance, the same wide
valley, with but here and there a lone tree or
shrub to greet the eye.

ACROSS THE PLAINS. ^1

The emigration was so large that year, that the
grass was eaten off close to the ground, by the
cattle and horses, for a great distance on both
sides of the road, and we frequently had to go
from one to five miles to obtain grass for our

horses.

One afternoon, about three oclock, we camped
on the bank of the Platte River, where we could
get plenty of wood and water. There was no
grass, however, so brother Albert and myself
took the horses back to the bluffs, some five miles
away, into a deep canyon, where we found an
abundance of good grass. Here we watched the
horses, until it began to grow dark, when we
caught them, and were about to get on and ride
back to camp. While in the act of bridling them,
a strange and startling sound broke, all at once,
upon our ears. It came from every direction.
It was the cry of a thousand hungry wolves that
broke the stillness of the evening air. In an in-
stant, and simultaneously, they seemed to leap
from their hiding-places in the caves and crags
and glens, and came rushing down towards us
with a hideous howl that thrilled us through and
through, making our hair stand on end. The
noise seemed to make the very hills shake and
tremble around us. My brother succeeded in
getting on his horse first, and looking back and
seeing me still on the ground, he cried out:

62 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

'^Heniyj get on quick, or you will be over-
taken/' I tried again and again to mount, but
was so excited and frightened I faided every
time. It seemed to me I never could get on my
horse. After repeated trials, I at length suc-
ceeded, and we rode down the canyon as fast as
horse-flesh could carry us. When we got out of
the hills, and reached the open valley, it was so
dark we could not even see the horses' heads be-
fore us. Egyptian darkness could not have been
more dense. We looked for the camp-fire, which
we expected to see ; but in vain, not a single ray
of light, nor a single object, could be seen in any
direction. The thought then flashed upon our
minds that we might not be able to find our way
back to camp again, and that we should be over-
taken, and fall a prey to the hungry and ferocious
wolves. We rode on for some time under the
deepest suspense, goading our horses forward as
fast as possible, and straining our eyes to catch a
glimpse of light from the camp-fire. At length
we saw away in the distance a flickering light; it
seemed the most perfectly beautiful of anything
we had ever seen ; it came to us in that dark and
dangerous hour as an inspiration. We were en-
couraged, and urged on our horses, and were soon
seated by our owm camp-fire, partaking of a hearty
supper, which had been prepared for us ; after which
we lay down to dream over our new adventure.

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 63

When we reached the forks of the Platte
River, our route was then up the South Fork of
this stream. One night, about dusk, after trav-
eling hard all day, we reached a point where the
high bluffs came within a few rods of the river,
at the mouth of a deep ravine. Here, at the
mouth of this ravine, with high, abrupt, and
rocky bluffs upon either side, we pitched our
tents and stopped for the night. It was a gloomy,
dismal-looking place. On our right was the river;
on our left the deep ravine; in front and in our
rear rose, almost perpendicular, the frowning
bluffs. It was just the right place to be over-
taken and cut to pieces by Indians. We prepared
supper, put out our guards, and retired to our
tents to rest. Foot-sore and weary, we soon fell
into a deep sleep. About midnight we were
aroused from our sweet slumbers and dreams of
home and loved ones by the guards, who rushed
to the tents, and in a low voice said : *' Indians !
Indians! Get up, and get your guns, quick,
quick ! We hear them crossing the river on their
ponies. They will be here in five minutes.^'
Startled, frightened, and trembling like an aspen-
leaf, Ave tried to find our arms ; but every thing
seemed out of place. Guns, powder, balls, caps,
everything was gone. The Indians, as we sup-
posed, were just upon us, and we Avcre without
anything with which to defend ourselves. It was

64 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

a time of intense excitement. In a few moments,
however, we recovered our presence of mind,
found our guns and ammunition, and with every-
thing ready, we went out to meet the foe. We
could distinctly hear them slowly crossing the
river. Plash ! plash ! plash ! we heard their feet
in the water. The river was near a mile wide,
and it took some time for them to cross. Nearer
and nearer they came. At length they reached
the shore, rose upon the bank, when, lo and be-
hold ! we saw, not Indians, but a large herd of
buiFaloes. We laughed heartily at our scare, re-
turned to our tents, and slept soundly till morn-
ing. The next day we crossed the South Platte
where Julesburg now stands.

It may not be amiss here to give a bit of his-
tory touching the founding of this city. Jules-
burg derives its name from a tragic and blood-
curdling incident, such as abound in the early
history of Nebraska and Kansas, as well as other
Western States and Territories. Julesburg de-
rives its name from a Frenchman named Jules
Beni. In 1855 Jules Beni kept a ranch at this
point. At that time the mail was carried over-
land from the States to California, and this was
one of the stations where horses for the company
were kept. A noted desperado, by the name of
Alf Slade, was superintendent of the stage com-
pany, and Jules Beni had charge of the stock.

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 65

Slade was said to be the most cruel and desperate
character that ever frequented the frontier, and
woe betide the man who ever had an altercation
with him. He could kill a man in cold bk>od,
and with as much composure as he would sit down
and take his meal. One day he got into a quarrel
with Jules, and told him he would cut off his ears
and wear them as a charm on his watch-chain.
Slade started across the yard for his arms, and Jules,
knowing the desperate character of the man he had
to deal with, shot and wounded him, and then, fear-
ing vengeance from Slade's associates, he fled to a
deep canyon in the vicinity. Here he remained
concealed until he prevailed on one of his asso-
ciates to take charge of his cattle. He then left
the frontier and went to Saint Louis. In 1860
he returned to Cottonwood Springs. Shortly
afterwards, with a company of men, he started
westward for his cattle, which were then near
Fort Laramie. He had only got a short distance
on his way back, when he was overtaken by Slade,
with a number of his men. " Slade immediately
shot Jules and wounded him, then cut off the
poor Frenchman's ears, and finally put him to
death by slow and cruel tortures of the knife.
After drying the ears of poor Jules, the monster
attached them to his watch-chain, where he wore
them as a fulfillment of his terrible threat, and as
a warning to all who dared oppose him." Some

bb SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

years afterwards Slade came to a violent death.
'' His cold-blooded murders and desperate deeds
became too terrible to be borne, even by men
whose lives had long become inured to scenes of
bloodshed, and he was hanged, as he deserved to
be, by a vigilance committee.'' * Whenever we
think of Julesburg, we think of the terrible
tragedy connected with its early history.

From where Julesburg now stands, we crossed
over to the North Platte. Shortly after reaching
the valley of this stream, we came in sight of
Chimney Rock. The atmosphere is so pure and
clear that objects seem much nearer than they
really are, and on this account we were often
greatly deceived in the distance between us and
certain objects in full view. Chimney Rock
seemed at first sight not more than ten miles
away, when in reality it was more than fifty miles
away. When we first came in sight of it, we
were traveling almost due west, and this lone col-
umn seemed to rise up out of the prairie away to
the southwest. We traveled a whole day before
we came directly opposite to it, and then traveled
nearly two days before it faded entirely from our
view. Chimney Rock is a pillar, resting on a
solid rock foundation, and rising to so great a
height in the air, that it may be seen for nearly a

■'History of Nebraska (Western Historical Com-
pany), p. 533.

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 67

hundred m.iles away. It reminds one of Cleo-
patra's needle and the obelisks of Egypt. For
ages around it the wild storms have swept; for
generations it has looked upon the buffalo ranging
with delight over the grassy prairies. Within its
view many a bloody Indian battle has doubtless
been fought, and many an Indian town has
arisen, flourished, and passed away. It has
watched the centuries come and go, and many
wonderful scenes have transpired under its gaze,
and still it stands in all its solitary loneliness.

Shortly after Chimney Rock faded from sight.
Court-house Rock rose in view. Court-house
Rock was about the same distance as Chimney
Rock from the road, although it seemed very much
nearer. It is several acres square, rising to an
immense height, and looking very much like a
massive court-house, standing alone on the dreary
prairie, hence the name. The stone of both
Chimney and Court-house Rock is soft, and they
are rapidly yielding to the gnawing tooth of time.

The valley of the Platte, in the spring and
early part of the summer, was the grazing ground
for the buffaloes. The grass came earlier in this
valley than on the bluffs and uplands, hence im-
mense droves of buflah) congregated along this
stream. It is hard for any one now to imagine
the vast numbers that gathered along this great
valley. We have seen the valley literally black

68 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

with them for miles and miles in almost every
direction. I am perfectly safe in saying I have
seen in one herd many millions. And this scene
was repeated day after day as we traveled up this
river. A buffalo stampede was a most terrible
and dangerous thing. A frightened drove of these
wild animals running at full speed swept every-
thing before them ; and woe betide the horses and
cattle of the emigrants that happened to be in
their path; they were swallowed up in the herd,
carried away, and perhaps never seen or heard
from again. Many emigrants lost their teams in
this way. The noise of a drove of buffaloes on a
stampede was like the continuous roll of distant
thunder. The only safety for a train of emi-
grants, on the approach of a drove of buffaloes
coming at full speed, was to drive the wagons
into a circle, make a strong corral, putting all the
cattle and horses on the inside. The buffaloes,
however, much more rapidly than the Indians,
are becoming extinct. When we crossed the
plains, forty years ago, it was not known how
many buffaloes there were. There were many,
many millions. The Great Platte Valley was alive
with them, and the bluffs and prairies, north and
south, for hundreds of miles, were covered with
these shaggy cattle of the Plains.

Twenty years ago, according to the authority
of the Smithsonian Institute of Washington,

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 69

there were only eight millions of buffaloes roam-
ing over the plains and mountains of the Far
West. To-day there are but a few hundred.
There never has been sueh an "extermination of
any large quadruped ; it could not have been more
successful if especially planned. Had the buffalo
been a wild animal, doing immense damage to
person and property, he could not have been
hunted clown and uselessly and wantonly slaugh-
tered with more avidity. Only eighty-five head
of wild buffaloes now remain; three hundred and
four are alive in captivity, and about two hun-
dred are under the protection of the Government
in Yellowstone Park. It is said that there are
about five hundred and fifty head in the British
possessions, north of Montana. There is a remote
possibility that the stock may be perpetuated,
and a small number kept alive in the Yellowstone
Park and different zoological gardens. But the
wild buffalo has lost his place, and has become a
rarity in the animal kingdom. The work of ex-
termination has been carried on principally for
the hides. Regular buffalo-killing parties were or-
ganized, and the animals hunted down and shot.
Their hides would be taken off, and sold at the
nearest ■ post-trader\s for seventy-five cents or a
dollar. The war of extermination was waged
vigorously and most effectively, and it was thouglit
for a long time that it was impossible ever to ex-

70 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

tlnguish the stock. It has only been a few years
since the danger of the species becoming extinct
forced itself upon those who are interested in
natural history, and since then there has been a
scramble to obtain specimens for zoological parks
and menageries. The Government has also rec-
ognized the importance of perpetuating the spe-
cies, and it has secured a number and placed them
in the Yellowstone Park for safe keeping and
the perpetuation of the stock. It is deplorable
that the Government did not take steps long ago
to stop the wholesale slaughter of these noble
animals.

AYe followed the North Platte until we reached
Fort Laramie. Here we found a number of
United States troops stationed. From this point
Ave crossed over the " Black Hills/' and, after
several days' travel over a very rough and rugged
road, struck the Sweet AVater. This we found
to be a most beautiful stream, and its waters as
delightful as its name indicates. The Sweet Water
winds its way down a most beautiful valley, which
we found covered with heavy, tender, and most
nutritious grass. This thrifty and tender grass
our horses ate with a relish, which did us good
to behold. Soon after reaching this stream we
came to Independence Rock, which stands near
the bank of the river, overlooking the whole sur-
rounding country. Independence Rock is a great

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 71

bowlder, if my memory serves me right, coveriDg
thirteen acres, and over one hundred feet high.
At one place, on the west side, this rock con Id,
with some difficulty, be scaled. The ascent was
quite steep, yet by dint of effort a man could
climb to the top. We clambered up to the sum-
mit of this wonderful bowlder, and gazed with
delight upon the romantic scenery which spread in
every direction before us. After remaining for a
short time, having taken in the magnificent view,
we saw a large snake craAvling up out of one of
the crevices of the rock ; in a little while another
one made his appearance. As we had no desire
whatever to see any more, never having had any
peculiar love for the serpentine race, we made our
descent much quicker than we had made our as-
cent, and left the snakes in full possession.

Just beyond this and in full view was DeviFs
Gap. This is an opening about thirty feet wide,
through a mountain of solid rock. Through this
opening the Sweet Water rushes at the rate of
some fifty miles an hour. The walls on both
sides are perpendicular, and two hundred feet
high. This opening looks very much like a work
of art, as though it had been made by human
hands to form a channel for the beautiful river.
This marvelous channel was cut through this
mountain of solid rock not by human but divine
hands. In this gap, on one side of the stream,

72 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

near the surface of the water, is a shelf of rock, and
over this mountain, near the precipice, was a pre-
cipitious foot-path. Uj:) this path, and over this
rough mountain, many emigrants traveled on foot.
We preferred to go with our teams some distance
to the south-east, Avhere there was a good wagon-
road, rather than to attempt to scale the dauger-
ous mountain on foot. The year previous a man
passed up this path to the summit, and, looking
down into the stream two hundred feet below
him, became dizzy and fell into the awful chasm, his
body striking the rocky shelf below. His friends
could not possibly recover his body, for the waters
rush through the narrow and rocky channel like
the dashing waters of a raging cataract. I did
not see them ; but others who did, said the skull
and bones of the poor man were distinctly visible
from the top of the precipice.

Up this stream we traveled until we reached
the summit of the E-ocky Mountains ; but so grad-
ual was the ascent that we were not aware we
were on the summit until we saw a small rivulet
flowing to the west. We reached this point Sat-
urday afternoon, July 3, 1850. Here, in this
bleak and desolate place, some twelve thousand
feet above the level of the sea, we camped and
remained over Sabbath, celebrating the Fourth
of July, at an altitude far above any on
which we had ever been before. The wind blew

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 73

a stiff gale ; the weather was cold, and it snowed
at intervals during the whole day. We found
some very good bunch-grass for our horses, and to
keep ourselves warm, and while away the time,
we cut sage-brush, and kept a good fire going by
the side of a great rock, which served as a shelter
from the fierce wind. To the right and left of us,
as far as the eye could extend, rose mountain-
peak above mountain-peak in solitary grandeur,
crowned with eternal snow. The scene, though
sublime, was at the same time a dreary and deso-
late one. AVhile one enjoys such scenes for a
little while, they soon become monotonous, and
one longs for a more genial clime and more pleas-
ant objects on which to gaze. From the summit
of these everlasting hills we began to descend
slowly to the west. We soon reached Green
River, a deep and rapid stream, but not very
wide. There was neither bridge nor ferry, and
the water was too deep to ford ; so we made a ferry-
boat of a wagon-box, took our wagons to pieces,
ferried them over one after another with our
plunder, and swam with our horses across the
river. Tlien we put together our wagons, re-
loaded our traps, and after a hard day's work in
getting across, started again on our Avay rejoicing.
The next river of importance was Bear River.
From here our journey was uneventful until we

reached the Humboldt Kiver. And of all the

7^

74 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

streams we ever saw or read of, this is the most
loathsome. From its head-waters to its mouth —
a distance of three hundred miles— where it sinks
away in the sand, there is not a single redeeming
trait. It is repulsive, and only repulsive, from
one end to the other. The Humboldt River
runs through a valley of alkali, and the waters
of this stream, as well as the springs and rivulets
that flow into it, are all strongly impregnated
with this poison. And yet, for two weeks, we
had to wash in these waters, cook Avith them, and
even drink them. They had a peculiarly sicken-
ing and slippery taste that we remember dis-
tinctly, though forty years have passed since we
drank them. The dust in the roads was like
light-colored ashes and as fine as flour, and from
one to six inches deep. The great clouds of this
dust and the sweltering heat, at times, almost
completely overcame us. We breathed the alkali,
and ate the alkali, and drank the alkali, and lay
down in the alkali, until our whole systems were
completely saturated with the loathsome minerals.

Twice a day we had to swim this stream, cut
grass and float it over for our horses, as there was
no grass on the side of the river we traveled.

The Humboldt is a rapid stream and full of
dangerous whirlpools. In these, many a poor
traveler has lost his life. A man might be ever
so good a swimmer, yet, if he got in one of these,

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 75

he was sure to be drawn under and drowned.
AYe saw new-made graves all along this river;
and on the head-board of almost every grave was
the sad word, ^^Drowned.^^ Along the j^athway
of life the whirlpools of sin are numerous, and
many a man, who thought himself strong to resist
evil of every kind, in an unguarded moment haa
been drawn in and lost. " Let him that thinketh
he standeth, take heed lest he fall.^'

After a number of days of weary and painful
travel, we reached the mouth of this river, which
we found to be an anomaly. This stream does
not empty its waters into any other body of
water, as other streams do, but sinks away in the
sand, at the edge of a sandy desert, seventy-five
miles in Avidth. The waters of this river at its
mouth spread out over a spongy marsh, some fif-
teen miles wide and thirty miles long. Through
this spongy, sandy soil, the waters of the Hum-
boldt sink away.

At this point we camped, rested twenty-four
hours, and made preparation for crossing the des-
ert. At five o^clock in the afternoon we broke
camp, left the valley, and ascending a low range
of hills, realized we were on the desolate, dan-
gerous, and sandy desert. We did not stop from
the time we broke camp until we reached the
other side. We traveled all night, and tlie next
day, at three o'clock, reached Carson liiver.

76 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

This sandy desert, from the mouth of the Hum-
boldt to the Carson River — a distance of seventy-
five miles — was literally strewn with wagons,
goodsj and the bodies of horses, mules, and oxen.
Horses and mules would lie down and die in
their harness while hitched to their wagons, and
whole teams of oxen, from two to six yoke,
would lie down and die in their yokes. Others
would wander away a short distance from the
road, as if in search of water, but overcome with
heat, would soon give up in despair, and sink
down to die at the hands of this most terrible of
all tyrants — thirst.

If these carcasses had been placed together in
a row, we could have walked on dead animals
from one side of the desert to the other. But not
only did we see scattered upon the burning sands
of this desert, wagons, goods, clothing, and plun-
der of almost every kind, and the carcasses of
horses, mules, and oxen; but, ever and anon, a
sandy mound marked the resting-place of some
poor emigrant, who had fallen a victim to the
ravages of thirst or disease. On this desert our
last horse gave out, and my brother and I had to
leave him to die. Tears unbidden stole down our
cheeks as we said good-bye to faithful Dick. He
had done all he could for us. He could go no
further. He was worn out. The last, sad look
of the faithful horse we remember still. Mr.

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 77

Wesley thinks all animals will be resurrected.
We think they ought to be, and rewarded for
their works and sufferings here. If they are,
faithful Dick will have a rich reward.

Our provisions, too, were gone; so we each
took a couple of blankets, rolled them up, put
them on our shoulders — as the soldier carries his
knapsack — and trudged away on foot. After
traveling all night, the next morning the sun
rose clear and bright, and as he climbed the
heavens, the heat became more and more intense,
and the sands beneath our feet hotter and hotter.
Stretching away in every direction, as far as the
eye could extend, was a vast, sandy plain, and
the heat arising from this sandy plain was like the
heat from a burning furnace. About noon our
water gave out. We quickened our steps, know-
ing well that no time could be lost without en-
dangering our lives. On and on, we pressed our
weary way, growing more and more fatigued, and
our thirst becoming more and more severe. I
never shall forget that day. How every nerve
was taxed to its utmost! How our eager eyes
were strained, time and again, to catch a glimpse
of the trees skirting the river whose waters were
to slake our thirst, and whose green banks were
to furnish rest for our weary bodies! I never
shall forget the fear and anxiety we felt as the
hours passed slowly away. Many of our com-

78 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

rades sank by the wayside, and we knew not how
soon we must succumb to the heat, sink down,
and die upon the burning sands. About three
o^clock in the afternoon, the waving trees along
the desired stream rose in view. What a thrill
of joy went coursing through every avenue of the
soul as the beautiful scene rose before us! A
few moments more and we sat down by that
limpid stream, and drank and drank and drank
of its clear, cold waters, until we were perfectly
satisfied; then we threw our weary bodies on the
green grass, beneath the shade of a large tree,
and never was rest more sweet! After having
slaked our thirst with these cooling waters, and
rested for a little while, we went to a ranch near
by, kept by a Californian, and bought some food —
a few small, hard biscuits, made of flour and
water — paying one dollar and a half each. These
we ate with a relish ; then resumed our journey.
We w^ere then three hundred miles from the mines ;
and from this on there were stations every few
miles, where provisions could be had by paying
for them. The next station we reached we bought
a little flour, paying two dollars per pound, and
a little bacon at the same price. With the flour
and some water and salt we made pancakes, and,
frying the meat, used the gravy on the cakes, and
they tasted most delicious. While on the Plains
and in California, however, we ate enough pan-

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 79

cakes to last a life-time. I have never had any
desire for pancakes since, and do not think I ever
shall. Being short of money, we only ate about
one-half as much as our appetites craved. We
lived on half rations from this on, until we
reached the end of our journey, which we did in
six days, walking fifty miles a day from the time
we left the desert until we reached the mines.
Having walked for the past three months we were
hardened to it, and could march from daylight
until dark without being much wearied. We
walked faster than any of the teams on the road,
passing horse, mule, and ox teams, and leaving
everything behind us. Many were worse off than
w^e. They were not only without provisions, but
without money. Many ate the flesh of mules and
horses that had died of overwork and starvation,
and were glad to get that in order to keep them
alive. Eternity alone will reveal the suiferings
of many while traveling over those plains in quest
of gold.

If men would do and suffer as much for God
and humanity as they do for money, it would not
be long until the millennial glory would break
over the world.

Near the head of Carson River we struck
what was called the ^^Big Canyon.^' Up this
canyon the road leads toward the summit of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. This canyon we found

80 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

to be very narrow, barely wide enough for one
wagon to pass. The road was very rough and
rocky, and part of the way we had to travel in a
little brook that came leaping and dashing down
the mountain gorge. On either side rose, almost
perpendicular, the rocky cliifs from one hundred
to a thousand feet, with here and there a tree
growing out from some crevice, and reaching up
its arms as if anxious to climb up to where it
could behold the rays of the beautiful sun.

On and up this gloomy defile we continued to
press our way, until at length we passed out into
an open space, and supposed we saw just before
us the summit. A few moments afterwards, how-
ever, we reached the supposed summit ; but, alas !
were disappointed, for far above and beyond us
rose another mountain. ^^ That," we said, "surely
must be the summit." In a few hours we
reached its peak, and were again disappointed;
for far away and above us rose another mountain-
peak, and away beyond and above that still an-
other. Mountains were piled on mountains until
they passed up above the clouds, and bathed their
snowy summits in the vaulted blue. Onward and
upward we continued to climb, until we, too,
passed the clouds, and at last stood upon the
white crest of the most majestic mountain I'ange
on the American Continent, while the broad and
beautiful California Valley for hundreds of miles

ACROSS THE PLAINS. 81

swept before us, and still further on the blue
waters of the Pacific rolled in endless succession
their mighty billows.

In ascending the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
mountain-peak rises above mountain-peak. The
sweep of vision widens, the sublimity and beauty
of the scene deepens, the grandeur becomes more
and more impressive; and when you have reached
the highest peak, and everything earthly is be-
low, you are awed and almost overwhelmed with
the splendor of the scene. I never shall forget
how I felt when I stood upon Sierra Nevada^s
snow-capped summit. To the west was the Sac-
ramento Valley; to the east was the beautiful
Nevada; to the north and to the south, as far as
the eye could extend, were the rock-ribbed and
snow-crowned mountains, glittering and flashing
in eternal sunshine. The unfading impression of
that scene has been with me for forty years.

As we stood upon this mountain-top, with the
most of our journey behind us, and the end in
full view, I have thought we felt a little as the
ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon did, when,
after traveling for twenty-three hundred miles
through the midst of their enemies, suffering for
food, water, and raiment, they at length ascended
a mountain from which they could behold the
Black Sea, on the shores of which stood a large
number of Greek cities. In raptures of joy they

82 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

shouted, ^^The sea! the sea!'^ and the very heav-
ens resounded Avith their joyful acclamations.
From this lofty summit we descended, and in a
short time struck Weaver ville, a mining town,
and the end of our long journey was reached.

CALIFORNIA IN 1850-52. 83

CHAPTER VI.

CALIFORNIA IN 1850-52.

Disappointed Gold-seekers — Long Illness — Doctor
Bill — Wickedness Rampant — Lynch Law — Sum-
mary Punishment the Palladium of the People-
Vigilance Committees— Bold Robbery— The Victim
captured and hanged.

w

'HEN we reached Weaverville we were dis-
appointed. Things were not as we ex-
pected to find them. Our expectations had been
entirely too high; gold could by ^o means be
picked up by the handful. Others were much
worse disappointed than we. On every hand we
saw the sad countenance and the dejected spirit.
From many hope seemed to have taken its flight,
and despair settled down upon them. The pros-
pect of a fortune ahead had nerved the drooping
spirit, and kept up the suffering emigrant during
his long and weary journey until he reached the
goal where the supposed fortune lay. But when
the journey's end was reached, instead of stum-
bling over nuggets of gold and picking up the
yellow dust by the handful, many were found
working for their board, and many more were
unable to find employment even for that. Not a

84 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

few were discouraged, and gave up in despair;
others tvent to San Francisco, worked their way
home on sail-vessels, going round Cape Horn, a
trip which took them six months to make. Had
they not been so hasty in their conclusions, and
so easily discouraged, they might have saved
this long and painful journey. Almost any-
where away from Weaverville ordinary wages
commanded one hundred dollars per month. In
two months they could have earned enough to
take them home by the way of the Isthmus,
and thus saved themselves three months of slav-
ish toil.

By the roadside, a few miles west of AYeaver-
ville, sat a n^iddle-aged man, crying. A traveler
said to him: ^^ What's the matter ^ ^'0,^' said
the man, '^ I am three thousand miles from my
wife and children. I have no money, can get
nothing to do. I shall never see my loved ones
again.'' And he boo-hooed right out, and cried
as though his heart would break. He was only
one of hundreds. Of the many thousands who
reached the ^^Xew El Dorado," only a few were
successful. The great majority were bitterly dis-
appointed.

My brother and I went some twenty miles
southwest of AYeaverville, where we worked at
mining until October, making enough during that
time to purchase our winter supplies. Then we

CALIFORNIA IN 1850-52. 85

went to Logtown, bought a cabin, and took up a
miner's claim. Here we worked until tlie next
summer, when we went up on the south fork of
the American River. The next day after reach-
ing this point I was taken very violently witli
erysipelas in its most malignant form, and for six
weeks was confined to my cot, for two weeks be-
ing delirious and entirely blind. My face and
head were swollen twice their usual size. When
I began to recover, my hair all came out, leaving
my scalp as bare as the palm of my hand. For
several days the doctor said I could not live, de-
claring me beyond the power of medical skill.
Providence ordered it otherwise, however, and I
was restored. I have always thought my re-
covery from that terrible disease was owing, under
God, to the kind care and attention of the faith-
ful brother, Avho watched over me night and day
with the tenderness and anxious solicitude of a
mother.

I was then irreligious, and felt that if I died
I should be lost forever. O, the terrible feeling
of a soul dying ^Svithout God and without hope!"
No language can possibly describe such feelings.
" The way of the transgressor is hard," but the
way of the Christian is delightful. It is a lovely,
smooth, sunny pathway. I know it from heart-
felt experience. '' His ways are ways of pleas-
antness, and all his paths are peace."

86 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

As soon as I began to recover, my brother
Albert was taken down with the same dreadful
disease, accompanied with typhoid fever, and for
six weeks was confined to his cot, during which
time he passed as near death's door as I had
done. Providence, however, raised him up also.
Our doctor's bill amounted to the small sum of
fourteen hundred dollars! But the doctor, being
a very kind-hearted man, was willing to take all
the money we had, and give us a receipt in full.
We paid him three hundred dollars, took his re-^
ceipt, and squared accounts.

We then returned to Logtown, where we re-
mained until we left the State. California was
then new, and wickedness of every kind was
rampant. The Sabbath was a day of festivity and
hilarity. It was the great day of business for
the gambler, the saloon-keeper, the auctioneer,
the merchant, and the miner. The merchant
made his greatest sales on the Sabbath; the
gambler made his largest hauls from the crude
and unsuspecting miner on the Sabbath ; the
houses whose ^' doors take hold on hell '' were
thronged with the largest number of visitors on
the Sabbath ; the miner washed his clothes, pre-
pared wood, and purchased provisions for the com-
ing week on the Sabbath ; and each seemed to vie
with the other in acts of crime and debauchery
on the day belonging to God alone. What a

CALIFORNIA IN 1S50-52. 87

record was made for eternity on the Sabbath-day
in the early history of California!

In the mining districts pretty good order pre-
vailed. The people were generally law-abiding;
for citizens took the law into their own hands.
The penalty for petit larceny was horsewhipping;
the penalty for horse-stealing was death.

A man was tried and convicted in Logtown by
the citizens for stealing a pair of boots. He was
sentenced to thirty-nine lashes. He was stripped
to the waist, his hands tied together around a
small tree, and as he thus hugged the tree a man
plied the lash. Every stroke of the whip brought
the blood, from the neck to the waist. After a
few lashes had been given, the agony of the poor
man was so great that in endeavoring to get away
he tore the flesh from his breast on the rough
bark of the tree; and the blood streaming from
his bleeding back and lacerated breast, and his
deep groans of agony, made me sick at heart, and
I turned away from the dreadful scene. Horse-
whipping was a terrible penalty for crime. A
horse-thief was hanged to the limb of the nearest
tree, and his dangling body struck terror to the
would-be perpetrators of crime.

This summary punishment of crime in the
early settlement of California brought to the
miner and his property almost perfect safety.
We never felt more secure in our lives than

88 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

when we slept under a large pine-tree by the
roadside near our claim, with the gold that we
had washed out the day previous in the pan,
standing where every passer-by could see it. We
made no eifort to hide anything, for we felt that
everything was safe. The thief knew what a
dangerous thing it was to steal from the miner.

Some may seem surprised that a horse-thief
should be hanged, when his crime is merely a
question of property. " The term horse-thief/*
as one has justly remarked, " is really generic, or a
synonym for a great variety of criminals. He is
the thief of any movable property, a highway-
man, a bandit, a murderer, at his convenience,
defiant of government, an outlaw, and the enemy,
specific and in general, of society. The execution of
a horse-thief, therefore, is ordinarily the adminis-
tration of justice in gross, and not in severalty of
crimes.''

The Vigilance Committees of San Francisco
and Sacramento struck terror to the roughs, and
saved those cities from the complete control of
thieves, gamblers, and cut-throats.

The Vigilance Committee of San Francisco
was organized in 1851. The city had at that
time about fifty thousand inhabitants. While
there were many of the very best class of citizens
in the city, the majority were among the vilest.
The roughs had their way in everything. The

CALIFORNIA IN 1850-52. 89

fame of the gold-mines bad brought all sorts of
people from all parts of the world. San Fran-
cisco was the rendezvous of the worst class of
people that ever infested any city. The gamblers
of the world seemed congregated here, and they
plied their vocation without molestation from
municipal authorities. A small tent on one of
the principal streets rented, it was said, for forty
thousand dollars a year for gambling purposes.

Nearly the whole business part of the city was
swept away by several great conflagrations.
These conflagrations were the work of incendiaries,
who had in view plunder alone. The best class
of citizens felt that neither life nor property was
safe. The administrators of law afforded them
no protection whatever. The police officers, the
judges, and prosecuting attorneys, when they were
not the tools of gamblers and thugs, were weak
and inefficient. Every means of preventing
crime and bringing criminals to direct punishment
had failed. The better class felt that something
must be done, hence the Vigilance Committee
was organized. This committee executed but few
men. Its main work was to banish desperadoes,
outlaws, and rascals. Its work was summary,
and had a most happy and desirable effect, and
soon restored law and order.

At a later date, the old Vigilance Committee
of 1851 was again called into requisition. James

90 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

King was shot by James P. Casey, and died in a
few days afterwards. On the same evening of the
shooting, the Vigilance Committee of 1851 con-
vened, and in less that two days, twenty-five
hundred names were enrolled on the books of
the Vigilance Committee, who pledged themselves
to work together for the purging of the city of
gamblers, foreign convicts, swindlers, thieves,
high and low, and of villains generally.

The Vigilance Committee selected as its head-
quarters one of the most prominent places of the
city, cleared the streets for two blocks, mounted
six brass pieces, placed swivels loaded with grape
on the roof, and put the streets under control of
three hundred rifles and muskets.

The excitement everywhere was at white heat.
On the roof of the building used by the Commit-
tee, a massive triangle was swung, and its sounds
could call thousands instantly, on an emergency.
" Draymen stopped in the street, freed their horses,
mounted, and went clattering to the rendezvous;
store-keepers locked up hastily, and ran ; clerks
leaped over their counters; carpenters left the
shaving in the plane ; blacksmiths dropped the
hammer by the red-hot iron on the anvil. All
the city hurried to head-quarters for any sudden
w^ork.'^

At one of the meetings, one of the speakers said
"that probably more than five hundred murders

CALIFORNIA IN 1S50-52. 91

had been committed in California during the pro-
ceding year, yet not more than five of the perpe-
trators had been punished according to the forms
of the law/^

The newspapers, the clergy, the people gener-
ally, approved the formation of the committee.
AYilliam Taylor, our bishop, now in Africa, was
in San Francisco at the time, and witnessed the
proceedings of the committee. He says : " In the
administration of Lynch-law, so far as I have
known or heard, the thunderbolt of public
fury has always fallen only on the head of the
guilty man, who, by the enormity and palpable
character of his crimes, excited it ; and then not
till after his guilt was proved to the satisfaction
of the masses composing the court. In propor-
tion as the law acquires power in California for
the protection of the citizens, in that proportion
Lynch-law is dispensed with.^^

Lynching in the Territories and new States
comes in, and often works admirably, where the law
is crude and feeble. But where the court-house
appears in due dignity and power, Lynch-law^ dis-
appears in the shadow. It will come to the front
on any well-grounded call.

Summary punishment for crime, when guilt is
proved beyond a doubt, is one of the safeguards
of the people. It is the palladium of the indi-
vidual, the city, the State, the Nation.

92 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

We were present and witnessed the trial, by
citizens, of two men charged with horse-stealing.
One was a young man about twenty years old.
The stolen horses were found in his possession.
He pleaded ^^not guilty/^ and proved that he had
been hired to take care of the horses, not know-
ing they were stolen property. He was acquitted.
The other one pleaded " guilty.^' He was a large,
burly Englishman, about forty-five years old.
While the people were trying to decide what they
should do with him, he made his escape from the
second story of a large log house, where he had
been placed and guarded. The lower room, and
the yard all around the house, was full of people.
How he made his escape no one could tell. It
was a mystery to all. The only solution to the
mystery was, that through the influence of money,
he had been spirited away. He had been ban-
ished from England to New South Wales many
years previous for crime. New South Wales was
used by the English Government as a penal set-
tlement from 1788 to 1840. During this time,
about fifty-five thousand convicts had been sent
to that land, and among them was this horse-thief.
He came from there to California.

About six months after he had made his escape
from the citizens near Logtown, he went on board
a steamer at San Francisco, went into the clerk^s
office, picked up a United States express-box con-

CALIFORNIA IN 1S50-5S. 93

taining a large amount of money, and walked off
with it on his shoulder in the presence of officers
of the ship and a large number of passengers.
When the theft was discovered, the thief was
pursued, and a short distance from the ship he
was discovered in a small boat in the bay, the
valuable box by his side, and he was rowing away
for his life. Three officers got into another boat,
and, after an exciting race of four or five miles,
captured and brought him back. A scaffiDld was
at once erected. He was led to the top of the
scaffi3ld in the presence of hundreds of excited
people. A noose was made in the rope, slipped
over his head, and adjusted to his neck, and then
he was asked if he had anything to say or any
requests to make. He called for a glass of brandy
and a cigar. They Ave re brought. He drank the
brandy, then calmly smoked the cigar, and having
finished, he said : " I am now at your service."
The trap was sprung, and his unprepared soul
went into the presence of the Almighty. Such
was life in the early settlement of California.

94 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER VII.

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF THE ISTHMUS.

San Fkancisco— San Diego — " Wonders of the Deep " —
AcAPULCO — Terrible Storm— Panama — Crossing the
Isthmus — From Aspinwall to New York — Home.

AFTER remaining on the coast for two years,
we left for our home in the States. We
took passage on a steamboat at Sacramento City,
passed down the Sacramento River to San Fran-
cisco, reaching this city late at night. At that time
San Francisco Avas a gay and lively city. Exten-
sive eating-houses, immense saloons and gambling-
houses, splendidly illuminated, gorgeously deco-
rated and furnished with bands of the finest music,
regaled the visitor at all hours of the day and night.
Some of these gambling-halls were one hundred
and fifty feet long and fifty feet wide. On one side
was a bar, where liquors of all kinds were dealt
out to suit the tastes of the various customers. On
the other side, and down thwugh the center of
the room, were rows of small tables. Each table
was a ^^monte,^' or "faro-bank," on which gold
and silver were piled, in some instances to the
amount of many thousand dollars.

Around each table men were gathered, betting

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF ISTHMUS. 95

against the banker or proprietor of the table,
the proprietor always coming out ahead ; the
miner from the mountains almost invariably being
fleeced of his hard-earned " dust/^ At one end
of the hall was a platform, on which sat a band
of well-skilled musicians. The doors of these
attractive buildings were wide open, night and
day, and everybody was made welcome. The
^^ click, click," of the glasses at the bar, the
^' chink, chink, chink," of the gold and silver on
the tables; the music by the band on the ros-
trum, furnished a strange medley, the effect of
which was very exciting.

In these places fortunes were won and fortunes
lost in a few hours. Here many rejoiced over
their spoils, while others wept over the loss of all
they had. Here, too, many a bloody encounter
ensued. The gamblers generally went armed to
the teeth, and if a dishonest trick was discovered,
bowie-knives and revolvers were the arbiters. One
or the other fell from the deadly weapon, and was
borne away a lifeless corpse ; but the music and
drinking and gambling went on, as though noth-
ing unusual had transpired.

At that time a large portion of the city was
built on piles in the bay, and there was no filling
under the streets or houses. In many places
holes were found in the street large enough to
let a man through, and I have no doubt that

96 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

many a poor man went down through these
openings, never again to be seen alive. Many
who went to the Pacific Coast in quest of gold,
and were never again heard from by their friends,
without doubt found watery graves under the
houses and streets of San Francisco. I shall
always believe that my brother and I came very
near losing our lives while there. I shudder
when I think of the night we spent in that
wicked city nearly forty years ago. No finer
place in the world was ever afforded murderers
for their victims than beneath the streets and
houses of San Francisco at that time.

The next day after reaching the city, we took
passage on the steamship Northerner. We left
the harbor, passed out through the ^^ Golden
Gate," and, with our vessel headed to the south,
rejoiced at the prospect of soon meeting loved
ones at home. We had not been out very long
until it seemed to me that ^^ Pacific" was a misno-
mer. The sea was tremendously rough. I said
to myself that it ought to have been named ^' Ter-
rific" and not ^^ Pacific."

The first port we entered after leaving San
Francisco was San Diego, a small Mexican town
some four hundred miles southeast of San Fran-
cisco, and about fifteen miles north of the Mexi-
can border. No sooner had our ship dropped
anchor in the beautiful bay than swarms of Mexican

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF ISTHMUS. 97

men and boys gathered around the vessel in the
water, ready to perform the most wonderful feats
of diving for a consideration. The passengers threw
dimes and quarters into the water, to see the natives
dive and bring them up. A dime or a quarter of
a dollar thrown into the water was never lost,
but was invariably brought to the surface by the
expert diver. The boys seemed as much at home
in the water as any fish ever was in its native
element. It Avas really amazing to see how deep
one would go down, and how long he would re-
main under the water, in order to obtain the
coveted silver prize. And then Avhen he came to
the surface, with a grin of triumph on his face, he
would shake his head. and rattle the silver against
his teeth in his mouth. North San Diego, a small
hamlet four miles north of this, was the first place
settled by white men in California. The Jesuits
first settled here, and founded a mission, in 1768.
The climate of this region has always been re-
markably salubrious, and many for years have
visited it as a health resort. This little, insignifi-
cant Mexican town has grown to be one of the
lovely cities of the Pacific Coast. Our ship re-
mained here only long enough to take in a supply
of coal, when she weighed anchor and made for
the open sea.

David speaks of " God's wonders in the deep."
We had not been out on the ocean very long

98 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

when we were permitted to see some of these
wonders. Soon after leaving San Diego, we ran
into a school of porpoises. To one unaccustomed
to the sea, a school of porpoises is a great curi-
osity. The porpoise is about six feet long, bluish-
black color on the back, similar to the color of a
cat-fish, and white beneath. They are very
active, and live in schools or flocks, and are fre-
quently seen swimming and playing about ves-
sels, running races with them, and leaping many
feet out of the water. The porpoise has been
called by some the "sea-fish;'^ by others the
" sea-hog.'^ It looks like a hog, and roots in the
sand like a hog, hence the name. It seems to
me that "sea-swine^' is the most appropriate
name that could possibly be given to the por-
poise. Nothing I ever saw in my life reminded
me more of a drove of swine than the school of
porpoises we first saw at sea. They were swim-
ming in front of the ship, and were leaping out
of the water from one to six feet high as they
scud before the vessel like a drove of frightened
swine. Ever and anon we struck a shoal of
these " wonders of the deep," both on the Pacific
and Atlantic Oceans.

We saw, too, a number of w^iales. Mighty
monsters they are; the largest of all living
animals.

The next port we entered was Acapulco. This

RETURN HOME BY WA Y OF ISTHMUS. 99

also was a sniall Mexican town, of only a few
inhabitants. Here, as at San Diego, swarms of
Mexican men and boys gathered around our ves-
sel, anxious to exhibit their aquatic skill. Aca-
pulco is one hundred and eighty miles southwest
of the city of Mexico, and at one time was a
port of considerable importance, as it was the
focus of the trade from China and the East In-
dies. After taking in a supply of coal, our ves-
sel again headed for Panama. Soon after leaving
this port we encountered the most terrible storm
we ever witnessed; it was awful, beyond all
description. Late in the afternoon it was evident
that a storm was coming. The waves of the
ocean continued to rise higher and higher. They
were perfectly smooth, but appeared more and
more fearful as they increased. On and on they
came — mighty mountains of water. Each one
rising higher than the one preceding it. At one
moment we were on the crest of one of these
billows, the next we were in the trough far be-
low, and in front and rear rose mountains of
water, seemingly hundreds of feet high. The old
ship creaked and groaned and labored as she
climbed up and down these stupendous waves.
The scene was grand but awful. Sucli a scene
one does not care to witness more than once in a
life-time. The officers knew Avell that danger was
ahead. The deck was cleared, the sails reefed.

100 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and everything put in order. As the darkness
of the night settled down upon us. the storm in
all its fury broke upon the ship. Wave after
wave rolled over the vessel. One of the wheel-
houses was washed away, all the cattle on board
were swept into the sea, and in tAventy-four hours
afterwards the ship came out of the storm badly
disabled. During the raging of the storm children
cried, "svomen shrieked, and men turned pale and
trembled with fear. One man said : " I have seven
thousand dollars. I will give it to any one who will
save my life.^' Another man, frantic with fear,
cried out : '' I would gladly give every dollar I have
if I were only on land again. '^ Satan once said
to God with regard to Job: "All that a man hath
will he give for his life." Once, if never before,
Satan told the truth. This truth we saw illus-
trated on shipboard in this terrible storm.

I have often thought it strange that men are
willing to give so much for the body and so lit-
tle for the soul. If a man is willing to give all
he has for the body, what should he not be will-
ing to give for perfect happiness here and eternal
glory hereafter?

After twenty days' sail, our steamer dropped
anchor in the gulf, about two miles from Panama.
In a few moments a hundred small boats or
more surrounded the ship, ready to take passen-
gers and baggage ashore. We hired one of these

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF ISTHMUS. 101

boats, and in an hour afterwards stepped on the
rocky peninsula on which stands the city of
Panama. This city was founded by Davila, in
1518, six miles northeast of its present loca-
tion. After its destruction by the buccaneers,
in 1670, it was rebuilt upon its present site.
The houses were mostly of stone; the streets
very narrow and irregular. The porches and
roofs of many of the buildings were moss-cov-
ered, and looked as though they had been standing
for ages. Many of them were more than a hun-
dred and fifty years old. From here we crossed
to Aspinwall, a distance of some sixty miles.
The first twenty miles we traveled on foot, leav-
ing Panama early in the morning, and reaching
Chagres River near sundown. It was the hardest
day's work w^e ever did. We were compelled to
walk, because we could not hire a mule for love
or money. All had been engaged l)efore wew^ere
aware of their scarcity. The rain fell in torrents
nearly all day. The road was narrow, barely
Avide enough for two mules to pass each other.
More than a hundred years previous to the time
we crossed, this road had been paved by the Span-
iards for military purposes, and at one time it was
smooth, beautiful, and easily traveled. But the
pavement of this once beautiful road was broken
to pieces, and it was in a much worse condition
than if the pavement had never been there. That

102 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

day we stood upon the same mountain summit
that Balboa's feet pressed when he discovered
the Pacific Ocean. Three hundred and thirty-
nine years before, Balboa gazed with delight
for the first time upon the beautiful Western
Ocean.

We reached the Chagres River about sundown,
and found a good hotel, kept by an American.
Our clothes were drenched through and through,
and there was not a dry thread about us. We
ate a hearty supper, went to bed in our wet and
clay-besmeared clothes, and slept soundly till
morning. The next day we took a small boat,
descended the river until we struck the railroad,
which was then building across the Isthmus.

The people of the Isthmus were a mongrel
race. They were a mixture of the white, the red,
and the black. In the same family might be
found persons of almost every color. Some al-
most w^hite, some of a dark hue, and some as
black as tar. All smoked. The use of tobacco
was as common among them as the use of bread
is with us. Almost every one you met had a
cigar in the mouth ; little boys and girls not more
than two years old were running around, puffing
aAvay like little steam-engines. The women while
engaged in culinary work, smoked their cigars,
and the men, no matter what their employment,
did the same. The children were all stark naked;

RETURN HOME BY WAY OF ISTHMUS. 103

many of the men and women were only half clad,
and all were repulsive in the extreme.

Having reached the railroad, we bought our
tickets, and took seats in one of the coaches.
This was the first engine and train of cars we had
ever seen. We said as we took our seats: '^ This
is splendid ; perfectly lovely V^ The train moved
off from the depot slowly and smoothly, and
glided along very nicely for a few miles, when a
heavy grade was reached; up this grade the train
went slower and slower, and finally came to a
dead halt. Then the engineer backed the train
for a mile, and, putting on all the steam possible,
started ; but as soon as the train struck the grade
she slackened her speed, and at length stood stock
still again. Again the engineer backed the train,
and, putting on all steam he could, once more
started, and stuck fast a third time. Then the
passengers all got out, put their shoulders to the
coaches, and boosted the train over the grade.
Our impression of a railroad was not so favora-
ble as when we started. We were paying fifty
cents a mile and working our passage. It was a
little like sailing before the mast after having
paid full fare. The engine Avas small, the grade
heavy, and the engineer green. The summit
passed, we got in, and in a little while reached
Colon, then called Aspinwall. This town w^as
then two years old, and had about two hundred

104 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

inhabitants. It was founded by the railroad
company in 1850. Here we took the steamship
Illinois, and, after ten days' sail, reached the city
of New York. From here we took the cars, and
in three days reached South Bend, our old home,
and greeted mother and other loved ones from
whom we had been separated for two and a half
years.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 105

CHAPTER VIII.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS.

A Memorable City and Church-John Brownfield—
David Stover — Conversion — Parental Influ-
ence—Call TO Preach— Attend Asbury Univer-
sity—Licensed TO Preach— Join Conference— First
Circuit— Second Circuit- Two Gracious Revivals-
First Convert's Triumphant Death - Ordained
Deacon— Bishop Waugh.

ON the banks of the Saint Joseph River, in
the northern part of the State of Indiana,
stands the beautiful city of South Bend. Near
the center of this city stands a beautiful church.
Around this church cluster many sacred and
most hallowed associations.

I can not remember when I was first con-
victed of sin. I always felt that I was a sinner,
and unless converted, ^'born again," I should be
lost forever. I attribute my early conviction of
sin to the faithful instructions given me by a de-
voted father and mother. From my very earliest
recollections, I was taught the fundamental doc-
trines of Christianity. The depravity of the
heart, the necessity of pardon and regeneration,
a general judgment-day, a hell into which all

106 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the finally impenitent will be turned, a heaven
where all the pure will enter and be forever per-
fectly happy, were doctrines instilled into my
mind from earliest childhood, all of which I
found clearly taught in God's Word.

For three years previous to my conversion I
was under deep conviction nearly all the time.
I have always been grateful to God for the many
well-defined points in my religious experience.
I was clearly and pow^erfuUy convicted of sin,
clearly and powerfully converted, clearly and
powerfully convicted of the need of a clean heart,
and just as clearly received that blessing. I was
clearly and powerfully called to the work of the
ministry. So clear was my call to preach the
gospel, that all doubt touching the matter was
entirely swept from my mind soon after receiv-
ing the call.

On Monday morning, the 4th day of March,
1853, I attended a love-feast, held in the above-
named church. From that love-feast, with a sad
and heavy heart, weighed down under the crush-
ing load of sin, I wended my way to the Bible
Depository, kept by John Brownfield. Here the
reader will pardon me for digressing for a mo-
ment. I can not refrain from a personal reference
to my first Sunday-school superintendent. John
Brownfield was superintendent of the same school
for forty-three years in succession. He made a

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 107

wonderful record as a Sunday-school superintend-
ent. He was deeply pious, and very greatly in-
terested in tlie welfare of the young. . He was
eminently practical, and availed himself of passing
events and the most common occurrences to im-
press religious truth upon the minds of his pupils.
In this he was an adept. In fact, in this, I think
I may safely say, he was unusually apt. Some of
his simple illustrations, taken from every-day life,
I remember distinctly to-day, although I was a
mere boy when I heard them. His kind words
and faithful teachings as a superintendent have
never passed from my memory. They have been
a benediction to me for more than a third of a
century.

The following testimonial card, from the Sun-
day-school of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church of South Bend, Indiana, was presented to
Brother Brownfield January 1, 1882:

ml 7

Jesti/nopial,

Approved by the Sunday-school of the First Methodist

Episcopal Church, South Bend, Indiana, January

I, 1882.

WHEREAS,

JOHN BROMNFIELD

HAS BEEN THE SUPERINTENDENT OF OUR

,FOR THE LAST
FORTY-THRBE Y^HRS ;

108 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

AND WHEREAS,

Because of the burden of seventy-three j'ears, he now
decHnes to serve us longer in that oflBce ; therefore, be it
Baid to him and to the

iiiORLD,

First. That we deex3ly deplore the occasion which has
led to his declinature.

Second. That we are j^roud of the long and faithful
record of his superintendency.

TJiird. That we cordially indorse the action of the Sun-
day-school Board by which he is now entitled

for life.

Fourth. That we shall never cease to feel that we are
honored by his presence in the school and aided by his
counsels in our work. And furthermore, we. must be al-
lowed to say to any who may see this

TESTITWtONIHL

that in him whom we honor to-daj^ we have marked,
First. The manliest type of manhood.
Second. The purest Christian character.
Third. The most patient and toilsome zeal in

HLL GOD'S WORKS.

The moral and religious characters which have grown
up in the school during his administration, will make for
him a more enduring monument than brass or stone. The
only adequate reward of his labors will come when his

DliriNE MHSTER SHHLL SHV TO HIM,

** Well done, thou good and faithful servant ; enter
thou into

@he gfoB of eChB Sorb/'

Postmaster-General Wanamaker is one of the
most noted Sunday-school superintendents of the
age. He has been superintendent of the Bethany

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 109

Church Sunday-school for thirty-two years. John
Brownfield, as superintendent of the same school,
ranked Mr. Wanamaker eleven years. Mr.
Brownfield was honorary superintendent for eight
years ; virtually he was at the head of the same
school for fifty-one years. That certainly is an
honor of which any man may well be proud.

General C. B. Fisk said at the close of the
war, '' I have been promoted from a major-general
to a Sunday-school superintendent." A success-
ful Sunday-school superintendent outranks all
the officers of the army and navy. After tri-
umphantly leading the Sunday-school of the First
Methodist Episcopal Church of South Bend, In-
diana, for forty-three years, Brother Brownfield
had a right to rest in peace and quiet under the
laurels he had so justly won. At the advanced
age of eighty-two, on the 21st day of January,
1890, he passed peacefully from his earthly to
his heavenly home. David Stover was my first
Sunday-school teacher. His faithful teachings
have never been forgotten. I love to think of
my first Sunday-school superintendent, and my
first Sunday-school teacher. Their names are
sacred. Brother BroAvnfield has ceased to work.
Brother Stover, though advanced in years, is still
doing effective work for God.

On that ever-to-be-remembered Monday morn-
ing, I entered the Bible Depository and purchased

110 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

a pocket Bible. This was my first step towards
a religious life. The next step was a firm and
solemn resolve made, by the grace of God, to be
a Christian. That night I went to church, and
after listening to a sermon from the pastor, the
Rev. James C. Reid, an invitation was given for
seekers of religion to come to the altar. I was
the first person on my knees at the ^' mercy-seat."
Christian friends and relatives gathered around
me, ^11 intensely interested and anxious for my
salvation. Among the number was a now sainted
mother. The gloom of despair settled down upon
my soul. The darkness was dense; so dense it
seemed to me it could ahiiost be felt. Satan said:
"You have sinned away your day of grace.
There is no mercy for such a sinner as you."
Not knowing the wiles of the enemy, I believed
every word he said. It was a dark hour. Never
will it be forgotten. But just at that moment,
when all seemed lost and hell certain, my faithful
mother whispered in my ears the inspiring words,
"Jesus came into the world to save the chief of
sinners." I turned from Satan's lying words to
Jesus, the " Mighty to save," and grasping in an
instant the precious promise, the cloud rifted, the
sunlight of heaven came streaming down into my
soul, and leaping to my feet, I shouted, " Glory
to God in the highest ! " I never shall forget that
hour. Its precious memory lingers with me to-

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. Ill

day. I love the hymn, and I have sometimes
thought I would sing it forever:

" There is a ypot to me more dear

Than native vale or mountain,
A spot for which affection's tear

Springs grateful from its fountain ;
'Tis not where kindred souls abound,

Though that is almost heaven,
But where I first my Saviour found,

And felt my sins forgiven.

Sinking and panting as for breath,

I knew not help was near me ;
I cried, 0 save me, Lord, from death ;

Immortal Jesus, save me !
Then quick as thought I felt him mine.

My Saviour stood before me !
I saw his brightness round me shine.
And shouted, Glory! glory!"

Mothers will have rich trophies in glory. The
power of example is wonderful. It is w^onderful
for good or for evil. It can not be weighed, or
measured, or estimated. A boy astonished his
Christian mother by asking her for a dollar to
buy a share in a raffle for a silver watch, that was
to be raffled off in a beer-saloon. His mother
was horrified, and rebuked him. ^'But,'^ said he,
'^ mother, did you not bake a cake with a ring in
it to be raffled off in a Sunday-school fair?'^ "O,
my son,'^ said she, " that was for the Church.^^
" But if it was wrong,^^ said the boy, " would doing

112 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

it for the Church make it right? Would it be
right for me to steal money to put in the collec-
tion? And if it is right for the Church, is it not
right for me to get this watch if I can ?'^ The
mother was completely dumfounded, and could
not answer her son. She had set the example,
and her boy was following it.

Josh Billings, a great humorist, and a wise
man as well, once said : " If you wish to train up
your child in the way he should go, just skirmish
ahead on that line yourself

The mother of John Quincy Adams said, in a
letter to him, written when he was only ten years
old : '' I would rather see you laid in your grave
than grow up a profane and graceless boy.^^ Not
long before the death of Mr. Adams a gentleman
said to him : " I have found out who made you.^'
" What do you mean ?'^ said Mr. Adams. The
gentleman replied : '' I have been reading the pub-
lished letters of your mother.^^ Raising himself
up, his countenance all aglow, and his eyes
flashing with light and fire, the venerable man,
in his peculiar manner, said: "Yes, sir; all that
is good in me I owe to my mother.'^

The hallowed influence of John Wesley's
mother is felt to-day on almost every part of this
planet. The benign and salutary influence of
Washington's mother is molding nations and
empires. No work will bring more honor to the

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 1 13

mother, the children, the Church, and the world,
than the religious training of the children. Teach
them by example as well as by precept. Bishop
Fobs once said : " There is nothing better for
children than allopathic doses of mother/'

But perhaps some one is ready to ask : " What
about the fathers in this work of training the
children ?'' Well, I want to say that fathers are
equally responsible with the mothers for the right
training of the children. Among the many rich
blessings conferred upon me by a kind Provi-
dence, not the least by any means was pious par-
ents. Not a day passes but that I praise God
for a godly father and a godly mother. Their
precious memory ^' is as ointment poured forth.''
I love to think of them as they used to call us
children to family prayers. They took turns in
conducting family worship. One of them would
take down the old family Bible, read a chapter,
and then lead in prayer; the next morning the
other would read and lead in prayer. I love to
think of them as I used to see them wending
their way to the house of God.

On quarterly meeting occasions father almost
always stopped work at nine o'clock Saturday
morning, and went to the eleven o'clock preach-
ing service. That had a most wonderful effect
on my young heart. I remember, just as dis-
tinctly as if it were yesterday, seeing my father

10

114 SOLITARY PLAGES MADE GLAD.

start off to quarterly meeting one Saturday morn-
ing. It was at a very busy season of the year.
I never shall forget just how I felt, and just
what I said to myself. I said : " I know father
is a good man, or he never would stop work at
such a busy time to go to Church.'^ They were
just as faithful at the prayer and class meetings
as they were at the public means of grace, and
they were just as prompt in paying their quarter-
age as they were in attending all the services of
the Church.

At one time quarterly meeting came when
father was away from home, and mother, from
some cause, could not attend. In the afternoon
she gave me a two-dollar bill, and told me to
take it to the class-leader. Two dollars was a
good deal of money for us at tliat time, for we
were not in the most affluent circumstances. I
walked two miles and a half to the house of the
class-leader, carrying in my hand the two-dollar
bill. I remember distinctly the bank-bill. It
was a two-dollar note on the old State Bank of
Indiana. That simple incident made a deep and
lasting impressiojQ on my mind. I felt that
mother's religion was of some value, and that
she considered it worth something. Too many,
alas! place no value at all on their religion.
They want it for nothing, and think it a hard-
ship if they have to pay a small pittance quarterly

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 115

to support GocVs messengers while they proclaim
the glad tidings of salvation. When Araunah of-
fered to give David the threshing-floor and the
oxen that he might offer a sacrifice to God,
David declined the liberal and kindly offer, say-
ing: " Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a
price ; neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto
the Lord my God of that which doth cost me
nothing. So David bought the threshing-floor
and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And
David built there an altar unto the Lord, and
offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.'^
(2 Sam. xxiv, 24.) David bought the oxen, then
offered them to God as a sacrifice, and they were
acceptable in the sight of the Almighty. Heav-
enly fire descended and consumed the offering,
and a great and rich blessing came to David and
all his people. Had David accepted the magnan-
imous offer of Araunah, it would have been
Araunah's sacrifice, and not David\s, and the re-
sult would have been, no blessing would have
come to David or his people, but the plague
would have gone on as before. A religion that
costs nothing is a religion that is worth nothing.
No one will highly esteem the ordinances of God
if they do not cost him anything.

My precious parents would sooner go without
their tea and coffee, or any of the necessaries of
life, than not to pay their quarterage. That fact

116 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

impressed ray young heart as deeply as their reg-
ularity in attending the house of God. The de-
lightful remembrance of my devoted parents is
far more precious to me than any thing this world
could possibly give. Their hallowed influence
has been a benediction to me for more than fifty
years. The fragrance of their lives is with me
to-day, and will remain with me forever. If I
am ever rewarded for any good done here on
earth, my sainted parents will share with me in
that reward.

Only a few days after conversion the impres-
sion came, " You must preach." Many times be-
fore, often when far away on the Pacific Coast,
the thought would flit through my mind, " You
will preach some day." It was never entertained,
however, for a moment, but was instantly ban-
ished as one of the visionary and silly thoughts
that often enter the mind of the young. But
when I was converted the impression came to
stay. It fastened itself to my heart so strongly I
never could rid myself of it. Shortly after con-
version, while thinking over the matter, the
pastor. Brother James C. Reid, said to me :
" Henry, do you not think God has a work for
you to do?" I was astonished, and looked at
him with amazement. I frankly told him my
feelings, and opened to him my heart. He said :
" I will get you a scholarship in the Asbury Uni-

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 117

versity/' A few months later I received the
scholarship, and went to Asbiiry — now DePauw
University — at Greencastle, Indiana, to prepare
for my life-work.

I had been in Greencastle only a little while —
my probation had not yet expired — when
Brother G. C. Beeks, the pastor, appointed me
class-leader. The class was composed mostly
of old members of the Church — fathers and
mothers in Israel — with only a few younger mem-
bers. It met on Sunday morning at nine o'clock
at the residence of Brother Dunams. With much
trembling and great fear I took the class. The
first meeting was owned of God. The room was
filled with the Divine glory, and all seemed to en-
joy a rich feast. I led this class while I remained
in Greencastle, and I never shall forget the many
Pentecosts we enjoyed in Brother Duuams's parlor
with the members of that spirit-baptized class. I
expect to hail with delight the members of that
class on the plains of glory.

On the 23d of June, 1855, I was examined
before the Greencastle Quarterly Conference on
'^ Doctrines and Discipline.'' Several other can-
didates for the ministry were examined with me.
The examination Avas rigid, and lasted several
hours, but it was conducted Avith great kindness
by Aaron AYood, the presiding elder. All the
great doctrines of the Church were thoroughly

118 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

canvassed, and on each one we were closely
questioned. Then there was a vein of piety
running through the whole examination, which
made it wonderfully solemn. Every member of
the Conference seemed deeply interested in it.
All felt the presence of God. To me the ex-
amination was a solemn hour. The next morn-
ing the presiding elder handed me the following

paper :

"June 23, 1855.
"License is hereby granted to Henry T. Davis, to
preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church, by order of
the Quarterly Conference of Greencastle Station.

"Aaron Wood, President.
"Hugh S. Mark, Secretary."

The following October I was received on trial
in the Northwest Indiana Conference, held at
Delphi, Indiana, and was appointed junior
preacher of Russellville Circuit. H. S. Shaw was
preacher in charge. That year I learned lessons
in the administration of discipline which have
been of very great value to me ever since.

Dr. T. M. Eddy was then agent of the
American Bible Society. We had traveled to-
gether from South Bend, and had become quite
intimately acquainted. Saturday afternoon he
took me by the arm, and, looking very solemn,
said : " Well, Brother Davis, it took the Avhole
Conference to get you in.'^ At first blush I did
not catch his meaning, and I looked at him with

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. H^

surprise. He smiled. I understood him. The
vote was unanimous.

The next year I was appointed to the Sanford
Circuit. This circuit was composed of five ap-
pointments, lying just west of Terre Haute.

During this year God gave us two gracious re-
vivals of religion, one at " Pisgah '' appointment,
and the other at '^ Bethesda." Some who were
converted at these meetings are now upon the
walls of Zion doing effective work for the Master.
The first meeting was held at Pisgah. At the
close we began one at Bethesda, and continued it
two weeks, during which time seventy souls were
clearly converted. God's saving power was man-
ifested from the beginning to the close. The
converts ranged from little children to gray-haired
fathers and mothers. Whole families were won-
derfully saved. Ten months after this meeting
we saw the first convert pass triumphant to her
home in glory. The scene, though solemn, was
at the same time glorious.

At this meeting, Martha Romine, her father,
mother, and brothers, were all converted. Ten
months afterwards, Martha was stricken down
with that fell destroyer, typhoid fever, from which
she never recovered. Her sickness was charac-
terized by patience, resignation, and great joy.
The last visit we made, we found her very near
death's door. She had not spoken for twenty-

120 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

four hours, and the power of speech seemed for-
ever gone. For some time she had been delirious.
We knelt down by her bedside and prayed, and
as we prayed,

" Heaven came down our souls to greet,
And glory crowned the mercy-seat."

When we arose, she broke forth in a clear,
sweet, heavenly voice, and sung,

" When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I' 11 bid farewell to every fear.
And wipe my weeping eyes."

She sung the hymn through, and in a few min-
utes afterwards her pure spirit went up to join
the angelic throng.

I love to think of the results of that victori-
ous meeting. It was my first great victory in the
ministry. It has been an inspiration to me ever
since. I expect to meet and live forever with
many who were saved at that meeting, and many
who stood side by side with me on that spiritual
battle-field. We shall not be among strangers
when we reach heaven. I have sometimes thought
I could almost see the battlements of glory lined
with friends and loved ones, waiting and watch-
ing our approach, intensely anxious to hail us
welcome when we reach the ^' shining shore.''

** What a meeting, what a meeting that will be ! "

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 121

Oil the 17th (lay of September, 1857, I was
married to Miss Emily McCulloch,of Vigo County,
Indiana, and for thirty-three years she has shared
with me the joys and sorrows, lights and shadows,
conflicts and triumphs of the itinerancy. Had we
our lives to live over again, and were we permit-
ted to choose our life-work, we would unhesitat-
ingly say, " Give us the Methodist itinerancy/'

This year the Conference met at Lafayette.
The venerable Bishop AVaugh presided. On
Sunday, October 4, 1857, I was ordained deacon
by this holy man. I remember well the sermon
the bishop preached on the occasion. His text
was Rev. ii, 10: "Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life." It was a
remarkable sermon, not for its eloquence or pro-
fundity, but because of its strange and mysterious
power. It was delivered with an unction that
thrilled and electrified every one in the vast au-
dience. It was plain and simple ; the smallest
child could understand every sentence, but it was
attended with overwhelming power. In his per-
oration the bishop seemed transported to the
third heaven, and he carried the congregation up
with him into the very presence of God and
angels. The congregation was bathed in tears,
and shouts of " Glory ! Glory ! '' were heard all
over the house. It was a memorable occasion.

H

122 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER IX.

ATTENTION TURNED TO THE WEST.

Fascinations of the West — Bellevue Mission offered
Us — Acceptance — Adieu to Friends — We reach
Saint Louis — Up the "Big MuDoy" — Arrival in
Omaha.

A YOUNG man who has been born and raised
in one of the Eastern or Middle States, and
then leaves and spends a year or two in the far
West, is rarely ever satisfied, when he returns, to
remain permanently in his old home. There is a
strange fascination about the West that is really
wonderful, and that can hardly be accounted for ;
and when it once gets hold of a man, it is next to
an impossibility for him ever to get rid of it.

We had passed overland from South Bend, In-
diana, to the Pacific Coast. We had seen the
grand prairies of Illinois and Iowa, the woods and
clay hills of Missouri; we had traversed "The
Great American Desert," crossed the Black Hills,
climbed the Rockies, scaled the rugged Sierra
Nevadas, and had lived for two years and more on
the gold- washed shores of the lovely Pacific. And
having breathed the pure and balmy atmosphere
of the West, we were not only intoxicated with

ATTENTION TURNED TO THE WEST. 123

the pure and exhilarating atmosphere, but delighted
with the bewitching scenery, the push, and the
wonderful activity so characteristic of the people
in the western part of the New World. Time and
again we turned our anxious eyes to the romantic
scenery of the Great West, which had previously
charmed us. We were not satisfied to remain in
Indiana. Every thing there seemed so old and
staid. We wanted a wider sphere for action, and
I can assure the reader that, when we reached the
plains of Nebraska Ave had a wide berth and a
sphere of almost unlimited bounds for action.

At that time much was being said in the papers
about the new Territories of Kansas and Ne-
braska. The eyes of thousands were turned thither.
For some time we had been watching the move-
ments of the Church along the border. Rew W.
H. Goode, an old Indiana man, was leading the
hosts of Zion in Nebraska. We had read with
interest his letters in the Advocate. We were
restless and not at all satisfied where we were.
We were serving our second year on the Sanford
Circuit; and although we had a good work, and
many souls had been saved, still there was no at-
traction there. There Avas an unaccountable draw-
ing towards the frontier.

In the spring of 1858 we saw, in the Westeim
Christian Advocate, the appointments of the Kan-
sas and Nebraska Conference. A number of

124 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

charges iu Nebraska were left to be supplied. I
wrote to William M. Smith, a brother of mine,
who w^as then pastor at Omaha, telling him our
desire to go to the West, and to spend our lives
in laying the foundations and building up the
Church along the border. He saw the presiding
elder, W. H. Goode, and immediately wrote us,
saying that Brother Goode would like to have us
come at once and supply Bellevue Mission until
conference. No sooner did we receive this word
than we set about preparing to move. In a few
weeks we had everything arranged, and were
ready to bid a final adieu to friends and relatives
and the old home Conference. As strong as was
the drawing towards the AYest, and as earnestly
as we desired to go, the severing of tender ties
and cherished friends was not an easy task.

We haVe never had a doubt but that God led
us to adopt Nebraska as our permanent home.
In all we see most unmistakably the hand of God.
June 23, 1858, all things being ready, we bade
adieu to weeping friends, and started for our future
distant home on the frontier. If we had known
just what was before us, the trials, the sacrifices,
the hardships, we doubtless would have shrank
from the undertaking. It was well we did not
know. It is well no one can see his future path-
way. God wisely conceals from us the future.

We took the cars at Terre Haute, reaching

ATTENTION TURNED TO THE WEST. 125

St. Louis early the next morning. This was
Thursday. Here we remained until the next
Monday before we could get a through boat to
Omaha. Monday morning we paid our fare, and
went on board the steamer Sioux City. The
captain said we would be off in a short time.
The fireman was shoveling coal in the furnace,
the smoke was pouring out of the smoke-stack,
and it seemed from the stir on board that we
would be on our way in a very little while. We
looked every moment the whole live-long day for
the boat to start, but looked in vain. Tuesday
morning came. The firemen were busy at work,
and every thing indicated that we would start in
a very little while ; but the day closed, and we
were still lying at anchor. AVednesday came,
and went as Tuesday had. Thursday came,
Friday came, Saturday came, and we were still
lying at the wharf. At five o'clock in the after-
noon the steamer weighed anchor, floated out into
the middle of the Mississippi, and slowly started
up the stream. It was a wonderful relief, and
we began to breathe easy, for we had been for
ten days in the deepest suspense.

The weather was hot, the water warm and
muddy, and the mosquitoes were just fearful.
The heat and mosquitoes tormented us without by
night and by day, and the warm, muddy water
made us sick wdthiu; and, all in all, the trip was

126 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

most unpleasant. The mosquitoes were galli-
nippers, and as numerous, it seemed, as the swarms
of flies that tormented Pharaoh and his servants,
and corrupted all the land of Egypt.

The second day after leaving St. Louis our
steamer stuck fast on a sand-bar, and remained
some six hours before she got oiF. In less than a
half a day afterwards she stuck fast again, and re-
mained for several hours. How many times we
were aground on sand-bars during the trip, I am
unable to say, but not a day passed but Avhat we
struck one or more. Sometimes our steamer
would back and get off at once ; at other times she
would work for hours before getting away. The
only thing we could do was to wait and be pa-
tient, and while away the weary hours the best
way we possibly could. The first two or three
days out we had good ice-water to drink, and nice
cream for our tea and coffee. After that, how-
ever, we were compelled to drink the warm and
muddy water of the Missouri, and instead of cream
we had chalk-water for our cofPee and tea, while
almost everything else on board seemed in keep-
ing with the filthy water and the sham cream.

Aside from the fare, we were treated Avith great
kindness. The captain was a perfect gentleman,
and his wife a most estimable Christian lady and
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Their two daughters were on board also. The

ATTENTION TURNED TO THE WEST- 127

whole family was one of the most pleasant it has
ever been our privilege to meet, and their kind,
social, and genial manner made the trip much
more pleasant than it otherwise would have been.

After ten days' weary travel on the " Big
Muddy/' in the afternoon of July 13th our
steamer struck the Omaha landing, threw out
her cable, and ^\Q stepped ashore, glad to bid
a final adieu to the Sioux City. That night
we took tea with the kind family of Colonel
John Ritchie. My brother and family were
visiting at the colonel's. From all we received
a warm welcome and the most kindly greeting.
Brother Ritchie was one of the leading members,
and one of the stewards of the Omaha Station,
and afterwards, while pastor of our Church in
Omaha, he was one of the most active mem-
bers we had.

We Avere just three weeks coming from Terra
Haute to Omaha. The same distance can now
be traveled in less than two days.

128 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

CHAPTER X.

THE PIONEER EVANGEL.

Methodism Cosmopolitan — Missionaries sent to Oregon
IN 1834 — Planning to capture Kansas and Ne-
braska FOR Christ — The Territories organized —
The Bishops send out William H-. Goode as a
Scout — OurSuperintexdency an Element of Power —
Kansas and Nebraska Conference organized —
Quantrell burns the City of Lawrence — Second
Conference — Bishop Ames and Dr. Poe on the
MissiouRi River — A Heroine — A Sermon instead of
a Dance — The Third Conference.

BEFORE proceeding further with my narra-
tive, I wish to go back with the reader to
the first evangelistic work in the Territory. The
Methodist Episcopal Church from her organiza-
zation has been a pioneer Church. She has al-
ways been in the vanguard of the advancing tide
of emigration.

When the doors of the Established Church of
England were closed against Mr. Wesley, and he
was not allowed to preach in the churches, he
felt that, Y/hile these buildings belonged to the
'^ Establishment, the out-of-doors belonged to the
Lord.'^ He went out on the commons, and on

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 129

the streets, and on the public highways, he pro-
claimed to the people the glad tidings of salva-
tion. When questioned as to his good faith in
holding out-of-door services without the consent
of the local clergy, his reply was : " The world is
my parish/^ These famous words which fell
from the lips of John Wesley when driven from
the churches, have been more quoted, perhaps,
than any other of his sayings. For more than
a hundred years these inspiring words have
been the rallying cry of the ministers of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. I am glad that
Methodism has never lost the spirit of her
ibunder. To-day, as a hundred years ago, the ral-
lying cry of our noble leaders is : *^ The world is
uiy parish.^' The fire that burned in the hearts
of the fathers, burns in the hearts of the children.
The zeal that inspired Wesley, inspires his
worthy sons.

The authorities of the Church have their eyes
open, and they see every new field, and are
ready to enter every open door. By the side of the
emigrant, whether blazing his way through dense
forests, or pushing his way over pathless and
treeless prairies, the faithful Methodist preacher
has always been found. While the hardy pio-
neer has opened and developed the material re-
sources of the new Territories, the Methodist
itinerant has looked after the spiritual wants of

130 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

the people. So that, under the self-sacrificing
devotion of the toiling missionary of the cross,
the spiritual has kept pace with the material de-
velopment of the country.

In 1832 four Indians belonging to the Flat-
head tribe came to St. Louis from the western
slope of the Kocky Mountains, asking for a
knowledge of the Bible. Notice of this was
published in 1833, which came to the eyes of the
authorities of the Church. Here was an open
door, which they felt must at once be entered.
The Missionary Beard sent out Jason Lee and
Daniel Lee as missionaries, that they might give
to these inquiring Red-men of the Pacific Slope
the desire of their hearts. The Lees crossed the
continent in 1834, and preached and opened a
school at Wallawalla.

This was fourteen years before Oregon was or-
ganized as a Territory, for it was not until 1848
that the Territory of Oregon was organized. In
1847 the eyes of many were turned to Oregon.
The Church saw this, and, taking time by the
forelock, missionaries w^ere sent out by our Board
to look after the spiritual needs of the emigrants
soon to pour into this new country.

William Roberts and James H. Wilbur were
sent to do this work. While on their Avay they
entered the Golden Gate on a sailing vessel
which cast anchor in the Bay of San Francisco.

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 131

A small Mexican village, made of adobe bricks
and covered with earthern tiles, had been built
among the sand-hills. '^This was San Francisco
in embryo." California at that period was a
portion of Mexico, but the same year was ceded
to the United States by the Mexican Govern-
ment. As the ship would not proceed on her
voyage up the coast for some weeks, Mr. Roberts
and his colleague deemed it proper to get all the
information possible touching the country. They
made journeys on horseback during the w^eek to
the various villages in the valleys, and returned
and spent their Sundays in San Francisco. Six
persons were found who had been Methodists in
other lands. They were formed into a class, and
Aquila Glover was appointed class-leader. A
Sunday-school was also organized. This was the
first Methodist society in California, and the first
Protestant organization on the Pacific Coast south
of the Oregon Mission. Having spent forty days
in explorations around San Francisco, they pro-
ceeded northward to the field of labor assigned
them by the Church.

When I reached California in 1850, three
years afterwards, I found Methodist ministers al-
most everywhere. In every little village and
mining camp was found the ubiquitous Methodist
itinerant. The Methodist evangel is graphically
symbolized by St. John in his apocalyptic vis-

132 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

ion of the "angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach to them
that dwell on the earth.'' Wherever the people
go to plant a city or a State, there Methodism
goes to plant the Church and the school, and to
direct the people to that city '* which hath foun-
dation, whose builder and maker is God/' Meth-
odism is truly cosmopolitan.

Long before Kansas and Nebraska were or-
ganized into Territories our Church authorities
were planning to capture them for Christ. The
organization of these two Territories caused a long
and bitter controversy in Congress. During all
this controversy the Church had an eye upon
the spiritual interests of the people soon to flow
into this new land.

In 1820 an act had been passed by Congress
prohibiting slavery from the Territories north of
36° 30'. This was known as the " Missouri Com-
promise." In 1854 a bill was passed by Con-
gress to organize two Territories, to be called
Kansas and Nebraska, with a provision that the
act of 1820 should not apply to these Territories.
The question created the most intense excite-
ment throughout the Nation. In almost every
city, village, and neighborhood the matter was dis-
cussed. The people of the North were indignant,
the people of the South generally rejoiced.

No sooner had the bill passed than population

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 133

from the North and the South flowed rapidly into
the new Territories, each desirous of getting con-
trol. The great battle-field of the j)ro-slavery men
and anti-slavery men was Kansas, and here for some
time the storm raged fearfully. What was known
as ^^ border ruffianism" for awhile reigned tri-
umphant. The scenes that were acted and the
outrages committed upon the innocent and help-
less during these troubles, beggar all description.
A Methodist, minister, an eye-witness of some
of these outrages and atrocious crimes, related
them to the .writer in 1861. They are too
shameful and harrowing, however, to place upon
record. To shoot down, in cold blood, helpless
women and children, is an awful crime. But to
torture to death by slow and the most infamous
and cruel processes that human ingenuity can in-
vent, is a thing too monstrous to be described. I
prefer to let the curtain of oblivion fall and hide
forever these awful scenes and crimes from the
gaze of men.

The first election resulted in the triumph of
the pro-slavery interest. But in 1859 the free
party triumphed, and Kansas was finally admitted
as a free State. In Nebraska the slavery ques-
tion did not disturb the people as in Kansas.

Shortly after the passage of the organizing act,
in the spring of 1854, three of the bishops met in
Baltimore. Their attention was turned to the new

134 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

field providentially opened. They unanimously
agreed to enter at once the open door, feeling as-
sured that a mighty tide of emigration would soon
roll into the new empire. Thousands of immor-
tal souls would soon be there, all purcliased by
the blood of Christ. These thousands would need
the bread of life, and they determined to give it
to them. They knew but little of the country
and its needs. They determined therefore to
send out a scout to reconnoiter this extensive field.
The Rev. William H. Goode, of the North Indiana
Conference, was the man selected for this important
and responsible work, receiving his appointment
from Bishop Ames, June 3, 1854. He was au-
thorized to explore the country thoroughly, to
collect all the information possible, to ascertain
the wants of the people, and how many men would
be needed to take up the work, and at what points
they should be placed.

Five days after receiving his formal appoint-
ment from the bishop he was on his way to the
frontier.

One great element of our success as a Church has
been inhersuperintendency, — the general superin-
tendency of the bishops, and the special superin-
tendency of the presiding elders. If a preacher
falls at the post of duty, or for any cause whatever
leaves his work, the presiding elder is on the
ground, and is prepared in a few days to supply

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 135

the place'; and the work goes on as smoothly and
harmoniously as if no change had occurred. If
a new field opens in some far-away territory, or
on some distant island or continent, the bishops
at once set about having this field occupied. They
generally know of well-qualified men who are
ready to go anywhere with the message of 'salva-
tion ; and they say " go/^ and they go with alac-
rity and delight. On the 5th day of July, 1854,
Brother Goode entered Kansas Territory, and first
visited the Wyandotte Mission, then in charge of
Rev. John M. Chivington. Then he passed up
through the Territory, entered Nebraska, and
pushed his way as far north as there were any settle-
ments. After a personal survey of the field, which
took several months, he returned to Indiana, and in
his report to the bishops said there were in the two
Territories some five hundred families, and recom-
mended that four mission circuits be established,
two in Nebraska and two in Kansas ; and that the
two Territories should be included in one district,
with a presiding elder or superintendent of mis-
sions, who should travel at large, make further
discoveries, organize new fields of labor, and em-
ploy preachers as occasion required. His sug-
gestions were approved by the appointing power,
and carried into effect that fall. Brother Goode
Avas transferred to the Missouri Conference and
appointed presiding elder of the Kansas and Ne-

136 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

braska District. He traveled tliroiigh tlie district
comprising the two Territories for one year. Dur-
ing the year many new charges were made and
supplies obtained. Among the men employed by
Brother Goode that year was Hiram Burch, w^hose
name is familiar throughout Nebraska Methodism.
Brother Burch was sent to take charge of the
Wolf River Mission. At the next Conference he
was admitted on trial, and appointed to Nebraska
City, and has been a faithful and devoted worker
in Nebraska for thirty-six years.

In the fall of 1855, Brother Goode visited the
Iowa Conference, Avhich met at Keokuk, and re-
ported to it the work in the two Territories. The
Conference passed resolutions requesting the
General Conference to form a new Conference
comprising the Territories of Kansas and Ne-
braska. From the Iowa Conference Brother
Goode went to Saint Louis, and reported his work
to the Missouri Conference, which concurred with
the action of the Iowa Conference requesting
the organization of the Kansas and Nebraska
Conference. Three districts were made in the
two Territories, two in Kansas and one in Ne-
braska. Brother Goode was temporarily trans-
ferred to the Iowa Conference, and appointed pre-
siding elder of the Nebraska District, and the two
districts in Kansas were supplied from the Mis-
souri Conference.

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 137

The winter of 1855-6 was one of intense se-
verity. The cold weather was wide-spread, ex-
tending from the Dominion of Canada on the
north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and
from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. That win-
ter I was traveling my first circuit in Indiana —
the Russellville Circuit. It was in a heavily tim-
bered country, and we rarely ever felt the winds,
but the mercury often dropped to twenty degrees
below zero. In Nebraska, however, it was dif-
ferent. In addition to the intense cold, the
winds, unbroken by a single forest from the snow-
crowned summits of the Rocky Mountains, sweep-
ing for hundreds of miles over fields of ice and
snow, reached the unprotected settlers. Cattle in
large numbers were frozen to death, travel was
almost entirely suspended, and many human lives
were sacrificed. Brother Goode in his book,
'' Outposts of Zion,'' gives the following: " A
man and his son, who had forced their way with
a load of provisions, for thirty miles through
cold and snow, perished within one mile of
home. I often visited the bereaved and helpless
widow and orphans. I personally knew another
case not less sad: A father and son, named
Poe, set out on foot from the neighborhood of
Nebraska City in search of claims: the father
aged but robust, the son a lad of fifteen. Some
days were spent in searching, when they were

12

138 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

caught in a snow-storm. They spent days and
nights without fire, taking refuge in a vacant cabin,
where they found some abandoned bedding. They
cut their boots from their frozen limbs, and ap-
plied bandages of strips torn from the bed-cloth-
ing. Unable to walk, they made an attempt to
crawl away ; but their strength failed, and they
returned to the cabin. The father folded his son
in his arms, and lay down to die. At that mo-
ment a man appeared, attracted by the noise ; help
was obtained, and they were removed. The son
soon died. I saw the father in extreme agony ;
some of his limbs were amputated, and he expected
further dismemberment. But death came to
his relief. The morning following my visit I was
sent for to preach at his funeral. In all his suffer-
ings he expressed Christian peace and confidence
in God.^^ Eternity alone will reveal the terrible
suffering endured by the settlers during that and
the following winter. They are memorable in
history as winters of intense cold.

At the ensuing General Conference the request
of the Iowa and Missouri Conferences was carried
into effect, and the Kansas and Nebraska Confer-
ence was formed.

The first session of the Kansas and Nebraska
Conference was held in the city of Lawrence,
Kansas Territory, October 23-25, 1856, Bishop
Osmon C. Baker presiding. At this time '* border

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 139

ruffianism'' was rampant. Great excitement pre-
vailed throughout the Territory, and grave fears
were entertained by the preachers from the pro-
slavery element. Lawrence was founded in 1854,
and became the head-quarters of the anti-slavery
settlers of Kansas. The pro-slavery party never
had any peculiar love for the place. On August
21, 1863, it was surprised by a band of three hun-
dred Confederate guerrillas, led by Quantrell, who
killed one hundred and forty-five of the inhab-
itants, and burned the city. The history of that
bloody massacre is before the world.

When the Conference assembled, the city pre-
sented a warlike appearance. Strong fortifications
had been made. United States troops in large
numbers were quartered there, and a strong body
of the Territorial militia.

Some of the preachers attending this Confer-
ence had not only spiritual weapons, but carnal
weapons as well. From occurrences that were
constantly taking place, these preachers felt that
it was absolutely necessary for them to be ready
for any emergency ; not to be ready would be cul-
pable negligence on their part. The Conference
was held in a large tent, and was pleasant and
harmonious throughout. Eleven hundred and
thirty-eight members, including probationers, were
reported ; of these, three hundred and two were
in Nebraska. The bishops were requested to

140 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

change the time of the annual session from fall
to spring, which request was complied with, and
the time fixed for the next Conference was April
16, 1857. This change reduced the first Confer-
ence year to six months. Nebraska City was the
place fixed for the next session.

The following is a list of the appointments of
the Nebraska District of the first session of th'e
Kansas and Nebraska Conference :

Nebraska District.

Wm. H. Goode, Presiding Elder.

Omaha City, • . . . J. M. Chivington.

Florence, Isaac F. Collins.

Fontanelle, To be supplied.

Omadi, To be supplied.

Eock Bluffs, J. T. Cannon.

Nebraska City, Hiram Burch.

Brownville, J. W. Taylor.

Nemaha, To be supplied.

The winter of 1856-7, like the previous one,
was memorable for its severity. Many during the
w^inter were frozen to death, and in various parts
of the Territory stock in large numbers perished.

Bishop Ames was to preside at the second ses-
sion of the Conference. But on the morning vi
the opening of the session the bishop was on board
a Missouri steamer, hundreds of miles below, en-
deavoring to make his way up against the mighty
current. Mr. Goode was elected president, and
presided with dignity and satisfaction to the Con-
ference. He was a good officer, and business

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 141

was transacted with dispatch. He would have
made an excellent bishop, and at one time he
lacked but a few votes of reaching that honora-
ble place. The bishop arrived late, reviewed,
approved, and read the appointments. Two dis-
tricts were made in Nebraska; Omaha District,
including the territory north of the Great Platte
River; and Nebraska City District, including the
territory south of the Great Platte.

J. M. Chivington was appointed presiding elder
of the Nebraska City District, and W. H. Goode
presiding elder of the Omaha District. Three
districts were made in Kansas; so the Conference
had five districts in all.

Doctor Adam Poe, Agent of the Methodist Book
Concern, accompanied Bishop Ames to this Con-
ference. At a subsequent Conference, the Doctor
gave an account of that memorable trip. Their
journey up the turbid and dangerous stream ^vas
slow, and was made under very great difficulties.
One dark night the boat tied up, as was the cus-
tom on dark nights. During the night she broke
loose from her moorings, drifted dow n the stream,
and for a long time was at the mercy of the fear-
ful and dangerous current. The engineer at
length succeeded in getting up steam, and again
she began to stem the mighty tide.

On Sunday, as the steamer was slowly making
her way up the river, an incident occurred which

142 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

shows the Avonclerful influence and power of the
family altar and the Sunday -school.

Dr. Poe said : '^ There was a young man on
board who was very officious and pert. He was
exceedingly anxious to have a dance. The cabin
w^as cleared, a fiddler employed, and everything
was made ready for the hop, when the young
man stepped up to a young lady Avho sat at my
side, and, after a very polite bow, said : * Will you
dance with me?'

^^ ^ No, sir ; I was better raised,^ Avas the prompt
reply.

" 'And where were you raised V said the young
man, somewhat abashed.

'' ' In the Sunday-school and at the family altar V
calmly replied the lady. Involuntarily I clapped
my hand on her shoulder and said, 'Good !' [Dr.
Poe was a tall man, standing six feet in his stock-
ings, and proportionately large in body.]

"The young man squared himself up, thinking
he saw something in my proportions that would
do to fight, and then said, 'Well, if we can't have
a dance, perhaps we can have a sermon.' ' Yes,
sir;' said I. Knowing the bishop could preach
much better than I, we put him up, and Bishop
Ames gave us one of his best."

The young lady and her parents left the boat
at Nebraska City, intending to make their home
somewhere in the interior of the State. Dr. Poe

THE PIONEER EVANGEL. 143

was anxious to learn something of the future
history of that noble young lady. He thought
Nebraska had nothing to fear, composed of settJcrs
with the courage and mettle manifested in that
graceful heroine.

The third session of the Conference was held
in Topeka, Kansas, beginning April 15, 1858,
Bishop E. S. Janes presiding. Early in the month
the preachers in Nebraska left their fields of labor,
and started on horseback, with their saddle-bags,
in the old-fashioned way, for their Annual Con-
ference. On the 10th of April, some fifteen of
these hardy, toil-worn pioneers concentrated at
Falls City, where Brother Goode was holding a
quarterly meeting. They spent a delightful day
together, and, with the good people of the infant
town, enjoyed "seasons of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord.^' As the country over
which they were to travel was new and strange
to the most of them, they determined to select
competent guides ; accordingly, they elected two
of their number who were best acquainted with the
country, and put themselves under their guidance,
all agreeing to follow faithfully their instructionso

They were ordered to meet at a certain place
on Monday morning. Monday morning came,
cold, snowy, dreary, and forbidding in the ex-
treme, but all were on hand at the appointed hour
and place. The weather, no matter what it may

144 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

be, rarely stops a Methodist preacher on his way
to an appointment. Through drenching rains,
blinding snow-storms, and fearful blizzards, he is
found pushing his way to meet the promised en-
gagement. And by this heroic, self-sacrificing
spirit, Methodism is planted almost everywhere.

From Falls City they passed down to near the
mouth of the Nemaha River, where they crossed
the stream in a ferry-boat. The ferry was an old-
fashioned flat-boat, not very inviting, and withal
not the safest in appearance. They dismounted,
led theii horses onto the boat, and held them by
their bridles until they reached the other side.
While crossing, when near the middle of the
river, Brother Turman's horse jumped overboard
into the stream. Brother Turman held onto the
bridle, and the animal, by the side of the boat,
swam to shore, then remounting his horse, drip-
ping with water, and riding up by the side of
Brother Burch, said in a whisper : " Brother
Burch, I have just found out the sentiment of my
horse. He is a Campbellite. I will sell him. I
won't have such a horse.'' Only those knowing
his great aversion to the doctrine of Campbellism
can appreciate the above remarks. Campbellism
and Calvinism were both extremely obnoxious to
him.

After a weary ride through rain and mud and
snow, the seat of the Annual Conference was

TEE PIONEER EVANGEL. 145

reached. The year had been one of exposure, of
toil, and of sacrifice. It had been a year of great
spiritual victories as well. The toils, the sacri-
fices, the victories and triumphs of that year are
fittingly described by Charles Wesley :

''What troubles liave we seen,

What conflicts have we passed, —
Fightings without, and fears within,

Since we assembled lastl
But out of all the Lord

Hath brought us by, his love ;
And still he doth his help afford,

And hides our life above."

At this Conference another district was formed
in Kansas, making in all six districts.

A wild and reckless spirit of speculation had
prevailed among many of the people. Towns all
over the Territories were laid out, wild-cat banks
were established, and the country was flooded
with worthless bank-notes. The result of all this
was disastrous, both to the Church and the
country. Confidence in the people was to a great
extent destroyed. But, notwithstanding all these
demoralizing influences, the year had been one of
great prosperity to the Church. The member-
ship had more than doubled; the population had
increased greatly ; peace had prevailed ; the future
outlook was hopeful, and preachers and people
were of good cheer.

In four years the Church had grown, in the

146 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

two Territories^ from nothing to an Annual
Conference with six districts, fifty-seven appoint-
ments, and two thousand six hundred and sixty-
nine members. This growth was phenomenal.
True, the area was large. It was an empire
within itself. It was the "Great American
Desert.^' But this desert, true to prophecy,
was beginning to "rejoice and blossom as the
rose.'^

The wonderful growth of the work in the new
Territories is most aptly described in another of
Charles Wesley's beautiful hymns:

"When he first the work began,

Small and feeble was his day ;
Now the word doth swiftly run,

Now it wins its widening way.
More and more it spreads and grows,

Ever mighty to prevail ;
Sin's strongholds it now o'erthrows,

Shakes the trembling gates of hell."

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 147

CHAPTER XI.

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA.

Crude Ideas of Nebraska— Bellevue— Story of a Dia-
mond— How THE People viewed Us— Hunting for a
Town without Houses — First Sermon in Nebraska —
Wild Speculation — Its Demoralizing Effects —
First Quarterage received— Glad of Green Pump-
kins—Thankful FOR Potatoes and Salt— Hospital-
ity of Friends.

THE people of Massachusetts at one time de-
cided that the country woukl not be settled
west of Newton, a suburb of Boston. And the
inhabitants of Lynn, having surveyed the country
fifteen miles west, determined that it never
would be densely populated beyond that point.

When we first reached Nebraska, we be-
lieved, and so did everybody else, that Ne-
braska never would be settled west of the first
tier of counties lying along the Missouri River.
Coming from a densely-timbered country, Ne-
braska had a very dreary and desolate look. We
almost feared there would not be wood enough to
keep us from freezing to death during the first
winter. In 1858 Nebraska had a population of
about sixteen thousand souls, and during the

148 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

few following years the population decreased
rather than increased.

Many became discouraged, and declared they
would not stay in such a ^^God-forsaken coun-
try/' They felt that God had intended this
country for the Indians, and that in remaining
they were trespassing on Indian rights.

Bellevue was our first appointment in Ne-
braska. It is ten miles south of Omaha, situated
on a beautiful plateau, overlooking for miles the
Missouri River. It is said that in 1805 a Span-
ish adventurer came to Bellev^ue, and, in climb-
ing the bluff to the plateau, was so struck with
the natural beauty of the spot that he exclaimed,
*' Bellevue" — "beautiful place;'' hence the name.

Something more is necessary, however, to make
a city than a beautiful location. If a beautiful
location could make a city, Bellevue would have
been the finest and largest city in the State. A
more exquisite spot for a city I never saw.

Bellevue at that time was the county-seat of
Sarpy County, the county being named in honor
of Colonel Peter A. Sarpy. From 1823 to 1855
Colonel Sarpy was agent of the American Fur
Company at Bellevue. He was raised in St. Louis,
and brought up in refinement. But when he
grew to manhood he preferred the freedom of
the Western prairies to the gayety and refinement
of civilized life.

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 149

I remember reading a story published in the
Omaha Herald about Cok)nel Sarpy. It was
told by the Hon. J. Sterling Morton, and was
called

"THE STORY OF THE DIAMOND.

*^The beautiful bluffs that rise so majestically
from the mission at Bellevue, shimmering in the
morning sunlight, and the deep verdure that cov-
ered them that summer day, made them look like a
string of gigantic emeralds just fallen from the
clouds. Colonel Peter A. Sarpy met me that
morning, up back of the old mission-house, by
the grave of Big Elk. He was buoyant, and his
eye glistened, and he was in the best of health
and spirits. He was dressed neatly, and upon his
breast I noticed for the first time a diamond,
which gleamed and flashed with striking brill-
iancy. ^Colonel,' said I, ^you have been add-
ing to your jewels;' and, looking steadily at the
gem, ^is that something new?' ^O no, my
friend,' said he, ^that is old, very old; and I will
tell you all about it, if you will listen, and what
is to come of it in the hereafter, if you will.'
He continued : ^ Many, many years ago, Avhen
St. Louis was a village, my good Catholic
mother died — may God rest her soul in peace ! —
in that town. We children followed her remains
to the cemetery, and laid them quietly in the
grave, and wept until our eyes could weep no

15a SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

more. And then, shortly after, I came up here
to Nebraska among the Indians to trade, and my
brother John remained in Saint Louis. But a
few years ago I went down to that city to pur-
chase goods; and one afternoon, after I had been
there several days, my brother said, '' Peter I want
to see you privately in the counting-room, to talk
about the dead;'' and so I went in, and John said :
" Peter, this city is growing very rapidly. It is
stretching out to the south and the west and the
north. It needs more room, and the old grave-
yard where our mother is buried must be given
up. We must remove her remains to another
resting-place, and we will do it together while
you are here ; we will do it to-morrow.'' And so
the very next day we went to our mother's grave,
and carefully we brought the coffin to the light, and
lifted it up tenderly on to a bier. It was badly
decayed. The top w^as moved a little to one
side, and I could not resist a desire to look in.
As I did, the sunlight streamed in, and I saw
something gleaming there. At once I remem-
bered the diamond which my mother had worn
always, and which had been buried on her breast,
and I reached in and took it out, and this is it
which you now see.

"' It is mine now; and when these bright days
come, I feel young again, and remembering my

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 151

mother, I put it on and wear it; for it makes
me a better man.

" ^ It is a charm, sir; and the memories which it
brings to me are brighter and richer and more
precious than all the gems in the world ; for they
are the sacred recollections of a Christian mother,
a holy woman, whose teachings were purer than
any diamond that ever glowed. And now, while
men think I am only an old Indian trader, who
sees nothing in the future, who believes in no
destiny for this beautiful Nebraska of ours, I
know, sir, that not many years will come and go be-
fore I, too, will be called to another life in another
world. And then these vast plains will be set-
tled up; somewhere in this Missouri Yalley,
perhaps in sight of where we now stand, a great
city shall have been builded. Then I may have
been in my grave many years. And some day,
very likely, they will come to you, as they did
to brother John about our mother, and say :
"Here, sir, your old friend, Peter A. Sarpy, is
in the way; the city needs more room, and, sir,
you must take his old bones away.^'

" ^And if so, do it; do it decently and kindly;
but remember this diamond. Peep into my old
coffin. It is a pure gem, sir — first water — and
will surely flash whenever your eye can see. Then
you reach in — I'll be still — and snatch the dia-
mond out, and put it on and wear it.

152 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

" ^ The years Avill roll on, and you will have
grown old ; then death will rap at your door, and
you, too, will have come into another life in
that other Avorld. Tell your boys to bury this
stone with you. But not many years more will
have followed the trail of those who have gone
into the shadowy hunting-lands, before your
boys will be called upon by the authorities to
move your bones also.

" ^ Tell the boys, wdien that time comes, to reach
into your coffin again, and take this glittering
jewel out from the grave.

'' ' Tell the oldest to put it on and wear it, and
be buried with it too, leaving instructions for
its re-resurrection again.

^' ^And so, sir, we'll keep this diamond glitter-
ing among the generations to come. It shall
be buried and raised, and worn and buried again,
until finally it shall be buried for the last time,
away off in some of the islands of the Pacific,
when the West shall have been found and set-
tled in full, and finally perfected.

^' ' I tell you, sir, this cry for room, more room,
will never cease.

" ' And let this diamond go on from grave to
grave, from generation to generation, gleaming
and flashing forever like a star, in the shield of
one who shall always be a pioneer in the van-
guard of progress and civilization.

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 153

^^ He stopped his speech, and in silence we
walked to the trading-post. But there was an ele-
ment of prophecy in that summer morning talk
of Colonel Sarpy, which makes it ring in my
ears and thrill in my veins even unto this day.
He looked into the future as into a mirror, and
saw the face of to-day and to-morrow as clearly
and plainly as a child sees trees and flowers
shadowed in a pure brook."

In the grave-yard, near where Colonel Sarpy
stood when the above remarkable speech was
made, sleep the remains of our first-born child.

When Colonel Sarpy uttered this prophecy,
Omaha was a little village with only a few houses.
Lincoln was an untrodden prairie, save by the
Indians, the buffalo, and the wild beasts that
roamed the plains. But Omaha has become a
mighty city, stretching away to the north, the
west, and the south, and the cry has been heard
for years, ^^More room." Lincoln, the magic city
of the plains, in the heart of the " Great Ameri-
can Desert," has arisen, and grown, and to-day
has a teeming population of near sixty thousand
souls. Addition after addition has been made,
and still the cry rings out over the prairies from
her authorities, ^' More room."

The "Great American Desert," where is it?
Echo answers, Where? Driven from the plains
of Nebraska to the western slopes of the Rocky

154 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Mountains, then on toward the setting sun, the
"Great American Desert" "has become a vaga-
bond on the face of the earth. '^

When we reached Bellevue, we found no
church or organization. The outlook was not
encouraging by any means, but gloomy in the
extreme. A class had been organized, but had
gone down. The acts of some, we learned, had
not been in harmony with their profession.
Methodism had no standing in the community,
and the people looked at us with xjurious eyes.
To get hold of the hearts of the people, and give
Methodism a respectable standing required time,
patience, and labor. The foundation of the
church had to be laid, and the superstructure
reared, and we were there for that purpose ; so we
went to work with a will, though discouragements
met us at every step, and in almost every form.

We had been on the ground only a short
time, when Mrs. Davis was taken ill and remained
so for several weeks. For a long time we had
but little hope of her recovery. The people
were very kind, and rendered every possible as-
sistance; night and day they stood by us in the
dark hours of our trial. We shall never forget
them. The remembrance of their kindness and
many tokens of love, is indelibly written upon
our memories, and will never be erased.

FimT WORK IN NEBRASKA. 155

The summer of 1858 was a very sickly one.
Nearly everybody iu the community was pros-
trated. To hire help was au impossibility, and
we had to do all our own work, save what was
done by our kind neighbors. I kept house,
cooked, washed and ironed, waited on Mrs. Davis,
prepared for the pulpit, and preached on the
Sabbath. It was a new experience — a bitter but
useful one. I shall never forget the first trip I
made to Fairview. I was told it was a town
eight miles west of Bellevue. I sent out an ap-
pointment, and on Sunday morning started on
horseback. We had been told it was beautifully
located on an elevation, overlooking the whole
surrounding country. I rode on until I thought
I must be getting near, and began to look for
the new town. I strained my eager eyes in vai'n
to get a glimpse of the expected beautiful village.
On and on I urged my horse, thinking every
moment that the village would rise in view. At
length, away to the right of the road, I saw a
little shanty. I reined up my horse, rode out
toward the shanty, but before reaching it was
met by the man of the house. I said to him :
*' Will you be so kind as to tell me the way to
Fairview ?"

" O, yes,'' said he. " Which way did you
come r'

156 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

"From Bellevue.'^

"You came the main traveled road from the
east, I suppose ?^^

" Yes, sir/'

"Well, sir, you passed through Fairview two
miles east of this/^

" How is that ?" said I ; " I have not seen a
house for miles until I saw yours.''

"O," said the gentleman, "there are no houses
in Fairview yet. It was only laid out a few
months ago.''

I told him that I had sent out an appoint-
ment to preach there that day.

" Well," said he, " I think I heard there was
to be a meeting there to-day, and I guess some of
the neighbors have gone there for that purpose.
If you will go back two miles and look very
carefully in the grass, you will see some white
stakes ; then if you will look to the south, you
will see, at the head of a little ravine, a log cabin
with some trees near by. Robert Lang lives
there, and I expect the meeting is to be at his
house." I rode back, found the stakes, saw the
log cabin, and on reaching it found a number of
persons waiting for the preacher. In a little
grove near by I preached my first sermon in Ne-
braska to about a dozen hearers. I took dinner
with Brother Lang, a jolly, whole-souled, deeply
pious Scotchman. Some years after this Brother

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 157

Lang entered the evangelistic v/ork, and has been
instrumental, in the hands of God, in leading
hundreds of souls to Christ. He has been a
faithful worker in Christ's vineyard, and will have
many stars in his crown of rejoicing.

After dinner I rode twelve miles to Plattford,
where I had sent out an appointment for evening-
service. Here I expected, from what had been
told me, to find a good town, a good society of
Methodists, and a large congregation. But, alas!
1 was again doomed to disappointment. I found
no town, no members of our Church, no congre-
gation. Plattford, like Fairview, was only a
paper town, and its location was marked alone by
a few stakes seen here and there in the grass.
Just at dark I rode up to a small house some
distance north of the town site, where I was
hospitably entertained by a kind family belong-
ing to the Congregational Church.

This was my first Sabbath's work in our new
field of labor, on the frontier, in the territory
of Nebraska. It was anything but pleasant, and
the future outlook was not a very flattering one.

In 1856-7 the wildest excitement prevailed.
Speculation was rife. New towns Avere spread
upon all the county records. Town companies
were formed, towns laid out, and agents sent East
to sell the lots. Many innocent and unsuspecting
parties were taken in by these unscrupulous

158 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

agents. It is said that the recorder of one of the
northern counties laid out a town, then went East
and sold lots at fabulous prices. In addition to
the money received from them, he made large sums
for recording the deeds of these worthless lots.
Soon after reaching Bellevue I received a letter
from a Methodist minister in Ohio, asking for a
description and the location of the town of
Platonia. He had sent three hundred dollars,
the little savings of years, to a friend, who had
purchased for him several lots in this new town.
He had written again and again, but could hear
nothing from his old friend. I began to make
inquiry about the new town, and finally met a
man who told me where it was located. A few
days afterwards I went down and took in the
new village. I found a half-finished, dilapidated
frame building, standing in the midst of a large
field of corn. The town, to this day, is used as a
farm for raising corn and hogs. Many profess-
ing Christians were carried away by the mighty
tide of speculation that swept over the country.
It was not strange, when professing Christians
engaged in such dishonorable transactions, that
the Church should fall into disrepute and lose
its power for good. When we learned the his-
tory of the past, we were not at all disposed to
censure any for scanning us with curious and
suspicious eyes.

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 159

The prospect for a support from the people was
not very flattering. An appropriation of one
hundred dollars from the Missionary Society had
been made to the mission. Our house-rent was
at the rate of one hundred dollars per year.
This would take all our missionary money, and
we must depend on the people for a living. We
had no assurance whatever that the people would
pay us any thing. In fact, the intimations were
that the people had all they could possibly do to
provide for themselves.

After we had been there a few weeks, a good
Baptist brother by the name of Simpkins brought
us a few new potatoes and some green pump-
kins. Mrs. Davis thanked him very kindly for
the potatoes and green pumpkins. The next time
he came he brought a splendid lot of vegetables
of all kinds, then kept us in vegetables during
the season, and in the fall filled our cellar for the
winter. He afterwards often laughed and said :
*' I first tried you with green pumpkins, for I
thought if you were thankful for green pumpkins
you would do for Nebraska.'' Brother Simpkins
and family afterwards became useful and faithful
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Soon after Mrs. Davis began to recover from
her long illness, her appetite became ravenous,
wliile my own was not a whit behind hers. It
seemed almost impossible for us to get enough to

160 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

eat. We were ready to devour everything we
could get in the way of edibles, and almost every-
thing was palatable. AYe had a wonderful relish
for food. We began to get into straitened cir-
cumstances. Our money was almost gone, and
our larder about emj^ty. All we had left was a
little bread, potatoes, and salt. We sat down
one morning to our meager breakfast — bread,
potatoes, and salt. After the blessing was asked my
wife said : " Well, I am thankful for potatoes and
salt." Ko queen in her palace, with a table be-
fore her groaning with the richest and most de-
licious viands, ever breakfasted with a greater
relish or more thankful heart than ours as we
ate our humble meal that morning.

God gave us access to the hearts of the people.
They rallied around us. In many ways they con-
vinced us they were our friends indeed. At the
end of three months a brother offered us a house
free of rent if we would move, and we accepted
his kindly offer. The rooms were on the second
floor of a two-story building; the low^er room had
been used as a store, but was empty. Not long
after moving into our new quarters we had our
first blizzard. The day before was beautiful.
The sun was bright, the sky clear, the atmosphere
soft and balmy. It was almost like a summer
day. Mrs. Davis washed and hung out her
clothes, and as there was no indication whatever

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 161

of a storm, she left them on the line. We re-
tired to rest ; the soft wind, like a gentle
zephyr, blowing from the south. About ten
o'clock the wind shifted to the north. It began
to snow, and the wind blew a perfect gale. The
building rocked like a cradle, and we thought it
certainly would go to pieces. In the morning
the weather was freezing cold, and the snow was
piled in drifts many feet high around the house.
We looked out and saw the line, but no clothes,
save one or two pieces. We tried to find them,
but in vain. They were gone. Not a shred was
left. And we never saw or heard of them again.
Our neighbors, who were acquainted with Ne-
braska blizzards, said: ''Your clothes AVcre in
Kansas long before morning.'' Our wardrobe
was not the most extensive, and we felt keenly

the loss.

Some two months before Conference our land-
lord told us he wanted to repair the house, and
we must move. We were arranging to move into
another building when Mrs. Kogers, a neighbor,
a member ^of the Baptist Church, and one of-
the best friends we ever had, heard of it. She
came at once to see us, and said : " You are not
going to move into another building, but you are
coming to our house. Mr. Rogers and I have
talked over the matter, and you are to take our
front parlor and bedroom." We told her that
14

162 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

would be an imposition, and Ave did not feel as
though Ave could take advantage of her good na-
ture in that Avay. She said : " No ; it Avill be a
pleasure, not an imposition." So Ave had to yiejd
to her kind oifer, and she and her noble boys
helped us move into their nice and comfortable
parlor and bedroom. Here Ave remained until
Conference. Mrs. Rogers ne\^er had anything
nice that Ave did not have a share. Such hospi-
tality Ave have never seen surpassed. Hoav often
Ave have prayed for God's blessing on that noble
family !

Our first work in Nebraska, Avhich opened so
unpropitiously, closed under bright and most
promising circumstances.

Just before leaving for Conference, the good
people made us a donation amounting to seventy
dollars, and Ave ncA^er saw people enjoy them-
selves better than on that occasion.

OMAHA. 163

o

CHAPTER XII.

OMAHA.

When Founded— Indian Tradition of the Name— Amus-
ing AND Thrilling Incidents— George Francis
Train— Moving in an Ox-wagon— Indians— First
Methodist Episcopal Church— Ride on Horseback
Two Hundred Miles to Conference— Falls City
j>,. I860— John Brown- The Conference divided.

MAHA Avas founded in 1854. The first
dwelling-house in the city was erected by
Mr. A. D. Jones, who, in the spring of 1854, re-
ceived the appointment of postmaster, and im-
mediately erected a cabin of logs, which he com-
pleted in the latter part of May, only a few days
before Congress passed the bill creating the Ter-
ritory of Nebraska. On this rude cabin a sign
was placed, consisting of a wide shingle with the
words, written with a lead-pencil, '^ Post-office,
by A. D. Jones.'' The style of this quaint sign
attracted as much attention as the information it
communicated. This was the beginning of the
present marvelous city of Omaha, a city whose
fame is world-wdde.

For some time Mr. Jones carried the mail in
his hat. The first letter ever received in Omaha

164 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

by mail was from Mr. Henn to Mr. Jones delat-
ing to an independent mail-route between Coun-
cil Bluffs and Omaha. This letter was dated
Washington, May 6, 1854. During my pastorate
in the city in 1859-60, Mr. Jones and his family
were regular attendants at our Church, his wife
being a member.

The name Omaha was derived from an Indian
tradition. The tradition is, that ages ago two
tribes met on the Missouri River and engaged in
a bloody battle, in which all on one side were
killed but one, who was thrown into the river.
Rising suddenly above the surface he exclaimed,
" Omaha !" meaning that he was on top of the
water, and not under it as his enemies supposed,
and those who heard it took that word as the
name of their tribe. ^'Omaha,'^ ^^ On top." A
significant name, not only of the renowned Indian
tribe, but the city as well.

Mr. Jones, who was a surveyor, was employed
by the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Steam-ferry
Company to survey the site, and he spent the
greater part of tlie month of June and a part of
July in this work. The city was laid out in 322
blocks, each 264 feet square. This was the orig-
inal city of Omaha, as first founded, and the
founders had but little, if any, idea at all that an
addition to the original plat would ever be needed.

In the Omaha Illustrated we are told that

OMAHA. 165

Omaha had a newspaper very early in her history.
This paper was called the Arrow. There were
only twelve issues of the Arrow, covering the
period from July 28 to November 10, 1854. In
the first issue of the Arrow, which was the first
newspaper ever published in Nebraska, the editor
wrote a fanciful sketch containing a prediction of
Omaha's future. It was entitled '^A Night in
Our Sanctum." It w^as such a remarkable pre-
diction, and has been so literally fulfilled, that I
give a large portion of it to the reader. Here
it is:

" Last night we slept in our sanctum — the
starry-decked heaven for a ceiling, and mother
earth for a flooring. ... To dream-land Ave
went. The busy hum of business- from factories
and the varied branches of mechanism from
Omaha reached our ears. The incessant rattle of
innumerable drays over the paved streets, the
steady tramp of ten thousand of an animated, en-
terprising population, the hoarse orders fast issued
from the crowd of steamers upon the levee load-
ing with the rich products of the State of Ne-
braska, and unloading the fruits, spices, and pro-
ducts of other climes and soils, greeted our ears.
Far away toward the setting sun came telegraph
dispatches of improvements, progress, and moral
advancement l^pon the Pacific Coast. Cars, full-
freighted with teas, silks, etc., Avere arriving from

166 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

thence, and passing across the stationary channel
of the Missouri River with liglitniog speed, hur-
rying on to the Atlantic sea-board. The third
express train on the Council Bluffs and Galveston
Railroad came thundering close by us with a
shrill whistle that brought us to our feet, knife
in hand, looking into the darkness beyond at the
flying trains. They had vanished. The hum ot
business, in and around the city, had also van-
ished, and the same rude camp-fires were before
us. We slept again, and daylight stole upon us,
refreshed and ready for another day's labor.''

That dream, written thirty-six years ago, and
which was considered at the time visionary in the
extreme, and which no one ever expected to see
fulfilled, has been more than realized. Had that
dream been told us when we first visited Omaha
in 1858, we should have said, *^It is the dream
of a madman."

The city grew rapidly from the time it was
laid out, flourishing on all lines until the panic
of 1857 struck the country. Then Omaha came
to a dead halt, and no advance whatever was
made for several years. In 1860 a slight change
for the better was manifested. In 1862 Congress
passed the act authorizing the construction of the
Union Pacific Railroad from the Missouri River
to San Francisco, and in 1863 President Lincoln
designated its eastern terminal ^^ at a point on the

OMAHA. 167

western boundary of Iowa, opposite section ten,
in township fifteen, north of range thirteen, east
of the sixth principal meridian in the Territory
of Nebraska."

This decision gave to Omaha a new and won-
derful impetus, and soon after Omaha became the
metropolitan city of the West.

Some amusing incidents occurred in the early
history of the city. Omaha Avas the capital of the
Territory. Mark W. Izard, afterwards appointed
successor to Governor Burt, was United States
marshal. It is recorded that '' Izard was a stately
character physically, though mentally rather weak,
and felt a lively sense of the dignity with which
the appointment clothed him. ' He had never
known such an honor before, and it bore upon
him heavily." When the time came for him to
deliver his inaugural message, he arranged for a
Negro to announce his approach to the legislative
chamber in the follow^ing words : " Mr. Speaker,
the governor is now approaching." The poor
Negro forgot his text, and electrified the assembled
wisdom with the sentence, ''Mr. Speaker, de
gubner has done come."

In 1865, George Francis Train made large in-
vestments in Omaha property, and took a lively
interest in building up the new city. He was a
guest of the Herndon House. One day he sat at
the table in the dining-room, opposite a broken

168 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

window, through which the wind was blowing at
a lively rate. He complained of the annoyance,
but no attention was paid to his complaints. Then
he paid a darky ten cents a minute to stand
between him and the draught until he had finished
his dinner. He there vowed he would build
another hotel, and that very afternoon purchased
two lots and employed men to commence the
foundation. Within sixty days he had the Coz-
zens House completed at a cost of $40,000. Mr.
Train was an anomaly. George D. Prentice thus
describes him: "A locomotive that has run oif
the track, turned upside dow^n, with its cow^-catcher
buried in a stump, and the wheels making a
thousand revolutions a minute ; a kite in the air,
which has lost its tail ; a human novel Avithout a
hero ; a man who climbs a tree for a bird's-nest
out on a limb, and, in order to get it, saws the
limb oif between himself and the tree; a ship
without a rudder; a sermon without a text;
handsome, vivacious, versatile, muscular, as neat
as a cat, clean to the marrow, frugal in food, and
regular only in habits; with the brains of twenty
men in his head, all pulling in different ways;
not bad as to heart, but a man who has shaken
hands with reverence. '^

When the war broke out in 1861, Omaha re-
sponded to the call of Abraham Lincoln for
troops. Three military companies were organized

OMAHA.

169

and mustered into service. Upon the departure
of the troops, a lady, full of patriotism, donned
soldier's attire and took passage as one of the
'' boys.'' Her sex was undiscovered during the
trip to St. Joe ; but when the boat left that city
and went down the river, the adventure terminated
suddenly ; for she was discovered by her husband
and sent back to Omaha, where, at a recent date,
it is said, she was still living.

Some sad as well as amusing incidents occurred
during the early history of the city.

The community was infested with thieves and
roughs of various kinds. Many of these pests of
the human race, averse to labor, and determined
to obtain a living in any way save by honest
work, fled from Eastern States to the frontier,
where they could have a better opportunity ot
committing their depredations. The citizens felt
that the safety of themselves and their families
depended on their visiting summary punishment
upon criminals; and when guilt was proved be-
yond all doubt, they often took the law into their
own hands. This course often becomes absolutely
necessary for the safety of the people in new Ter-
ritories and States. It was necessary in the early
history of California, and since then it has been
necessary in other new Territories as well.

At a still earlier period, history tells us that in
Ohio and Kentucky, and other new States, the

170 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

people often had to take the law into their own
hands. It has often become necessary for the
citizens to organize what is known as Vigilance
Committees. These are not mobs. A mob is a
very different thing from a Vigilance Committee.
A mob is a riotous assembly, a disorderly crowd,
composed generally of the vicious and lower
classes of society ; and the acts of a mob are com-
mitted under great excitement, and without any
regard to law or justice. A Vigilance Committee
is an orderly crowd, with an eye only upon the
welfare of the whole community, cool and deliber-
ate in all its actions. A Vigilance Committee in-
flicts no punishment until guilt is proved beyond
the shadow of a doubt. A mob often inflicts
punishment upon the innocent. A mob is a
dangerous element in society. A Vigilance Com-
mittee has often been the saving of the com-
munity.

A mob entered the jail in Omaha in 1859,
took two men from the prison, and hanged them.
The circumstances were as follows : Two men,
named John Daily and Harvey Braden, were con-
fined in the jail at Omaha for horse-stealing. On
Saturday night, January 8, J 859, a party of men en-
tered the jail. The sheriff Avas absent, and the keys
were in charge of three women. From these the
mob took the keys by force, entered the cell, took
the prisoners to a point two miles north of Flor-

OMAHA. 171

ence, and there hanged them. A jury was im-
paneled, and after an examination which lasted
several days, returned a verdict in accordance
with the facts, finding four men, whose names
we withhold, guilty of aiding and abetting the
murder. These four men were granted a change
of venue, and were tried at Bellevue, and we
were present and witnessed the trial. The evi-
dence of their guilt was very strong. The im-
pression of those who heard the testimony was
that the prisoners were guilty. They were, how-
ever, acquitted. We learned afterwards that the
affair ruined each of the four men both mentally
and physically. Although they had previously
been prosperous, after the trial they met with re-
verses from which they never recovered. The
judgments of Almighty God follow the mur-
derer, and from them it is vain for him to try
to escape.

During the six years of territorial organiza-
tion no mnrderer had met the punishment due
his crime. Robbery and assassination triumphed
over industry and virtue. The citizens became
incensed at the slow and unjust process of the
courts. A Vigilance Committee was organized,
and at the hands of this committee many outlaws
met their fate.

In March, 1861, two young men. Her and
Bovey by name, at the hour of midnight, entered

172 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the house of Mr. George Taylor, living ten miles
west of the city. Mr. Taylor was absent. His
wife was alone. The desperadoes demanded of
Mrs. Taylor her money. And as it was death or
the money, and loving life more than her money,
she turned over to them all she had, and they left
with one thousand dollars in cash. A few days
afterwards the two men were arrested. Mrs.
Taylor was sent for, and identified them. They
were lodged in the county jail. The most in-
tense excitement prevailed among the citizens.
A committee was appointed to inquire into the
guilt or innocence of the prisoners. The com-
mittee held a long interview with them, and they
finally made a full confession of their guilt. The
committee reported accordingly, and recommended
that the life of Her be spared. During the next
two days further confessions were made.

On Saturday morning, March 9, 1861, Bovey
was found hanged at the door of his cell, his body
dead and cold. The news reached us just after
breakfast. I immediately left the parsonage, and
walked sloAvly to the jail. A stream of men and
women, toe, were going to and from the tragic
scene. Gloom Avas on every face, and tears in
many eyes. The conversation was in low and
whispered tones. I entered the prison, and saw
the body of the unfortunate man lying on a
board. The blood had settled about the thick-

OMAHA.

173

ness of an inch, and left a black circle around the
neck where the rope had been fastened. Such a
necklace I had never seen before. The sight was
frightful, and I turned instinctively away from
the ghastly scene. Death under such circum-
stances is appalling beyond all description. For
days the whole community was shrouded in
gloom. The body was left for several hours
where all could see it — a warning to all criminals.

The first sermon ever preached in the region
of Omaha was in 1851. This was three years be-
fore the city was founded. In 1851, William
Simpson was sent to Council Bluffs Mission from
the Iowa Conference. He learned that there
were a few settlers on the west side of the Mis-
souri River. In harmony with the spirit of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and with the in-
stinct so characteristic of every true Methodist
minister, he crossed the river, called the handful
of immigrants together, and at the base of the
abrupt hills where the city of Omaha now stands,
he gave to these pioneers the bread of life. This
was supposed to be the first Methodist sermon
ever preached on Nebraska soil.

The first sermon preached in Omaha after
the city was founded, was by the Rev. Peter
Cooper. In the Arrow, published in August,
1854, the announcement was made that Rev.
Peter Cooper would preach on Sunday, August

174 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

13tli, at the residence of Mr. AVilliam P. Snow-
den. Mr. Cooper Avas an Englishman, and came
to the village of Omaha when it contained less
than one hundred inhabitants. He opened a
stone-quarry on the bank of the Missouri River,
just below the present bridge of the Union Pa-
cific Railroad. He was a local preacher of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. When it was dis-
covered that he sometimes preached, he Avas
invited to address the people of the village, and
accordingly delivered the first sermon ever
preached in Omaha. The congregation nnmbered
about fifteen, there being present, among others,
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Davis, Mr. A. J. Pop-
pleton, and Mr. A. D. Jones.

In the spring of 1855, Rev. Isaac F. Collins
Avas sent as a missionary to Omaha, and organ-
ized a class of six members. On the 12th of
September, Rev. William H. Goode held the first
quarterly meeting ever held in the city. The
following persons were present and partook of
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper on that first
sacramental occasion : Mr. and Mrs. Amsbury,
the parents of Rev. W. A. Amsbury, now pre-
siding elder in the West Nebraska Conference;
Mr and Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Crowell, Mrs. George
A. McCoy, and Mrs. Harris. It is related of
Mrs. Harris that she reached Omaha from Iowa
City, traveling on foot until she gave out and

OMAHA. ^'^

couia walk no further, then riding the rest
of the way upon a cow, the only beast of
burden which she possessed. These were the
days of small things, but they were not despised.
That little handful of devoted Christians have
become " a thousand times so many as they were."
In December, 1856, the first Methodist Epis-
copal Church was dedicated, the Kev. Moses F.
Shinn officiating. Rev. J. M. Chivington suc-
ceeded Isaac Collins as pastor at Omaha; Rev.
J W Taylor succeeded J. M. Chivington, Rev.
William M. Smith succeeded J. W. Taylor and
I followed Brother Smith.

The fourth session of the Kansas and Nebraska
Conference met in Omaha April 14, 1859. The
minutes of the first day's proceedings contain the
following record: "The transfers of Hugh D.
Fisher, a traveling elder, from the Pittsburg Confer-
ence and H. T. Davis, a traveling deacon from the
Northwest Indiana Conference were announced,
and they were introduced to the Conference."

We received a royal welcome from this hardy
band of pioneer Methodist preachers, and at once
felt at home among them. At this Conference I
was ordained elder by the venerable Bishop Scott,
and was appointed to Omaha City Station. We
had supplied Bellevue the nine months preceding
the Conference, and had, under God, made many
warm friends. They confidently expected our

176 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

return. AYhen we returned from the Conference
and the people learned that we had been appointed
to Omaha, they manifested the deepest sorrow and
the bitterest regrets. We were very glad they
were sorry. It was a real comfort to us. We
would not for the world, hardly, have had them
feel otherwise. No minister wants the people to
feel glad when he is gone.

Believing that a farm would not be a bad
thing for a preacher to have when old and no
longer able to preach, we availed ourselves of the
privilege of the pre-emption law, took a claim,
built a small house, moved in, and lived there
the time prescribed by law ; then " proved up,^'
and I received a title to our land from the Gov-
ernment.

From our claim, eight miles west of Bellevue,
we moved to our new appointment. We could
not go by railroad or steamboat. We were be-
yond the reach of these. The whistle of the loco-
motive had never been heard in Nebraska, and
only those living along the Missouri River had
the benefit of steam navigation.

To obtain a carriage in which to ride was out
of the question. We tried to hire a span of horses
and wagon iu which to move, but in vain. So
we had to do the next best thing, take what we
could get — an ox-team. In the wagon we loaded
our goods, and about the twenty-fifth day of

OMAHA. 177

April the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of Omaha, and his wife, might have been
seen riding behind a yoke of oxen up Farnham
Street and down Seventeenth to the parsonage.

At that day Omaha was five years old, and had
a population of about two thousand souls.

The Indians were then very numerous in Ne-
braska. They frequently passed through the city,
and hardly a day went by but what we met some
of them. Often the window would suddenly
darken, and Mrs. Davis would look up and see
from one to a half dozen "red-skins" staring at
her through the window. At first the sight would
startle her, but she soon became accustomed to it,
and when they came would cry out to them,
" Pucachee ! Pucachee V^ — " Begone ! Begone I''
Sometimes they would leave at once; at other
times they would hang around for a time, waiting
for a present. They were great beggars, and
often when they came would not leave until
something in the way of food or clothing was
given them.

At that time we had a small brick church,
right in the center of Omaha. On this church
there was a debt of ^500. The panic of 1857 had
left the city flat, financially. The creditors
wanted their money. To raise it from the people
of Omaha was an impossibility. The Quarterly
Conference requested the pastor to go East and try

178 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and raise the amount needed. I went back to my
old Conference in Indiana, and in a few weeks
returned with money enough to liquidate the debt.
The official Board was happy, and the whole
Church rejoiced. The Conference year closed
under favorable auspices. The society, though
small, was in a healthy condition, and was entirely
free from debt.

The Kansas and Nebraska Conference met
that year — March 16, 1860 — in Leavenworth,
Kansas. There were no railroads, and travel on
the Missouri River at that season of the year was
very uncertain. So we took it the old-fashioned
way, and w^ent on horseback. The distance we
had to travel in order to reach the seat of the
Conference was about two hundred miles. We
were one week going and one week returning,
and at the Conference a week, being absent just
three weeks.

On our way down Ave stopped over night at
Falls City, near the Kansas line. This city was
then two years old, and had about a dozen houses.
We were kindly entertained during the night at
the residence of Brother and Sister Miller. After-
wards, while traveling the Nebraska City District,
I was often hospitably entertained by this kind
family.

During the Kansas troubles Falls City was
one of the stations of the ^^underground railway''

OMAHA. 179

of old John Brown. The mettle of which the old
hero was made was shown in an incident which
took place on one of his last tri^^s from Kansas
with his "dusky train/' Having reached this
station with his refugees, he was overtaken by a
band of South Carolina Rangers, who proposed to
carry their chattels back *' to the galling serfdom
of the sunny South.'' But the proud Southerners
had mistaken the strength of their foe. Brown,
with his men, quietly surrounded them, and com-
pelled them by superior force to surrender; then
stepping to the front, he gave them a scathing re-
buke for the profanity they had heaped upon the
"colored folks." He ordered the rangers to kneel
down. They obeyed, and repeated after him the
Lord's Prayer. Then, taking from them their
horses and arms, he sent them back on foot from
whence they came, while he and his freed slaves
proceeded on their way rejoicing.

At the Leavenworth Conference a resolution
was passed requesting the General Conference,
which met the following May, to divide the Con-
ference. That request was acceded to, and the
Conference was divided in May, 1860. The
Kansas Conference included the Territory of
Kansas, and the Nebraska Conference the Terri-
tory of Nebraska.

On the 19th of March, after a harmonious sit-
ting, the Kansas and Nebraska Conference closed

180 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

its fifth session. And as that beautiful and touch-
ing hymn of Charles Wesley rolled up from a
crowded audience, the hearts of all present were
filled with solemnity and deep emotion —

" And let our bodies part —
To different climes repair."

That hymn was made doubly impressive from
the fact that we believed the General Conference
would accede to our wishes and divide the Con-
ference, and that in all probability we would
never be permitted to meet many of our brethren
again until we hailed them in the skies. With
anxiety we w^aited to hear the appointments read.

I quote the following from a letter I wrote to
the Western Christian Advocate at the close of
this Conference:

'^Having received our appointments, we took
each other by the hand, gave the parting good-
bye, and hurried aAvay to our respective fields of
labor. In looking over the history of the Kan-
sas and Nebraska Conference we can but exclaim,
^What hath God wrought!' The little handful
who, five years ago, raised the standard of the
cross in these Territories, has swelled to a mighty
army. And to-day is heard the clarion voice of
the faithful itinerant, rousing the soldiers of Christ
to arms, and calling for volunteers for Jesus, in
almost every settlement of these Territories, and
throughout the valleys and peaks of the Rocky

181
OMAHA.

Mountaius, from the base even to the very sum-

"" We returned to Omaha. Our second year
.vas a pleasant one, even more so than the firs •
During the ^vinter a gracious revival took place
and some fifty souls were converted We closed
our second year with a larger membership, and
much stronger in every respect than when we
took the charge. The pastoral l^-^^ -"^s then
only two years, and we knew the b.shop would
assign us to a new field of labor.

182 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XIII.

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE.

Members — Statistics — " Crowned Ones " — Martyr Spirit
Still in the Church — Nebraska City District in
1861 — A Fearful Ride in the Cold — Pop-gun
Elder — S. P. Majors — Bellevue Conference — Bishop
Simpson — Crossing the Platte in a Skiff — Laura
Beatty — An Awful Tragedy — A Death-bed Re-
pentance.

THE first session of the Nebraska Annual Con-
ference was held in Nebraska City, beginning
April 4, 1861. Bishop Thomas A. Morris pre-
sided.

The following persons were members : Isaac
Burns, H. Burch, H. T. Davis, J. T. Cannon,
Wm. M. Smith, J. W. Taylor, Martin Prichard,
T. Munhall, Philo Gorton, Jerome Spillman, Z.
B. Turman, and J. L. Fort. L. W. Smith and
David Hart were admitted into full connection,
making in all fourteen members.

The following are the statistics :

Number of districts, 2

Number of appointments, 21

Number of members, 948

We have seen that little Conference of fourteen
members grow into three Annual Conferences,

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 183

tliirteeu districts, three hundred and fifty-four ap-
pointments, and thirty-one thousand two hundred
and twelve members. " The little handful has
become a thousand, and the small one a strong
nation." Of the fourteen charter members of the
Nebraska Conference, four have '' ceased to work
and live."

Of the "crowned ones" of that noble, he-
roic, and God-honored band, the first was Isaac
Burns. Brother Burns was a simple-minded, con-
scientious, sweet-spirited, deeply pious man. A
very common remark of his was, "It is a
nice thing to be a Christian." One always
felt benefited spiritually by being in his com-
pany. He had an easy way of giving to every
one a spiritual uplift. Not long before he died,
while on his way to Conference he j^reached a
sermon in Nebraska City which made a most pro-
found impression on all who heard it. His text
was taken from the 73d Psalm and 24th verse:
" Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and aft-
erward receive me to glory." He began by say-
ing: " AVhatever the sermon may be, one thing
is certain, I have the prettiest text in the Bible."
It was a sermon full of the marrow of the gos-
pel, as all his sermons were. The fragrance of
that one sermon has come down through the
years, and its rich aroma still lingers in the
hearts of some who heard it.

184 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Martin Prichard was the second who received
an honorable discharge from the Master. On the
24th of March, 1877, he heard the welcome
words, " It is enough, come up higher/^ Among
those who took a most active part in laying the
foundations of our Zion in the eastern part of Ne-
braska, was Brother Prichard. In Cass, Otoe,
Nemaha, Richardson, and Pawnee Counties, as
pastor, and as presiding elder of the Lincoln and
Nebraska City Districts, he did a work for God
and the Church, the grand results of which will
only be known in the great day of eternity.

Next to follow was David Hart. He was
an Englishman by birth, a Methodist through
and through, consecrated wholly to God ; and his
death, as his life had been, was a triumph. On
the 14th of January, 1878, in Colorado, where
he had gone for his health, the chariot came
from the skies to meet him, and he passed tri-
umphantly home.

The fourth of this true and tried band was
J. T. Cannon. July 24, 1883, Brother Cannon,
from his home in Cass County, went up to join
his comrades in the skies. He was a Methodist
preacher of the olden type, zealous, devoted and
true. Many and many a time I was hospitably
entertained by him and his noble wife, at their
home on their farm in Cass County. Their
house was the home of the Methodist itinerant.

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 185

The gap made by the death of these was filled
by others who proved themselves just as true as
their predecessors. " The workmeu die, but the
work goes ou." Many of these have fallen, and
they in turn have been succeeded by others.

Aside from the charter members of the Con-
ference, others, who joined later, have also been
"crowned.'^ The following are their names:
J. J. Roberts, Thomas Alexander, D. J. Ward,
T. A. Hull, A. J. Combs, W. B. Slaughter,
C. ^Y, Giddings, A. L. Goss, A. G. AVhite, H.
W. AVarner, Samuel Wood, AV. D. Gage, W. E.
Davis, T. S. Goss, S. P. Yandoozer, William
Peck, and Thomas B. Lemon. Mr. Wesley said:
" Our people die well." The above long list
from the roll of the Nebraska Conference was not
an exception. These brave men fell, all covered
with glory. ^' Let me die the death of the right-
eous, and let my last end be like theirs.'^ They
fell, " as the plumed warrior on the field of bat-
tle, with the ensigns of victory waving all around
him.'' Noble dead! Peace to their ashes.

" Servants of God, well done !
Your glorious warfare 's past ;
The battle's fought, the race is won,
And ye are crowned at last."

Of the ten remaining charter members of the

Nebraska Conference, two have fallen away; eight

remain to till the Master's vineyard. Of these

16

186 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

eiglit, only hvo are "effective/' — Hyram Burch
aud the writer. Brother Burch is strong and
vigorous. His name is familiar throughout the
State. He has been an untiring worker for God.
Modest and retiring in disposition, he has never
pushed himself to the front. When the final day
of reckoning comes, and every man shall stand
upon his own merits, Brother Burch will occupy
a higher position, and on his brow, methinks,
w^ill rest a brighter crown, than those of some
who have occupied more prominent positions in
the Church militant.

The other six, J. L. Fort, J. W. Taylor, L. W.
Smith, Z. B. Turman, W. M. Smith, and P. Gor-
ton, are on the superannuated list, and work as
they are able. Their heads are silvered with the
frosts of many winters, but the fire of youth
burns in their hearts. They have, like the ven-
erable patriarch Abraham, reached " a good, old
age, full of years,'' and will soon be " gathered
to their people."

Three were admitted on trial at the first Ne-
braska Conference, and four, who had been re-
ceived on trial by the Kansas and Nebraska Con-
ference the year previous, were advanced to the
second class, making in all seven. Among the
seven probationers of that memorable little con-
ference was Rev. T. B. Lemons Dr. Lemon's
name is familiar in almost every household of the

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 187

State. For twenty-five years he was one of the
leaders of the hosts of our Zion on the frontier.
Every position that he was called to fill by the
Church, whether as pastor, presiding elder, super-
intendent of missions, or agent of a great uni-
versity, was filled with credit to himself and
honor to the Church. On Wednesday, February
19, 1890, at the ripe age of seventy-one, at his home
in Omaha, he was called from the Church militant
to the Church triumphant in heaven. His praise
is in all the Churches.

Of those seven probationers, three only re-
main : J. W. Ailing, now of the Rock River Con-
ference; Wm. A. Amsbury is presiding elder in
the AVest Nebraska Conference, and is doing a
grand work in laying deep and broad the founda-
tions of our Church ; and Dr. J. B. Maxfield is
presiding elder in the North Nebraska Confer-
ence, and is establishing our Church in that part
of the State.

We need not go back to the earlier history
of the Church to find heroes and heroines. They
are in the Church to-day. The days of self-
sacrifice for the Master's cause have not passed.
The martyr-spirit is still in the Church.

From the day when Christ said to my happy
soul, " Thy sins, which are many, are forgiven,''
I have been very deeply interested in the cause
of missions. I read years ago, with delight, of

188 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

Cox, and Judson, and Morrison, and, later, of
Coan at Hawaii, and Taylor in India and Africa ;
and as I read of their noble deeds and daring,
there came to my heart a thrill of inspiration.
Often since then have I been inspired anew as
I have read of the missionaries who have bid
adieu to friends, loved ones, and their native
land, and have gone to foreign shores to pro-
claim the gospel to the heathen, and spend the
balance of their lives in a land of strangers. All
honor to these brave men and women ! A rich
reward awaits them in the skies. But a nobler
band of heroes and heroines never graced this
planet than the men and women who are laying
the foundations of our Church on the frontier in
the West. Many of them have lived, and are
to-day living, on a mere pittance — hardly enough
to keep soul and body together. My heart has
bled a thousand times for these noble men and
their heaven-honored families. No brighter gems
will flash from the coronets of the redeemed than
will blaze forever from the crowns of many who
have spent their lives on the frontier, laying the
foundations of the Church. All hail, blessed
workmen of the Master !

The following statistics tell their own story :
In 1861 the average amount received from each
preacher in the Nebraska Conference was $228.
The largest salary received was $495, and the

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 189

smallest $28. Think of a pastor and his wife
living a whole year on a salary of §28 ! In 1887
there were seven preachers in Nebraska who re-
ceived an av^erage of only $44.80 each for the
yearns work. On this small stipend these brave
men stood at the post of duty, counting not their
lives dear unto themselves for the Master's cause.
Talk about moral heroes ! You do not have to
go to the annals of the past, nor to heathen
shores to find them. They are here right among
us, in the bounds of our own Conferences. These
persons are making a record for eternity of which
they will be proud Avhen the world is on fire.

At the first Nebraska Conference held in Ne-
braska City, beginning April 4, 1861, I was ap-
pointed presiding elder of the Nebraska City
District. My district comprised all the territory
south of the Platte River. In this territory is
now the Nebraska Conference, and part of the
West Nebraska Conference.

The following is a list of the appointments :

Omaha District.

William M. Smith, Presiding Elder.

Omaha, To be supplied.

Bellevue, Martin Pricbard.

Elkborn, J. Ailing,

Platte Valley, T. Hoagland.

Calboun, David Hart.

Tekamab, Wm. A. Amsbury.

190 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Dakota, Z. B. Turman.

Fort Kearney, T. ]Munhall.

Nebraska City District.

H. T. Davis, Presiding Elder.

Nebraska City, T. B. Lemon

Wyoming, J. T. Cannon.

Rock Bliitr, Philo Gorton.

Plattsmouth and Oreapolis, . . J. .Spilman,

Glendale, • • • -^ L. W. Smitli.

-D^o^^ ;^^ / Joel Mason,

^^'^t^^^^' tj. B. Maxtidd.

Tecumseh, William H. Kendal.

Table Pock, Isaac Burns.

Falls City, J. W. Taylor.

Brownville, H. Burch.

Peru, J. L. Fort.

This ^Yas before the days of railroads in Ne-
braska, and I traveled the district with my own
conveyance, which consisted of a bronco pony
and a light bnggy. I did not allow the weather
to interfere with my work. My motto was,
^' Never miss an appointment.'' I went, rain
or shine, cold or hot. Many and many a time
I was drenched through and through with the
rain, and many times almost frozen to death. In
the winter of 1862, I left home for a two weeks'
tour, went to Falls City, and held quarterly meet-
ing, and from thence went to Table Rock, and
held another. After services Sabbath evening, I
said to my good host and hostess, Brother and
Sister Griffin : *^ I should like very much to leave

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 101

for home early to-morrow morning.'^ I bad
fifty miles to travel, and it was necessary for
me to get an early start. They were up bright
and early, and had breakfast before daybreak.
At dawn of day I was ready to leave for home.
The weather was bitter cold ; tlie sun rose bright
and clear, and there were two sun-dogs as bright
almost as the sun himself. My course was north-
east. Soon after starting, a heavy wind arose
and blew a stiff gale the whole, livelong day.
This wind I had to face. I was dressed warmly ;
I had on three coats, an undercoat, a heavy over-
coat, and over this an oil-cloth coat to keep the
wind from penetrating the other clothing. I had
not gone many miles before I was chilled through
and through. A person may be ever so warmly
clothed on these prairies, so that the wind can not
possibly penetrate the clothing, yet in breathing
the cold air he soon becomes chilled, and if he
did not exercise he would freeze to death. After
leaving Table Rock I had a stretch of some
thirty-five miles to go over a bleak prairie with-
out a single house. When I became chilled I
got out of the buggy and walked, or rather ran,
until warmed up; then I rode and ran alternately
the whole day. Many times during the day I
greatly feared I should not be able to make my
home, and must succumb to the cold. About
four o'clock in the afternoon I came to a little

192 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

frame house on Spring Creek, some fifteen miles
from home. Here I stopped, thinking I would
remain over night if I could obtain accommoda-
tions, for I felt it was extremely hazardous to
proceed further. The little shanty was not
plastered. Nothing but thin clapboards pro-
tected the inmates from the fierce December
winds. Around a cook-stove a mother with
half a dozen children stood shivering with the
cold, trying in vain to keep warm. My teeth
chattered, and I shook with the cold more vio-
lently, it seemed, than any one ever did with the
old-fashioned ague. Really it seemed colder in
that house than on the open prairie. I said to
myself: " I can ^t stay here. This is worse than
out-doors.^' I went out, got into my buggy,
drove on, and at eight o'clock, almost frozen and
completely exhausted, reached home. I felt the
efl:ects of that fearful day's ride for many years.

I was only twenty-eight years old when ap-
pointed presiding elder of the Nebraska City
District, and, of course, looked quite youthful.
Accustomed to associate with the eldership gray
hairs and corpulency, neither of which I pos-
sessed, my first round on the district struck the
people with great surprise, and caused many
quaint comments. The first quarterly meeting
was held in Nemaha City, on the Brown-
ville Circuit. When I entered the school-house

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 193

with Brother Burch, tlie pastor, at two o'clock,
Saturday afternoou, and took my seat at the
desk, a sister whispered to a friend and said:
^'It is too bad the presiding elder did not come
himself. He has sent a mere boy to take his
place." Similar remarks were made by many
during the first quarter about the boy presiding
elder.

On my way to this quarterly meeting I stopped
over night at Peru. Here for the first time I
met the Honorable S. P. Majors, and was kindly
entertained at his home; and ever afterward was
welcomed by him and his devoted wife to their
hospitalities. After introducing me to his wife,
his little son came into the room, and Brother
Majors introduced him, saying: "Johnny, this is
Brother Davis, our elder.'' Soon after. Brother
Majors went out to do his evening chores ;
Johnny followed, and as they walked together to
the barn, he said : " Pa, did you say that was the
elder ?"

" Yes," was the reply.

" Is that the kind of elder they make pop-
guns out of?" said Johnny.

The joke was too good for Brother Majors to

keep to himself. No man enjoyed a joke better

than he. After supper was over, and we were

all in the sitting-room together, he told us what

Johnny had said. Johnny ran out of the room,
17

194 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

ashamed and mortified, while the rest of us
laughed heartily. Ever afterwards when I met
Brother Majors in company, he hardly ever failed
to relate the incident, and Brother Majors and
his friends had many a hearty laugh at the ex-
pense of poor Johnny and myself.

Some time afterwards, on our way from the
Brownville Conference, in company with Bishop
Ames and a number of preachers, we all dined at
Brother Majors's. In the presence of Johnny
and myself, as usual. Brother Majors told the
story of the "popgun elder,'' and the good bishop
laughed until it seemed his great fat sides must
certainly be sore. Johnny grew up to manhood,
and on January 21, 1882, I united him in mar-
riage to Miss Nettie J. Mutz, a most estimable
Christian young lady, whom I had known from
childhood.

At Johnny's home, in the northern part of
the State, July 13, 1886, Brother Majors passed
peacefully away to his home in the skies. His
remains Avere brought to Peru for interment,
and on the twenty-ninth day of April, 1886, I
preached his funeral sermon to a large congre-
gation of relatives and friends, from Genesis
XXV, 8. He occupied prominent positions of
trust, both in the State and the Church. He pre-
sided over the State Convention which framed
the first constitution of Nebraska, and was a lay

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 195

delegate from the Nebraska Conference to the
General Conference of 1872. He honored every
position he was called to occupy. His wise and
safe counsels in the State, the Church, and the
family still live. The fragrance of his life is
with us to-day, and its rich aroma will remain
through all time.

When I took the district, in 1861, the popu-
lation was sparse and the people poor. They
had come from the Eastern and Middle States
to the West to procure for themselves homes.
There were only three or four places on the dis-
trict where the people had coffee, tea, or sugar. As
a substitute for coffee they used burnt corn, rye,
or wheat, and many used what was called " Cof-
fee Essence'' — a compound of various ingredients.
The principal article for sweetening w^as " sor-
ghum molasses.'' Many of these kind-hearted
people, who at that time had hardly enough to
keep soul and body together, have, to-day, large
farms, elegant homes, and are among the Avealthi-
est citizens of the State. They have passed from
poverty to affluence, and the distance from the
one to the other has seemed very short.

The Conference of 1862 was held at Belle vue.
Bishop Simpson presided. He and his wife
came by stage from St. Joe, Mo., and in conse-
quence of the high water and the ice in the Platte
River were delayed a day. They crossed the

196 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

turbid, swift-flowing Platte in a skiffs, and, the
river being full of ice, the passage was a most
dangerous one. One man, with a pole in hand,
kept the rushing ice from capsizing the boat,
while another rowed ; and after a most perilous
passage, they reached the northern bank of the
stream. Stepping on shore, the party breathed
easy after a half-hour's painful suspense. Then
on a hay-rack the bishop and his good wife rode
to Bellevue, a distance of some five miles, reach-
ing the Conference in time for the opening serv-
ices Friday morning.

In 1864 the General Conference met in Phila-
delphia. During the session Bishop Simpson gave
the Conference a reception at his own home. I
had the privilege and honor of attending that
reception. In conversation with Mrs. Simpson on
the occasion, she said : '^ Our trip from St. Joe,
Missouri, to Bellevue is one of the most inter-
esting chapters in our lives.''

The bishop was just recovering from his long
illness, and was quite feeble in body. We greatly
feared he would not be able to preach for us on
Sabbath. Saturday afternoon I said to him:
" Bishop, we expect you to preach for us to-mor-
row morning." He gave us a significant look,
and smilingly said : " Yes, I will give you a little
Presbyterian sermon." As we listened to his

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 197

thrilling sermon next day, we said : " If that is a
little Presbyterian sermon, what must a big one
be?" His graphic description of the '^seven
stars and the seven golden candlesticks '' was
wonderful. And then, as he said in his perora-
tion, ^' Christ is still walking in the midst of the
Churches, holding in his right hand the seven
stars,^' the people were thrilled as with an electric
shock, and shouted all over the house, ^' Glory !
Glory V The memory of that precious hour
lingers with the writer to-day.

The bishop Avas entertained by Rev. Wm.
Hamilton, pastor of the Presbyterian Church.
Brother Hamilton was sent out in an early day
by the Presbyterian Board of Missions as mis-
sionary to the Indians, and in 1855 he organized
the first Presbyterian Church in Bellevue. He
Avas greatly delighted with the bishop and the
proceedings of the Conference. He had never
attended a Methodist Conference before in his
life, and seemed much surprised and pleased, and
said to me at the close of the Conference : *^ Do
you always have such precious seasons at your
Conferences?'' My reply Avas: ''Oar Confer-
ences are always good, and often seasons of re-
freshing from the presence of the Lord.''

In 1862, I had the great privilege of witness-
ing another most triumphant departure from

198 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

earth. I stood for a little while in the ante-
chamber of the skies. The poet has truthfully
said :

"The chamber wliere the good man meets his fate
Is prized above tlie common walks of hfe,
Quite on the verge of heaven."

On Saturday afternoon I went out to hold
quarterly meeting at Union, an appointment
on the Mount Pleasant Circuit. I reached
Brother Beatty's, where the meeting was to be
held, at two o'clock. Before entering the house
a friend said to me : ^' Laura Beatty is lying very
low with fever, and wishes to see you as soon as
possible." She was at her sister's, about two
miles away. I said to my friend : " I will go and
see her as soon as the afternoon services are
over." The services ended, I hurried over to
where she was, and on entering the room felt, it
seemed, as Jacob did at Bethel when he said :
'' Surely the Lord is in this place." A few weeks
before death she had a remarkable dream. She
dreamed that her sainted mother came to her, led
her out into the grove near by, and talked with
her for some time ; and as the heavenly visitant
was about to leave, said, " Laura, you will come
to me soon," then disappeared. Laura told
her dream to friends, and remarked : ^^ I shall
live but a little while." She was just blooming
into womanhood when stricken down with that

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 199

fatal disease, typhoid fever. I entered the rooQi.
On her face rested a sweet, heavenly smile. The
room was pervaded with a most hallowed atmos-
phere. The fragrance of the skies had been
wafted to that humble prairie home ; it was good to
be there. She made every one in the room promise
to meet her in heaven ; then she sent for neigh-
bors and friends, that she might talk with them
touching their souPs salvation. She spoke of the
beauties and glories of heaven, glimpses of which
she had seen. Just before her happy spirit took
its upward and eternal flight, she exclaimed in
an ecstasy of joy : "The angels are coming;
do n't you see them? O how beautiful ! There is
mother with them! And there is Jesus, my
Savior'' And shortly after, her enraptured
spirit joined that heavenly throng. . How these
wonderful scenes speak in language that can not
be misunderstood, of heaven, the eternal "home
of the souir'

In the winter of 186 2, I held quarterly meet-
ing at the house of Brother Goolsby, on " The
Muddy," a small stream some five miles north of
Falls City. On Sunday morning a snow-storm
set in. It snowed all day and all night, and on
Monday morning the snow was drifted in piles
from two to twenty feet deep. The roads were
completely blockaded, rendering travel impossible,
and I was compelled to remain for several days.

200 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

While here I preached every night to two families.
Brother Goolsby made me a '^jumper/' and
then, twisting hemp into ropes, he made me a
rope harness. On Friday morning I ventured to
start to my quarterly meeting, which was to be
held at Pawnee City. My pony with the hemp
harness was hitched to the quaint sleigh. I got
in and started, and after two days of hard travel
through heavy drifts of snow and the cold, pierc-
ing wind, filled with frost, I reached my appoint-
ment late Saturday night. After conducting the
quarterly meeting I traveled over the bleak
prairie to Nebraska City, my home. Though the
weather was fearfully cold and stormy, every en-
gagement was met, and I have reason to believe
that the meetings were seasons of great profit
to all.

After serving four years on the district, I was
appointed, in 1865, to the Nebraska City Station.
Here we remained three years, as long as the rule
of the Churcli allowed. These years were passed
pleasantly, and we trust profitably to the Church.
During my first year as pastor of this station, a
most unpleasant affair took place. One of the
most atrocioiis and cold-blooded crimes in the
annals of the State was committed about five miles
southwest of the city. William Hamilton, a boy
eleven years old, was herding cattle for his father,
some two miles from home. Failing to return as

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 201

usual in the evening, diligent search was made,
and his body was found in the edge of a pool of
water, in a stooping posture, his feet buried in
the mud. He had been shot three times,— in the
corner of his right eye, once in the ear, and again
under the arm. A coroner's jury decided that he
came to his death by pistol-balls supposed to have
been fired by a man named Cash. After commit-
ting the horrible deed, Cash (or Deiricks, as his
proper name was) rode into the city and sold the
cattle, claiming that he had a large herd. He re-
ceived a small sum down, the balance was to be
received on delivery of the cattle next day. Be-
coming alarmed, he immediately left the city,
crossing the Missouri Eiver into Iowa. The news
of the awful tragedy reached the city, and the
most intense excitement prevailed. About one
hundred men started in pursuit of the murderer.
He was captured the next morning at Plum Hol-
low, Iowa, and on the 16th of August brought
back to the city. At ten o'clock, an immense
crowd of citizens assembled in the public park,
just in front of the parsonage. Addresses were
made by several prominent citizens. A president
and secretary were appointed, a jury of the oldest
and best citizens impaneled, and counsel for the
prisoner employed. A just trial was given the
prisoner. Seven witnesses were examined, and at
two o'clock in the afternoon the case was submitted

202 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

to the jury. The prisoner was lodged in the
county jaiL

A few moments afterwards a messenger came
to the parsonage and said : '' The prisoner desires
to see the Methodist preacher/' I immediately
repaired to the jail, in the basement of the court-
house, and was conducted to the door of the cell.
The bolt was turned, the door opened, and I en-
tered. The door was quickly closed and the bolt
turned on us. I was left with the prisoner, and
remained with him to the last. Mr. Dan Laur,
the secretary of the trial, "was also in the cell.
Soon after entering the cell a citizen beckoned
me to the window, and in a whisper said ; " The
jury have found Cash guilty of murder in the first
degree, and recommend that he be hanged; but it
will probably not be done before to-morrow." I
at once communicated the fact to the poor man.
He was very much afflicted, and wept freely. I
did all I could to get him to confess the crime,
but in vain. He persisted to the last in declaring
that the witnesses had not examined thoroughly
the holes in the boy's body, if they had he de-
clared, "they would have been convinced they
were made by the turtles, and not by bullets from
a pistol."

I prayed with him, and he professed to feel
much better. About four o'clock I was called again
to the cell-window by a citizen, who said : " The

FIRST WORK IN NEBRASKA. 203

people are terribly excited, and are becoming
more so every moment. Many want to hang Cash
immediately/' I told the prisoner of the excited
condition of the people on the outside, and said
to him : ^' If you have any requests to make be-
fore death, make them at once, for you are liable
to be hanged at any moment/' A few moments
later, Mr. Davenport whispered to me through
the iron grate: '^They have determined to hang
Cash at six o'clock.'' I told the prisoner the de-
cision of the people. He then made his will. I
prayed with him a number of times, and he said
he believed he was prepared to meet God. At
precisely six o'clock the cell-door opened, and he
w^as led to the place of execution. As soon as the
door opened, he seized me by the arm and held
on with a death-grip until we reached the top of
the scaffold. It seemed as though his fingers
would bury themselves in the flesh- of my arm.
Never did any one cling to me as that poor man
did to the very last. I can almost feel the grip
of his hands on my arm now, although more than
twenty-five years have passed since that fearful
day. Reaching the scaffold, the rope was adjusted
to his neck. I offered a prayer, then^shook hands
Avith him, bade him good-bye, and descended.
The drop fell, and Cash was no more of earth.

AVas he converted and prepared for heaven?
I hope he was. I earnestly prayed that he might

204 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

be. But not for a thousand worlds would I have
my salvation suspended on such a slender thread.
I have been utterly disgusted, time and again, with
the sensational reports, in the secular press, of
the conversions of murderers just before being
launched from the gallows into eternity. I do
not doubt but that some may have been converted,
but I greatly fear their number is very small. I
would not for the world sit in judgment upou any
human soul. God alone is the judge, and I
know the Judge of all the earth will do right. I
greatly fear Cash was not converted, and my fears
are grounded on the following facts :

First. He did not manifest ^' godly sorrow '^
for sin. This is absolutely necessary in order to
a genuine penitent. A man may sorrow and not
repent; he may sorrow because he is found out.
That is not " godly sorrow.'' Deep, heart-felt
sorrow for having sinned against God and high
heaven, is the first element in genuine repentance.
Second. He did not manifest the fruit of a genu-
ine convert. A converted man has the Spirit of
God; and ^' the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and
peace.'' These he did not show. Nor, lastly, did
he confess his crime. A friend of mine, living
near Ashland, related to me the following some
years ago. The circumstance came under his own
observation. Several men were buried in a coal-
mine in Pennsylvania. All were Christians but

FIRST NEBRASKA CONFERENCE. 205

one, and he was a very profane man. The pas-
sage-way was entirely closed, and they knew it
would be many days before they could be rescued,
if rescued at all. All felt prepared to die except
the unconverted man, and he requested the others
to pray for him. They did so, and he professed
to be converted. After eighteen days they were
rescued from wdiat they all supposed was to be their
living tomb. They were barely alive when
taken out. By superior medical skill and kind
nursing they recovered. No sooner was the man
who had professed conversion in the mine re-
stored fully to health than he was just as pro-
fane as he had ever been. "Was his conversion in
the mine genuine?

The late Rev. J. J. Roberts, of th^ Nebraska
Conference, once said to the writer in substance,
in a private conversation, touchiug death-bed re-
pentances : " I have known a number during my
ministry who, when very sick and expecting to
die, sought, and professed to obtain, religion.
They afterwards recovered, and in every case
were, after recovery, just as wicked as ever.^'
Was their repentance sincere and their con-
version genuine ? It is, to say the least, very
questionable. Few, he thought, who live under
the light of the gospel were ever converted on a
death-bed. He who trusts his salvation to a
death-bed repentance, runs a risk that no wise
or sane man will run.

206 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

CHAPTER XIV.

CIVIIy WAR INCIDENTS.

The Dark Cloud — The Rainbow of Promise — National
Prosperity — " Jayhawkers " — Ordered to Halt —
Depredations — Camp-meeting near Falls City —
Bloody Fray — Dave Stephenson.

THE spring of 1861 was gloomy in the ex-
treme. The dark storm-cloud of civil war
was gathering. That portentous cloud grew
darker and more dense with fearful rapidity, and
soon covered the whole Nation with its sable
mantle. Then the storm of fratricidal strife
broke with unrelenting fury upon the land. For
four long years brother fought brother, until the
whole Nation was crimsoned with the best blood
of the American people. In every household
there was mourning; on every face rested the
gloom of sadness. Of all wars, the one most to
be deplored is civil war.

Many in Missouri, who sympathized with the
Rebellion, fled from the State. Nebraska City
was the rendezvous for these during the war.
Here they congregated in great numbers. The
Union men in the city were very strong and out-

CIVIL WAR INCIDENTS. 207

spoken, and brave as they were strong. Many
of the rebels had lost property in Missouri, and
their friends were in the rebel army, and they,
of course, were very sensitive on the war ques-
tion. On the other hand, the Union men had
friends in the Union army, and they were in-
censed at the insult given the Stars and Stripes;
and they, too, were sensitive. They saw the
best Government on which the sun ever shone
menaced with destruction. They saw the might-
iest Nation on this planet — a Nation whose flag
was respected on every sea and in every land — in
danger of being rent asunder, and blotted from
existence. And as they saw all this, it was not
at all strange that their hearts were stirred to
their inmost depths. At times matters grew fear-
fully hot. We knew not what the final result
would be. No one could predict with certainty
the outcome. May such times never again occur !
May such scenes never again be witnessed ! May
such a cloud never again darken our National
horizon ! How glad we were when the rainbow
of promise arched our National firmament after
the fearful storm, and how our hearts thrilled
with delight when the snow-white dove Avas seen
bearing the olive-branch of peace in her bill!

The storm passed. The moral atmosphere of
the Nation was purified. The greatest evil of the
age — " the sum of all villainies ^' — was wiped out.

208 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Emerging from the dire conflict, the Nation en-
tered upon a career of prosperity unparalleled in
history. The wealth of America is phenomenal.
Onr Nation is the youngest Nation on the globe,
and yet it is one of the largest and most wealthy.
And what is more significant still, the most of
this wealth has been accumulated since the Civil
War closed. Other nations have been centuries
amassing their wealth ; the greater part of the
wealth of the United States is the product of
about twenty-five years.

During the war, there were bands of men
who went under the name of "Jay-hawkers."
They first made their appearance in 1862.
Sometimes they claimed to be "Unionists;"
at other times, "Confederates." They sailed
under the flag that best suited their own con-
venience. They were more loyal to them-
selves than to either party. They took advan-
tage of the war to fill their coffers by plunder
and robbery. Some of these bands of freeboot-
ers were, however, strong in their allegiance to
their party. They were quite numerous in the
southeastern part of the State. In traveling
through my district I often met them. Tbey
knew me, and I generally knew them. They
very frequently attended my meetings. They
never interfered with me but once, and that was
by mistake. Midway between Peru and Ne-

CIVIL WAR INCIDENTS. 209

braska City, as I rode leisurely along the road,
one beautiful Monday afternoon, two of them
came dashing up behind me. They were armed
to the teeth with knives and revolvers, and their
long, uncombed hair hung in mats over their
shoulders. They were not the most prepossessing
and inviting men I had ever seen, by any means.
On reaching the buggy, they parted. One rode up
to my right, and the other to my left. The one
on my left drew a large navy revolver, and cried
out, *^Halt!" I reined in my horse, and stopped.
The other one recognized me, and immediately
said to his comrade : " Hello, Bill, this is Elder
Davis V They turned, put spurs to their horses,
and were soon out of sight; while I passed on,
unharmed, to my home. They entered a house
near Peru. The husband and father was in the
army. The mother and daughters were at home,
alone. The Jay-hawkers demanded of the woman
her money. She refused to tell them where it
was. In the house was an old-fashioned fire-
place, and, as the weather was cold, there was a
good fire. The desperadoes drew out a large bed
of coals, ordered the mother to take off her shoes
and stockings; then, setting her in a chair, placed
her bare feet on the burning coals of fire, and told
her they would release her when she told them
where her money was. Of course she did not re-
main long in that position. The robbers got
18

210 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

what they went for — all the money the family
had. This is only a sample of their mode of
operations.

We were holding a camp-meeting near Falls
City, in 1862. At this meeting were a number
of our " boys in blue." With many of them I
was intimately acquainted. Brave, noble boys
they were — loyal to the core, and true to the *^ old
flag." Saturday night a number of rebel " Jay-
hawkers" from Missouri came over. We knew
they Avere present, and greatly feared the conse-
quences. We all felt certain there would be
trouble. " Our boys " were not in a mood to hear
the slightest insinuation against the Government
in its efforts to put down the Rebellioa. They
were ready at a moment to resent any word or
act not perfectly loyal. Sunday evening, about
sundown, as I stood near the stand, I noticed a
large crowd at the upper end of the ground. A
moment afterwards, a woman came rushing down
towards the pulpit, intensely excited, and ex-
claimed : ^^ Elder, elder, go up there quick ! They
are killing our boys!" I ran up; but before
reaching the spot the crowd had dispersed. Poor
Dave Stephenson, however, had received a fear-
ful stab in the side from one of the rebels. We
carried him down to his father's tent, arranged a
bed in a wagon-box, and made him as comfort-
able as possible. Here he lay, suffering great

CIVIL WAR INCIDENTS. 211

agouy, all night long. All thought the wound
would prove fatal ; but a kind Providence or-
dered it otherwise, and he recovered. The whole
camp-ground was in a perfect ferment of excite-
ment. Soon, however, the excitement subsided,
the people assembled at the stand, the usual services
were held, God owned and blessed the Word, and
souls were saved. Many earnest prayers went
up for ^^ Dave's '^ recovery. These prayers were
answered. ^' Dave '^ has since held responsible
positions of trust in the State, at one time filling
the position of surveyor-general. His father and
mother were devoted Christians, ardently attached
to the Church, and they did much for God and
our Zion in that early day.

The Civil War revealed the true character of
many men, and many supposed good men were
found to be, when opportunity offered, as vile as
the vilest.

212 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XV.

LINCOLN.

Location — Salt Basins — First Settlers — Indians — First
Sermon in the County — Elder Young — Lancaster —
A^isit to the New Town — Act Providing for the
Change of the Capital — Lot-sales — First Legisla-
ture IN the New Capital— First Methodist Episco-
pal Church — Other Churches.

IN the present chapter I wish to sketch the his-
tory of Lincoln, giving a brief outline of its
rise, growth, and prosperity.

Lincoln is the county-seat of Lancaster County,
and the capital of the State of Nebraska; it is
fifty miles west of the Missouri River, and stands
on the banks of Salt Creek. The beautiful capitol
crowns the highest elevation of the plateau on
Avhich the city stands. A circle of low hills, a
few miles away, surrounds the city. The scenery
on every hand is the most charming. In full
view, to the Avest of the city, are the " Salt Basins."
On a bright summer day — and for these Nebraska
is noted — these basins resemble large bodies of
limpid water; they are, however, level surfaces
of compact earth, covered with a layer of '^saline

LINCOLN. 213

crystal, and intersected with tiny rivers of brine
flowing into the creek/' from which the creek
derives its name and character. They were dis-
covered in 1856, and their value was at once
re(!Ognized. Long before Lincoln was founded,
the early settlers came for many miles to these
basins, and made the salt necessary for their
yearly supply. The brine from the springs and
rivulets is very strong, and in a short time the
farmer, by boiling the brine, could make salt suf-
ficient to last during the year. When traveling
the Nebraska City District from 1861 to 1865, I
found that many of the settlers from Johnson,
Pawnee, Gage, and other counties, came here,
made and laid in their yearly supply of salt. In
no distant day these basins will, without doubt,
be a source of great revenue to the State.

In 1850, when passing over the Plains, we
crossed Salt Creek, eight miles south of Lincoln,
at a point now called Saltillo. Here we camped
during the night, little dreaming that near where
we werC;, in a few short years, would rise one of
the greatest cities of the West, and the capital
of one of the largest and richest States of our
Union. Six years later, the first settlement was
made in the county, a few miles further south, by
Mr. John D. Prey and his sons. I first met some
members of the family in 1861, at a quarterly
meeting held at the residence of James Eatherton.

214 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

Mrs. Prey was a devoted Christian, and a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Preys.
reached Salt Creek June 15, 1856. At that time
the land in the county was not surveyed; the
following year the land-office was established in
Nebraska City. The same year the county of
Lancaster was partly surveyed, and Mr. Prey and
his sons located their claims. For some time they
were the only people living anywhere near the
salt basins.

During the first summer all the settlers could
do was to break land ; as they came late in the
season, they were unable to raise any crops. In
1857 very little was raised; but in 1858 a large
crop was harvested; prosperity dawned upon the
settlers, and the future began to look bright and
hopeful.

In the early history of the county, when the
settlers numbered only eight or ten, the first In-
dian scare occurred. It was in 1857, Avhen a man
by the name of Davis settled near Saltillo. This
man had a vain and wicked desire to kill an Indian,
and it was not long until an opportunity of grati-
fying this unholy desire was given him. Without
provocation he deliberately shotdoAvn an innocent
Indian. The Indians were numerous, and when
they found that one of their number had been
killed in cold blood by a white man, they at once
went upon the war-path. Who could blame them '?

LINCOLN. 215

The white man was the aggressor. The settlers
were alarmed, and fled to Weeping Water Falls.
Here they remained for two weeks. The Indians,
however, soon qnieted down, and the settlers re-
turned to their claims.

In 1859 another Indian scare occurred. A
band of Cheyennes and Arapahoes came to the
salt-basins, evidently bent on mischief. Unex-
pectedly they reached the homestead of Mr. Prey
when the men folks were all away. Mrs. Prey,
her daughter Rebecca, twelve years old, and two
boys, aged eight and fifteen years, were alone.
When the Indians appeared, Rebecca Avas some
distance from the house, and the Indians were
about to seize and carry her away a captive ; but
their plans were frustrated by the courage of the
mother, and the timely arrival of the male mem-
bers of the family. They did but little damage
as they passed on to the north.

Five years afterwards, in 1864, another Indian
scare took place. The bloodthirsty Sioux were
on the war-path. They were coming from the
west, killing and plundering and laying waste
the country as they came, and the settlers of
Lancaster County fled in terror to the east. A
few of the men, however, determined to remain
until they should see the Indians approach.
Some days elapsed ; but the murderous Sioux
did not put in an appearance. Then these brave

216 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

men, eight in all, determined to go west until
they learned something definite Avitli regard to
the Red-skins. Mounted, and armed to the teeth
with rifles and revolvers, they started in pursuit
of the foe. The party was composed of Captain
W. T. Donivan, John S. Gregory, E. M. War-
ens, Richard Wallingford, James Morgan, John
P. Loder, Aaron Wood, and one other. With
most of them I was personally acquainted. They
pushed on to the west until they reached the val-
iey of the Blue, near where Milford now stands;
and as they were looking for the wily Sioux, they
saw a single Indian, peeping over the hill, some
distance to their rear. The lone Indian, looking
over the hill, boded no good to the whites. They
were fully convinced that he was a picket-guard,
and that near by, in all probability, there was a
whole tribe of warriors. They determined to
ride back, but had only started, when, from the
low ground, there suddenly rose up before them
several hundred well-mounted and well-armed
Indians. The Indians were right across their
path, and the savage Red-men began to bear
down upon the little band of whites. It was a
critical moment, and the cheeks of the brave
men for once were blanched. Death seemed in-
e salable. They determined to make a desperate
effort to escape, and, in the attempt, to sell their
lives as dear as possible. They strapped their

LINCOLN.

217

rifles to their shoulders, and, with drawn revolv-
ers, they started, determined to force a passage
through the line of well-armed savages or die in
the attempt. Just as they were starting, the In-
dians put up a white flag; and one of their num-
ber, throwing away his gun in token of friend-
ship, came forward to meet them, and as he came
up to them said: ''How? Me no Sioux; me
Pawnee. Me no fight white man." What a re-
lief it Avas to the Avhites ! It proved to be true ;
they were a band of Pawnee warriors, on the
war-path against the Sioux ; and when they first
saw the white men they supposed they were a
party of Sioux stragglers. The Pawnees passed
on after the Sioux, and the whites returned to
their homes, glad to let Indians fight Indians.

Among the first settlers who came after the
Prey family were W. T. Donivan, James Eather-
ton, John Cadraan, R. Wallingford, W. E. Keys,
E. Warens, J. A. Wallingford, and John S. Greg-
ory. John Dee came about the same time the
Preys did. As late as 1860-63 a buffalo might
occasionally have been seen, and over the prai-
ries wdiere Lincoln now stands herds of antelope
gamboled; coyotes were numerous, and their
shrill bark was often heard, especially during the
night.

In the history of Lincoln we find the follow-
ing about Mr. John S. Gregory: ''During the
19

218 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

winter of 1863 Mr. John S. Gregory, not having
any other business to attend to, gave attention to
destroying some of the numerous wolves which
then infested this region. He would insert a
few grains of strychnine into little balls of fat,
and then pass around a large circuit and drop
the balls into the snow. The wolves would fol-
low the trail, and snap up every ball. Every
wolf that swallowed a ball was dead in a short
time. He would then skin the animals, their
pelts being valuable at that time. The carcasses
he piled up in cords, north of Lincoln, to pre-
vent the poisoning of domestic animals by eating
the flesh. They were frozen stiff and stark, and
corded up like Avood. Toward spring Mr. Greg-
ory had a couple of cords of carcasses piled up at
one place. Then a lot of Pawnee Indians came
along, and stopped near the cords of wolf-car-
casses. Mr. Gregory, fearing they might eat the
wolves, rode over to warn them of the danger.
He found the squaws and papooses lugging the
wolf-carcasses into camp, and he at once expos-
tulated with them by signs, trying to make them
understand it Avas dangerous to eat the wolves.
The old chief thought he was demanding the re-
turn of the wolves because they Avere his prop-
erty, and, at the chief^s command, the squaws
and papooses lugged the carcasses back, and
piled them up again. They Avere not Avell

LINCOLN. 219

pleased at the prospect of losing a feast, and re*
turned the wolf-meat with long faces. Finally,
a member of the tribe, who could speak a little
English, came along, and Mr. Gregory explained
to him that he did not care for the wolf-carcasses,
but did not want the Indians to be poisoned.
This explanation was made to the Indians, who
set up a big guifaw, and the squaws at once be-
gan to gather up the wolf-carcasses and take them
to camp, laughing and indulging in expressions
of great satisfaction. They cooked up the last
one of the wolves, and had a great feast. Mr.
Gregory learned from the interpreter that the
Indians were well acquainted with the use of
strychnine in killing wolves, and were in the
habit of eating animals killed in this way. They
had no fear of the drug, and suffered no appar-
ent damage from eating the wolves.''

In the fall of 1859 the settlers met under the
shade of a large elm-tree, standing on the bank
of Salt Creek, near where the B. and M. round-
house now stands, to effect a county organiza-
tion. A committee was appointed to select a site
for a county-seat and lay out a town. The com-
mittee selected the present site of Lincoln, and
called it '' Lancaster." For some time " Lancas-
ter'' was only a paper town, without inhabitants.
The same year John Cadman settled in the south-
ern part of the county. Subsequently he was

220 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

made county judge, and ever afterwards was fa-
miliarly known as ^' Judge Cadman.'' The writer
first met him at a quarterly meeting, held in
1861, south of Saltillo. The meeting was held
in the private house of James Eatherton, on the
bank of Salt Creek, twelve miles south of the
city of Lincoln. The judge was deeply inter-
ested in laying the foundations of the Church in
the new Territory. He was not only an active
Church member in that early day, but was an
enterprising citizen as well. He took an active
part in having what was known as '^The Steam-
wagon Road '^ built from Nebraska City Avest to
Fort Kearney. A steam-wagon was invented,
and the inventor brought this wagon up the Mis-
souri River to Nebraska City. When it landed,
a most profound sensation was produced. The
most intense excitement prevailed among the cit-
izens. It was thought by many that it would
create a complete revolution in traveling and
freight-carrying over the plains. Streams were
bridged, hills graded, sloughs filled, and a good
road was made for the " steam-wagon.'' Although
the " steam-wagon '' proved an utter failure, and
never amounted to anything at all, a most excel-
lent highway was built, and the people living
along the road were more than compensated for
their labor and expense. Judge Cadman took
an active part also in having the capital of the

LINCOLN. 221

State changed, and located in Tjancaster County.
For many years he lived in the city, and aided
in building up the new capital. He is now liv-
ing in California, in the city of Los Angeles.

The first sermon ever preached near where
the city of Lincoln now stands was by Rev. Z.
B. Turman, in 1857. A detailed account of
Brother Turman's Avork may be found in the
following chapter.

In 1863, Elder J. M. Young, whose name is
familiar to all the early settlers of this county,
a minister of the Methodist Protestant Church,
located at this point with a colony. Elder Young
organized a Methodist Protestant society, and the
society afterwards erected a large stone church —
one of the first church edifices built in the city
of Lincoln. He also organized societies at dif-
ferent places in the county. The design of
Elder Young and his colony was to locate and
build up a denominational school of high grade.
A seminary was founded, and a stone building
erected, which stood where the State Journal
block now stands. The seminary, however, did
not prove a success.

In 18()6, I visited Lancaster, and spent a Sab-
bath in the new town, which had at that time
half a dozen houses. I preached on Sunday
morning in a little unfinished school-house to a
small congregation of attentive and intelligent

222 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

listeners, little dreaming that this unpretentious
town was so soon to become one of the mightiest
of Western cities, and the capital of one of the
most thrifty and populous States in the American
Union. I never was more impressed in my life
with the beauty of any place than I Avas with
Lancaster and the Avhole surrounding country.
It seemed that nature had never been more prodi-
gal in lavishing beauty and attractions upon any
place than the country w^here the city of Lincoln
now stands. I returned to my home in Nebraska
City, and immediately located some land near
the new town.

On June 20, 1867, a bill passed the Legisla-
ture providing for the removal and permanent lo-
cation of the capital of Nebraska. Omaha was
then the seat of government. The bill, of course,
had its bitter enemies, and was fought to the very
last with all the ability and energy its opponents
could command. The contest was a long and
heated one, full of acrimony, and no small amount
of ill-feeling was engendered. The bill provided,
first, "That the governor, secretary of state,
and auditor be, and are hereby, appointed com-
missioners for the purpose of locating the seat of
government and the public buildings of the State. '^
And second, " On or before July, 1867, the com-
missioners, or a majority of them, shall select
from the lands belonging to the State within the

LINCOLN. 223

following limits, to-wit, the County of Sewarcl,
the south half of the County of Saunders and
Butler, and that portion of the County of Lan-
caster lying north of the south line of Township
Nine, a suitable site of not less than six hundred
and forty acres lying in one body, for a town,
due regard being had to its accessibility from all
parts of the State, and its general fitness for a
capital. They shall immediately survey, lay off,
and stake out the said tract of land into lots,
blocks, streets and alleys, and public squares or
reservations for public buildings, which said town,
Avhen so. laid out and surveyed, shall be named
and known as Lincoln, and the same is hereby
declared to be the permanent seat of government
of the State of Nebraska, at which all of the
public offices of the State shall be kept, and at
which all of the sessions of the Legislature shall
hereafter be held.'^ The bill further provided
that the State University and State Agricultural
College should be united as one educational insti-
tution, and should be located upon a reservation
selected by the commissioners in said " Lincoln,^'
and the necessary buildings erected as soon as
funds could be secured from the sale of lots do-
nated to the State ; and that the penitentiary of
the State should be " located upon a reservation
selected by the said commissioners in Lincoln,
or upon lands adjacent to said town of Lincoln/'

224 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Immediately on the adjournment of the Legis-
lature, the commissioners — Governor David But-
ler, Secretary T. P. Kennard, and Auditor John
Gillespie — entered upon their duties. They trav-
eled over the country, personally surveyed the
lands from which the selection was to be made
on which the new capital was to be located, and
after a careful survey of all the lands, " due re-
gard being had to its accessibility from all parts
of the State/^ they selected as the future capital
of the State of JN^ebraska the site on which the
city of Lincoln now stands. The wisdom of that
selection has been vindicated by the marvelous
growth of the city, and the general prosperity of
the State. Lincoln is to-day the great railroad
center of the State, easy of access from every part
of our commonwealth.

The city was platted into lots, blocks, and res-
ervations according to the provisions of the act
of the Legislature, and the following September
the lots were offered at public sale. I had the
privilege of attending this public sale, and saw
the first lot in the city of Lincoln sold at auction.

There were only a few houses then in the
new town. Many felt that accommodations for
those attending the sales would be limited, hence
they came with tents and covered wagons, bring-
ing with them their own provisions. The public
square, where the Government post-office now

LINCOLN. 225

stands, was covered with a heavy crop of prairie-
grass, and furnished a delightful camping-ground
for those in attendance. Here they pitched their
tents, and camped during the sales.

Judge Cadman kept the hotel in the stone
house which was formerly the old stone semi-
nary building. At this hotel the commissioners,
the writer, and many friends from Nebraska City
w^ere entertained. No pains were spared by the
judge and his large-hearted wife to make us all
as comfortable as it Avas possible for us to be made
under the circumstances. The three days of sale
Avere memorable days, and Avill never be forgotten
by those Avho were present. The first day was a
gloomy one. During the forepart of the day
there was a drizzling rain. There were not as
many people present as was expected, and the
commissioners felt as gloomy and sad as the Aveather
looked dark and forbidding. In the afternoon
Ave folio Aved the commissioners to the northeast
corner of the plat, and the first lot, in block one,
Avas offered for sale. Governor Butler bid the
minimum price. Rev. J. G. Miller overbid the
gOA^ernor twenty-fiA^e cents, and the first lot in
the future great city of Lincoln Avas knocked down
to him for forty dollars and twenty-five cents.
The bidding in the afternoon was very slow and
dull. There was no enthusiasm Avhatever. But
few Avere willing to take the risk of a purchase.

226 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

as the success of the scheme was a very cloubtfiil
one. Only a few lots were offered, when the
governor announced the sales closed until the
next day at nine o'clock. At the close of the first
day's sales the success of the new project looked
doubtful in the extreme. I think all the com-
missioners felt that the whole thing was a com-
plete failure.

That night ja syndicate was formed, mostly of
men from Nebraska City, with a capital of fifteen
thousand dollars. This amount the syndicate
agreed to invest in lots, also to bid on every lot
offered for sale. Rev. J. G. Miller agreed to in-
vest fifteen hundred dollars in lots. Mr. James
Sweet was authorized to bid for the syndicate.
The sales began at nine o'clock, and the bidding
at once became lively.

The people became enthusiastic, and the en-
thusiasm kept up during the whole day. The
day closed most hopefully, eighteen thousand dol-
lars worth of lots having been disposed of. The
success of the wonderful undertaking was assured.
Doubts and fears left the minds of the commis-
sioners. Every one interested in the movement
was jubilant. The dense cloud that had hung so
long over the friends of the movement broke into
fragments, scattered, and entirely disappeared, and
the bright sun of future success poured his genial
I'ays upon all. In a short time money enough

LINCOLN. 227

was secured from the sale of lots to build the new
State-house.

Plans and specifications for the new State-
house were adopted by the commissioners. The
contract for the building was at once let, and the
foundation was laid before cold weather.

There is an unwritten history connected with
the carrying forward of this great undertaking,
known only to the commissioners and a few of
the older settlers of the county. At almost every
step, from the very first, the commissioners were
met with difficulties. Obstacle after obstacle rose
before them, barrier after barrier impeded them
in their progress. These obstacles, however, were
overcome ; these barriers, one after another, gave
way before their untiring energy, and at last
victory crowned their effijrts. The building was
ready for occupancy the following winter. All
the State offices were moved from Omaha to Lin-
coln, and in January, 1869, the Nebraska State
Legislature was held in the new capital.

In the spring of 1868, "Lincoln'^ first ap-
peared upon the Minutes of the Nebraska Annual
Conference, and the writer was appointed pastor.
The town contained a population of some two
hundred souls. There was no parsonage, beauti-
fully and richly furnished; no large society to
greet the pastor and- his family, and give them a
royal welcome and a grand reception. The pastor

228 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

built liis own house, and furnished it as best he
could. While our house was being finished,
Mrs. Davis did her cooking in the largest kitchen
we ever had, and never once complained for the
want of room. The ceiling was high, the floor
beautifully carpeted with living green, the venti-
lation perfect, and our appetites of the very best.
Here we lived a number of days in the most
roomy apartment we ever had.

AYe found sixteen members of the Church, in-
cluding men, women, and children, and a small
church on Tenth Street, inclosed only. We found
another thing we did not like so well. On this
shell of a house Ave found what the little girl
called " the latest improvement " — a four-hundred-
dollar mortgage.

We went to Avork, finished the building, and
consecrated it to the worship of Almighty God,
Dr. W. B. Slaughter preaching the dedicatory
sermon. At the end of one year the building be-
came too small for the congregations. The trustees
authorized the pastor to dispose of the church,
and the next wjeek I sold it to the School Board
of the city for a school-house. We then built a
frame building on M Street, on the lots given by
the State to the Church. This building was after-
wards enlarged. In this the congregation Avor-
shiped for a number of years. Finally it gave

LINCOLN. 229

way to the present elegant and massive church,
known as '' Saint PauL'' The city grew rapidly
from the beginning, and the Church kept pace
Avith the material development of the city. Other
denominations organized societies. Earnest, faith-
ful pastors led on these societies, and soon good
houses of worship were erected ; and to-day the
Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Epis-
copalians, Christians, and Roman Catholics, all
have elegant churches — churches that would be
an honor and a credit to any city of the land.
The membership of our Church increased very
rapidly, and soon we had a large society of intel-
ligent, live, working members.

Among the first members were Simon C.
Elliott, James Kimball and wife, A. K. White
and wife, John Cadman and wife, J. Schoolcraft
and wife, C. N. Baird and wife, A. J. Cropsey
and wife, Mrs. W. Lamb, Mrs. Metcalf, Dr. Strick-
land and wdfe, and E. G. Coldwell and wife. That
little handful has multiplied until, instead of one
small church, there are seven, and the city has
grown from a population of two hundred to near
sixty thousand souls.

Though the beginnings w^ere not very propi-
tious, and the outlook was anything but flattering,
yet the longer we remained the better pleased we
became. We left the charge at the end of three

230 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

years with a membership of two hundred and two,
and never had the privilege of serving a more
pleasant people.

Lincoln is not only a city of commerce and
of Churches, but a city of education. Here is
located the State University, the Nebraska Wes-
leyan University, the Christian University, the
Second Advent University, and other denom-
inations are looking to Lincoln as the place
to locate their universities. Here, where only
thirty years ago the antelope gamboled, the buf-
falo roamed, the coyote barked, and the war-cry
of the Avild savage resounded, stands a great
city — the railroad center, the educational center,
and the religious center of a great and powerful
State. Prophecy is fulfilled. The desert rejoices
and blossoms as the rose.

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 231

CHAPTER XVI.

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS.

Rev. Z. B. Turman the First Preacher in Lancaster
County— Salt Creek Circuit— Great Revival—
Coon-meat— Preaching to "Spotted Horse" and
HIS Warriors— The Captive Squaw and her Sad
Fate— A Mush- and-m ilk Tea— Indian Troubles—
The New Ulm Massacre.

AS Rev. Z. B. Turman was so intimately con-
nected with the early history of Lancaster
County, and not only with the county, but the
early history of the Territory as well, it seems
eminently fitting that I should speak more fully
with regard to him and his labors. There were
many thrilling events connected with the early
history of Brother Turman's work in Nebraska
which can but be of very great interest and profit
to the reader. At the second session of the
Kansas and Nebraska Conference, in 1857, the
Salt Creek Mission was formed, and Zenas B.
Turman was appointed preacher in charge. The
first sermon ever preached in the county of Lan-
caster was by Brother Turman. This was in
1857, and in the private house of James Eather-
ton, some twelve miles south of where the city of

232 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

Lincoln now stands. The same year lie preached
the first sermon ever preached on the present site
of Lincoln. Salt Creek Mission embraced seven
counties, and Brother Turnian established sixteen
preaching-places. The settlements Avere sparse,
and confined to the streams, and the distance
from one to the other was often very great.
Over these prairies, under the burning rays of
the summer sun, and the fierce winds, blinding
storms, and terrible winter blizzards. Brother
Turman rode from settlement to settlement, and
calling the people together in their rude dwell-
ings, proclaimed to them the Word of life. All
over this part of the State we see to-day the
grand results of the sacrifices and toils of this
noble man of God. The Church planted by him
has arisen in beauty, grandeur, and glory, and
we now enjoy its sacred privileges.

I have been intimately acquainted with
Brother Turman for thirty years, and I have
often heard him tell of his work in the State in
an early day ; but never have I heard a mur-
mur escape from his lips. He has always been
a genial, uncomplaining, happy, sunny-hearted
minister of the gospel.

The winter of 1858 witnessed one of the most
powerful revivals of religion under his labors,
near where Louisville now stands, that was ever
known in that region of the country. The

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 233

singing, praying, and rejoicing could be heard
for miles away. The people said, " The only rea-
son why there were not more converted, was be-
cause there were no more people to convert."
The revival swept the entire community into the
Church — men, women, and children. During
this revival, a young man by the name of J. B.
Ford was most wonderfully saved. Brother Tur-
man said of him : ^^He was the most powerful
man in prayer I ever heard in my life. His ap-
peals to the Father of all mercies were clothed
in such eloquent and powerful strains, that it
seemed heaven and earth were coming together.'^
At the following quarterly meeting Brother Ford
was licensed to preach, and soon after left the
State and returned to the East. What the future
history of that promising young man was we
know not. For aught we know, he may to-day
be upon the walls of Zion, preaching the " ever-
lasting gospel." Waves of hallow'ed influence
were started at that meeting that have been
widening and rolling on ever since, and will
continue to go on widening their circles and roll-
ing on forever. ^' The good men do, lives after
them." It never dies. It lives and moves,
and its power is felt through all the ages. By
our w^ords and looks and acts, we may send out
an influence that will tell upon the happiness of

men forever.

20

234 SOLI TAR Y PL A CES MADE GLAD.

During this winter there was no grain, and
^' Jack/' Brother Turman's horse, had to eat po-
tatoes. These he learned to eat with a relish,
and he did nicely. At one time " Jack '' was
offered some old corn. It was so poor and musty,
however, that he refused to eat it. Brother Tur-
man ate bread made from the same lot of corn
without making any complaints or asking any
questions. In speaking of this, he once said to
the writer: "We have reason; horses have not.
AYe eat to satisfy hunger ; horses, to suit their
taste. We have souls ; they have not. We
ought to take the better care of their bodies."
Not only did the stock fare hard during that
winter in consequence of the scarcity of grain,
but the people fared hard as well. Their tables
did not groan under the weight of sweetmeats
and delicious viands. Their fare Avas plain hut
substantial, and such as the people had they
freely gave to their pastor. The good people in-
vited him to sit with them at their tables, and
often the only meat they had was raccoon.
Whether he really relished the raccoon or not, I
do not know. I am inclined to think he felt a
little as the man did who ^vas asked, after having
taken a meal on 'coon, "Do you like it?" He
replied: "I can eat it, but I do not hanker after
it." Chickens were scarce. He never got any
of these birds. They went to the more highly-

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 235

favored ministers, who labored among more
highly-favored people.

During this winter he received a request from
'' Spotted Horse/' a chief among the Pawnee In-
dians, to go and preach to him and his people.
Brother Turman obeyed the call, went out and
met the chief, with his warriors, at their reserva-
tion on the south side of the Platte River, just
opposite Fremont. He preached the gospel to
these Red-men of the plains. He told them of
God's infinite love in the gift of his Son. He
told them the wonderful story of the incarnation ;
how Jesus, the Son of God, came down into this
world ; suifered ; was crucified ; died, and was
buried; and on the third day rose from the
grave, and ascended up into heaven ! He told
them of the tragedy of Calvary, and its attend-
ant phenomena ; how the rocks rent, the earth
quaked, th^ sun veiled his face and refused to
look upon the awful scene ; how the graves
opened, and the dead came forth ! He told them
that Jesus suffered all this in order that they, as
Avell as the white men, might be saved. They
listened with the greatest interest and the most
rapt attention, and treated Brother Turman with
the highest respect and the most profound rev-
erence. The chief and all his warriors kneeled
down during prayer, and looked upon the min-
ister as a messenger from the skies. After the

236 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

services were over, ''Spotted Horse ^^ said: ''We
believe every word you say. Our forefathers
had the ' Great Book ' [referring to the Bible],
but lost it/^ Spotted Horse was a man of more
than ordinary mind for an Indian, but remained
a savage and died the same.

Brother Turman was never maltreated by the
Indians, although he very frequently met them,
and often preached to them. But on this occa-
sion he was very uneasy, and not a little fearful,
not that they would do him personal violence, but
that they would take all his clothing from him,
and that he would be compelled to return to the
settlements in a nude condition. This they had
done with others, and he greatly feared he would
suffer the same fate. They eyed him very closely,
and with the greatest curiosity examined all his
clothing. He Avas finally greatly relieved, how-
ever, by getting away with only the loss of his
black cravat.

At one time, while visiting their reservation,
he saw a young squaw whom they had taken cap-
tive. She was a Sioux, and had been taken cap-
tive by the Pawnees in one of their raids. The
Sioux and Pawnees were bitter enemies, and were
at Avar with each other. It was the custom of
the Pawnees, when an Indian squaw was taken
prisoner, to give her to any one <»f their men
who might desire her for his wife. If no one

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 237

desired her, then their barbarous custom was to
put her to death. In this case no one desired
the young and handsome Sioux squaw for a wife.
The poor ca])tive was in the greatest agony. She
knew very well what the terrible result would
be. Brother Turraan could do nothing. He did
not dare interfere. A band of the Indians started
to the grove near by with their victim, the poor
captive weeping most bitterly as they disappeared.
Soon after the Indians returned, but the girl was
not with them. All was quiet. Not a word was
spoken. The silence of death reigned throughout
the Indian village. All knew the fate of the
young and beautiful captive. She had paid the
penalty of her captivity.

Such is life among the wild savages. How
much they need the gospel ! How long will it
be ere the barbarous tribes of our world shall be
lifted from their barbarity, and made the happy
recipients of the refining, purifying, and elevat-
ing effects of the gospel ? " How long, O Lord,
how long?''

Along the valley of the Great Platte, up and
down Salt Creek, the Blue, the Nemaha, Weep-
ing Water, Walnut Creek, and Wahoo, Brother
Turman first blew the gospel-trumpet. Along
all these streams, and over the hills and plains
of this vast region, he sowed the seed of gospel
truth, and the seed sowed by him in that early

238 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

day ^vas like a ^^laiidful of corn in the earth on
the toj) of the mountains; the fruit thereof shakes
like Lebanon/^ He saw the stately elk, the
agile antelope, the fierce coyote, the mighty buf-
falo, roaming over the wild prairies where the
marvelous cities of Lincoln and Beatrice now
stand.

The first Methodist class in Lancaster
County was organized in Brother Eatherton's
house in 1857. At that time Brother Eatherton
said to Brother Turman : " Do you think this
country will ever be settled up?^' Brother Tur-
man replied: *' Xot till the next comet strikes
the earth. ^' They imagined that ages would pass
before this country would amount to anything at
all. Many had serious doubts whether their
farms were worth the Government price — one
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. But a
wonderful change soon came over their dreams.
This supposed worthless country has become one
of the garden-spots of the earth.

In 1859, Brother Turman was appointed to
the Fontenelle Circuit. Here he found three
men professing to be heralds of the cross, who
believed that God from all eternity had foreor-
dained whatsoever comes to pass. When they
told him their belief, he said : " The cold tremors
ran over me.''

Soon after reaching Fontenelle, having fully

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 239

takcMi in the situation, he felt deeply impressed
that a revival of religion was greatly needed.
He sent for Brother L. W. Smith, of Fremont,
to come and assist him in a protracted eifort.
The meeting began with considerable interest.
The Calvin ists were present and took part in the
services. Brother Turman was compelled, by
ministerial courtesy, to treat them as co-laborers
in the vineyard of the Lord. This was very hard
for Brother Turman to do, and Brother Smith
as well, after these Calvinists had proclaimed their
belief in the " horrible decrees. ^^

At an experience meeting one of these min-
isters gave in his testimony. He said: ^^ I never
was converted right out like many others; but
my mother was a pious woman, and I naturally
grew up into a pious state. ^' Brother Turman
thought religion was a work of grace, not of na-
ture, and that men were converted by the power
of God, and not by natural growth.

One of the ministers of the village invited
them to tea. They gladly accepted the invita-
tion, but when they sat dow^n at the supper-table
they were not a little surprised to find mush and
milk instead of tea. Brother Turman was very
much disappointed. He had his heart set on an
excellent supper, and, as he never liked mush and
milk, to be compelled to eat what he had no
relish for at all, was really an affliction.

240 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

At this time there ^vere serious troubles with
the Indians. They had committed various dep-
redations against the whites, and the settlers
were constantly harassed by these marauding
bands. On the south side of the Platte River,
just opposite Fremont, stood a village of some
four thousand Pawnees. In July, 1859, the
Sioux came down in a body, attacked and com-
pletely routed them. The Pawnees fled from
their foes, crossed the Platte, and passed up the
Elkhorn River. Along this stream were a few
settlers, and they were in the bounds of Brother
Turman's circuit. As the Indians passed up the
river they killed and drove away the settlers'
stock, plundered their houses, killed some of the
inhabitants, and committed many other depre-
dations.

At the hour of midnight these outraged peo-
ple reached Fontenelle, hungry, weary, and al-
most frightened to death. They told the sad
story of the violence received from the Indians.
The next morning the citizens of Fontenelle,
sixty in number, armed themselves as best they
could, and on horseback started in pursuit of the
murderous savages. Brother Turman, fidly be-
lieving the Savior's words, '^ They that take the
sWord shall perish with the sword,'' joined the
company, and aided in bringing to justice the
bloodthirsty criminals. They followed the In-

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 241

(liaus to a point some five miles north of where
West Point now stands, and here they found a
house belonging to a Mormon, in which were a
number of Indians. Whether or not the Mor-
mon aided the savages in their dastardly work is
not known. They immediately surrounded the
house; the Indians rushed out, and firing on the
whites, w^ounded one of them in the arm. The
whites returned the fire, and in the skirmish
succeeded in taking one of the Indians a pris-
oner. With him they started back to Fontenelle.
Passing near the bank of the Elkhorn, the boys
not watching their prisoner very closely, he leaped
into the stream, and diving, swam for some dis-
tance under the w^ater, then arose, and, reaching
the opposite bank, made his escape.

Great excitement prevailed, and it was gen-
erally believed that the Pawnees w^ould at once
begin a w^ar of extermination against the frontier
settlements. Governor Black was notified, and at
the head of an expedition, composed of infantry,
cavalry, and artillery, started in pursuit of the In-
dians. When he reached Fontenelle, Brother Tur-
man entered the expedition as chaplain. Some
distance beyond West Point the Indians were
overtaken, and Governor Black demanded of
Spotted Horse, the chief, why he had been dis-
turbing the settlers. His reply was : '^ My war-
riors will not obey me." A parley ensued, and he
21

242 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

was finally given the choice, either to give up the
braves who had committed the depredations, and
to pay the expenses of the expedition out of the
moneys then due his people from the Govern-
ment, or to fight. He chose the former, sur-
rendered seven braves, and signed an agreement
authorizing the keeping back certain moneys be-
longing to them from the Government. All but
one of the braves surrendered made their escape.
The expedition returned, and the troops were dis-
banded, and the Government paid the Indians all
that was due them, leaving the expedition to pay
its own expenses; the Indians thus faring better
at the hands of the Government than the whites.
This was the end of what was called the " Paw-
nee war.'^

In 1862, Brother Turman traveled the Dakota
Circuit. During this year what was known as
the New Ulm Massacre took place, in which nine
hundred whites were wantonly and in the most
cruel manner put to death. Many of them were
impaled on sharp stakes by the inhuman savages,
and left to die a lingering and most painful death.

While on this circuit he received into the Church
Brother and Sister Wiseman, and at their home in
Cedar County preached the gospel. Brother and
Sister Wiseman Avere called to suifer what but
few in this world are called to suffer. During
the Indian troubles in 1863, Brother Wiseman

ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEERS. 243

and Brother Turman joined General Sully^s com-
mand, with other citizens of the county, and while
they were absent and in pursuit of the Indians,
Mrs. Wiseman went to Yankton, a few miles
away. While away, the Indians attacked their
children, and killed them all— six in number.
Four were killed outright, the older one being a
boy seventeen years old. They had evidently
done noble battle in defense of their sister and
brothers. Nancy, fifteen years old, lived three
days, but never spoke. Her body had suffered
the most brutal outrages from the bloodthirsty
savages. The youngest of the family, a little
five-year old boy, lay on the bed disemboweled,
and when his mother came in he said to her,
'' Indians did it,'' and died.

Such were some of the thrilling scenes through
which Brother Turman passed during the early
settlement of the State, in laying the foundations
of the Church.

244 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XVII.

DISTRICT INCIDENTS.

Eleventh Nebraska Conference — Bishop Ames — Old
Sermons — U. P. R R. completed — Rapid Growth
OF THE Church — Hastings — Overtaken in a Fearful
Storm — Three Memorable Quarterly Meetings —
Sad Death of a Worldling — The Dutchman's
Curse — The Confused Hostess — No Desire to
Dance.

THE eleventh session of the Nebraska Annual
Conference was held in Lincoln, beginning
March 29, 1871. Bishop Ames presided. This
was his fourth visit to Nebraska. Being person-
ally acquainted with many of the preachers, he
received a cordial welcome. His sermon on Sab-
bath morning was a masterpiece. His text was
Rev. xix, 10 : ^^ The testimony of Jesus is the spirit
of prophecy."

A few months afterwards he preached the same
sermon in Washington. A correspondent of the
Central Christian Advocate, in writing to that
paper said in substance : ^' I heard Bishop Ames
preach this sermon in St. Louis thirty years ago.
It was delivered yesterday with the same power,
the same fire, and the same wonderful eifect it

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 245

was thirty years previously." Age and use liad
done it no barm, but had rather sharpened its
edge and increased its force and power. A ser-
mon need be none the less efficient, elegant, and
powerful because of age. A faithful minister
may lop oflp, add to, and retouch an old ser-
mon until it will sparkle and flame with beauty
and power. I think it was Whitefield who said
he had to preach a sermon the thirtieth time be-
fore he could preach it perfectly. A minister
ought not to preach an old sermon unless he
makes it better every time he delivers it; then
every time it will be new.

General Sheridan made a little speech in Lon-
don that electrified the world. AH at the timo
thought it impromptu. It was published and
commented upon by many of the papers of Eu-
rope and America. It was afterwards ascer-
tained, however, that it had been carefully written
and rewritten, touched and retouched, until every
sentence was a polished gem. Then it was per-
fectly committed to memory, and at the proper
time delivered with overwhelming effect.

Abraham Lincoln^s famed speech at Gettysburg
was thought by some to be impromptu. It is said
tliat just before reaching Gettysburg he took a slip
of paper and jotted down the notes for it. But,
without doubt, ])reviously every sentence had been
carefully thought out, and every word weighed.

246 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

The speech was brief, but every sentence was a
diamond of the first water. Splendid productions
are the result of deep thought and hard labor.
A splendid sermon, carefully and prayerfully pre-
pared, may be repeated a hundred times, before
new audiences, with increasing rather than di-
minishing power.

The three years preceding 1871 were years of
great prosperity in the young State.

One of the great events of the nineteenth
century was the completion of the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific Railroads. This wonderful
event took place May 10, 1869. " On that day
two oceans were united, a continent was spanned
w^itli iron bands, and a revolution was accom-
plished in the commerce of the world. California
shook hands with New York, and the mingled
screams of steam-whistles upon engines constructed
three thousand miles distant w^aked the echoes of
the mountains. ''

No State in the Union shared more largely the
grand results of that most wonderful achievement
than Nebraska. This great highway of the Nation
runs through the entire length of the State from
east to w^est, a distance of over four hundred
miles. Along this public highway, up the great
valley of the Platte, thousands of emigrants came
to settle and make their permanent homes. The
admission of Nebraska as a State into the Union,

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 247

and the building of the Union Pacific Railroad
gave to it a new and wonderful impetus.

The Burliuffton and Missouri River Railroad
was pushing its way to the West. Emigration
was pouring in from the East. The Church was
'' enlarging the place of her tents, stretching forth
her curtains, lengthening her cords, and strength-
ening her stakes." Everywhere Churches were
springing up and growing most rapidly.

Bishop Ames, being a AYestern man, readily
took in the situation, and planned the work ac-
cordingly.

In 1870 there were three districts and forty
stations and circuits. This year the bishop made
five districts and fifty-nine stations and circuits,
an increase of two districts and nineteen stations
and circuits over last year. I was appointed pre-
siding elder of the Lincoln District, which em-
braced the counties of Lancaster, Cass, Polk,
Hamilton, Adams, Clay, and Fillmore, the eastern
half and northern part of Seward, the west half
of Otoe, and all of Saunders and Butler Counties,
except a few appointments in the northern part
of these counties, including an area of about five
thousand miles. My first district, in 1861, em-
braced all the territory south of the Platte River ;
my new district was only about one-fifth as large
as my first.

In addition to the twelve appointments assigned

248 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

me at the Conference, Bishop Ames requested me
to superintend the work on the line of the Bur-
lington and Missouri River Railroad as far west as
Fort Kearney, and organize and supply the work
as fast as the necessities of the case might demand.
The Avestern terminus of the Burlington and Mis-
souri River Railroad at this time was Fairmont. I
immediately employed Rev. George W. Gue, trans-
ferred from the Central Illinois Conference, to go
into Fillmore County and organize a circuit. He
went to work, visiting the people, and preaching to
them in their cabins, sod-houses, " dug-outs,'^ and
tents, and succeeded in organizing several classes,
receiving into the Church ninety-nine members.
There were no towns west of Fairmont, south
of the Platte River. The place where Hastings
now stands was then an untrodden prairie, save
by the Indians and wild animals that roamed the
plains. That year "Walter Micklen homesteaded
the quarter-section of land on which a part of the
city of Hastings now stands. It seems almost
incredible, nevertheless it is true that, only twenty
years ago, the land now occupied by the city of
Hastings belonged to the Government, and the
thought of a city being built there had never en-
tered the mind of a living soul. Where only
twenty years ago nothing was seen growing but
the wild prairie-grass, and the beautiful prairie-
flowers, and the only inhabitants were the savage

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 249

Red-men and the wild beasts, to-day stands a great
city, which is one of the great railroad centers
of the State, and which is destined to go on in-
creasing in wealth and population for all time.
Hastings has had a marvelous growth. Her
future brightens every year.

Three new charges were organized during the
year, and there was a net increase in the mem-
bership of eight hundred and forty-three. In my
report to the Conference at the close of the year
I said: *^At Fairmont, nine months ago, there
was not a single house ; nothing but the wild,
unbroken prairie, stretching away in every direc-
tion, as far as vision could extend. IS^ow these
prairies are dotted all over with houses ; large
farms have been opened, thousands of acres have
been broken and prepared for crops this season.
Fairmont was then nothing but a grassy plain ;
now it is a thriving village with five stores, a
large hotel, a beautiful church, with a live and
intelligent membership. As I have traveled over
these counties, and looked upon this beautiful and
most delightful coimtry, with its broad and undu-
lating prairies, its many winding streams, skirted
with timber, meandering in every direction ; with
its deep black soil, unsurpassed in richness; as I
have mingled with the settlers in their rude dwell-
ings, and partaken of their hospitalities, in the
cabin, the sod-house, and the Mug-out;^ as I

250 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

have conversed with them upou their present and
future prospects ; as I have heard them tell of
the many friends away back in Eastern States that
were soon coming to join them in their Western
homes, it has seemed that I could almost hear
^the tramp of the coming millions/ and see
villages and cities rising in every direction, and
farms crowning every hillside and beautifying
every valley ; and then, as I have thought of the
great work for the Church to accomplish in this
new land, I have involuntarily exclaimed, ^ AVho
is sufficient for these things?' We tremble when
we think of the responsibilities resting upon us
as God's servants. Here must be laid deep and
broad the foundations of our Zion. This country
must be given to God. These ^coming millions'
must be won to Christ. These villages and cities
must be crowded with churches. God's people
must breast the waves of wickedness flowing into
these cities, villages, and rural districts. The re-
ligious element must keep pace with the material
development of the State, or we as a Church will
be culpable, and on our skirts the blood of im-
mortal souls, at the judgment day, will be found.
I have held meetings in the beautiful church, in
the tented grove, in the frame and sod school-
house, in private dwellings built of sod, and in
the ^dug-out,' and in all these places of worship —
some of them rude sanctuaries indeed — and have

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 251

witnessed the most signal displays of divine power
in the conversion of souls. And the many happy
meetings we have had in these places of worship
will never be erased from memory. I have been
forcibly reminded of the fact that happiness comes
not from surroundings, but from within, and have
changed that couplet a little, and sung,
' Sod-houses palaces prove,
If Jesus dwells with us there.' "

Many interesting events took place while I
was traveling this district.

On June 10, 1871, I left home and started for
my quarterly meeting on the Seward Circuit.
About four o^clock in the afternoon I was over-
taken by the heaviest rain and hail storm of the
season. I was on the open prairie and miles from
any house, and wholly unprotected from the storm.
The only thing for me to do was to make the best
of it — "grin and bear it. ^^ I was completely
drenched with the rain, and severely pelted with
the hail. My poor ponies seemed to suifer more
than I did myself from the violence of the storm.
They held their heads down between their forelegs,
doubled themselves up, turned from one side of the
road to the other, and at one time stood stock-still,
and my Avhalebone whip was powerless to make
them move an inch. Providentially, the hail lasted
only a few moments, or we should all have per-
ished. At Lincoln great damage was done. Cul-

252 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

verts were washed away, cellars flooded, houses
unroofed, and goods and property damaged to the
amount of many thousand dollars. The storm
passed, the clouds broke away, and the sun came
forth shining more brightly than ever. Just at
dark we reached Seward, covered with mud, w^et
to the skin, sore from the pelting hail, and in
miserable plight generally. I stopped over night
with my old friend, Brother Davis. The next
morning I went fifteen miles northwest, up Lincoln
Creek, to where the Quarterly fleeting was to be
held. The meeting was in a sod school-house.
The walls Avere of sod, two feet thick ; the roof
was of plank laid on rafters. In the fall the planks
were covered with sod, to keep out the cold. In
this rude house, at the appointed hour, the people
assembled, and God came with them.

In the early settlement of Ohio and Indiana,
the people lived in log cabins, wdth floors made
of puncheon. But here, on the prairies of Ne-
braska, the early pioneers lived and w^orshiped
God in houses made of sod — built entirely of the
turf, from foundation to roof. Along the streams,
"Nvhere logs could be procured, there w^ere a few
cabins.

At two o'clock I preached to a most devout
and attentive congregation, held Quarterly Con-
ference, and then, in company with the pastor.
Brother Burlingame, went to Brother Reynolds's,

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 253

one of the stewards, to stay over night. The
house was small. It had but one room, which
served as parlor, dining-room, kitchen, and bed-
room. About four rods from the house I discov-
ered a new building, made of logs, seven feet
square and five feet high. In this strange build-
ing was a door three feet high and about two and
a half feet wide. I wondered what it was for.
I said to myself, " It must be a chicken-house.''
Supper over, the hour for retiring came, and after
the evening prayer I was conducted to the seven
by seven building. Stooping, I entered the little
door and found a comfortable bed, with clean,
snow-white sheets. Here the presiding elder was
stowed away, and slept soundly till morning.
When I awoke, the sun was pouring his mild
genial rays through the wide cracks between the
logs. I arose greatly refreshed and feeling strong
for the day's work before me.

A large awning in front of the school-house
had been made of boughs from the trees that grew
along the banks of the creek near by. The space
beneath the awning was seated, and would ac-
commodate as many as the house itself. Early
in the morning crowds were seen coming from
various directions over the new-made roads. The
house was packed, the seats under the awning were
filled, and many stood at the windows, and in front
of the awning. Some came in their bare feet and

254 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD,

shirt-sleeves, some on foot, and some in ox-teams.
The people were all poor, having come from East-
ern States to get homes under the "Homestead
Law.'* They were poor, so far as worldly goods
are concerned, but were " rich in faith and heirs
of the kingdom. '^ This their tears, their prayers,
their faith, their songs and radiant countenances
Avell attested.

What people want to make them happy is not
earthly riches, but " godliness with content-
ment ;'* not fine mansions, but Jesus in the soul.

November 24th, of this year, I held a quarterly
meeting on this circuit, twelve miles north of
Seward, at the private residence of Brother Crosby.
Brother Crosby was a steward, and one of the
leading members of the Church. The dwelling
was made of sod, and covered with the same ma-
terial, but within the Avails were plastered beauti-
fully white, giving it an air of neatness and
comfort. Brother Crosby and his excellent and
amiable wife made all feel at home. At two
o'clock I preached and held Quarterly Confer-
ence. Late in the afternoon the wind changed to
the north, it began to snow, and the weather be-
came intensely cold. Brother AVilkerson and
family rode four miles in an ox-team that night,
facing that terrible storm, to meeting. When they
reached the house they were so chilled and so
near frozen they could hardly get out of the

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 255

wagon, and into the house. As they entered, the
people were singing,

" We're going home, we're going home."

An excellent spirit pervaded the congregation.
Although almost frozen, Brother Wilkerson caught
the inspiration in an instant; his eye kindled, his
countenance lit up with unearthly joy, and he said
to me as he stood by the stove warming: " When
half-way here I came very near going back, but
I bless God I came on." In two minutes after
he entered the room he seemed more than re-
warded for his cold and dreary ride. On Sabbath
morning the wind blew a perfect gale, and the
air was filled with snow and frost. The mercury
was down to sixteen degrees below zero. Facing
this storm, Brother Wilkerson and family rode
four miles in an ox-team, and were with us at the
love-feast at nine o'clock. I shall never forget the
experience of Sister Wilkerson at that love-feast.
Her face was radiant with joy. She stood on
Pisgah's top, and the glories of heaven seemed
all mapped out before her. Every word Avas an
electric shock to the congregation. The angel of
the new and everlasting covenant hovered over
the assembly ; God was with his people, and his
saving power was wonderfully displayed. After
preaching and administering the sacrament, several
united with the Church. That meeting, in Brother

256 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Crosby's private dAvelling, on the wild and bleak
prairies of Nebraska^ will be remembered forever.
My next quarterly meeting was on the Milford
Circuit. The place fixed for holding the meeting
Avas a school-house, three miles west of Camden.
My home during the meeting was at Brother
William Staunton's. He was a cousin of the
Hon. Edward Staunton, then Secretary of War
under Abraham Lincoln's administration . Brother
Staunton lived in a log house on the bank of a
small creek. The weather was bitter cold. On
Sabbath the mercury was down to twenty-eight
degrees below zero, and the wind from the north
was so strong it blew the shingles from the roof
of the house. Water thrown into the air would
freeze into ice, like bullets, before it reached the
ground. It was dangerous for a person to under-
take to travel any distance. A few rods from
Brother Staunton's house, in the bank of the creek,
was a " dug-out," or a cave dug in the side of a
hill ; the south end, and east and west sides, were
partly made of logs, the roof was made of poles
and brush covered with earth. This *' dug-out "
was very warm. In this Brother Fair and family
lived, and liere we held our quarterly meeting.
In the forenoon we had two families at service,
and at night three. After the sermon I called
for "seekers;" four came forward and kneeled
down for prayers. An unusual manifestation of

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 257

the Divine presence was felt. We sang and
prayed and talked until all four were clearly
and powerfully converted. The storm raged fear-
fully without, but within we had calm, peace,
joy, and spiritual victory. Thirteen years after-
wards, when appointed to the York Station, I
found two of those that were converted in that
"dug-out" at that quarterly meeting, members
of my choir, faithful and consistent Christians,
and joyfully pursuing the path they entered thir-
teen years before. The good accomplished at that
meeting, on that cold December day, will only bo
known in the great day of eternity. From that
meeting went out a salutary influence that will go
on forever. God is not only in the splendid church,
where crowding thousands meet to worship him,
but in the humble cabin as well, and in the un-
pretentious " dug-out,'^ far away on the AYestern
prairies.

That same winter, 1871, I left home for a two
wrecks' tour up into Butler and Polk Counties.
I had two quarterly meetings to hold, one in
Butler and one in Polk County. My course
from Lincoln was northwest. I left Lincoln in
the morning, and, after traveling some hours,
found myself on the divide between Oak Creek
and Seward. Although the road was new, one I
had never traveled, I felt perfectly safe, because

the points of the compass were clear in my mind,
22

258 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and I felt sure I was going in the right direction.
I was facing the wind, and about two o'clock it
began to snow, and the wind blew with increas-
ing violence. The snow fell thicker and faster,
and the wind rose higher and higher. I found I
was losing the points of the compass. The
blinding storm bewildered me. The road was
filling with snow so fast it was with great diffi-
culty I could see it at all. I knew very well
that in a little while I should lose my way, and
be entirely at the mercy of the a^yful storm. Si-
lently I breathed a prayer to God for guidance.
In a short time afterwards I discovered at my
right a dim road leading down a deep ravine. I
entered this road, and followed it for two miles,
when I discovered, in a clump of trees beside a
beautiful creek, a log cabin. The sight of this
cabin brought joy to my heart. My fears in a
moment were all gone, and I breathed easy once
more. The man of the house was at the barn put-
ting away his horses, and when I rode up, spoke to
me very kindly. I requested the privilege of re-
maining with him during the night, and the re-
quest was most cheerfully granted. I entered
the cabin, and found a splendid fire, which I
greatly enjoyed after the cold day's ride. This
man and his excellent wife were members of the
Baptist Church, and devoted Christians. They

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 259

luul just returued from the grave of a neighbor,
and I said to them :

" ^Yas your neighbor a Christian?"
"O no," was the reply. ''He was a man
of the world. He was a very wicked man. He
pretended to be an infidel, and worked on the
Sabbath just as on any other day. He had
bought a large tract of land and was working
hard to improve it. He seemed determined to be
a rich man."

"AYell/' I said, ''how did he die?"
"AVithout any hope," was the reply. "A
short time before he died, he said, ' O, I can
not die, I can not die. If I only had my
life to live over again, how differently would I
live!^ He exhorted his friends not to live as he
had lived. 'If I could just live my life over, I
would live a Christian life,' were among his last
words."

It was the old story over again — the story
that has been repeated all along the ages, and
I fear w^ill go on rej^eating itself until the
trump of God shall call a wicked world to judg-
ment— a life of sin and a death of despair. He
had lived "as the fool liveth, and died as the fool
dieth."

The next morning the storm had ceased, the
weather greatly moderated, and I passed on to

260 SOLITARY PLACES 3IADE OLAD.

my appointment in Butler County, then on into
Polk County, and after two weeks of hard labor
and weary travel, returned to my home to rest
only three or four days, then to go out again on
a similar trip.

The last day of 1871, and the first day of 1872,
I spent in Plattsmouth, holding quarterly meet-
ing. I find in my diary the following ; " The old
year passed away amid very pleasant surround-
ings. The first day of the new year we had a most
excellent love-feast; in the morning had great
liberty preaching the word. A deep feeling per-
vaded the congregation.^'

The Methodist Episcopal Church has never
given an uncertain sound on the temperance
question, and on this she has a record of which
she may well be proud. The wicked, unwittingly,
often highly compliment the Church touching
her unstained record on this subject. When the
Rev. J. G. Miller was stationed in Plattsmouth
he was at one time raising money to procure a
house of worship for the Church. He went
into a saloon, kept by a German, with his sub-
scription. When he entered, the saloon-keeper
made a very polite bow, stepped behind the bar,
and asked him what he would take. Brother
Miller said : " I am raising money to build a
church, and I have a subscription here, and I
have called to see how much you will give.''

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 261

"What church ?'' said the saloon-keeper.

" The Methodist church/'

"Te Metodist, te Metodist church, eh? Te
Metodist dey drink no beer; dey drink no
whisky; dey play no billiards. T— m te Meto-
dist church. Me give tern no cent.''

On February 17th and 18th I held quarterly
meeting at Seward. Seward at this time was a
thriving village of some three hundred inhab-
itants, and was the head of the circuit. The peo-
ple came from the various appointments on the
work to the meeting. Brother A. J. Combs, a
young man with a soul all on fire for souls, was
the pastor. Brother Combs has long since en-
tered upon his reward. The revival flame had
swept over the entire circuit. At every appoint-
ment the people were clothed with panoply divine.
Some came thirty-five miles to the meeting. To
a soul filled with the Holy Ghost the distance to
church amounts to nothing at all. The pastor, in
announcing the quarterly meeting, requested those
coming from a distance to bring their own bed-
ding, as there were but few members in Seward,
and sleeping apartments were scarce. The Ma-
sonic Hall was used as a bedroom, and was filled
with men during each night of the meeting.
Brothers Beatty and Davis provided meals for
large numbers, each feeding from thirty-five to
'forty, and providing sleeping apartments for the

262 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD,

women. At every service the house was packed
to its utmost capacity with devout and attentive
listeners. After the sermon on Sabbath morn-
ing I was called a few blocks away to marry a
couple. This I did vv'hile the collection was be-
ing taken. Then I returned to the Church, and
administered the sacrament. The meeting thrx^ugh-
out was one of great power. Many souls were
converted, and the Church greatly quickened. It
was a Pentecost from the beginning to the end.

In the month of February, 1872, a revival of
religion took place at the Haynes School-house,
in Butler County, under the labors of Rev. Will-
iam Worley, assisted by Rev. Joshua Worley and
Rev. James Query. Here a class was organized,
and on the 20th day of the following December
I held a quarterly meeting at this school-house.
This was the first quarterly meeting ever held
in this neighborhood. Near where this school-
house stood now stands the beautiful village of
Garrison. Brother Haynes lived in a '^dug-ouf
a mile and a half away. On Saturday, when
about to leave for the meeting, his wife, who was
unable to attend, said to him : " Bring all to
supper who will come, but do not invite any one
to stay all night ; and, above all, do not invite
the presiding elder.^' Brother Haynes disre-
garded the instructions of his excellent wife, and
took the presiding eider home with him to tea.

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 263

This disregard of his wife's request gave the good
sister great distress of mind for a little while.
When the elder entered the ^' dug-out," Sister
Haynes was greatly confused, and attempted to
stammer out an apology ; but the elder instantly
came to her relief by saying: *^ O, sister! a sod-
house may be a palace if Ave have Christ with
us." They were from the East, and had been
used to much better things, and their present
surroundings Were humiliating to them in the
extreme. Many years afterwards Sister Haynes
said to the Avriter : ^' The look the presiding elder
gave me, and the words he spoke, at once ban-
ished all my false pride." Then the thought of
the elder's staying over night with them was an-
other source of great anxiety and trouble to the
heart of the good sister. What to do with him,
and where to put him to sleep, were indeed per-
plexing questions. Just at this juncture, how-
ever. Brother Haynes greatly relieved the bur-
dened heart of his much-distressed wife by saying
that arrangements had been made for the elder to
stay at a neighbor's, who lived in a frame house.
All went to service on Saturday night; but the
party living in the frame house did not put in
ai^ appearance, and the only thing for Brother
Haynes to do was to invite the elder to go home
with him. As Sister Haynes neared her rude
"dug-out," she was greatly surprised to see a

264 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

gentleman walking in company with one of her
sons, carrying a valise. A nearer approach re-
vealed to her the awful fact that the gentleman
was the identical and mnch-dreaded elder. The
elder, seeing how wonderfully confused the good
sister was, endeavored, as much as possible, to
relieve her embarrassment, and earnestly prayed
that his stay might prove a benediction rather
than an annoyance and trouble to the kind fam-
ily. How much these brave men and women, in
the earlier settlement of the State, snifered, not
only for the necessary comforts of life, but from
chagrin and humiliation as well !

The year before I was appointed to the dis-
trict, while stationed in Lincoln, at the request
of my presiding elder I went out and held a
quarterly meeting for him on the Oak Creek Cir-
cuit. The meeting was in a private house on the
bank of Oak Creek, near where the village of
Raymond now stands. The good man and his
wife who kindly opened the doors of their house
for the meeting were not Christians. At the
close of the afternoon service, on Saturday, I was
cordially invited to make my home Avith them
during the meeting. I accepted the kindly invi-
tation, and was most pleasantly entertained by
them until Monday morning. That first pleasant
visit with that kind family will never be forgot-
ten. It ripened into the warmest and most last-

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 265

ing Christian friendship. Though not Christians
themselves, they were quite free to talk on the
subject of religion. On this subject they were
more than ordinarily communicative. We had
several pleasant conversations on religion during
my stay. On Monday morning, while my horse
was being harnessed and brought to the door, I
again spoke to the lady on religion. She said ;
^' I would like to be a Christian. My husband
would like to be a Christian. We have talked
the matter over many times, and we expect to
become Christians some day. But if we were
to become Christians, we could not join your
Church.'^

^^Why not?" said I.

'^Because," said she, ^Mt is contrary to the
rules of your Church for its members to dance.^^

"Yes, that is true,'' said I. She continued:

" My husband and I do not think there is
any harm at all in dancing. We go to our
neighbors', and have a pleasant, social dance
almost ev^ery week, and we do not think there
is anything wrong in it. So, of course, we could
not join your Church."

I said to her: "Sister W., you get religion,
and you may dance." She looked at me Avith
surprise. I continued: "You get religion, and
you will have no desire to dance." This closed
the conversation. I thanked her and her good

266 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

husband for their kinduess, stepped into my
buggy, and drove home.

At the next Conference I was appointed pre-
siding elder of the district. Just one year from
the time I held the above meeting, I went out
and held another in the same neighborhood. In
the meantime a small, frame school-house had
been built. It was about a half mile from where
the meeting was held the year before. In this
school-house I held the quarterly meeting; and
on Sabbath night that man and his wife were
both happily converted to God, and they have
been faithful and consistent members of the
Church ever since. Brother C. C. White has
held honorable positions in Church and State.
In 1880 he was one of the lay delegates of the
Nebraska Conference to the General Conference,
and was an active and influential member of that
body. He is alive to all the great interests of the
Church. He has taken an active part in edu-
cational matters, and his deep interest is mani-
fested by the thousands of dollars he has con-
tributed for the promotion of Christian education
in the State. I have often heard Sister White
refer to the conversation we had during that
meeting at her house on Oak Creek, and" she has
since said to me : ^^ When you said, ' Get religion
and you will have no desire to dance,' I did not
believe a word you said. I did not believe you

DISTRICT INCIDENTS. 267

would tell a willful falsehood, nor did I believe
you would willfully misrepresent, but thought
you were very greatly mistaken. From the very
moment I was converted I have had no desire
whatever to dance.''

If we are in the Church, and the desire to
dance is still strong, it seems to me we have not
got what Christ has for us. If Christ can not give
us something better than the world gives, then it
seems to me our religion does not amount to very
much. Before I was converted I was passion-
ately fond of dancing. It was the most fasci-
nating amusement I ever engaged in. There is
something about the dance and cards that is
wonderfully bewitching; and yet as dearly as I
loved cards, and as passionately fond of dancing
as I was, the very moment I was converted the
desire for these things left me, and — to the praise
and glory of God I say it! — never once has it
returned. When God, for Christ's sake, con-
verted my soul, he gave me something infinitely
better than the world ever gave.

I once heard the late Bishop Clark relate the
following: *^ A most gracious revival of religion
was in progress in one of the charges in Cincin-
nati. Night after night a young lady of wealth
and fashion was seen at the altar for prayer.
She was a leader in the fashionable circles
of society in the city. She manifested great

268 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

earnestness and was in deep mental distress, and
yet could get no relief. I said to her: ^ Are you
willing to give up all for Christ?' * Yes,' was
the prompt reply. I knew she was passionately
fond of dancing, and" said : ' Are you willing to
give up dancing?' She replied: ' 1 can be a
Christian and dance.' I said : ' I am afraid you
will not get religion until you are willing to give
up the ball-room.' The next night after this
conversation I knelt in front of her at the altar.
She raised her head, and, smiling through her
tears, said: 'I don't want to dance now I' The
desire for the dance left her, and she became as
eminent a worker in the Church as she had pre-
viously been a leader in the fashionaable circles
of the world."

Let Christ come into the heart in his fullnesS;
then old things pass away and all things become
new. Our nature's rapid tide is turned back, and
all our affections flow out after God.

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK, 269

CHAPTER XVIII.

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK.

Marvelous Growth — Privations and Toils of the
Preachers— The Christmas box — A Touching Inci-
dent— The Conference of 1873 — Bishop Andrews —
Conference of 1874 — Bishop Bowman — Dr. J. M.
Reid — Conference of 1875 — Bishop Gilbert Haven —
His Triumphant Death — Rev. George Worley.

THE Conference year which closed March 23,
1872, had been a year of unparalleled suc-
cess. The most wonderful spiritual victories had
been gained all along the line. The toils and
sacrifices of the ministers and their families were
crowned with the most brilliant achievements.
The hardships endured by these heroes and
heroines in planting the Church along the frontier,
in the sparsely-settled neighborhoods, are known
only to themselves, to God, and " the Church of
the first-born.^' What a grand reward awaits
these pioneer heralds of the cross ! Some of them
have already entered upon their reward. They
have gone home, and they rest from their labors,
but their works follow them. They built not on
other men's foundations; they laid the founda-
tions of the Church in this new land at a time

270 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

that '' tried men's souls ;" and others are now build-
ing on the foundations laid by these pure men
and women, and cemented by their tears of suf-
fering and sorrow. It requires neither nerve nor
pluck to go to an appointment where there is a
fine church, a fine parsonage, a fine membership,
aud a fine salary. Any ordinary man can go to
an appointment like that. But it takes a man of
nerve and pluck and indomitable perseverance —
a man of the Pauline and Bishop Taylor type —
to go where none of these things exist, and, by his
faith and heroic labors, create from raw material
the fine church, the fine parsonage, the fine mem-
bership, and the fine salary. This work the pio-
neers of Nebraska did. They counted not their
Jives dear unto themselves, nor the lives of their
families, so that they might finish the work they
were commissioned by the Master to do. Paul
did not want to " build upon another man's foun-
dation," nor do work where everything was ^^ made
ready to his hand." He swam rivers, climbed
mountains, crossed oceans ; was stoned, beaten
with rods, imprisoned, wrecked upon the stormy
sea time and again, — all that he might carry the
gospel into ^' the regions beyond," and plant the
standard of the cross where it never before had
been planted. So these early pioneers carried
the gospel into " the regions beyond," and planted
the standard of the cross upon entirely new terri-

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 271

toiy ; and where it was first planted, that standard
still proudly waves to-day.

In 1872, Ulysses first appeared upon the Con-
ference Minutes. The pastor appointed to this
charge was impecunious — he had scarcely anything
at all; but he went to work like a true Methodist
preacher, laid out a circuit over a hundred miles
around, organized a number of new classes, and
although he had no means to procure himself a
horse, having good feet and long legs, and a heart
overflowing with love for God and souls, he trav-
eled his work the whole of the year on foot. God
was with him. The revival flame swept over the
entire circuit, and he returned one hundred and
forty members, including probationers, an increase
of one hundred and sixteen during the year.
Many of the preachers on the district that year
did just as heroic service for the Master as Brother
Reed.

We do not disparage the work of those who
came after the vanguard, and are building upon
the foundations they found laid and " made ready
to their hand.'^ Theirs, too, is a big work, and
they, too, will receive a great reward. God
^' shall reward every man according to his work.'^
But I have sometimes thought that among the
multitudes that shall gather around the great
white throne in the last day, those who shall
stand nearest the throne, be most like the Master,

272 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

have the brightest crowns, the loveliest palms,
and have accorded to them the highest praise and
the greatest honors, will be those who can present
the longest list of sufferings for the Master, and
can say, " \Ye suffered all this for thee.^^

At that time there was no " Woman's Home
Missionary Society'' in operation. The pioneers
along the frontier seldom received assistance from
the East. That society to-day is doing a noble
work in furnishing supplies to God's great spir-
itual army at the front. The picket-lines are ex-
posed to peril and suffering now, just as they
were twenty years ago. The only difference is,
the lines are a little farther to the West. Some
out on these picket-lines have received aid that
has brought joy and gladness to their hearts, and
cheer and sunshine into their homes.

One incident may be cited to show what this
society is doing, and what it may continue to do.
The narrative is by a minister's wife on the fron-
tier, and was published in The Woman's Home
Mission.

" I remember a day during one winter that
stands out in my life like a boulder. The weather
was unusually cold; our salary had not been reg-
ularly paid, and it did not meet our needs when
it was. My husband was away traveling from
one district to another much of the time.

'^ Our boys were well ; but my little Ruth was

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 273

ailing, aud, at best, none of us were decently
clothed. I i)atclied and repatched, with spirits
sinking to their lowest ebb. The water gave out
in the well, and the wind blew through the cracks
of the floor.

" The people in the parish were kind, and gen^
erous too; but the settlement was new, and each
family was struggling for itself. Little by little,
at the time when 1 needed most, my faith began
to waver. Early in life I was taught to takcJ
God at his word, and I thought my lesson waq
well learned. I had lived upon the promises iu
dark times, until I knew, as David did, who waa
* my Fortress and Deliverer.^ Now a daily prayer
for forgiveness was all that I could offer.

" My husband's overcoat was hardly thick
enough for October, and he was obliged to ride
miles to attend some meeting or funeral. Many
a time our breakfast was Indian cake and a cup
of tea without any sugar. Christmas was coming ;
the children always expected their presents. 1
remember the ice was thick and smooth, and the
boys Avere each craving a pair of skates.

" Ruth, in some unaccountable way, had taken
a fancy that the dolls I had made were no longer
suitable ; she wanted a large, nice one, and in^
sisted on praying for it. I knew it was impossi-
ble; but, O, how I wanted to give each child ita
present! It seemed as if God had deserted us;

274 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

but I did not tell my husband all this. He
worked so earnestly and heartily, I supposed him
to be hopeful as ever. I kept the sitting-room
cheery with an open fire, and tried to serve our
scanty meals as invitingly as I could. The morn-
ing before Christmas James was called to see a
sick man. I put up a piece of bread for a lunch —
it was the best I could do — wrapped my plaid
shawl around his neck, and then tried to whisper
a promise, as I often had, but the words died
away on my lips. I let him go without it. That
was a dark, hopeless day. I coaxed the children
to bed early, for I could not bear their talk.
AVhen Ruth went I listened to her prayer; she
asked for the last time most explicitly for her
doll and for skates for her brothers. Her bright
face looked so lovely when she whispered to me,
' You know I think they'll be here early to-
morrow morning — early, mamma,'' that I thought
I could move heaven and earth to save her from
disappointment. I sat down alone, and gave way
to the bitterest tears.

" Before long James returned, chilled and ex-
hausted. He drew off his boots; the thin stock-
ings slipped off with them, and his feet were red
with cold. I wouldn't treat a dog that way, let
alone a faithful servant. Then, as I glanced up
and noticed the hard lines in his face, and the
look of despair, it flashed across me that James

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 21^

had let go too ! I brought him a cup of tea,
feeling sick and dizzy at the very thought. He
took my hand, and we sat for an hour, neither
uttering a word. I wanted to die and meet God,
and tell him his promise wasn't true — my soul
was so full of rebellious despair. There came a
sound of bells, a quick step, and a loud knock at
the door. James sprang to open it. There stood
Deacon Pike. ' A box came for you by express
just before dark. I brought it around as soon as
I could get away. Reckoned it might be for
Christmas. At any rate, they shall have it to-
night. Here is a turkey my wife asked me to
fetch along; and these other things, I believe,
belong to you.' There was a basket of potatoes
and a bag of flour. Talking all the time, he
hurried in a box, and then, with a hearty good-
night, rode away.

'^ Still, without speaking, James found a chisel
and opened the box. I drew out at first a thick,
red blanket, and we saw that beneath was full of
clothing. It seemed at that moment as if Christ
fastened upon me a look of reproach. James sat
down, and covered his face Avith his hands. ' I
can not touch them !' he exclaimed. ' I have n't
been true just when God was trying me to
see if I could hold out. Do you think I could
not see how you were suffering, and I had no
word of comfort to offer? I know now how to

276 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

preach tlie awfulness of turning away from God/
^ James/ I said, clinging to him, 'don't take it to
heart like this. I ^' e been to blame. I ought
to have helped you. We will ask Him together
to forgive us.' ^ AYait a moment, dear ; I can not
talk now.' Then he Avent into another room. I
knelt down, and my heart broke. In an instant
all the darkness rolled away. Jesus came again,
and stood before me; but now with the loving
word, 'Daughter!' Sweet promises of tenderness
and joy flooded my soul, and I was so lost in
praise and gratitude that I forgot everything else.
I do n't know how long it was before James came
back, but I knew that he too had found peace.
'Now, dear wife,' said he, 'let us thank God to-
gether;' and then he poured out words of jiraise —
Bible words, for nothing else could express our
thanksgiving. It Avas eleven o'clock. The fire
was low ; and there was the great box, and noth-
ing touched but the warm blanket we needed so
much. We piled on some fresh logs, lighted two
candles, and began to examine our treasures.
We drew out an overcoat. I made James try it
on. Just the right size! and I danced awhile
around him, for all my light-heartedness had re-
turned. Then there was a cloak, and he insisted
on seeing me in it. IMy spirits always infected
him, and we laughed like foolish childreu. There
was a warm suit of clothes also, and three pairs

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. Til

of warm woolen hose. There was a dress for me,
and yards of flannel ; a pair of Arctic overshoes
for each of us, and in mine was a slip of paper.
I have it now, and mean to hand it down to my
children. It was Jacob's blessing *to Asher:
' Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy
days, so shall thy strength be.' In the gloves —
evidently for James — the same dear hand had
Avritten : ^ I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy
right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will
help thee.'

*' It was a wonderful box, and packed with
thoughtful care. There was a suit of clothes for
each of the boys, and a little, red gown for Ruth.
There were mittens, scarfs, and hoods; down in
the center a box; we opened it, and there was a
great wax doll. I burst into tears again, and
James wept with me for joy. It was too much ;
and then we both exclaimed again, for close be-
hind it came two pairs of skates. There were
books for us to read — some of them I had Avished
to see ; stories for the children to read ; aprons and
underclothing ; knots of ribbon ; a gay little tidy;
a lovely photograph; needles, buttons, and thread;
actually a muif, and an envelope containing a ten-
dollar gold piece ! At last we cried over every-
thing we took up. It was past midnight, and we
were faint and exhausted even with happiness.
I made a cup of tea, cut a fresh loaf of bread,

278 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and James boiled some eggs. We drew up the
table before the fire. How we enjoyed our sup-
per! And then we sat talking over all our life,
and how sure a help God had always proved.

'^ You should have seen the children next
morning! The boys raised a shout at the sight
of their skates. Ruth caught up her doll, and
hugged it tightly Avithout a word ; then she wont
into her room, and knelt by her bed. When she
came back she whispered to me, ^ I knew it would
be here, mamma; but I wanted to thank God just
the same, you know.^ ^ Look here, wife ; see the
difference !' We went to the window, and there
were the boys, out of the house already, and
skating on the crust with all their might.

'^^ly husband and I both tried to return
thanks to the Church in the East that sent us
the box, and have tried to return thanks unto
God every day since. Hard times have come
again and again; but we have trusted in him,
dreading nothing so much as a doubt of liis
protecting care. Over and over again we have
proved that Hhey that seek the Lord shall not
want any good thing.' ''

This family represents many on duty to-day
along the picket-lines of the great Northwest.
I have known families like the above — pure,
noble men and women, God's saints on the
earth — to whose very door want had come ; but

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK, 270

there was no Woman^s Home Missionary Society
to help them.

During the year the membership on the Lin-
coln District increased ninety per cent, and the
Sunday-schools and church and parsonage-build-
ing enter23rises increased at the same ratio. Other
districts of the Conference were abreast with
Lincoln.

The Conference year ending March 24, 1873,
was also a year of marvelous growth. The
mighty wave of emigration from the East con-
tinued to ro.l into the State, and on to the west-
ern counties where land could be homesteaded.
The Conference met this year at Plattsmouth.
The reports were all exceedingly gratifying. Ev-
ery presiding elder reported great progress on all
lines of Church w^ork. Great revivals had taken
place, and hundreds had been converted and
gathered into the Church. In sod churches, sod
school-houses, sod dwellings, dug-outs, and in the
tented grove, God's saving power had been most
signally displayed in the conversion of sinners
and the sanctification of believers. The plains
and hills of the beautiful prairies were made to
resound with praises to Almighty God.

At this Conference we first met Bishop An-
drews. At first sight we feared we should not
like him. These fears, however, were very soon
dissipated. His kind and genial manner, his

280 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

great interest in the welfare of all the preachers,
his deep sympathy with them in their privations
and sacrifices, won the hearts of all. AVe all felt
that Bishop Andrews was the right man in the
right place. How wonderfully we have been
blessed as a Church in our superintendents! The
bishop lived for a number of years in Des Moines,
Iowa ; and, while his home was in the West, he
was, like Paul, ^' in journeyings often, in labors
more abundant;" and since his return to the East
his labors have been none the less arduous and
unremittins:. No class of men in the Church are
harder worked than the bishops and the presiding
elders. We never called on the bishop for extra
work but he willingly responded, and we drew on
him often.

At Weeping Water a good stone church was
finished January 13, 1874, under the successful
labors of Brother A. L. Folden. Bishop An-
drews came over and dedicated it, and raised the
necessary amount to liquidate all debts. The
good people of that city who were there at that
time well remember the dedicatory services. Al-
though the dedication was on week-day, and the
weather bitter cold, the house was packed to its
utmost capacity, and the services throughout were
most interesting. Some of the members gave
more than they thought they were able to give.
I really thought so myself. They deprived them-

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 281

selves of many of the necessaries of life that they
miglit have a church in which to worship God.
I have no doubt but God has rewarded them for
their liberality. Many gracious revivals of relig-
ion have taken place in that church, and hundreds
of precious souls have there been converted to
God.

The next winter the bishop was with us, and
dedicated the church at Syracuse ; then went with
us to Seward, and dedicated the church there,
which had been built by Brother Foldeu also.
Nearly all the churches built in Nebraska while
the bishop resided at Des Moines were dedicated
by him.

At the Plattsmouth Conference a resolution
was adopted respectfully requesting the bishops
to change the time of the sessions of the Ne-
braska Conference to the fall of the year. The
request was complied with, and the next Confer-
ence year was eighteen months long.

The fourteenth session of the Nebraska Con-
ference met at Omaha, October 1, 1874, Bishop
Thomas Bowman presiding. On Sunday morn-
ing the bishop preached a masterly sermon.
His subject was, "The Tyndall Prayer-test. '^
Brother S. P. Van Doozer had given to the
bishop and the cabinet some remarkable answers
to prayer during the year by members of the
Chuich who lived in the district scourged by tl

, ie
24

282 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

grasshoppers. The bishop used these with telling
effect and power in illustrating his sermon on
Sunday morning.

The Conference year had been one of great
trial, both to preachers and people. The grass-
hopper scourge was upon us. In addition to the
destructive grasshoppers, the crops had been cut
short by the dry w^eather and hot winds ; so Avhat
the grasshoppers did not eat, the hot winds, to a
great extent, destroyed. There are a few days
almost every year when we feel the hot Avinds
from the south, but we have never known a year
in which there were so many days with hot winds
from the south as there were in 1874. The hot
winds felt just as though they came from a fur-
nace. It did no good whatever to use a fan. If
you did, it was blowing hot air into your face.
Many farmers that year became discouraged and
left the State. Some of them never returned ;
others, after years, returned, greatly regretting
that they were so foolish as to have left the
State. Those who remained and were industri-
ous have become independent, and many of them
affluent.

Dr. J. M. Reid, missionary secretary, came
with the bishop to this Conference. He was
greatly moved when he heard of the privations
and sufferings of the people. He said to the
writer: "I wish I had known the condition of

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 283

affairs in your ConfereDce sooner. If I had, I
could have secured some more missionary money
for you from the Contingent Fund; but I can't
do it now.'' He placed in my hands twenty-five
dollars, saying: '^ This is from a Christian lady
of New York City. She wants you to give it to
five of the most needy Methodist preachers' wives
in your district." I think he gave the same
amount to the other elders. I said to him:
" What is the lady's name ? I should like to
know the name of the generous, Christian lady
who makes this donation to the wives of my
preachers, and I am sure the wives of the preach-
ers would be glad to know." ^^ That does not
matter. She does not care to have her name
known," said he. I felt certain in my own mind
that it was the Doctor's generous and big-hearted
wife that had made the gift. I gave five dollars
each to five of the most needy preachers' wives
on my district, and they received the present
with grateful hearts. I often wished that the
giver knew just how much good that donation
did ; it was a real benediction to these toil-worn,
self-sacrificing women. The giver will most as-
suredly receive her reward.

A full account of the grasshopper scourge may
be found elsewhere in this book.

The next Conference was held in Lincoln,
beginning September 15, 1875, Bishop Gilbert

284 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Haven presiding. The good bishop has long
since o^one to his reAvard. His death was a shock
to the whole Church, and the whole Nation as
well. His fame was not only national, but world-
wide. His departure from earth was triumphant.
Among his last words were: "I am floating! I
am surrounded with angels!'' Like the sainted
Cookman, one of his dearest friends, he went
"sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood
of the Lamb."

The four years from 1871 to 1875 were years
of great spiritual and numerical prosperity.
During these four years the appointments in the
Conference increased from sixty-four to one hun-
dred and six, and the membership from five
thousand one hundred and fifty-three to nine
thousand and fifty-six.

In my report to the Conference, I said : '' We
must remember, however, that the strength and in-
fluence of a Church does not always depend upon
her numbers. She may be numerically strong, but
weak in influence and spiritual power. If the
spirituality of the Church does not keep pace with
her numerical strength, Ave may well fear and
tremble. ^Onward!' should be the rallying cry
of every Christian. Every mountain of faith
and joy climbed by the Christian points to a still
higher mountain beyond for him to climb, and
everv mountain summit thus chained increases his

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 285

power with God and men ; and he should re-
member w^ith joy that, however high the mount-
ain of faith and joy may be to which he has
attained,

* Still there 's more to follow.'

The Church has not only grown in numbers but
in spiritual power.''

I can not close this chapter without a per-
sonal reference to Rev. George Worley. Brother
Worley was one of the most successful, devoted,
and self-sacrificing local preachers it has ever
been my privilege to know. I first met him in
1869. While on the district, I employed him at
different times as a supply, and no preacher ever
did more effective Avork. Revival after revival
swept over the different charges he traveled. His
crown will not be a starless one; and his pure-
spirited and large-hearted wife \\\\\ have a crown,
methinks, that will flame with as many brilliant
stars as that of her husband. James, their son,
has for years been one of our successful mission-
aries in China ; William and Thomas are both
honored ministers in the Church at home — the
former a member of the North Nebraska Confer-
ence, the latter of the Nebraska Conference. I
shall never forget the many kindnesses received
from Brother and Sister Worley. All honor to
such fathers and mothers in Israel ! On the
fifth day of March, 1890, at the ripe age of

286 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

seventy-two, from her home in Garrison, Ne-
braska, Sister Worley bid adieu to earthly friends,
and passed in triumph to her heavenly home. A
few moments before her happy spirit took its up-
ward and eternal flight, she repeated one verse of
her favorite hymn :

"0 would my Lord his servant meet!

My soul would stretch her wings in haste,
Fly fearless through death's iron gate,
Nor feel the terrors as she passed."

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 287

CHAPTER XIX.

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK-
CONTINUED.

Appointed to Omaha District — Columbus — Osceola —
Rising City— David City— The Work in Omaha-
Conference AT Falls City— Bishop Foster— Ap-
pointed the Second Time to Nebraska City Dis-
trict— A Remarkable Meeting — AVest Nebraska
Mission formed— Dr. T. B. Lemon— Division of the
Conference.

AT the Conference of 1875 we were appointed
by Bishop Haven to the Omaha District.
The district extended as far west as Columbus,
and embraced territory on both sides of the
Platte River. Columbus first appeared as an ap-
pointment in the Minutes of the Nebraska Con-
ference in 1867, Joel Warner the pastor. At the
end of the Conference year seven members were
reported. At this Conference the appointment
Avas dropped from the list, and did not appear
again until 1871. At this Conference it appears
again in the Minutes as one of the appointments,
with L. F. Whitehead as pastor. For some years
the growth of the society was very slow.

When we took the district in 1875, Columbus

288 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

was the most western appointment, was a small
town, and our Church was very weak ; but that
little town has groAvn to a city, and that little,
weak Church to a strong one, and it is now one
of the leading stations of the North Nebraska
Conference. Osceola, the county-seat of Polk
County, just south of Columbus, was then a
small village, Avith only a few houses. Among
the first settlers at this point were Rev. James
Query, H. C. Query, Wm. Query, G. W. Ken-
yon, and J. F. Campbell.

Rev. James Query was a local preacher in the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and, if I am rightly
informed, preached the first sermon ever preached
where Osceola now stands. Brother Query
preached in private houses and school-house in
Polk County long before a circuit was organized.
Under his faithful labors many revivals took
place, and many souls were saved. His crown
of rejoicing in the heavenly world will not be
without stars. On the foundations laid by him
others are now building.

In 1875 we had a small society here, but no
Church. J. H. Mickey, L. J. Blowers, and
Brother Campbell were at the front, leading on
the little band of Christians. These noble men
are still at the front, just as zealous, devoted,
and active as ever. It is not surprising that, with
such men to lead a city and Church, Osceola

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 289

should be one of the most enterprising cities, and
the Methodist Episcopal Church one of the best
in the State.

Our quarterly meetings at Osceola were al-
ways "seasons of refreshing from the presence
of the Lord.'' I shall never forget them.

The place where Risiug City now stands was
then a farm, owned and cultivated by Albert
Rising. Brother Samuel W. Rising came to Ne-
braska in 1870, and pre-empted the land ad-
joining the city of Rising, where he still lives.
His sons took land adjoining their father's; the
city was located on their land, and named in
honor of them. They are all active members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Often while
traveling the district I was hospitably enter-
tained by these large-hearted Christians, and I
shall never forget their kindness. We now have
a splendid church and a large and flourishing so-
ciety at Rising City.

David City was then in the Omaha District.
It is situated upon the beautiful table-land near
the center of Butler County. It was designated
as the county-seat in 1873, at which time it was
nothing more than a broad expanse of level
prairie. I passed over the spot where the city
now stands long before there was a single house.

The first sermon ever preached here was in

1871, and, I think, was preached by Rev. D.

25

290 SOLITARY PLAGES MADE GLAD.

Marquette in the private house of Captain A. F.
Coon. At the same time a class was organized,
composed of a few members. In 1876, under
the labors of Rev. A. J. Combs, a small church
was built, and on the 5th day of March I preached
the dedicatory sermon, and consecrated the
house to the worship of Almighty God. This
church was afterwards enlarged, and at length
gave way to the present elegant structure. The
dedication took place in grasshopper times. AVhile
taking up the collection, a man, standing away
back by the door, said : " If I thought the grass-
hoppers would not come and destroy my crops
again next year, I would give twenty-five dol-
lars.'^ I said in reply: " That is just the thing
to do in order to keep the grasshoppers away ;"
and then I quoted the Avords of Malachi : " Bring
ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be meat in mine house, and prove me
now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and
pour you out a blessing that there shall not be
room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke
the devourer for your sakes.^^ He gave the twenty-
five dollars, and the following year the grass-
hoppers did but little harm.

At that time the outlook for Methodism in
Omaha was not the most hopeful. Dr. L. F.
Britt was appointed pastor of the First Church.

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 291

This church had been laboring for years under a
constantly accumulating and burdensome debt,
and was just ready to succumb to the fearful
pressure when the Doctor took charge. The
property all passed into the hands of the creditors
during the year, and the society was left without
any property, save the furniture of the church
and parsonage. But, notwithstanding the deplor-
able condition of the finances, and the gloomy
outlook generally, under God the Doctor had a
gracious revival of religion, and seventy-five
members were added to the Church. The next
year, under the leadership of Dr. H. D. Fisher,
a new lot was purchased, a frame building was
erected, and the First Methodist Church started
anew ; and to-day this church has one of the
most beautiful and imposing structures in the
city.

Although the sad effects of the grasshopper
raid were felt all over the Conference, the year
was one of prosperity on all lines of Church-
work.

The next Conference met at Falls City Octo-
ber 4, 1876, Bishop Foster presiding. On Sun-
day morning the bishop preached from Gal. iv,
4, 5 : " But when the fullness of the time was
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law.'' His theme was the fulfillment

292 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

of prophecy touching the advent of Christ.
When he announced his subject we were not a
little disappointed, and said : " Well, is it possi-
ble he is going to preach to us on that thread-
bare subject?'^ It was a subject we had all gone
over time and again in our text-books, and we
did not care to hear a sermon on the old, dry
theme. But the bishop had proceeded but a
short time until we were perfectly satisfied with
the theme selected. That familiar subject was
presented in a new light. It was clothed with a
beauty and pow^r such as we had never seen
or heard. The discourse was a perfect chain of
argument from the beginning to the close, and at
the same time was glowing with fervent heat. It
was " logic on fire " all the way through. He
made a statement at the outset that shocked many
for the moment, and seemed to savor a little of
the braggadocio. He said in substance : '^ I in-
tend to make an argument to-day that hell can
not overthrow. '' And when he reached the
climax, and had driven and clinched the last
nail in his argument, every one in the vast con-
gregation felt he had made good his promise. A
citizen of Falls City, whom I had known well
for years, heard the bishop until he was about
two-thirds of the way through, Avhen he left the
house. He afterwards said to one of the mem-
bers of the Conference: ^^ I had no idea you had

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 293

such argumeDts to prove the truth of Christianity.
I remaiued as long as I could. A very peculiar
feeling came over me, such as I had never felt
before, and I was obliged to leave the house be-
fore the bishop closed/' Poor man ! It seemed
he did not know what was the matter. We
knew ; he was smitten by the mighty power of
the Holy Ghost. He was convicted by the
Holy Ghost " of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment." Whether he ever yielded and gave
his heart to God or not, we never learned.

At the end of one year we moved back to
Lincoln, where we had a house of our own, and
I traveled the district from this place. This ne-
cessitated my being absent from home much of
the time, and the year was one of great toil and
exposure.

At the next Conference, which met at the
Eighteenth Street Church, Omaha, October 11,
1877, we were appointed to the Nebraska City
District. This was my second term on this dis-
trict, having traveled it from 1861 to 1865. I
was again on old territory, although the most of
the people were new and strange.

I shall never forget a quarterly meeting held
at Highland, a few miles west o Peru. With
great care and much prayer I had prepared a
sermon especially for the unconverted, and I
hoped to be able, under God, to reach their hearts.

294 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Saturday afternoon we had a good congregation
composed of members of the Church, and I
preached a sermon appropriate to the occasion.
Sunday morning came. The weather was forbid-
ding, and a storm was evidently brewing. A
goodly number were at the love-feast, and we had
an excellent meeting. The meeting had hardly
commenced when it began to rain, and the rain in-
creased throughout the whole service, and at the
close was literally pouring down. From the way
the storm raged we knew very well that all were
present that could come. But then my sermon
was not appropriate for the congregation at all.
It was for sinners, and all present were Christians.
It would not do for me to preach to the uncon-
verted alone, when there was not a single uncon-
verted person present in the congregation. For
the life of me I could not think of a single thing
to preach that would in any way be appropriate.
I thought of the advice in our excellent Book of
Discipline, '^Always suit your subject to your
audience/^ and for a moment my brain fairly
whirled. Silently I breathed an ejaculatory
prayer to God for light and help. I opened my
satchel, took out my portfolio, and ran hurriedly
over some skeletons of sermons, when my eyes
fell upon one from the text, *^ Ye are complete in
him.^^ Something seemed to say : *^ That 's the
sermon for you to preach." Afterwards I knew

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 295

^vcll that voice was the Holy Spirit. I looked
over the sketch, and almost instantly the whole
sermon rose vividly before my mind. It stood
out beautifully in bold relief before me. I was
satisfied. I said to myself: '^This is what God
wants me to preach from." The opening services
over, I announced my text, and began to talk.
As I proceeded with the subject my soul warmed.
My mind was wonderfully illuminated, and my
heart strangely fired. My tongue was as " the
pen of a ready writer." O how easy it was to
talk ! It is always easy when under the divine
afflatus— when the Holy Ghost inspires, and
warms, and fires. It was all of God, and it was
marvelous to me and to others as well. Having
talked about forty minutes, I saw to my right a
man whispering to his wife. I did not know
what it meant. I afterwards learned that he was
trying to get his wife to go with him to the altar
and seek for heart-purity. Presently he arose,
slipped around just in front of me, and fell upon
his knees at the altar. Then I said: ^^f there
are any others here to-day who are not satisfied
with their religious experience, and desire 'full
salvation,' come to the altar while I continue to
talk." Instantly his wife followed, and in a few
moments the railing all around the altar was
filled. I continued to talk for about ten min-
utes, then we had an hour of prayer and song

296 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

and testimony. Such a precious hour ! Its
memory lingers with me to-day. A number
on that stormy day received the witness that
^^the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
sin."

The General Conference of 1880 formed the
West Nebraska Mission, which included the
greater part of the Kearney District. Dr. T. B,
Lemon had served the Kearney District as pre-
siding elder for two years, and no man was better
acquainted with the needs of that vast and rap-
idly growing territory than he. He was ap-
pointed superintendent of the mission, which posi-
tion he held until the mission was organized into
the West Nebraska Conference in 1885. The touch
of the Doctor's molding hand was felt through-
out the entire western part of the State.

The same General Conference passed an en-
abling act, granting the Nebraska Conference the
privilege of dividing during the next four years,
by a majority vote of the members, and the bishop
presiding concurring.

At the Conference held in York, beginning
September 14, 1881, the following resolution was
adopted by a vote of 39 to 32 :

*^ Resolved, That under the enabling act of the
last General Conference, we deem it wise at this
time to divide the Nebraska Conference into the

FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISTRICT WORK. 297

Nebraska and North Nebraska Conferences, the
Platte River to be tlie boundary-line/'

The most of the members of the Conference
living north of the Platte River voted against
the division. The question had been agitated
for a number of years, and it was thought best
not to delay the matter longer. Time has proved
that the action of the Conference was eminently
wise.

298 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XX.

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS.
TiiKiR Origin — Depredations in All Ages — An Atheist

RENOUNCES HIS AtHEISM — WONDERFUL ANSWERS TO

Prayer — A Touching Incident — Another Atheist
CHANGED — Annie Wittenmyer — Assistance from
the East — Mrs. M. E. Roberts — Reflex Influence
of Work done for Others — Man's Weakness and
God's Power.

THE year 1875 is memorable in the annals of
Nebraska. Those who lived in the State at
that time will never forget it. That year the
State was visited with what is known as the
*^ grasshopper plague." The grasshoppers, which
were so destructive to the crops, were a species
of locust. They appeared first in 1874, but were
more destructive in 1875, and they did more or
less damage in 1876 and 1877. They were na-
tives of the high and dry regions of the Rocky
Mountains, north of latitude forty-three. Here,
whenever the conditions are favorable, they lay
their eggs, and the young are hatched in such
vast numbers as utterly to astound those who
have never had any experience with them. They
can not long endure low and moist regions com-

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 299

bined with extreme and sudden changes of tem-
perature, and for this reason Nebraska can never
become the permanent habitation of the grass-
hopper. In the spring of 1877 millions of them
were hatched out, then followed rains and sudden
changes of temperature, and in a little while they
nearly all disappeared, having done very little
damage to the crops.

History informs us that in all ages, the locusts,
of which the grasshopper is a species, have com-
mitted great depredations. Locusts were one of
the plagues sent upon the Egyptians. ''Moses
stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt,
and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land
all that day, and all that night;'' . . . ''and
the east wind brought the locusts. They covered
the face of the whole earth, so that the land was
darkened; and they did eat every herb of the
land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail
had left ; and there remained not any green thing
in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through
all the land of Egypt." (Exodus x, 13-15.) "And
the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind,
which took away the locusts, and cast them into
the Red Sea" (verse 19).

They came with the wind, and disappeared with
the wind. So with the grasshoppers of Nebraska.
They came with the strong wind, and disappeared
with the same. They travel only when the wind

300 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

is strong and in the right direction. Rising high
in the air, with their wings spread, the wind
carries thera along with but very little effort on
their part.

Mr. Volney, in his " Travels in Syria," gives an
account of the awful ravages of the locusts :
*' Syria partakes, together with Egypt and Persia,
and almost all the whole middle part of Asia, in
that terrible scourge. I mean those clouds of lo-
custs of which travelers have spoken ; the quantity
of which is incredible to any person who has not
himself seen them. When these clouds of locusts
take their flight in order to surmount some obsta-
cle, or the more rapidly to cross some desert, one
may literally say that the sun is darkened by them^
Dr. Adam Clarke quotes from Baron de Tott, who
gives a similar account of them : " Clouds of lo-
custs frequently alight on the plains of the Tartars,
and, giving preference to their fields of millet,
ravage them in an instant. Their approach dark-
ens the horizon, and so enormous is their multi-
tude, it hides the light of the sun. They alight
on the fields, and there form a bed of six or seven
inches thick.'' The graphic description, given of
the grasshoppers, by these travelers, agree with
the accounts given by Moses and Joel, and are in
harmony with our observation and experience in
Nebraska. In 1874, in the high and dry regions
above referred to, they were hatched by the mill-

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 301

ious, and when large enough to migrate^ they left
their native land and swooped down upon the
green fields of Nebraska, destroying almost every
green thing. They came in such vast numbers
that they appeared, at times, like a cloud. I have
seen large fields of corn completely destroyed in
a few hours, and immense wheat-fields eaten up in
a day. Sometimes they would settle down upon
a field of corn so thick, they would completely
cover every stalk from the root to the tassel ; the
ground beneath would be perfectly black with
them, and in places they would be from one to
four inches deep. Large fields of corn, just be-
ginning to ripen, which at noon appeared green
and beautiful, before sundown w^ould be entirely
destroyed, and nothing remain but the naked
stalks. And woe be to the gardens they entered !
A garden-patch was their delight. Turnips, rad-
ishes, beets, carrots, and everything in the bulb
line was entirely destroyed. The inside of these
vegetables was all eaten out, and nothing but the
skin, or rind, remained. Tansy, red-pepper, and
onions were their peculiar favorites.

Sometimes the women would tie up their cab-
bage and cauliflower with paper sacks and cloths,
in order to save them, but these wrappings could
no more stop their ravages than a straw could
dam up the Mississippi River. They would eat
through the paper and cloth almost as quick as

302 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

you could penetrate them with a sharp knife.
Every green thing gave way before them. The
awful description given by the Prophet Joel of
the locusts of his day, most aptly illustrates the
grasshopper scourge of Nebraska in 1875. He
likens them to a mighty nation. " A nation is
come upon my land, strong and without number,
whose teeth are the teeth of a lion. He hath
laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he
hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the
branches thereof are made white.'' (Joel i, 6, 7.)
The above is a most fitting illustration of the
grasshopper plague. They were indeed 'Svithout
number." Their teeth were more to be dreaded
than *' the teeth of a lion." Not only were green
fields and beautiful gardens ^^ made clean bare,"
but orchards and hedges were stripped of their
foliage, peeled, '^made white," and Avithered and
died. The prophet continues his graphic and
awful description of the locust plague : " The
field is wasted, the land mourneth ; for the corn is
wasted : the new wine is dried up, the oil lan-
guisheth " (verse 10). ^^A day of darkness and
of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick dark-
ness." ^'A fire devoureth before them ; and be-
hind them a flame burneth : the land is as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a
desolate wilderness ; yea, and nothing shall escape
them" (ii, 2, 3). "Before their face the people

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS.

303

shall be much pained: all faces shall gather
blackness'' (verse 6).

I have seen with, my own eyes, many beautiful
farms, which were as the " garden of Eden " be-
fore they came, but in a few hours after they
came, were "a desolate wilderness." I have
looked upon the people whose hearts were ^' much
pained," and whose faces "gathered blackness,"
at this mighty army of robbers. Many a strong
man's heart sunk within him, as he saw in a day,
the last vestige of his crop destroyed, and the
living for himself and family for the next year
swept away.

An atheist, living some miles north of Lincoln,
had his entire crop destroyed by these marauders.
He had a large family. Their crop was their only
dependence for a living that year. Many of his
neighbors had suifered the same fate. The pros-
pect for an abundant harvest never had been bet-
ter. But the grasshoppers came like a cloud,
settled down upon their fields and gardens, and
in a few hours all was destroyed. The heart of
this atheist sank within him, and his face turned
deathly pale. Shortly after the dreadful calamity,
he said to some of his neighbors, in a voice trem-
ulous with emotion : " I believe there is a God,
and if God don't help us, I don't know what we
shall do." His atheism and infidelity at once left
him, and it was said by his neighbors that he

304 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

became a firm believer in the Christian religion,
and never afterwards was he heard to utter a
single word against the existence of a God or the
truth of the Christian religion. The grasshopper
scourge led many to see, as never before, how
weak and helpless man is, and how utterly de-
pendent he is upon a higher power. The people
were greatly humbled. They felt that " vain is
the help of man.^^ They were led to see clearly
their dependence upon God, and prayed more
earnestly than ever; and the result was, many
wonderful revivals of religion. The people never
were more devoted than when the country was
devastated by the grasshoppers. Our quarterly
meetings were seasons of wonderful power, and
God overruled this great scourge for the people's
Avelfare. Great material prosperity is not always
conducive to deep piety. Financial crashes, ma-
terial reverses, and failure of crops are often the
best things that can possibly befall a people.
Along with panics, financial reverses, and the
failure of crops have swept gracious revivals of
religion.

Brother S. P. Vandoozer, presiding elder of
the Covington District, related the following in-
cident to Bishop Bowman and the cabinet during
the Conference held in Omaha, in 1875: ^^A pious
family, members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, lived in the bounds of his district. They

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 305

were firm believers in the power of prayer. About
twelve o^clock, oqc beautiful day in August, the
grasshoppers settled down upon their field of
corn. The corn was black with the devouring
insects. The wife was at home*alone. She knew
very well if they remained a few hours the corn
would be entirely destroyed. This corn was their
only dependence for a living for the year. When
she saw them settle down upon the corn, she went
into the house, kneeled down, and prayed. She
told God that the corn was their only hope for a
living that year, and earnestly asked him, for the
sake of his Son, to cause the grasshoppers to leave,
and while she prayed her faith took hold on God,
and she said to herself: ^They will leave.' She
arose from her knees, went out of the house, and
there the grasshoppers were, eating away like
ravenous wolves devouring their prey. Her faith
began to waver, and she went back into the house,
fell upon her knees and began again to pray, and
while she ^^rayed was enabled to grasp the prom-
ise, ^Ask of me whatsoever thou writ, and I will
give it thee.' She said to herself: ' They certainly
will go.' She arose, went out and looked, and
lo ! they were still there, eating away as ever.
She watched them a little while and her faith
began the second time to give Avay. She rushed
back Into the house, fell upon her knees the third

time, and began to pray more earnestly than ever
26

306 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

that God might remove the scourge, and as she
prayed, she again grasped the promise with an
unyielding grip, and said : ' They will go/ She
arose, went out and gazed for some moments upon
the destroyers. Although there were no signs
whatever of their leaving, her faith did not waver
in the least. She said to herself, as she looked
upon the destroyers, and listened to the crackling
of the corn as this mighty army made way with
it: 'They will leave, they will leave/ In a very
little while they began to rise, slowly at first,
then more rapidly, then all of them, like a mighty
cloud, arose and passed away. While the neigh-
bors' crops all around them were entirely destroyed,
their field of corn was unharmed. It stood alone
in the neighborhood, a monument of the mighty
power of prayer. '^ The next day Bishop Bowman
preached on " The Tyndall Prayer-test," and
during the sermon related the above incident,
while tears rained from many eyes, and loud shouts
of Glory to God" were heard all over the con-
gregation.

That year, two families living near where
Fairmont now stands, with many others, had lost
their entire crop by the grasshoppers. They
were poor, and had come to Nebraska for the
purpose of getting themselves homes. They took
homesteads near the railroad. For many weeks
they had lived on short rations. The time came

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 307

when the last cake was baked and the last mouth-
ful eaten. There was no meal in the barrel and
no oil in the cruse, and no money or anything
else with which to buy more. If God did not
feed them by a miracle, as he did Elijah of old,
they must starve. Elijah's God was their God,
and in him they trusted. At family prayer that
morning they laid their wants before God, and
asked him to come to their assistance and supply
their needs. That day, R. R. Randall, now a
member of my Church, from whom I obtained
all the facts connected with this incident, was in
charge of a railroad excursion from the East.
Among the excursionists was a lady Avho was a
blatant atheist. She denied the existence of a
God, denounced the Scriptures, and ridiculed the
idea that God answers prayer. She was loud in
her profession of atheism, and proud of her in-
fidelity. A hot box compelled the engineer to
stop the train in sight of the houses of these poor
families about noon the same day they had eaten
the last mouthful of provisions. While waiting
for the box to cool, the children of these families
came out to the train. They were thinly clad,
and their garments were patched until they were
like Joseph^s coat of many colors. The passen-
gers got out of the coaches and gathered around
the children, and began to ask questions. The
children told them the, artless story of their pov-

308 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

erty. They said they had eaten the last mouth-
ful of provisions that morning, and that their
parents had prayed for God to send them help,
and they expected God would answer their par-
ents* prayers. The hearts of the excursionists
were touched, and tears were seen in many eyes,
as they listened to the simple story of the chil-
dren. A collection was at once taken, and it was
by no means a meager one. The passengers did
not hunt for the smallest piece of money they had.
Silver and gold and greenbacks were poured out
in abundance, and the little girls, with their
aprons full, returned with joy to their homes.
The infidel lady witnessed the touching scene with
the deepest interest and the greatest emotion.
And when all was over, the hot box cooled, and
the train about to move on, Brother Randall said
to her : " What do you think of that ? Is there
a God, and does he answer prayer?'* She broke
down, the tears came to her eyes, and she said :
'^ I never saw anything like it. There must be a
God, and he certainly answers prayer.** Her
atheism and infidelity at once took wings and
flew away, and the belief in a God who hears and
answers prayer took possession of her heart.
To-day, as in Elijah's day, God answers prayer.
I held a quarterly meeting during the grass-
hopper scourge, at Brother Fair's, in Fillmore
County. It was in August. The weather was

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 309

very hot and dry. There had been no rain for
weeks. Everything was burning up with the
heat. What the grasshoppers did not eat, it
seemed the intense dry weather woukl destroy.
On Saturday night, at family prayer, I prayed
that God might send a shower of rain upon the
dry and parched earth. About midnight one of
Brother Fair's boys awoke and said to his father :
"Pa, it is going to rain.'' "What makes you
think so, my son?" said the father. "Because
the preacher prayed for rain, and I know it will
rain." How wonderful is a child's faith! If we
all had the faith of children we w^ould have many
more signal answers to prayer than we have, and
many more wonderful demonstrations of the Divine
power. Sure enough, true to the child's faith,
the rain came. Early next morning the rain
literally poured down, and the people and all
nature rejoiced after the refreshing shower. A
child's faith, how simple and beautiful it is !

" Mamma," said a little child, " I prayed for
God to forgive me, and he heard my prayer."

"How do you know?" said the mother.

" Because I asked him."

A wife had long been praying for her uncon-
verted husband. At times her distress of spirit
was so great that, when about her household
duties, her troubled countenance was sad to be-
hold. One day her little girl of seven summers,

310 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

seeing her arise from her knees with the same
weary, anxious face, ran up to her and said:
*^ Mamma, won^t God say yes?^' and receiving no
answer, she asked again : " Mamma, why won't
God say yes?'' A light flashed upon the woman's
troubled soul. Had she prayed in faith and
humble trust in the Redeemer? Then she said :
*' Lord, increase my faith ;" and then she offered
the prayer of faith, and then her glad soul re-
joiced in the salvation of her husband. Her little
child had taught her how to ofter the prayer of
faith. From the children we learn many lessons.
How true, "A little child shall lead them !"

About this time, Mrs. Annie Y/ittenmyer vis-
ited Lincoln. She was the first corresponding
secretary of the Ladies' and Pastors' Christian
Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
was at this time laboring in the interest of this
society. She Avas afterwards president of the
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The active part she took in hospital work during
the Civil War, in administering to the wants of the
sick, wounded, and dying soldiers, her great tal-
ents, deep piety, and untiring energy in almost
every good work, won for her a national reputa-
tion. Many in the great day of eternity will
have reason to praise God for Annie Wittenmyer.
While in Lincoln, we had the privilege of enter-
taining her as a guest at our own home a short

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 3 1 1

time. And, although she was with us but a few
hours, and sat but once at our table, that delight-
ful visit will never be forgotten. We let no time
run to waste while she was present, for \ve wanted
to get all the information from her we possibly
could. We asked her a great many questions,
which were answered with the greatest pleasure.
She was past fifty years old before she did any
work in public. She gave us a most interesting
account of her maiden speech. It was delivered
at a camp-meeting in the East. She was so
frightened that two ministers, one taking hold
of her right arm and the other her left, had to
assist her in getting upon a bench, where she
stood and talked for over an hour to the people.
To her it was a memorable occasion, and would
never be forgotten. I said to her:

"We ministers sometimes have what we call
liberty, and sometimes we do not. How is it
with you? Do you always have liberty when
you speak?''

"O no!'' was the reply. "About two-thirds
of the time I trml, and about one-third of the
time speak with satisfaction to myself. Some-
times I do more good, however, when I trail
than I do when I speak with ease and satis-
faction."

" How is that ?" said I.

" AVell, I will tell you. About a year ago

312 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Brother Cookman, pastor of one of our Churches
in New York City, requested me to speak to his
people. I complied with the request, and had
a most delightful time. Brother Cookman was
pleased, his people were pleased, and I was
pleased. We w^ere all delighted. Some months
afterward he requested me to come again and
talk to his people, and I went. This time, how-
ever, I had a very hard time. I trailed all the
way through my speech. When I went into
the parsonage, after the service, I said: ^Well,
Brother Cookman, I had a hard time to-night; I
am afraid I did not do your people any good at
all.' ^O yes. Sister Wittenmyer, you did my peo-
ple more good to-night than you did when you
were here before. When you were here before,
my people said: ^^O, that is Sister Wittenmyer;
nobody can talk like her!'' and they went away
from the church discouraged, feeling as though
they never would try to do anything, because
your effort was so far superior to any effort
they might attempt to make ; but to-night they
said, "Why, almost any one could do that
well !" ' "

I remember once trying to preach in Lincoln
on Sunday night. I felt it was the most com-
plete failure I had ever made in my life. I
left the church chagrined and mortified. A few
mouths afterward I met a man in Omaha who

GRASSHOPPE-R INCIDENTS. 313

heard me preach that sermon. He referred to
the sermon and the text, and said : " Under that
sermon my daughter was awakened and oon-
verted, and has been living a faithful Christian
ever since. '^

A minister was called unexpectedly one even-
ing to preach in a pulpit not his own, and an-
nounced as his text, " Will a man rob God ?" He
left the church in deep depression, with a sense
of utter failure. Sixteen years afterward, when
on a voyage, a stranger accosted him, and, calling
him by name, said: '^ I am heartily glad to see
you! A sermon you preached sixteen years
ago — or, rather, the text — was the means of my
conversion. I went to church, when I heard you
announce as your text ' Will a man rob God f I
was a young man, from a Christian home, just
going abroad to commence my life-work. I was
meaning some time ^to be obedient to the heav-
enly vision.' That text revealed God to me ; it
brought me face to face with God." He saw
God, and then and there was saved. A public
speaker does not always know when he is doing
the most good. What to him is a complete
failure, in the hand of God may be a perfect
success.

The finances of the society for which Sister
Wittenmyer was laboring were not in the best
condition at that time, and when she referred to

27

314 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the matter I said : ^^ Do n't you get discouraged
sometimes?"

" O no/' was the prompt reply. " You would
not get discouraged either if you had seen what
I have seen. Let me give you an incident/' said
she: "Our society was in debt some three hun-
dred dollars. AYe ladies planned a course of lec-
tures, in order to pay off that debt. We secured
several of the best and most noted lecturers in
the field, and, after the course was delivered, we
were eight dollars worse off than when we began.
We felt badly. A number of the ladies were dis-
heartened. One day some of us were talking
over the matter, and Avondering how we were to
liquidate the indebtedness, when Brother Hughes
came up, and we told him what we had been
talking about and what we Avanted. He said :
^ Why do n't you ask God to send you the
money?' 'Sure enough; we had not thought of
that. We will ask God to send us three hundred
dollars.' ' Ask God to send you a thousand !' said
Brother Hughes. So we agreed together to pray
for a thousand dollars. A few months afterward
the two New York Conferences were in session.
I spoke to the New York East Conference one
night, and the next night addressed the New
York Conference. At the close of the meeting,
as I walked down the aisle. Brother Remington
met me, and handed me a check for one thou-

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 315

sand dollars for our society. There was the an-
swer to our prayers. I could give you other
incidents similar to this. No, I do not get dis-
couraged.'^

The people of the East were very kind, and
money and clothing in large amounts were given
to aid the grasshopper sufferers. Some six hun-
dred dollars were sent to me during the year,
which amount I gave to the most needy on my
district. An emporium was established in Lincoln,
where large quantities of clothing were stored,
divided, given, and sent to the destitute. I knew
of many families on my district who were very
needy. Mrs. Davis and I requested Mrs. M.
E. Roberts to help us in selecting clothing
for these needy ones. We spent the day in do-
ing this, and Mrs. Roberts afterwards declared
that it was the most delightful day's work she
had ever done. She is always happy when she
can help others. While engaged in this \York
she felt conscious she was rendering invaluable
service to the suffering poor. Nothing brings
such rich joy to the heart as the work of bene-
fiting others. All that is done for humanity has
a reflex influence. While it goes forth to benefit
those intended, it comes back with a richer bless-
ing to the benefactor. Many know from experi-
ence the truth of the Savior's words, '^ It is more
blessed to give than to receive."

316 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

Many of the preachers of my district were
living on a mere pittance. They were struggling
hard with poverty — barely able to keep the wolf
from the door. I knew well their needs. Flan-
nels and muslins and calicoes were carefully di-
vided, that all might share equally, and certain
garments were carefully laid aside for Brothers A
and B and C. While carefully assorting the
goods, Sister Roberts came across a beautiful pair
of lavender kid-gloves, and, holding them up in
her hand, said: *^0 see here, what a lovely pair
of gloves I have found! To whom shall we
give them?'' We thought of Sister A and then
of Sister B. We suggested first one and then
another. " Lavender kid-gloves ! lavender kid-
gloves ! For whom would they be appropriate ?''
We were at a loss to know. AYhat did grasshop-
per suiferers need of lavender kid-gloves? We
discussed the matter pro and con for some time,
but could not decide who should have them.

Sister Roberts afterward said : " We Avere a
little like the Sanitary Commissioners in the South
during the war. Among the many things sent to
relieve the w^ants of the suffering soldiers was a
box of paper collars. The commissioners were
very much perplexed to know Avhat to do with
them. For whom they would be appropriate
they knew not. Finally they sent them back,
saying : ' We have fried them, and boiled them.

GRASSHOPPER INCIDENTS. 317

and baked them, and we can not do anything
with them; so we send them back to you.'''
Whatever became of the lavender kid-gloves I
do not know to this day; but we could find no
earthly use for them.

In the grasshopper plague we have an illus-
tration of the wonderful influence and power of
little things. A snow-flake is a little thing.
Who cares for one snow-flake? But a whole day
of snow-flakes, drifting over the fences, blocking
up the roads, and gathering upon the mountain-
sides, to crush in awful avalanches, who does not
care for that ? A spark of fire is a little thing.
Who cares for a spark of fire ? A drop of water
may extinguish it ; a touch with the foot or hand
may put it out. But drop that spark of fire in
the grass on a dry and windy day, and soon it
becomes a rolling wave of flame; and fences and
hay-stacks, and barns and houses melt away be-
fore the devouring element. One of the most
fearful of all things is a prairie-fire on a dry and
windy day. It sweeps everything before it, and
its track is marked by desolation and gloom. A
grasshopper is a little thing. Who cares for such
a tiny insect? But millions on millions of grass-
hoppers, flying like a cloud, and settling down
upon fields and gardens, literally covering every-
thing, who does not care for them? A woman
whose corn had all been destroyed by them said :

318 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

^'1 would not have felt so badly if a drove of
buffaloes had entered the field and eaten up my
corn ; but to have it all destroyed in a few hours
by such insignificant things as grasshoppers is
really aggravating.^^

The grasshoppers brought gloom and sadness
to many a home and many a heart, and we have
no desire at all to see them again ; yet, under an
overruling providence, they were not without
profit to many of the people. Man's weakness
and God's power were seen in a light never be-
fore manifested. Without the intervention of
Almighty God, man is at the mercy, in spite of
all his knowledge and power, of a little, insignifi-
cant insect. Many were led to cry out with
David : ^' I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,
from whence coraeth my help. My help cometh
from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."

BEATRICE. 319

CHAPTER XXI.

BEATRICE.

Location — Founded in 1857 — Emigrants on a Missouri
Steamer organize a Colony — Beatrice in 1861 — Al-
bert TowLE — Governor Butler— First Hobiestead —
First Methodist Preacher — First Quarterly Meet-
ing — Indians — Terrible Massacre — The Great
Change.

BEATRICE, the coimty-seat of Gage County,
is one of the beautiful cities of Nebraska,
and is situated on the banks of the Blue River,
one of the lovely streams of the State. It is forty
miles south of Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska,
and some seventy miles west of the Missouri
River. It was founded in 1857, and named Be-
atrice in honor of Judge Kinney's daughter. It
is supposed that the name was originally derived
from the beautiful woman whom Dante has im-
mortalized in his poems, and the object of his de-
votion. One of the most beautiful of women, she
was the emblematical personification of divine
wisdom. It was the thought of her lover that a
being so pure and lovely could not stay long on
the earth. God seemed to have created her for
one of his angels, and at the age of twenty-four

320 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

years took her to himself in heaven. The name,
Beatrice, suggests beauty, purity, and wisdom.
Whether the city of Beatrice can claim all these
admirable traits or not, is a question. One thing
is certain, however, it can claim the first-named —
beauty. Its location can not be surpassed in
loveliness, and Ave may truthfully say : ^^ Beauti-
ful for situation, the joy of the whole" people, is
Beatrice.

In the spring of 1857, a steamer weighed
anchor at St. Louis, Missouri, floated out Into the
center of the Mississippi River, and, with her
prow set for the head-waters of the Missouri, be-
gan slowdy to move up against the mighty cur-
rent of the " Father of Waters.'' On boaiid of
that steamer were some three hundred passen-
gers,— many of them the deluded followers of
Brigham Young. Their faces were turned to the
*' city of Zion,'' located in a safe retreat amid the
mountain fastnesses of the far-away West. Others
were looking to the plains of " bleeding Kansas,"
while quite a number had their eyes fixed on the
new and inviting Territory of Nebraska.

The Missouri River is full of snags and sand-
bars, and is a very dangerous stream to navigate.
As this steamer moved slowly up the turbid and
treacherous stream, nearing Kansas City, she
struck a sand-bar, stuck fast, and remained for
some time. This was not the first time, however,

BEATRICE. 321

the steamer bad grounded, yet this was the
most serious accident of the kind on that mem-
orable voyage. While the boat lay upon that
sand-bar, and the weary hours passed by, to break
the monotony and relieve the restlessness of the
passengers, a colony was organized, from among
the passengers, for the purpose of locating in Ne-
braska. That organization framed a constitution
and by-laws, and thirty-five persons signed the
written agreement. Among the signers of that
instrument were Albert Towle, J. B. Weston,
Judge John F. Kinney, and others who have
since occupied positions of trust and honor in the
State. This colony located, platted, and named
the city of Beatrice.

As stated elsewhere, in 1861 I was appointed
to the Nebraska City District, which comprised
all the territory south of the Platte River ; and
Beatrice was one of my appointments. I first
visited the place in 1861. At that time there was
a blacksmith-shop, a store, kept by Joseph
Saunders, with about as many goods as two or
three men could carry in their arms, and three
or four dwelling-houses. During my first visit
to the place I was kindly entertained by Brother
Albert Towle and his estimable wife, and ever
afterwards met a royal welcome at their hospita-
ble home. Their house was always the home of
the Methodist itinerant. They worked hard and

322 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

made sacrifices for the Church. To them, more
than any other two perhaps, is clue the credit and
honor of laying the foundations of the Church in
the city of Beatrice. Although Brother Towle
was not a member of the Church, he was as moral
and upright in his walk as any who were mem-
bers; and when he came to die gave assurances
to his family that he was prepared to go. Sister
Towle told the writer that her husband said to
her not long before he passed away that perhaps
he had made a mistake in not joining the Church,
and if he had his life to live over again he would
connect himself with the Church. While I be-
lieve there are many good Christians out of the
Church, and many who have lived and died
Christians who never belonged to any Church or-
ganization, still I believe it is far better for us
personally, and our influence for good will be
much greater if connected with the Church than
otherwise. The Church was instituted for our
benefit, and we ought to avail ourselves of her
sacred privileges. It is not only a great privi-
lege to be identified with the visible Church, but
it is, at the same time, a duty to make that public
" confession before men '' on which Christ, the
head of the Church, has laid so much stress.
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before
men, him will I also confess before my Father
which is in heaven.''

BEA TRICE.

323

Brother Towle was familiarly known as " Pap."
Every body called him '^ Pap/' and every one
loved him almost as a child loves its affectionate
parent. He was postmaster from the organiza-
tion of the place until the day of his death, and
had he lived, would, without doubt, still have
held that position. His name, and that of his
amiable wife, are embalmed in the hearts of a
grateful people.

The following story is told on David Butler,
who afterwards became governor of the State :
During the war he was recruiting officer and
came to Beatrice for volunteers. He stopped at
"Pap's cabin," which was a favorite resort in that
early day. In the evening, as he was talking
with Mr. Towle, the young men began to come
in, and each one saluted him as " Pap." About
ten had gathered in when Mr. Butler asked Mr.
Towle to take a walk. They walked some distance
and sat down, when Mr. Butler began explaining
how badly the Government was in need of troops,
and hinted about the size and ability of the
*^boys" of his family. Mr. Towle listened at-
tentively to all that was said, and seemed very
greatly interested. When Mr. Butler had dis-
cussed the matter sufficiently he asked him if he
would not spare some of his boys, and Mr. Towle
said he would spare all the boys he had.

" How many boys have you, Mr. Towle?"

324 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

" Why, bless you, man, mine are all daughters,
and I have not a boy to my name," said Mr.
To^Yle.

The first quarterly meeting on the Beatrice
Circuit, in 1861, was held on Cub Creek, some
four miles, if I remember correctly, north-west of
Beatrice. I reached the village Friday evening,
and staid over night at Brother Towle's. On
Saturday morning, Brother Towle ordered out his
two-horse wagon, and Sister Towle, three of the
daughters, some of the neighbors, and myself, got
in and rode out to the quarterly meeting. The
meeting was held in a grove on the farm of
Brother Kilpatrick. He had made ample ar-
rangements for the meeting, and we were most
royally entertained during the meeting at his
cabin. Brother Kilpatrick long ago passed to
his home in the skies. That first quarterly meet-
ing on the Beatrice charge will never be forgotten.

In 1879, Brother Towle passed peacefully
away to his heavenly home, and ten years after-
wards was followed by his beloved wife, both
honored and respected by all.

The first homestead ever taken uifder the
"United States Homestead Law ^^ was near the
city of Beatrice. To Daniel Freeman belongs
this honor. His claim was on Cub Creek, four
miles west of Beatrice, and not far from where I
held the quarterly meeting above referred to.

BEATRICE. 325

The Homestead Law was enacted in 1862, and
Mr. Freeman took his claim January 1, 1863,
the day the act Avent into effect. His patent is
numbered 1, and is recorded in Volume I, on
page 1, of the Records of the General Land Office
at Washington.

At the third session of the Kansas and Ne-
braska Conference, held at Topeka, Kansas Ter-
ritory, April 15-19, 1858, Beatrice was placed on
the Conference Minutes as one of the appoint-
ments of the Nebraska City District, and left to
be supplied. At the next session of the Conference,
held in Omaha, Nebraska Territory, April 14-18,
1859, no members were reported. At this Con-
ference J. ^Y. Foster was appointed pastor. Dur-
ing the year Brother Foster organized a class at
Beatrice, one at Blue Springs, and at various
other points on the circuit organized classes.

For a number of years the growth of the
Church at Beatrice, as well as at other points,
was slow. In 1870 a small stone church was
erected, and on November 13th of that year I
had the honor and privilege of preaching the
dedicatory sermon, and of consecrating the house
to the worship of Almighty God. Brother Will-
iam Presson was the successful pastor at the
time. The dedicatory services throughout were
attended with the divine presence and power,
and the people were greatly rejoiced in having

326 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

a beautiful and comfortable church in which to
worship God. In 1881, after having been on
district-work for ten successive years, I was ap-
pointed to the Beatrice Station, and served the
Church two years. During the first year God
gave us a most gracious revival of religion, anc^,
over one hundred and thirty were converted.

In 1886, under the labors of Brother W. K.
Beans, the present beautiful edifice was erected,
and named *' Centenary Methodist Episcopal
Church of Beatrice.'' Soon after, the West Bea-
trice Church was built; and now there are two
thriving Methodist Churches in this rapidly grow-
ing city. Other denominations have been very
active, and have kept pace with the growth of
the place.

In 1864, while holding a quarterly meeting on
the Brownville Circuit, word came that the coun-
ties west of the Blue River Avere being raided by
the Indians, and that men, w^omen, and children
were being slaughtered indiscriminately. It was
reported that the Indians had reached Beatrice,
the village had been burned, and the settlers who
had not fallen victims to the merciless and blood-
thirsty savages, were fleeing as fast as possible to
the Missouri River. The report created intense
excitement at the meeting, and many felt like
starting at once for the defense of the frontier
settlers. It was soon ascertained, however, that,

BEATRICE, 327

while the Indians were driving everything be-
fore them as they moved towards the east, and
were massacring the whites wherever they coiikl
reach them, they had not harmed Beatrice. The
people in and around the town were greatly
alarmed, and the excitement was at white heat.
The settlers from the West came pouring into the
village, and a strong corral was made around
the old mill, Avhere the frightened refugees re-
mained for ten days. A company of men was or-
ganized, and started out to meet the murderous
Sioux. This company of brave pioneers met a
band of these savages on the Little Blue, and de-
feated them. The battle was a sharp and severe
one, and two honored and highly respected citi-
zens of Gage County, M. C. Kelley and J. H.
Butler, fell mortally wounded. Although Gage
County paid dearly for the relief and safety of
her neighbors, the result w^as the Indians were
panic-smitten, and instead of pushing their way
further eastward, began at once to retreat to the
west, and Beatrice was saved from their ravage.
This raid, made upon the settlers all the way
west of Beatrice to Fort Kearney, was one of the
most complete and destructive ever made in the
State. The raid was previously arranged with
all the Indians along the route for two hundred
miles, the exact time set, and to every settlement
a band of Indians allotted. This was during the

328 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

war, and it was thought that this awful massacre
was instigated by white men — white men with
hearts as dark as any that ever beat in the breasts
of the most cruel Red-men of the plains.

The 7th day of August, 1864, was the day
set for the simultaneous attack of every settle-
ment west of Beatrice to Fort Kearney. It was
the Sabbath, and many of the people had gath-
ered together at the different stations along the
road, and at different places in the different
settlements for religious worship. No fear of the
Indians disturbed the peaceful hearts of the set-
tlers. The sun rose in splendor, poured his
genial light over the beautiful prairies, and all
nature rejoiced. On that calm and lovely morn-
ing the noble pioneers who had come to Ne-
braska to procure for themselves homes, felt just
as secure as they had in their old homes in the
East. Little did they dream that the day begun
so bright should close so dark. Every station
and settlement was attacked within ten minutes
of the first, so perfect was the execution of this
most carefully planned and cold-blooded massa-
cre. The Indians appeared at the stations as they
were in the habit of doing, and as usual were
warmly received and kindly treated by the whites.
Then, without a moment's warning, they began to
shoot down their helpless victims, mutilating

BEATRICE. 329

their bodies, burning their houses, and carrying
away all they could.

I have no plea whatever to make for the In-
dians in their cruel and dastardly work, for many
of their atrocious crimes are without a single pal-
liating circumstance. Yet I am compelled to
say that, in many instances, the treatment of the
Indian by the white man has been just as cruel
as the treatment of the white man by the Indian.
I would indeed be glad if I could say only Indian
hands have been stained with human blood ; but
alas ! I can not. The hands of many white men
have dripped with the innocent blood of the In-
dian. The white men who instigated the above
massacre were just as guilty as the Indians who
executed it.

A white man, in cold blood, without the least
provocation whatever, shot and instantly killed
an Indian squaw near where the city of Lincoln
now stands, leaving her husband, the Indian
brave, to pass on alone without any redress what-
ever. A party of Mormons, passing through St.
Joseph, bought a cow that they might have a sup-
ply of milk, while crossing the plains to Salt Lake,
for a sick child. Reaching JefiPerson County, the
cow gave out, and they had to rest a day or two
for her to recuperate. They resumed their
journey ; but she soon gave out again, and they

28

330 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

were compelled to leave her to shift for herself
on the hills and plains of Nebraska. Soon after,
this cow was found by a band of thirty Pawnee
Indians. Thinking she was an estray, they killed
her, and while removing her hide, a rough white
man came along with a mule-train. He was a
freighter, reckless and daring. Some of these old
freighters were as tough as some of the '^ cow-boys^'
on the plains are at the present time. Seeing
what had been done, he made a demand of the
Indians who had killed the cow. They refused
to comply with the demand, but instead offered
thirty dollars, all the money they had, and really
more than the animal was worth. Then they of-
fered their best pony, which Avas refused, and the
man went on his way swearing vengeance upon
them, and declaring he would have the Indians'
scalps. He secured a party of men, went in pur-
suit of the Indians, and, when he overtook them,
again pressed his demand. A parley ensued,
then a bloody fight, in which one Indian and one
white man was killed. News was sent to Fort
Kearney that the Pawnees had made an attack
upon the whites. The troops were ordered out,
and before the matter was settled, the Govern-
ment had expended one hundred and forty thou-
sand dollars. In too many instances the Avhite
man has been the aggressor.

In 1861 the country between Beatrice and Ne-

BEATRICE. 331

braska City was very sparsely settled. For many
miles east of Bear Creek there was not a single
house. Over this dreary and desolate region I
traveled to and fro four times a year for four
years. It was a dismal ride, and I always
greatly dreaded it. The scream of the prairie-
snipe and the bark of the coyote often startled
me as I sat in my buggy half asleep, while my
bronco pony jogged wearily along the dim and
but little traveled road; and ever and anon a
herd of beautiful antelope would be seen grazing
upon the hillside or skipping over the prairies.
But this scene has greatly changed. The scream
of the snipe and the bark of the coyote have long
since died away, and the antelope is no longer
seen playing upon the hillsides and along the val-
leys of this beautiful country. Instead of these
is heard the bleating of sheep, the lowing of cat-
tle, and the neighing of the horses; and rich and
finely-cultivated farms cover all this once dreary
and desolate region.

332 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XXII.

YORK.

Location — First Settlers — First Grave in the County —
IMetiiodist Class organized — David Baker — Buffa-
loes INVADE the County — Friendship of the Early
Settlers— W. E. Morgan— First Quarterly Meet-
ing— Other Churches — Appointed to York Station,
1883— Great Revival— The Little Girl and the
Dark Cloud — Second Year — Another Great Re-
vival— The New Church — Subscription — Third
Year — Church completed — Dedication by Bishop
Warren.

YORK is the county-seat of York County. It
is a lovely city, situated in the beautiful val-
ley of Beaver Creek, and is the geographical
center of the county. When first located it was
called " York Center."

The first settlements made in York County
were in 1861, shortly after the location of the
territorial road from Nebraska City west, to a
point on the ^^ California Trail," forty miles due
east of the present city of Kearney. It was
known by the early freighters as " The Nebraska
City Cut-off." Ranches were established along
this road at different points. These ranches were
the hotels along this public highway, kept for the

YORK. 333

benefit of travelers and freighters over the plains.
Five of tliese ranches were established in York
County shortly after this road was located. The
first one established was by Benjamin F. Lush-
baugh, United States Indian Agent of the Paw-
nees. It was near the west line of the county,
situated on Porcupine Bluffs, and was known
as '^Porcupine Ranch." Afterwards the "Jack
Smith Ranch,'' the "McDonald Ranch," the "An-
telope Ranch," and the "Jack Stone Ranch"
were established at different points in the county.
At these " pioneer hotels " the weary traveler
over the plains found rest and refreshment.

The grave of the first white man in the county
may be seen near where the old "Jack Smith
Ranch" stood. The victim was an overland
stage-driver. When he reached the ranch he
was under the influence of bad whisky; was
shamefully abusive, and threatened the life of
the ranch-keeper. For this purpose, he went to
the stage, secured his revolvers, returned to the
ranch, and drew a bead on Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith
saw his danger, and shot first, the ball entering
the driver's forehead, killing him instantly. Mr.
Smith was exonerated in the course he pursued,
as he acted entirely in self-defense. Although a
drunkard fills the first grave in York County, to
the praise and honor of the people be it said,
York County has been freer from intoxicants,

334 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and less evil has resulted from the use of the
vile stuff, than in almost any other county in the
State. Her temperance principles have long
been known, far and wide, and the result has
been, the very best class of citizens have been at-
tracted to the county.

The first permanent settler in York Precinct
was Mr. David Baker. In August, 1869, he,
with his family, pitched their tent on the banks
of Beaver Creek, under the spreading branches
of a beautiful old elm-tree, not far from where
the city of York now stands. In this tent the
family made their home for three months, during
which time Mr. Baker erected the first frame
house in the precinct, hauling the lumber from
Nebraska City, a distance of over one hundred
miles.

The city of York was founded in 1869 by the
*' South Platte Land Company.'^ The site was
taken as a pre-emption claim by A. M. Ghost
and Mr. Sherwood for the company. In the
spring of 1870 the town was represented by one
6od-house and the little frame building which had
been occupied by Messrs. Ghost and Sherwood
when the site was pre-empted.

The first Methodist class was organized at the
house of David Baker in the spring of 1871, and
was composed of the following persons : David
Baker, Elvira Baker, J. H. Bell, Thomas Bas-

YORK, 335

sett*, L. D. Brakeman, Ella BrakemaD, Sarah M.
Moore, Thomas Myres, John Murphy, Mary
Murphy, S. W. Pettis, and Mrs. Shackelford.
Brother Baker was the leader. At Brother Ba-
ker's house the class was regularly held; and
here the traveling preacher always found a royal
welcome. The home of Brother and Sister Baker
was always open to new-comers, and Father and
Mother Baker were household names in every
settler's cabin in York County for many years. In
1872 the writer had the privilege of sharing their
hospitality, and, after remaining over night v/ith the
kind family, in the morning Brother Baker ferried
me over Beaver Creek in a sorghum-pan. The
stream was high and could not be forded, and there
w^as no bridge, so the only way of crossing was in
this unique boat. All the early settlers know" very
well what a sorghum-pan is. Some, however,
may read these pages whose information is not so
extensive ; so for their benefit I will explain the
nature of the little vessel in which I sailed the
first time across the raging Beaver. At that day
almost all the farmers raised a species of sugar-cane
called sorghum. Out of this they made molasses,
w^hich they used for sweetening purposes. The
juice was pressed from the cane-stalks, and then
boiled to a syrup in pans from three to ten feet
long; the bottom and ends were of sheet-iron,
and the sides of plank. They were from one

336 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

to two feet wide, and the sides from twelve to
eighteen inches high. In these sorghum-pans
the juice was placed; a fire was kindled under-
neath, and the liquid was boiled to its proper
thickness. Brother Baker's pan resembled some-
what an Indian canoe, and in it I was safely car-
ried over the swift-flowing stream.

On November 30, 1888, Sister Baker, in the
eighty-third year of her age, went up to join her
husband, who had preceded her to the skies some
years before. I Avas requested to be present and
preach her funeral sermon, but was unable to
comply with the request of the kind friends. She
was buried from the Methodist Episcopal Church
on Sunday, December 2, 1888, Rev. AV. K. Beans
officiating. The founders of the Church in York
County are passing away. '' They rest from their
labors, and their works do follow them.''

In 1868 there were a few settlers in different
parts of the county, and the most of them were
very poor, and some were in destitute circum-
stances. They had come to secure homes under
the '^ Homestead Law," and had but very little
with which to begin. In August of this year the
county was visited by large numbers of buffalo.
This was the last appearance of these animals in
any considerable number. The coming of these
buffaloes at this time seemed providential ; for
these destitute pioneers were without meat, and

YORK. 337

the prospect was that they would have to remain
without meat during tlie coming winter. When
these cattle of the prairies appeared, the settlers
were not slow in availing themselves of the priv-
ilege of laying in an abundant supply for the sea-
son. Though coarser-grained than the beef from
the American cattle, the beef from the buffalo is
sweet, palatable, and healthful.

The settlers at that time thought nothing of
going twenty miles to visit a neighbor. A new
settler was hailed with delight, and the neighbors
would go ten or fifteen miles to assist him in erect-
ing his sod-house, and give him a warm and honest
■welcome. The stranger at once became acquainted
and felt at home. Such hearty good-will was ir-
resistible, and no vSooner did the new settler see
it than he took the contagion, and was as jolly,
free, and friendly as the rest. Solomon's proverb
holds good the wide world over, and has been
verified in every age: "A man that hath friends
must show himself friendly." Friendship of the
true type was beautifully manifested among the
earlier settlers of the State. Would that the same
social, beuevolent, free-and-easy spirit were man-
ifested now!

York first appeared as an appointment in
1871 upon the Minutes of tlie Nebraska Confer-
ence. It was in the Beatrice District, and was
left to be supplied. Near the close of the year
'2\)

338 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Rev. W. E. Morgan ^vas employed by the presid-
ing elder, Rev. J. B. Maxfield, to supply the
work until Conference.

At the Conference of 1872, York was placed in
the Lincoln District. I was the presiding elder
and W. E. Morgan pastor. The mission em-
braced the whole county. Over this vast territory
Brother Morgan traveled, enduring great hard-
ships and privations, that he might give to the
people in the sparse-settled neighborhoods, scat-
tered over the country, the bread of life, and lay
deep and broad the foundations of the Church.
To his untiring labors and bold advocacy is due
largely the strong temperance sentiment which
has always prevailed in the county. The little
society of which he was the first pastor has grown
into one of the strongest and most desirable sta-
tions in the Nebraska Conference.

On the 7th of June, 1872, I left my home in
Lincoln, and sallied forth in my buggy, drawn
by a span of spirited ponies,' for my first quarterly
meeting at York. Recent heavy rains had left
the roads in very bad plight. The streams were
badly swollen, many of the bridges were Avashed
away, and the mud was deep, making travel ex-
ceedingly slow and difficult. Late in the evening
I reached Beaver Crossing, and was most kindly
entertained at the hospitable cabin of Brother and
Sister Jones. Brother Jones and family after-

YORK. 339

wards moved to York, and while stationed in that
city were, for three years, among my most faith-
ful parishioners. The next day I pushed on to
York, and held the first Quarterly Conference
ever held in the place. At this Conference plans
and specifications for the new church were adopted,
and arrangements made for pushing the work to
a speedy completion. The church was soon fin-
ished and dedicated, the Rev. Minor Raymond,
D.D., of Evanston, Illinois, officiating.

At the close of the Quarterly Conference, in
compliance with the kindly invitation of Brother
and Sister Morgan, I rode out to their home-
stead, and spent a most pleasant night with them
in their new frame-building. The sod-house had
just been superseded by this neat and beautiful
frame cottage. Possessing, in no small degree,
one of the usual weaknesses of a Methodist
preacher, I remember well how I enjoyed the ex-
cellent fried chicken Sister Morgan gave us for
breakfast Sunday morning. After a hearty and
very enjoyable meal, we hurried away to the nine
o'clock love-feast, where, for an hour, we had a
genuine, old-fashioned feast of love. Then came
the preaching, then the collection, then the sac-
rament of the Lord's Supper, and then the rece})-
tion of members into the Church. Representatives
from various parts of the county were present.
The people at that time thought nothing of going

340 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

twenty or thirty miles to attend quarterly meet-
ing. The services were held in the new frame
building belonging to the Burlington and Mis-
souri River Railroad Company, and used for a land-
office. This building stood on the west side of the
square. Here I met Judge D. T. Moore, Milton
Sovereign, and their estimable wives, and they
also, for three years, were among the most faith-
ful of my parishioners while pastor of the York
Station.

The Presbyterian Church was organized in
July, 1871 ; the Congregational Church in May,
1872. At a later period, the Baptist and Chris-
tian Churches were organized. All now have ele-
gant church-buildings and large and flourishing
societies. The citizens of York are altogether the
best church-going people it has ever been our
privilege to become acquainted w^ith. The intel-
ligence and piety of the people are far above the
average, and it is one of the most desirable of
places in which to live.

The Nebraska Conference Seminary was
founded, in 1879, by the Nebraska Conference,
and located at York, a full account of which may
be found in chapter xxiii, of this book.

AVe were appointed to the York Station by
Bishop Wiley, September 10, 1883. My prede-
cessor. Brother G. A. Smith, had left the charge
in an excellent condition. I found peace and

YORK. 341

harmony, and the Church in good working order.
There were two hundred and seventy-one members
enrolled on the Church record. We had no church-
building at that time. The first church built had
long since become too small for the congrega-
tions, and had been sold, and our people were
worshiping in ^^ BelFs Hall.'^

Mrs. Davis and I entered upon our labors, as
we always do, with an intense desire for the sal-
vation of souls. During the first three months I
preached every Sunday morning to the Church
what I called in my own mind, although I did
not announce them as such, awakening sermons,
showing the members their great privileges and
responsibilities as well. In the evening, I preached
to the unconverted, and more especially to the
young, what I called in my own mind awakening
sermons, designed to produce conviction and show
them the great need and importance of salvation.
At the end of three months it seemed to me the
Church was ripe for a revival; in fact, a revival
was already in progress. A number had already
been converted, others were under deep convic-
tion, while many others were thinking seriously
of the important matter. On the 6th day of Jan-
uary I began special revival services, preaching
every night, and holding social meetings every
afternoon. During the first two weeks of the
meeting twelve persons w^ere converted. Slowly

342 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

but steadily the meetings increased in interest and
power, and almost every night new interest was
manifested. The third week twenty-eight were
converted. Then I appointed a day of fasting and
prayer, and earnestly exhorted all to observe that
day. I also appointed a meeting the same day
in the hall, at two o'clock P.M., and announced
that I would preach on the subject of ^' Consecra-
tion.'' Dr. Thomson dismissed the college, and
requested all to observe the day as a day of fast-
ing and prayer to Almighty God for the out-
pouring of the Holy Ghost upon all the people,
and urged all to attend the services in the after-
noon. At precisely two o'clock I went to the
hall, and as I entered I was astonished, and at the
same time very greatly delighted, and it seemed
that a new inspiration came upon me. I was
moved and thrilled through and through at the
sight. I found the house packed from the door
to the pulpit with devout worshipers. Leading
business men of the city had left their stores and
offices and various places of business, and had
come to worship God ; the president of the college
and members of the faculty, and many of the
students were there, all waiting and anxiously
looking for the heavenly anointing. I took for
my text Exodus xiii, 2, " Sanctify unto me all
the first born;" and I had "liberty." Every
Methodist preacher knows well what that means.

YORK. 343

The power of God came upon the preacher and
the congregation, and the Holy Ghost carried
truth to the hearts of the people. At the close
of the sermon I said: '^Now, all who wish to
consecrate themselves wholly to God — to make
an unconditional and eternal surrender of all to
the Lord Jesus Christ— come to the altar/^ In
less than one minute the altar was crowded. They
were kneeling four tiers deep, filling all the space
between the platform and the seats. I saw others
pressing their way forward, anxious, but unable
to reach the altar. I called upon them to kneel
down in the aisles. The aisles were filled. Then
I called upon the people to kneel right where
they were sitting. Nearly every person present
knelt. The whole house was an altar. Such a
scene ! I shall never forget it. Its precious
memory is with me to-day, and will linger Avith
me, methinks, forever. Then we prayed. The
bending heavens touched the congregation,

" Heaven came down our souls to greet,
And glory crowned the mercy-seat."

Many that were there will remember that scene
forever. That night thirty were at the altar, and
some twenty were clearly converted. It was the
crowning day of the meeting — the great day of
the feast. God puts his seal of approbation on
these days of fasting and prayer. We continued

344 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the meetings about six weeks, and the result was
one hundi-ed and thirty-two conversions, and the
whole Church wonderfully quickened in faith and
power.

Then we turned our attention to instructing
and building up the young converts. The con-
verts were of all ages, ranging from the man fifty
years old in sin down to the little child. The
students in the college shared largely the benefits
of the meeting. The members of the faculty
took an active part in the revival, and aided in
the work. Many young men and women w^ere
wonderfully saved, and became mighty factors in
bringing others into the kingdom of Christ. A
little girl only thirteen years old was very clearly
converted; her experience was most beautiful and
touching. A few days afterward I met her on
the street, and she looked very sad. Gloom was
in every lineament of her face. Looking up to
me very imploringly, she said: " O, Brother
Davis, a dark cloud has come over me, and I
feel so bad! Can you tell me what to do to
make the cloud go away?^' ^^O yes," said I;
*' you go and pray, and ask Jesus to take away
the cloud, and it will go away." Her counte-
nance changed in an instant ; she looked relieved,
and thanking me very kindly, with a light step
bounded away down the street. A day or so
afterward I met her. Her face beamed with

YORK. 845

joy, and, with a glad heart, she said : " Brother
Davis, I did just what you tokl me to do. I
went and prayed, and asked Jesus to take away
the cloud, and the cloud went away ; and I have
been so happy ever since V^ O the wondrous
power of prayer ! He who feeds the ravens
w^hen they cry, hears the children when they
pray.

" Prayer makes the darkened cloud icithdraiv ;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw —
Gives exercise to faith and love,
Brings every blessing from above."

Are you tempted ? Pray, and the tempter will
flee from you ; for

"Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees."

Do clouds gather heavy, thick, and dark about
you? Pray, and the clouds will rift, the sunlight
of glory will come streaming down into your
soul. Does faith waver? Pray, and it will grow
strong, and on its mighty pinions you will rise
above all doubts and fears. A praying Church
is a happy Church, a safe Church, a conquering
Church. Such a Church we had at York.

The Conference year closed with very gratify-
ing results. I was returned to York Station by
Bishop Mallalieu in 1884. I began the year with
another revival of religion in view. In all my
pulpit preparations, pastoral visiting, preaching.

346 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

and Church work, I had this object constantly in
mind, and I worked continually to this end.

On the 4th of January I began revival serv-
ices. From the very beginning sinners were
converted. In fact, long before the extra meet-
ings began souls were saved. Twelve had already
been converted ; one or more had been converted
every week for a number of weeks before the
extra meetings began. The tide of spiritual
power rose rapidly from the very commencement.
On the 27th day of January I announced another
fast-day. That day I preached on "Christian
Perfection.'^ It was another memorable day. A
number came into the light of "perfect love,''
and are witnesses to-day to Christ's wondrous
power to "save to the uttermost." The result
of this meeting was one hundred and twenty-six
conversions, and the realization of " full salva-
tion " on the part of many members of the Church.

At the close of the meeting we began to talk
up the matter of a new church. All seemed to
think the time had come when we ought to build.
The first thing we had to do was to decide on a
location ; and of all questions this is the most
difficult and delicate question to handle. Some
members of the Board wanted the church built
on the lots where the parsonage stood. These
lots had been given by the " South Platte Land
Company" for church purposes, and it was

YORK, 347

thought by some that, in view of this fact, and
the eligibility of the location, the church ought,
in justice, to be built here. They were very
strong in their convictions on this matter.
Others thought the church ought to be built on
"East Hill,'' near where the college building
stood, and they were just as strong in their con-
victions. The Official Board was nearly equally
divided. After discussing the matter pro and con
in a number of meetings, a compromise was at
length reached, and the Board decided to build
on the corner of Sixth Street and Nebraska Av-
enue. There were at first a few criticisms of this
action. A faint murmur from a few was heard,
but this murmur in a very little while died away.
The action of the Board in locating the church
where it did was eminently wise, and has never
since been called in question. Perfect harmony
prevailed, and the church stands to-day just
where it should stand — right in the center of the
city. The Board decided to build a church not
to cost more than twelve thousand dollars, and
not to begin work until ten thousand dollars
were subscribed.

On the 26th day of April I took for my text
Nehemiah ii, 10: "We his servants will arise and
build.'' At the close of a short talk from these
words, I called for subscriptions for the new
church. I stated the decision of the Board — not

348 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

to begin work till ten tliousand dollars were sub-
scribed. I asked the congregation for eight thou-
sand dollars, and said : " If this congregation
will subscribe eight thousand dollars, I think I
can get the other two thousand dollars pledged
in a week or two, and then work will begin on
the new church.'^ When I asked for eight thou-
sand dollars from the congregation present, some
laughed right out. They thought the request
absurd and the most preposterous. I, however,
felt confident that the eight thousand could be
raised. I had been working the matter up for
several days, and had over four thousand dollars
in sight. I had felt the pulse of many, and knew
there was a very healthy feeling in the commu-
nity touching the subject. I closed the morning
service with over nine thousand dollars sub-
scribed. The matter was presented again in the
evening, and the day's work closed with ten thou-
sand three hundred and sixty dollars pledged. It
was the best subscription, taking the number and
ability of the people into consideration, I had
ever known. The people were jubilant. Smiles
were on all faces, and tears of joy in many eyes.
It was a " red-letter day '' for York. The enthu-
siasm over the new church-building was at white-
heat. In a few days afterward men were at work
on the building, and when Conference came the
church was well under way.

YORK. 349

We were returned to York by Bishop An-
drews for the third year. The collecting of
money for the new church, and looking after
matters connected with the building, occupied a
great deal of my time duriug the first part of
the Conference year. Work on the building was
pushed; the basement was completed, and wo
took possession and informally dedicated it to the
worship of Almighty God December 6th. I took
for my text on the occasion Psalm Ixxxiv, 1:
"How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of
hosts!'' The room was full, the interest deep,
and the attention the most profound. It was
easy to preach to such a congregation. I have
often said: "If a preacher can not preach in
York, he can not preach anywhere." The mem-
bers of the Church bear the preacher right up to
the very throne of God on the mighty wings of
prayer and faith. God wonderfully helped his
weak servant in delivering the message of salva-
tion. The glory of the Lord filled the house,
and the first day's service in the new church was
indeed most precious. It was the augury of the
good things to come.

The audience-room was completed and ready
for dedication February 27th, when Bishop H.
W. AVarren was present and preached the ded-
icatory sermon. His text was Isaiah Ix, 17:
" For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will

350 SOLI TAR Y PL A CES MADE GLAD.

bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones
iron." The sermon was just such as Bishop
Warren could preach. The house was packed to
its utmost capacity with a most appreciative and
intelligent audience. Over thirteen hundred were
present at the morning service. We needed seven
thousand dollars to remove all indebtedness. IrT
a very little while over eight thousand dollars
W'Cre subscribed, giving us a margin of one thou-
sand dollars. The subscriptions w^re taken in
notes bearing seven per cent interest. Dr. C. F.
Creighton preached at night, and a most eventful
day for York closed. It was another "red-
letter day."

The official Board had determined to build a
church costing twelve thousand dollars. We
now had a church costing eighteen thousand dol-
lars, and virtually out of debt. God's seal of
approbation seemed to rest upon pastor and peo-
ple from the moment the work began until "the
head-stone was brought forth with shoutings,
crying, Grace, grace unto it !"

During our three years' pastorate three hun-
dred and thirty-five souls were converted, and
the membership more than doubled. We left the
charge with over six hundred members. Our
success was due wholly to the fact that God was
with pastor and people. We leaned not upon
our own strength nor "unto our own understand-

YORK. 351

iog.'' These three years were memorable iu our
miuistry. They will never be forgotten. They
will be remembered with pleasure and delight
Avhen we reach the plains of glory. We expect
to *meet and to live forever with the good people
of York.

352 SOLI TAB Y FLA CES MA DE GLAD.

CHAPTER XXIII.

METHODIST EDUCATION IN NEBRASKA UNIFIED.

Methodist Schools in Nebraska during the Past —
The Nebraska Wesleyan University.

BISHOP NINDE said, in an address delivered
before the Educational Convention, held in
Lincoln in the spring of 1889: '^Nebraska has
solved the great problem of the unification of
Methodist education. '^

This question has baffled the minds of the
greatest educators and divines in our Church for
the past one hundred years. This great problem —
one of the most perplexing of all educational
problems — Nebraska has been the first to solve.

Up to 1887, the history of Methodist educa-
tion in Nebraska had been anything but satisfac-
tory. Up to that time the efforts of the Church
along the line of education had been a succession
of failures and the most disastrous defeats.

Against the multiplication of weak and sickly
institutions of learning, our Discipline for many
years has contained a standing protest. In sec-
tion 2, paragraph 344, may be found the following
recommendation : ^'And it is also recommended

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 353

that no fewer than four Conferences unite in sup-
port of a college or university, and the Confer-
ences are earnestly advised not to multiply schools,
especially of the higher grade, beyond the wants
of the people or their ability to sustain them."
The wise men of our Church, who have given
the above sensible advice, knew well that it takes
immense sums of money to build up a successful
university ; and where two or more schools of
high grade are attempted to be built up under
the patronizing territory of three or four Confer-
ences, all of them must of necessity be weak and
sickly. But, notwithstanding this urgent request
from the highest authorities of the Church, weak
and sickly institutions of learning have gone on,
multiplying and dying, all over our land; and
the work of folly goes on to-day as in all the
years of the past. The result has been that many
warm friends of Christian education have become
discouraged and utterly disheartened, and at many
points Methodist education and the Methodist
Episcopal Church have received a blow from
which they will probably never fully recover.
This process, for years and years, went on in Ne-
braska, just as in all other States.

The late Dr. John Dempster at one time had

his eye on Nebraska as a suitable place to found a

theological institute. This great and good man

was among the first who felt deeply impressed

30

354 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

with the conviction that there should be a semi-
nary for young ministers. He began to devote
himself to this work, and in 1847 he founded
and opened the Biblical Institute at Concord,
N. H. For seven years he labored faithfully as
an instructor, during which time he traveled ex-
tensively and collected funds for the institution.
After having, by his tireless zeal and indomitable
energy, placed the institution firmly on its feet,
and having seen it securely fixed in the affections
of the preachers, he resigned his place to become
a pioneer in the West. About this time, Mrs.
Eliza Garrett, of Chicago, 111., a lady of wealth,
was arranging to devote her property for a theo-
logical school. The Doctor visited her, and through
her munificent donations, opened a preliminary
school at Evanston, which afterwards became the
Garrett Biblical Institute. Having founded this
school, and seen it firmly established, he began
to look for a suitable place to found the third.
His great heart was not satisfied with what he
had already done. His yearning spirit was
turned further West. He was exceedingly anx-
ious to accomplish still more along the line of
ministerial education. In 1858 the town of
Oreapolis was founded, at the mouth of the Platte
River, just north of the city of Plattsmouth.
The design of the parties in locating this towu
was to make it a great educational center, and to

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 355

build up a second Evauston. They confidently
expected tliat Oreapolis would not only become
a great educational center, but would be the east-
ern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad, and
the metropolitan city of the Great West. Liberal
propositions were made to the Church by the
town company.

At the Kansas and Nebraska Conference, held
in Omaha in the spring of 1859, the Committee
on Education, of which the Avritcr was a member,
submitted as part of its report the following,
which was adopted :

" Your Committee on Education, to whom was referred
the communication of John Dempster, in reference to the
establishment of a Biblical institute at Oreapolis, would
report :

"That they have carefully considered the propositions
therein contained, and recommend the adoption of the
following resolutions:

"1. Resolved, That we will cordially and heartily co-
operate with the friends of ministerial education generally,
and with Dr. John Dempster in particular, in the great
work of founding and sustaining a Biblical institute, for
the education of our junior ministry in the Missouri
Eiver valley, to be located at Oreapolis, N. T.

"2. Resolved, That the thanks of this Conference be
tendered to Dr. Dempster for the noble and generous
donation he has tendered to said institute, and for his
efficient and devoted labors in the cause of ministerial
education in our Church, and that he be cordially invited
to join this Conference.

"3. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Confer-
ence that said institute may with confidence expect as

356 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

many as ten students from the Missouri Valley at its
opening, as proposed by Dr. Dempster, in the astumn
of 1860.

"4. Resolved, That this Conference respectfully me-
morialize the Territorial Legislature of Nebraska to grant
the trustees of said institute a charter, with the usual
franchises securing the control of the same in perpetuity
to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

"All of which is respectfully submitted.

ORKAPOI.IS SEMINARY.

"Your Committee on Education, to whom was re-
ferred the charter of the seminary at Oreapolis, and the
communication of John Evans in regard to the same,
have had the same under consideration, and recommend
the passage of the following resolution in reference
thereto :

*^ Resolved, That we will co-operate with the friends of
education in the establishment of said seminary at Ore-
apolis, and that we will exercise the control of said insti-
tution provided for in its charter in the appointment of
trustees.

" All of which is respectfully submitted.

CASS COUNTY UNIVERSITY.

" Your committee, to whom was referred the charter
of the university to be located in Cass County, N. T., and
the communication from its Board of Trustees, have had
the same under consideration, and respectfully report:

" That in view of the establishment of the institute
and seminary at Oreapolis, and the great importance of
concentrating our efforts upon one great leading enter-
prise in Nebraska, as a central educational point ; in view
of the liberality of said Town Company in not imposing
onerous obligations upon the Conference as conditions
of their large donation ; and in view of the necessity of
the theological as well as the literary and scientific de-

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 357

partments being established in connection with a univer-
sity to make it really such, we recommend the passage of
the following resolutions:

"1. Resolved, That we accept the trust imposed upon
us by the terms of the charter of said university in fill-
ing its Board of Trustees.

" 2. Resolved, That we will cordially unite with the
friends of education in exerting our best efi"orts to build
up and sustain said university."

The following year a brick builcling, eighty
feet in length, and three stories high, was erected,
and a school of seminary grade opened. The
school ran with encouraging success for awhile.
But the location was bad, the town was not a suc-
cess, the school became a failure, the property
never came into the hands of the Church, and
the whole scheme fell to pieces. The seminary,
the Biblical Institute, and the Great University
proved to be only the idle dreams of their pro-
jectors. Good men often make great mistakes.
Humanum est errare.

In 1864, Professor J. M. McKenzie founded
a seminary and normal institute at Pawnee City.
The name of this school was ^^ Nemaha Valley
Seminary and Normal Institute." In the spring
of 1865 the Nebraska Conference passed a reso-
lution, recommending this institution of learning
to the favorable consideration of all our people.
While it never became the property of the Con-
ference, it was largely patronized by our people.

358 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

This school, under the efficient management of
Professor McKeuzie, did good work for awhile,
but, for the want of adequate means and patron-
age, soon ran its course, and died.

In 1866, under the leadership of the Rev. H.
Burch, the people of Peru and Nemaha County
raised several thousand dollars for the founding
of a Methodist school at Peru. A building eighty
feet long, forty feet wide, and three stories high,
was erected. This school was incorporated under
the style of " Peru Seminary and College,'^ and
its friends earnestly desired the Conference to
adopt it, and take it under its absolute control.
The Conference, however, was not willing to com-
ply with the request of the trustees, unless they
would modify their charter so as to reduce the
grade of the school to a seminary. This they
were not willing to do. The trustees then offered
the property to the State, on condition that it be
made a normal school. The offer was accepted,
and a State normal school was founded, which
has had increasing success ever since.

In 1879 two propositions were presented to
the Conference ; one from Osceola, and one from
York. The proposition from York was accepted,
and a school of seminary grade was at once
started. Soon after this, the North Nebraska
Conference founded a school at Fullerton. This
school lived but a little while.

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 359

Rev. Edward Thomson was appointed princi-
cipal of the York Seminary. The new seminary
started out under favorable auspices. Its friends
were hopeful, and to them the future of the in-
stitution was exceedingly bright. Their expecta-
tions were sanguine in the extreme; they con-
tracted debts, and these debts accumulated yearly.
In 1883 the grade was changed from that of a
seminary to college, with a full classical curricu-
lum. The future of the college was as hopeful
as that of the seminary. Students increased. The
college grew in favor with the people. Withal,
each year swelled the indebtedness of the college,'
and the trustees had many a fearful grapple Avith
them. Midnight often found them wrestling with
the fearful problem: "How shall we meet these
accumulating obligations T' Then, worn down in
body and mind, they would retire to dream over
the gloomy situation.

Central City College, only about forty miles
away from York, was founded by the North
Nebraska Conference. Here were two rival in-
stitutions, within forty miles of each other, each
jealous of the other's success, and both struggling
for existence.

Meanwhile, the Mallalieu University was
founded at Bartley ; but, like the others,' was
without financial bottom.

In the fall of 1886, Bishop Fowler was to \wq-

360 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

side at the Nebraska Conferences. Some of the
friends of education saw very clearly the preca-
rious condition of all our schools of high grade
in the State. It seemed evident to the close ob-
server of educational matters that the 'death of
them all was only a question of time. Not one
was on a firm financial basis. While Bishop
Fowler was on his way to the North Nebraska
Conference, he was met by Dr. C. F. Creighton
and Dr. R. N. McKaig. Dr. McKaig was then
president of York College. Dr. Creighton was
pastor of Saint Paul, Lincoln.

The gloomy outlook of our educational mat-
ters, the want of sympathy between the friends
of these local institutions, and the demand that
something be done, both for the sake of educa-
tion and religion, were laid before the bishop.

Dr. Creighton proposed that all our educational
interests in the State be consolidated, and that we
build up one great educational institution. After
listening to the above facts, and the proposition
of Dr. Creighton, the bishop arose and said, Avith
stirring emphasis: ^'This is the greatest ivork you
have in Nebraska. Now ivhat do you ivant me to
dof^ Meantime, Rev. J. M. Phelps, presiding
elder of the Omaha District, came in, and the
bishop gave him the matter in substance, and
Brother Phelps assented to the wisdom of such
a plan, and agreed to stand by it. This was

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 361

the unification of Methodist education in Ne-
braska in its incipiency.

That month, September, 1886, all the annual
conferences in Nebraska — namely, the Nebraska,
North Nebraska, and West Nebraska — at their
sessions appointed a joint commission of ministers
and laymen for the purpose of unifying the edu-
cational interests of the Church in the State, and
the founding of a university.

That commission met in the city of Lincoln,
December 15, 1886, and remained in session three
days. Bishop Thomas Bowman and Bishop H. W.
Warren were present part of the time. The fol-
lowing plan of unification was agreed upon :

PLAN OF AGREEMENT

FOR THE UNIFICATION OF OUR COI.I,FGES IN A UNIVER-
SITY IN NEBRASKA.

First. That trustees, to be hereafter appointed, secure
a charter for a university, to include, as contributor}' or
allied institutions, the schools and colleges at present or
hereafter coming under the control of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Nebraska.

Second. That all schools or colleges, which are now
or may hereafter become the property of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Nebraska, shall be under the control
of the university trustees ; but all the property, real, per-
sonal, or mixed, shall be held and controlled by their
own local Boards of Trustees.

Third. The first Board of University Trustees shall
consist of seven trustees, from within the boundaries of
31

362 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

each Conference in Nebraska, to be appointed by this
commission, and approved by the several Conferences to
which they belong, and that hereafter the trustees
shall consist of seven persons from each and every Con-
ference, elected in four annual classes by their respective
Conferences. The persons thus elected by the several
Conferences shall constitute the local Boards of the sev-
eral colleges \^ithin the bounds of their respective Con-
ferences.

These several local Boards of Trustees to hold and con-
trol the property of each college as above provided, and
each local Board may nominate so many additional mem-
bers as each separate Conference may determine to elect
who, in addition to said local Board, shall perform the
duties of said local trustees.

Fourth. Duties of the university and college trustees:

(a) The university trustees to have and hold all prop-
erty belonging to the university proper, and to manage
the affairs of the same.

(5) To determine the course of study, text-books to
be used, systems of grading, and to do all such other work
as appertains to the general educational interests of the
allied colleges; providing that each college elect its own
faculty and arrange for its own internal discipline.

All other powers remain with the local Boards of Trus-
tees as defined by their charters and by-laws.

Fifth. Any school or college existent, or that may come
under the charter of the university, shall be entitled to
retain its college name, to acquire property to b^ held
for the benefit of such college, to teach regular prepara-
tory and collegiate studies, as far as the end of the sopho-
more year of the university course, and to confer academic
and normal degrees. The colleges of the university shall
have the same courses of study, use the same text-books,
and students of one college shall be entitled to enter the
same grade and rank in any college of the university, on
certificate of standing, without examination.

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 363

Amendment to Article V:

The clause in Article V of the above, which reads
"as far as the end of the S()i)homore year," etc., shall be
understood to be io interpreted that any college of this
university may be graded in its classical curriculum in
every detail, so that its classical senior year of graduation
shall not be graded higher than the end of the sopho-
more year of the classical course of the university.

The following addition was adopted:

The Board of Trustees shall make the grade of the
university equal to that of any Methodist university in
the United States.

York, Central City, Bartley, Omaha, and Lin-
coln were all applicants for the university. On
the second ballot, Lincoln was selected as the
place for its location. The friends of York
worked hard to secure the location, but failed,
and they returned home sadly disappointed. The
trustees in their haste unwisely passed a resolu-
tion declaring York College independent of the
"Plan of Agreement.'' They soon saw, how-
ever, their great mistake. The cry of disloyalty
was at once raised, and the trustees realized that
they were losing the sympathy of people and
preachers throughout the Conference. They then
changed tactics and wheeled into line. A reso-
lution was passed by the Board rescinding the
action whereby it had declared York College in-
dependent of the "Plan of Agreement.'' But
the college was loaded down with a debt of six-
teen thousand dollars; the trustees were sued, and

364 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

were about to be sold out by their creditors, and
their property sacrificed. Rather than have this
done, they sold the property themselves, paid off
their debts, and closed the school. It was a sad
day for York College. The noble men who had
stood by her in her darkest days felt most keenly
the loss. The money spent on the York College,
however, has not been lost. Forth from that
college have gone students and an influence, the
salutary effects of which will be felt in many parts
of the land through all time.

The university was located at Lincoln, within
a radius of three and one- half miles from the
United States post-office. A beautiful site was
selected on an elevated position. From this ele-
vated position the city of Lincoln and the whole
surrounding country can be distinctly seen.
Chancellor Creighton took Chaplain McCabe to
the highest point on the campus before the build-
ing was completed, and then said to him : " Chap-
lain, look around.'^ The chaplain took off his
hat, gazed with delight in every direction, and,
taking a long breath, inflated his lungs with the
pure air of Nebraska, then said : *^ Methodism
always gets ahead/^

At another time the chancellor took Bishop
Joyce to the same spot, and, after the bishop had
taken in the situation, said : *^ Would n't we bo
jealous if some other denomination had this?''

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 365

Tlie campus contains forty-four acres. In the
center stands the university building, which is
four stories high, one hundred and sixty-eight by
seventy-two feet, built of brick, and trimmed with
red granite from Colorado, and is one of the most
beautiful and imposing structures in the West.
The building cost seventy thousand dollars. Of
this amount the city of Lincoln paid fifty thou-
sand dollars, and the balance was paid from the
sale of lots donated to the university.

Along all lines great victories are not gained
without great conflicts, and the Nebraska Wes-
leyan University is not an exception to this rule.
The parties who gave the site required the trus-
tees to give bonds in the sum of ninety thou-
sand dollars, that the building should be ready for
occupancy by the first of October, 1888, and
should cost not less than fifty thousand dollars.
A few of the trustees, individually, gave the re-
quired bond. Work began, but time and again
stopped for the want of means. The matter
weighed heavily on the mind of Dr. Creighton.
The cloud at times grew awfully dark. Often at
the hour of midnight he would crawl out of bed,
get down upon his knees, and pray for God to
come to their help.

Lots were sold for one-fourth cash, the balance
on one, two, and three years' time. Some of this
paper was negotiated to Eastern parties. The

366 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

banks in Lincoln offered to take this paper at a
discount of twenty per cent, and the personal in-
dorsement of the trustees. The trustees declined
this offer. Again the work stopped. The Board
met. The outlook was dark in the extreme.
The trustees looked ominously at each other.
Some said : *' The thing is a failure." Bishop
Warren was present, and listened with deep in-
terest to the long and weary discussions. Finally
the bishop said : " I will give you a thousand
dollars." The chancellor said : " That will not
relieve us." " What do you think I ought to
do ?" " Give us ten thousand dollars," said the
chancellor.

The bishop replied, ^' I will take five thousand
dollars worth of lots and five thousand dollars
of your paper, on condition that you sell the re-
maining collateral," amounting to over ten thou-
sand dollars. Dr. Creighton sold that paper
within a week, and telegraphed the bishop asking
if he (Dr. Creighton) should draw on hini for the
ten thousand dollars. The bishop replied affirm-
atively, and Dr. Creighton drew the money.
The financial credit of the university from that
hour was at par. The trustees breathed easy;
the clouds began to break and roll away ; work
on the building was pushed, and on the twenty-
fifth day of September, 1888, the Nebraska Wes-
leyan University was informally opened. A

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 367

handful of students, with a few friends of the
institution, met in the library hall, on the third
floor of the building. Dr. AY. G. Miller, presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees, and presiding
elder of the Lincoln District, conducted the re-
ligious services. Chancellor Creighton delivered
a short address, and the writer followed with a
brief sketch of the history of Methodist educa-
tion in Nebraska. The few who were privileged
to be there will probably never forget that
memorable occasion. The formal opening of the
university took place in the university chapel, Octo-
ber 24th, when Bishop John P. Newman delivered
an able and exceedingly interesting address on
the occasion, and Chancellor Creighton gave his
inaugural, which was an able review of the his-
tory of the university up to that time. Governor
John M. Thayer followed with a well-timed im-
promptu address, and one of the greatest educa-
tional enterprises of the Methodist Episcopal
Church was inaugurated.

It will be observed by the *^Plan of Agree-
ment'^ that the Nebraska Wesleyan University
is the property of all the Annual Conferences of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the State.
Second, that the university includes, "as con-
tributory or allied institutions, the schools and
colleges at present or hereafter coming under the
control of the Methodist Episcopal Church in

368 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

Nebraska." Every academy and college that
shall hereafter become the property of the Church
in Nebraska will be part of this great university.

The wisdom of this plan will appear if we
take into view, a few facts :

First. The age in which we live is one of the
most intense mental activity. One high in au-
thority in our Church said in a letter to the writer
some time ago, touching this matter: '^ We are
in great need of the best possible workmen,
with the best possible training. Not a shred
of Christian faith will survive that can not
be defended on the hottest field, and we are
compelled to go into the death-struggle for the
Church with strong, scholarly men, who can com-
mand the attention and confidence of the people.
This makes it necessary for us to have the best
possible training-schools. Our university must
be second to none on the earth. If we can make
her the peer of the best, so that our graduates
shall be honored among any company of college
men, then we can expect to retain our hold upon
the confidence and patronage of the public. I
am sure we shall come far short of this if we go
into the fight with little, poor colleges, that have
only the name and not the appliances of colleges.
The freshman and suphomore years can be taught
by drill-masters, whose salaries need never be
large; but in the junior and senior years, where a

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 369

number of elective studies are furnished by our
best universities, thus enabling the students to start
somewhat towards their particular line of life,
we, too, must furnish these elective studies,
under competent professors, or we must stand
aside and let others do the work. All this re-
quires money. It needs no argument to prove
that Nebraska Methodism is not capable of run-
ning three schools of such magnitude and character;
but if she will combine all her money and ener-
gies on one she may compete successfully with
the schools anywhere in the land.''

This is just what Nebraska Methodism has
done. Slie has founded a university with a grade
equal to that of any Methodist university in the
United States, and is uniting her money and en-
ergies in building up this great institution.

Second. Academies at different points in the
State are already projected, with the view of be-
coming parts of the university. These will mul-
tiply with years, and thus feeders to the university
will be constantly increasing. At these academies
the bulk of education done by the Church in the
State may be accomplished, and will be done at
the lowest possible expense. Not more than ten
out of every one hundred who pass through the
icademy ever go through the university; those
who desire to do so, however, can receive the
greater part of their education at the academy,

370 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

where the expense will not be great, and only the
last two or three years need necessarily be spent
at the university, where they will have all the ap-
pliances of a university of the highest grade.

Third. The students who shall graduate from
the Nebraska Wesleyan University will never be
ashamed of their Alma Mater, From her halls
of learning they will go forth to be honored
among any company of college men in the land.

Fourth. Men who, under God, have been
blessed with wealth, and desire to consecrate that
wealth to the t)uilding up of Christ's kingdom,
want to place it where it will yield the largest re-
turns for God. They are not willing usually to
give their money to weak and sickly schools,
whose existence is merely an experiment.

Those who have money they wish to consecrate,
and desire to place it where it will yield the larg-
est income, will make no mistake in endowing the
Nebraska Wesleyan University. Here is an in-
stitution of learning that will grow in usefulness
and power with the centuries.

There are consecrated men of means who are
looking around to see where they can make the
safest and most profitable investment for the Lord.
Should the eyes of any such chance to fall upon
these pages, they may rest assured that the Ne-
braska Wesleyan University furnishes a place for
the safest and most profitable investment.

METHODIST EDUCATION UNIFIED. 371

Fifth. Already this university, although only
a little over two years old, has more property
than all the schools connected with the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Nebraska combined, and all
tlie schools run by private members of the
Cluirch, from the organization of the Territory, in
1854, to the present time. Why this phenomenal
growth ? Why the wonderfully encouraging out-
look of this university ? Because she has behind
her all the preachers and all the members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church throughout tlie en-
tire State.

Every Methodist preacher throughout Ne-
braska is an unpaid agent, to advertise, send stu-
dents, and raise money for the building up of
this institution of learning. Two hundred miles
wide, and four hundred miles long is pre-empted
forever for one Methodist university ; namely,
the Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Methodism in Nebraska to-day has thirty-five
thousand two hundred and sixty-one members,
including probationers; and three hundred and
fifty-four traveling preachers, including supplies.

On the same ratio of increase as during the
])ast few years, Methodism in the State in ten
years will have seventy-five thousand members,
and seven hundred traveling preachers. Then
there will be seven hundred unpaid agents work-
ing in all parts of the State for this university.

372 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

From more than seven hundred points in the
State will flow streams of students and wealth to
our great educational center; and these streams of
students and wealth will multiply as the years
roll on. If I were to utter a prediction, that I
feel in my heart will be fulfilled if Methodism is
true to the trust imposed on her, as to what this
university will be in ten years from now, I should
probably be called an enthusiast. No Methodist
institution ever had such a propitious start.

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 373

CHAPTER XXIV.

METHODISM'S DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE
REVIVED.

What the Doctrine is — The Great Revival — History
OF the Bennett Camp-meeting.

THE peculiar and distinctive doctrine of the
Methodist Episcopal Church — that which
distinguishes her from all other Protestant
Churches — is the doctrine of entire sanctification,
as a work wrought by the Holy Ghost subsequent
to conversion. Our Board of Bishops, in their
^'Episcopal Address/^ on the first page of our
excellent book of Discipline, say : '^ In 1729 two
young men in England, reading the Bible, saw
they could not be saved without holiness; fol-
lowed after it; and incited others so to do. In
1737 they saw likewise that men are justified be-
fore they are sanctified ; but still holiness was
their object. God then thrust them out to raise
a holy people.^' These words are quoted by our
bishops, as they tell us, from John and Charles
Wesley. Further, in this same address, they say :
" We believe that God's design in raising up the
Methodist Episcopal Church in America, was to

374 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

reform the continent, and spread Scriptural holi-
ness over these lands. '^

^^ Holiness unto the Lord ^^ was the rallying
cry of John Wesley. These inspiring words be-
came also the rallying cry of the founders of
American Methodism. On the banners of the
Church these burning words were written by the
" Fathers/^ and then these banners were boldly
flung to the breeze. Under the clean-cut, pow-
erful preaching of this doctrine, wonderful revi-
vals were witnessed in many parts of the land.
The Church grew and spread mightily. As we
neared the close of the first century of American
Methodism, however, the tide of spirituality in the
Churches had gone down to a very low ebb. All
felt the demoralizing influence of the Civil War.
The leaders of the hosts of our Zion saw and felt
it most clearly. They felt, too, the need of a
more complete and thorough consecration of all
to God. The bishops, in their Address to the
General Conference of 1864, said: ^^ It becomes
us, dear brethren, to humble ourselves in the dust
in view of our manifold sins, individual and
National. We are yet, it may be feared, a haughty
and rebellious people ; and God will humble us.
There can be no good reason to expect the resto-
ration of order and unity until we properly de-
plore our sins, and return to God with deep self-
abasement and fervent prayer. A gracious revival

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 375

of religion — deep, pervading, and permanent — is
the great demand of our times. We beg yoii,
brethren, turn your most thoughtful and prayer-
ful attention to this demand. Let God, our Heav-
enly Father, behold us in tears and confidence
before his throne, pleading night and day, through
the Redeemer, for the outporing of the Holy
Ghost upon the Church, the Nation, and the world.
This is our only hope; let our faith command
it, and it shall be." The Address of the bishops
stirred the hearts of many, and both preachers
and laymen began to feel their great need. The
following year there was quite an awakening upon
the subject of holiness. A camp-meeting was
held on the Bridgeton District, New Jersey Con-
ference. The presiding elder, Rev. Charles H.
Whitecar, had charge of the meeting, and entire
holiness was made quite prominent. The meet-
ing was one of great interest and power. Many
went down into the cleansing fountain, and re-
turned to their homes to tell the wondrous story
of Christ's cleansing power. The influence of
that meeting was wide-spread. Remarkable re-
vivals followed, ^' and the whole district was in
fact ablaze.'' The following year, 1866, another
meeting was held on the same ground, which was
still more successful. ^^ The result was, the ground
was literally fire-swept. It flamed with the glory
of God." Many ministers and laymen went down

376 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

into the pool, were cleansed, and wondronsly en-
dued with power. The tidings of these meetings
spread far and near. They became the topic of
conversation, not only in our Church, but in
other Churches as well ; and a devoted Christian
belonging to a sister Church uttered the follow-
ing prophecy : It was publicly declared " that
within four years camp-meetings would be held
over this land for the promotion of holiness, and
that in that very section there would be a great
gathering of God's people of different names in
this interest." The next year the first National
Carap-raeeting for the Promotion of Holiness was
held at Yineland, and the above prophecy was
literally fulfilled.

A public call for a meeting of ministers and
laymen, favorable to holding a camp-meeting for
the promotion of entire sanctification, was made,
to meet June 13, 1867, at the Methodist Book-
room, 1018 Arch Street, Philadelphia. The call
was signed by Rev. A. E. Ballard, presiding elder,
and twelve others.

At the appointed time many ministers and lay-
men, with hearts all aglow with heaven-fire and
holy zeal, assembled. Rev. George Hughes, in
his " Days of Power,'' gives the following de-
scription of that first council :

" Hallowed memories cluster around the coun-
cil-chamber, at 1018 Arch Street, Philadelphia.

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 377

The morning of June 13, 1867, will never be
forgotten. It was an auspicious morning. A
holy atmosphere seemed to pervade the room.
The rustle of angel's wings was almost percepti-
ble to mortal ear. The presence of the Triune
God — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — was dis-
tinctly apprehended. Every face was bright;
every spirit was joyous. Never did good men
grasp more warmly each other by the hand
Brother Osborn was there, ready to stand in his
lot, and never more satisfied that this was of God.
The time-honored Dr. Roberts, of Baltimore, oc-
cupied his place, his countenance glowing with
delight, and his soul magnifying the Lord Jesus
exceedingly. Rev. John S. Inskip shouted aloud
the praises of God as he grasped each fraternal
hand; he was full nerved for the battle. The
presiding elder, Rev. A. E. Ballard, genial, kind
spirited, determined, was in the company.

'' The beloved disciple — our own ascended
brother. Rev. Alfred Cookman — with his saintly
face and dignified mien, was ready to be conse-
crated on this altar. Close to him was Rev. An-
drew Longacre, who was his bosom companion,
glorying only in the cross, and saying none other
thing than that the blood of Jesus cleanseth from
all sin. Lovely were those brothers in their
lives, even as David and Jonathan; and in death
they were not divided. We can not give a full

32

878 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD,

list. It was not a large meeting as to numbers,
but it was composed of united, earnest men, dis-
posed to assume the responsibilities of the oc-
casion, with a single eye to the divine glory.

'^ The meeting being called to order. Rev. Dr.
George C. M. Roberts, of Baltimore, was elected
chairman, and Rev. John Thomson secretary.
The president then led in prayer. He poured
out his soul in thankfulness that he was permitted
to see that favored hour. He was like a patri-
arch talking with God. He knew the way of
access. He grasped firmly the horns of the altar.
He pleaded for divine aid. He invoked wisdom
and strength. He made his plea on the ground
of Christ's atoning blood. He put forth a hand
of faith; it took fast hold of the promise. The
answering tokens w^ere given.

" Rev. J. S. Inskip followed in prayer. His
voice w^as tremulous with emotion. His soul was
feeling the mighty responsibilities of the occasion.
His vision was expanded to compass the thrilling
interests involved in the action of that day. He
was earnest in supplication for divine guidance.
He besought the Lord not to carry his servants
up hence unless his presence should go with them.
The prayer was divinely indited. The adorable
intercessor, pleading on his behalf, even with
groanings that could not be uttered, was in his
servant's prayer. That hour of communion with

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 379

Heaven will never be obliterated from the
memory of those privileged to be present. The
* Master of assemblies' was there. The cloud,
big with blessings, was just overhead. A solemn
awe rested upon the whole company. A divine
hush was upon every si)irit. The wealth of eter-
nity was in every bosom. The joy of the Lord
v/as the strength of the little assembly. Some
found relief in tears; others praised the Lord
aloud. O, how glorious it was to be there!
Undying praises to the Lamb !"

Under these circumstances the great holiness
revival was inaugurated. Ten hundred and
eighteen Arch Street, Philadelphia, was the Jeru-
salem upper room to that spirit-baptized band of
holy men. Forth from that little room rolled
a wave of revival flame that soon girdled the
globe.

At that council arrangements were made for
holding the first camp-meeting for the promotion
of holiness. The meeting was held at Vineland,
beginning Wednesday, July 17th, and closing
Friday, July 26, 1867. On this first meeting God
put his seal of approbation. The meetino- was
crowned with wondrous success. Hundreds wont
down into the cleansing fountain, and large num-
bers were clearly converted. At the close, the
people, by rising to their fact, expressed the ear-
nest desire to have another meeting of similar

380 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

character the following year. A committee was
appointed for the purpose of carrying into effect
the desire of the people. The next meeting was
held at Manheim, with the same happy results;
and every year since similar meetings have been
held. Chaplain McCabe once said: *^ You ought
to attend one holiness camp-meeting before going
to heaven.'' A holiness camp-meeting is in fact
about as near heaven as one can get in this world.

In the spring of 1871, Bishop Ames invited
Rev. J. S. Inskip and his wife to accompany him
to his spring Conferences. The kindly request
was cheerfully complied with. They accompa-
nied the bishop, kindling a mighty fire of holi-
ness at every Conference, and creating a wonderful
thirst for purity in many hearts.

The Nebraska Conference met at Lincoln,
March 29, 1871. Brother and Sister Inskip were
present. On the first day the following paper
was read, and unanimously adopted :

" Whereas, We have learned with great
pleasure of the labors of Brother and Sister In-
skip with the various Conferences of the AVest
during the last few weeks; and ichereas, our
hearts are in deep sympathy with them and the
great special work in which they are engaged ;
therefore,

^'Besolved, That we do most cordially welcome
them to our Conference, and would most respect-

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 381

fully request that Brother In.skip take charge of
our morning meetings and such other social re-
ligious exercises as may be held during the ses-
sion of the Conference.^'

A meeting of about one hour each morning
before the Conference business began, was con-
ducted by Brother and Sister Inskip. These were
meetings of wondrous power. We had never seen
anything like them before. Brother and Sister
Inskip told their experience of entire sanctifica-
tion. They spoke with rapture of the new-found
joy and marvelous power of holiness. Sister In-
skip's singing was the most thrilling. Under its
heavenly strains all hearts were melted. There
was no lounging around the doors before the Con-
ference sessions opened. Ministers and laymen
flocked to the morning meetings. Many were
fully saved, and the desire for holiness was planted
in many hearts.

The following year, arrangements were made
for holding a camp-meeting for the promotion of
holiness at Bennett. Rev. W. B. M. Colt, of the
Oak Creek Circuit, and Rev. C. A. King, -of
Schuyler, were both in the experience of full sal-
vation, and were the leaders in arranging for and
conducting this meeting.

A beautiful grove near Bennett was selected,
the ground was prepared, and on Tuesday, August
13, 1872, the first meeting for the promotion of

382 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

holiness in the State of Nebraska began. The
attendance was not large, but the meeting from
the very beginning was marked Avith unusual
manifestations of divine power. At every meet-
ing souls were saved. Many were converted and
many wholly sanctified. On each succeeding day
the tide of spirituality rose higher and higher,
and the culminating point was reached on the
Sabbath, which was the great day of the feast.
The overshadowing presence of the Shekinah
Avas felt by all throughout the entire day. Dur-
ing the love-feast, which lasted one hour and five
minutes, one hundred and five testimonies were
given, and the congregation sung fifteen different
times. We had never witnessed anything like
this. It seemed that it was Pentecost repeated.
The whole day was one of power. At this meet-
ing Mrs. Davis and myself and our daughter
Allie, all sought and found the great blessing.

I had been under conviction for heart-purity
for some time, and went to this meeting with
somewhat confused ideas touching the doctrine,
and with a religious experience not at all satis-
fying. Under the clean-cut preaching of the
doctrine, and the many ringing testimonies, we
were led to the most rigid and thorough heart-
searchings. The spiritual conflict with me was
long and severe. I was at that time presiding
elder of the Lincoln District. To go down in

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 383

the straw at the altar as a seeker of holiness was
indeed humiliating. What would the people of
my district think of me? ^yould they think that
I had heen preaching all these years without re-
ligion ? Would they not say : " During all these
years you have been a hypocrite?" What would
the preachers say ? What effect would such a
step have upon my future appointments in the
Conference ? These and many other questions
confronted me ; but I had little difficulty in dis-
posing of them all. Then the enemy said : ^^Are
you willing to be called one of the sanctified
ones? Are you willing to have the people say,
' He thinks himself holier than we V Are you
willing to take the odium that will attach to you
if you seek this blessing?'' All these questions
I answered in the affirmative, as they came, one
by one. The final test w'as applied. The last
great question came. It was a staggering one :
" Will you publish to the world the great doc-
trine of holiness?" I hesitated. The question
was pressed home to my heart with increasing
force and power. Still I hesitated. It was a
hard question to answer, and involved grave re-
sponsibilities. The conflict went on in my mind
for two days or more. No one on the ground
knew anything about it. It was a secret but
mighty conflict with the powers of darkness, a
hand-to-hand grapple with the arch-fiend of hell.

384 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Again the question oame: "Will you fling to the
breeze the banner of holiness, and under that
banner will you march ?'' Still I hesitated. But
finally I said, as I lay with my face in the straw:
^' Yes, Lord, I will/^ The battle was ended, the
enemy completely routed, the victory gained; and
there came into my heart a wonderfully sweet
peace. There was no great ecstasy ; no rapturous
joy ; no great emotion. But a sweet quiet
reigned within. "The peace of God which pass-
eth all understanding '^ took possession of my
soul. God said to his ancient people : " O that
thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!
Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea." I saw
and knew the meaning of that passage of Scrip-
ture as never before. Look at the majestic river
as it sweeps onward, calm and unruffled, to the
ocean, with scarcely a ripple upon its surface.
There may be disturbing elements on either side
of that river. Along its banks cities may be
burned, bloody battles may be fought, raging epi-
demics may sweep away thousands of the people;
but the river, undisturbed, moves onward amid
all these scenes, " the same yesterday, to-day, and
forever.'^ " Men may come and men may go, but
I go on forever." It is a beautiful emblem of
the peace which takes possession of the saved
soul. There may be disturbing elements all along

distinctive; doctrine revived. 385

the Christian's pathway; there may be disturbing
elements in the home, in business matters, in the
Church, in the community. But away down in
the soul is the settled peace, the great calm; and
this peace, this undisturbed calm, flows on amid
all these disturbing elements, the same day after
day, and year after 3^ear.

"It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears ;
Life, light, and joy it still imparts,
And quells our rising fears."

Isaac AYatts's hymn, altered by John Wesley,
also beautifully expresses it :

"The men of grace have found

Glory begun below;
Celestial fruit on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow.

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We 're marching through Immanu-l's ground,
To fairer worlds on high."

At this first camp-meeting for the promotion
of holiness "The Nebraska State Holiness Asso-
ciation" was organized, and every year since a
camp-meeting for the promotion of holiness and
the conversion of sinners has been held ; and
on every one of these meetings God's seal of ap-
probation has been placed. Not one has been
barren of success. I am sorry I have not at
33

386 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

hand a full list of the names of those who took
an active part at that first meeting, and who were
the charter members of the Association. The
following were among the number : Rev. W. B. M.
Colt, Rev. C. A. King, Kev. George S. Alexander,
Rev. George Worley, Rev. Thomas Crowder, Rev.
H. Burch, Rev. H. T. Davis, Professor J. M.
McKenzie, Hon. C. C. White, Caleb Worley.

At the fifteenth session of the Nebraska Con-
ference, held in Lincoln, beginning September 15,
1875, the following paper was adopted :

" Whereas, There is a growing interest
among the people on the doctrine of entire sanc-
tification, as held and taught by the founder of
our Church; and ichereas, we believe the Na-
tional Association for the Promotion of Holiness
are safe and successful teachers of the same;
therefore,

^^Resolvedj That we, as a Conference, invite,
them to hold a camp-meeting among us at their
own convenience during the summer of 1876, and
that we pledge our co-operation to make such a
meeting a success.^'

The National Association accepted the invita-
tion, and fixed June 27th as the time for the
meeting to begin. The officers of the State Ho-
liness Association searched diligently and widely
for a suitable place, and after careful and thor-
ough search, the grounds at Bennett were selected

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 387

for the meeting. A large outlay was made in
digging wells, fitting up the grounds, and pre-
paring for the coming great occasion. The meet-
iug began at the appointed time. Only two
members of the National Association could be
present— Rev. S. H. Henderson and Rev. J. B.
Foote. These two men, however, were equal for
the occasion. They came in " the fullness of the
blessing of the Gospel," and their preaching and
teachings were '' in demonstration of the Spirit
and power." The work at this meeting was
thorough, the convictions were deep, the conver-
sions clear, and the sanctifications unmistakable
Then another remarkable feature of this meeting
was the speed with which the work was done.
The people of God had gathered such a head of
divine power, and were so strong in faith that all
they had to do was to ^^ ask and receive." Sin-
ners were converted and believers wholly sancti-
fied almost as soon as they reached the altar
At one meeting the altar was crowded with
seekers. Two rows of seats, reaching clear across
the tabernacle, were filled. During one season
of prayer every seeker, save one or two, was
saved. A cloud of glory seemed to settle down
upon the congregation, and a shock of divine
power was felt by all present, such as is seldom
the privilege of any to feel. Brother Foote said
to the writer; ^^ never saw or felt anything like

388 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

it in my life." Over the entrance to the grounds,
in large letters, were printed on white canvas
the words, '^ Holiness unto the Lord." This
motto made a wonderful impression upon nearly
all who came upon the grounds. As the people
passed under this banner they seemed to feel that
they were treading upon holy ground. An un-
godly man, who was clearly converted at one of
the meetings, said : "Just as I passed under that
banner, on which were inscribed the words,
' Holiness unto the Lord,^ I was most powerfully
convicted." That man was just as powerfully con-
verted, and left the grounds rejoicing in a Sav-
ior's love. A mysterious and hallowed influence
was felt all over the grounds, that even the most
ungodly could not possibly resist. A very wicked
man, after being in one of the meetings a short
time and witnessing the stirring and happy scenes,
walked silently away, and as he passed out of the
grounds, said to a friend : " My God, I wish I
was a Christian !" A Christian lady came upon
the grounds on Monday. Afterwards she said to
me, in substance: "The moment I entered the
encampment I was awed into reverence. It
seemed that just above the grounds, all through
the branches of the tree-tops, innumerable angels
from the skies, robed in white, were hovering."
It did seem at times that we could almost see
these heavenly visitants, hear their sweet melody,

DISTINCTl VE DOCTRINE RE VI VED. 389

and feel our cheeks fanned by their snowy wings.
The results of this meeting were far more glo-
rious than we had most sanguinely hoped. Two
other meetings were held by the National Asso-
ciation— one in 1877, and the other in 1879. At
each of these meetings the same divine power
was manifested, and the same gracious results
reached. At the last named meeting the State
Holiness Association purchased from Mr. R,og-
gencamp the Bennett Camp-grounds. Here on
these hallowed grounds for eighteen years scenes
have been witnessed that have delighted the
angels in heaven, rejoiced believers on earth, and
enraged the demons in hell.

At one of these meetings an old man, sixty
years of age, said : " I came one hundred and
fifty miles on horseback to attend this meeting
and seek holiness, and I praise God I have got
what I came for. I am more than rewarded for
my long and weary ride.'' From this sacred en-
campment have rolled forth waves of holy influ-
ence that have touched, not only distant points in
our own State, but have reached and permeated
distant places in many other States as well. Many,
we have reason to believe, will praise God forever
for the Bennett camp-meetings.

It is the duty of every one who is converted
to tell to the world what the Lord has done for
his soul. It is the duty of every one who has

390 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

been wholly sanctified, in a meek way to declare
that fact to the world. David said : " Come and
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare
what he hath done for my soul/^ Paul says :
'^ With the heart man belie veth unto righteous-
ness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation." John says: "They overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb and the word of their
testimony." We are to confess to the world just
wliat Christ has done for us ; no more, no less.
In making this confession, however, great care
should be taken lest we seem to boast of our
superior piety. Holiness is a term that is odious
to many, because they associate with it superior
sanctity, and back of that hypocrisy. So it be-
comes us to be very judicious in our testimonies.
Christ commands us to be '' wise as serpents and
harmless as doves."

While it is our duty to be pronounced upon
this subject — to stand up for the doctrine — we
should not always be harping upon our expe-
rience. There is great danger of our becoming
spiritually proud. Many w^ell-meaning people
actually become so before they are aware of it.
There is danger of our becoming men of "one
idea," of our becoming fanatical. Bishop William
Taylor says : " There is only one step from sanc-
tification to fanaticism.'* And alas ! too many
take that fatal step.

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 391

There is danger of our becoming too tenacious
touching the use of terms. Some have pet
phrases, and in describing the great work wrought
in the soul by the power of the Holy Ghost, they
always use the same set phrase, and consider it
almost an unpardonable sin, or at least a lack of
moral courage, to vary in the least from their set
terms and pet phrases. Mr. Wesley was not a
stickler for any set terms. He says : '^ I have no
particular fondness for the term perfection; it sel-
dom occurs, either in my preaching or writings.
It is my opponents who thrust it upon me con-
tinually, and ask me what I mean by it. That it is
a Scriptural term, is undeniable. Therefore none
ought to object to the use of the term. But I
still think that perfection is only another term
for holiness, or the image of God in man. ^ God
made man perfect,' I think, is just the same as
* he made him holy.'" (Vol. YI, p. 535.)

" The moment a sinner is justified, his heart is
cleansed in a low degree ; but yet he has not a
clean heart in the full proper sense till he is made
jperfect m love,'^ (Vol. V, p. 284.)

In March, 1761, in his journal he says: "I
met again with those who believe God has deliv-
ered them from the root of bitterness.^'

And again says he : "Abundance have been
convinced of sin ; very many have found peace
with God, and in London only, I believe, full

392 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

two hundred have been brought into glorious
liberty. ^'^

In his journal of June, 1765, he says : ^^ Many
others are groaning after full salvation.^'

In writing to Miss H. A. Roe, in 1776, he
says : '' Certainly before the root of sin is taken
mvay, believers may live above the power of it."

In writing to Mrs. Crosby, in 1761, he says :
''The work goes on mightily here in London.
I believe within five weeks, six in one class have
received remission of sins, and five in one band
received a second blessing.'^

" This morning before you left us, one found
peace and one the second blessing.^' (Journal,
June, 1763.)

In writing to Miss Jane Hilton, in 1774, he
says: "It is exceedingly certain that God did
give you the second blessing, properly so called.
He delivered you from the root of bitterness; from
inbred sin, as well as actual sin."

It is clear, therefore, that John Wesley was
not a stickler for any set phrase. He used a
great variety of terms in describing the work of
holiness — "perfection," "holiness," "perfect in
love," " glorious liberty," " the root of bitterness
taken away," "second blessing," "full salva-
tion " — all these he used, and these are all Scrip-
tural terms.

John, the beloved disciple, uses the phrase

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 393

"perfect love." "Herein is our love made per-
fect. . . . Because as he is, so are we in this
world." (1 John iv, 17.)

^^ Perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in
love.'' (Verse 18.)

Paul used the term "holiness." "Follow
peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii, 14.)
Paul used the phrase " fullness of the blessing
of the gospel of Christ" (Rom. xv, 29), and
" full assurance of faith." (Heb. x, 22.) From
these, doubtless, Mr. Wesley got the phrase "full
salvation." Paul used the phrase " second
benefit." " I was minded to come unto you
before, tliat ye might have a seco7id benefit.''
(2 Cor. i, 15.)

From this passage, doubtless, came into use, by
John Wesley and others, the words "second
blessing."

Paul also used the -phrase so often used by
Wesley, " root of bitterness." " Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord. Looking diligently lest any
man fail of the grace of God ; lest any root of
bitterness springing up trouble you." (Heb.
xii, 15.)

So, then, these terms, " full salvation," " per-
fect love," "second blessing," "delivered from

394 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

the root of bitterness ^^ — all are Scriptural and all
are legitimate.

There is danger, too, of our becoming censori-
ous and dogmatic.

Whenever Satan can succeed in switching us
off on any one of these lines, our influence and
power for usefulness is to a great extent crippled.

Against all these dangers we should carefully
guard. More and more every day do I see the
great importance of livhig holiness.

Mr. Punshou, the great English divine, in giv-
ing his estimate of Rev. Alfred Cookman, says:
" If I would write down my impression of Alfred
Cookman's character, I find myself at a loss; for
I can scarcely convey my estimate of him in
sober words. I have been privileged to meet
with many gifted and godly men in different
lands, and in various branches of the Catholic
Church. I speak advisedly when I say that I
never met with one who so well realized my idea
of complete devoted ness. When some pagan
questioners asked a Christian of old about the re-
ligion of Jesus, and w^ere disposed to ascribe its
spread to its loftier thought and pure truth, the
Christian made for answer : ' We do not speak
greater things, but we live.^ This life, wherever
it is embodied, is the highest power. And it was
felt to be so in the wide sphere in which Alfred
Cookman was permitted to testify for the Master

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 395

wlioiii he loved. There are men of sterling
worth, who manage to hide their excellences from
their fellows, living amongst men unappreciated,
because they have no witness, — like some bird of
rare plumage, of whose beauty the world knew
not until they caught the luster which flashed
from its parting wing. He was not one of
these. His life was a perpetual testimony that
God can come down to man, and that man can
be lifted up to God. It was impossible to doubt
that, ' swift-like, he lived in heaven.' There
were many who objected to his doctrine; there
were none within the range of his acquaintance
who failed to be impressed, and few who failed to
be influenced by his life."

What is needed more than any one thing is,
not " to speak greater things, but to liveJ^ What
we want in order to speedily capture this world
for Christ is, ^Miving epistles'' of Christ's power
to save from all sin — '' known and read of all
men." Theodore L. Cuyler has well said : " The
sermons in shoes are the sermons to convert an
ungodly world."

No irregularities of an injurious tendency, so
far as I am aware, have ever developed in the
National Association ; and no such irregular tend-
encies have ever been developed at the Bennett
holiness meetings. At times they have cropped
out, but have been checked at once. In other

396 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

holiness associations, however, such irregularities
have been developed, and have brought the most
blessed and desirable of all the doctrines of the
Bible into disrepute. This hallowed Bible doc-
trine has suffered very greatly from the ineffi-
cient, inexperienced, and fanatical teachers of
independent holiness associations. This fact led
the New England Conference, at its session in the
spring of 1889, to adopt the following resolutions.
These resolutions were signed by Dr. Daniel
Steele, a member of the National Holiness Asso-
ciation, and other leading members of the Con-
ference :

" The New England Conference at its recent session
passed the following resolutions in regard to holiness as-
sociations, signed by Dr. Daniel Steele and other leading
members of the Conference :

''Eesolved, That as pastors we will not organize nor as-
sociate ourselves with holiness associations in our charges ;
but we will continue in our regular ministrations, to un-
fold, defend, and enforce this important doctrine in due
proportion to our other doctrines, so that there shall be
no occasion for any of our members to resort to meetings
not under our pastoral direction, and to incompetent
teachers, whose unguarded instructions maybe disastrous
to spiritual life.

^^Resolved, That we advise our people not to organize
or to associate themselves with so-called holiness associa-
tions, independent of the Church and of their pastors.
We believe that the meetings of such associations are
often the occasion of jealousy and ill-feeling ; that they
tend to division in the Church ; and that they unjustly

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE REVIVED. 897

reflect upon the unfaithfulness of the Church and the
pastors to the doctrines of the Church."

These resolutions were not intended as a re-
flection on the profession of holiness, but on the
independent holiness associations, which have
developed irregularities, which tend to greatly
injure the doctrine, and that are not warranted
in God's Word.

As Methodists, we ought not to need inde-
pendent holiness associations. Holiness is the dis-
tinctive and peculiar doctrine of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. As loyal Methodists, then,
let us fling the banner of holiness to the breeze.
Let it float out and wave over every Church and
every society. Let it be lifted so high that all
the world can see it. Then let us avoid the ex-
travagances and vagaries which have destroyed
the usefulness of so many who have professed
this doctrine. Above all, let us have the experi-
ence— the indubitable consciousness that the blood
of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin — then the
^^ beauty of holiness'* will* shine out in all our
words and looks and acts, and then the world will
be attracted to it as certainly as the needle is at-
tracted to the pole.

398 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

IN the last chapter an account was given of the
great holiness revival, which rolled like a
mighty tidal wave over our entire country, the
blessed results of which Nebraska has had her
share.

In the present chapter I desire to carefully
examine this Bible and distinctive Methodist
doctrine ; and I hope to make it so simple and
plain that the smallest child can understand it.
If understood, none can reasonably object to it.

It is really wonderful how much is said in the
Bible on the subject of perfection. God said to
Abraham : "I am the Almighty God; walk be-
fore me, and be thou perfect.^' (Gen. xvii, 1.)
Moses said to the Israelites of old : " Thou shalt
be perfect with the Lord thy God.'^ (Deut. xviii,
13.) ^^ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose
name was Job, and that man was perfect and up-
right, and one that feared God and eschewed
evil.'' (Job i, 1.) David says: '^ Mark the per-
fect man, and behold the upright ; for the end
of that man is peace.'' (Psa. xxxvii, 37.)

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 399

Christ says, in bis beautiful and inimitable
Sermon on the Mount : ^' Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is per-
fect.^' (Matt. V, 48.) Paul said to the Colos-
sians : *^ Stand perfect and complete in all the will
of God." (Col. iv, 12.) He constantly pointed
believers to the beautiful heights of perfect love.
He had a longing desire to lead them up to this
high plain. The height of his ambition was to
"present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.'^
He said to the Corinthians : " Be perfect." (2 Cor.
xiii, 11.) The -'^ central idea of Christianity,"
says Bishop Peck, " is perfect love." It is the
sun, around which all the satellites revolve, and
moving around this great center they rejoice in
its broad, warm, genial, and life-imparting smile.

The design of the great scheme of human re-
demption was to bring man from a state of sin
and pollution to a state of purity and happiness.
" Christ gave himself for us, that he might re-
deem us from all iniquity, and purify unto him-
self a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(Tit. ii, 14.) And the design of the gospel is not
accomplished in us until we are raised to this
high, holy, and happy state, where our peace flows
like a river, and our righteousness is as the waves
of the sea.

In all ages there has been the most bitter op-
position to the doctrine of holiness. There are

400 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

many reasons for this. Holiness, or Christian
perfection, is the most unrelenting, untiring, un-
compromising, and powerful enemy the empire of
Satan has ; hence he puts forth every eifort within
his power to make the doctrine distasteful to men,
in order that he may break its influence and power,
and thereby save his own kingdom from wreck
and ruin. In referring to the doctrine of Chris-
tian perfection, Mr. Wesley says : *' This is the
word which God will always bless, and which the
devil peculiarly hates; therefore he is constantly
stirring up both his own children and the weak
children of God against it.''

Another reason why so many object to the doc-
trine of holiness is because it is not rightly un-
derstood. There are multitudes in the Church
who know but little about the doctrine of Chris-
tian perfection, as taught by John Wesley, the
standard authors of our Church, and the Bible.
If the doctrine were thoroughly examined, and
thoroughly understood, I am confident the objec-
tions, to an extent at least, would give way.

Many object to the doctrine because of the
inconsistencies of those who have professed it.
We must admit that many who have professed
holiness have not lived up to their profession, and
that the doctrine has suffered very materially from
its inconsistent and unwise advocates. Their pro-
fession and their acts have not been in harmony

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 401

at all. I think, however, that a careful examina-
tion of the matter will convince any unprejudiced
mind that the proportion of inconsistent profes-
sors of holiness is no greater than the proportion
of inconsistent professors of justification. It must
be admitted that many in all ages, who have pro-
fessed only conversion, have not lived up to their
profession, and the cause of religion has suffered
greatly from such inconsistent professors. If,
therefore, we discard the doctrine of Christian
perfection because of the inconsistencies of many
who have professed it, for the very same reason
w^e must discard the doctrine of justification — in
fact, for the very same reason we must discard
all religion, and take our stand on the broad
platform of infi-delity. Are we ready to take this
rash step?

I do not pin my faith to the actions of any
man. No wise man, it seems, would do such a
foolish thing as that. My faith rests on God's
word alone. Let God be true, though every man
may be a liar. To the law, therefore, and to the
testimony. To the word of God, and not to the
actions of men do we appeal. That Christian
perfection is attainable, is proved to ray mind
beyond the shadow of a doubt by the many pas-
sages of Scripture quoted in the foi'epart of this
chapter.

While the term *' perfection," "holiness," and
34

402 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

^' entire sanctlfication " each has a shade of mean-
ing peculiar to itself, these terms are all used in
the Scriptures interchangeably.

What is Christian perfection? To answer
this question satisfactorily it will be necessary
to treat the subject negatively — to show what it
is not; and in showing what it is not, we may
be able, perhaps, before we get through, to show
w^hat it is. Touching this doctrine, the ideas of
many are vague and very much confused.

1, It is not absolute perfection. The highest,
the brightest, the sweetest, the loveliest angel
that ranges the fields of light and glory is not
absolutely perfect. Absolute perfection belongs
alone to God. God is absolutely perfect in de-
gree; Christians are perfect in kind only.

2. It is not angelic perfection. Angels are a
higher order of intelligences than men. Angels
never make mistakes, never err, never commit
blunders. Their love burns with an intensity,
and their services are performed with a precis-
ion that are not possible for mortals. They have
none of the infirmities of fallen human nature.
While the sad effects of the fall cling to these
bodies of ours, we do not claim that it is possi-
ble for us to be as perfect as the angels in heaven.
But when this corruptible shall put on incor-
ruption; when this mortal shall put on immor-
tality ; when these bodies, sown in dishonor and

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 403

weakness, shall be raised in power and glory, then
we shall be perfect as the angels.

3. It is not the perfection Adam had before
the fall. Before man fell, all his faculties and
powers were perfect. His intellectual, physical,
and moral powers were all complete. Sin has
marred and dwarfed all these powers. With the
intellect marred and dwarfed by sin, with all the
physical powers impaired by evil, it is not possi-
ble, since these are the medium through which
the soul now operates, to be as perfect as if these
powers had never suffered from sin. So it is not
claimed, nor does the Bible promise the perfection
Adam had before the fall. We must be content,
therefore, with the perfection taught us in God's
Word. And God's AYord does not promise to us
absolute perfection, nor angelic perfection, nor
Adamic perfection, but Christian perfection.

4. It is not a perfection of the head. No-
where in all the range of God's Word is there a
single promise that God will make us perfect in
judgment. The only perfection promised in the
Bible is the perfection of love. Mr. Wesley
says : "Another ground of these and a thousand
mistakes is the not considering deeply that love is
the highest gift of God, There is nothing higher
in religion — there is, in effect, nothing else."
Christian perfection is the loving God with all
the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and

404 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

all the strength. This is the highest spiritual
mountain-peak that can be gained here on the
earth.

5. Christian perfection does not imply a fault-
less life. We are commanded to be blameless, but
not faultless. A simple incident will illustrate this :
A mother gave to her little girl a handkerchief
to hem. She gave the child a needle, thread,
and thimble, and gave her directions how the
work should be done. The child followed the
mother's directions as near as she possibly could.
She did her very best to do just as the mother
told her. When the work was finished she took
it to her mother. The mother examined it.
Some of the stitches were long and some of them
were short; some places the hem was wide, and
at other places it was narrow, and at other places
it was badly puckered. The work was not fault-
less, but the child was blameless. She had gone
according to the mother's directions as near as
possible, and had done the very best she could.
The mother gave the child a smile of approval
and a kiss of affection. With all the divine grace
it is possible for us to have, we shall not be fault-
less, but we may be blameless. If we go accord-
ing to God's directions just as near as we possi-
bly can, though our acts may be very far from
being faultless, we shall have the divine smile of
approval and the infinite kiss of affection from

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 405

our loving Heavenly Father. We shall be liable to
make mistakes, commit errors, and make blun-
ders as long as we live in a body marred and
dwarfed by sin. An error in judgment may lead
to an error in act. God goes back of the act to
the motive that prompted the act. It is the in-
tent that makes the crime. A man may be a
murderer without ever having taken the life of
a fellow-being. He may have desired to do so ;
and that constitutes the crime. On the other hand,
he may have actually taken the life of a man,
and still not be a murderer. He may have ac-
cidentally taken the life of his fellow-being.
Hence Christ says: ^^ Judge not, that ye be not
judged.'^ The Bible nowhere promises us a per-
fection that will free us from mistakes. While
Christian perfection does not admit of any sin,
inward or outward, properly so called, it does
admit of a consciousness of infirmities and short-
comings. The purest persons that walk the earth
are conscious of mistakes, shortcomings, and great
weaknesses. These they often deplore in the
deepest humility. These innocent mistakes and
infirmities all need the blood of atonement, and
we rejoice and praise God that the blood of atone-
ment covers them all, and more than meets every
demand. Christian perfection admits of many
infirmities, but not one sin.

6. It is not freedom from temptation. If you

406 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

expect to be saved from temptation in this life,
you are expecting something you will never real-
ize. The servant is not greater than his Lord.
If it were possible for us to reach a point where
we could not be tempted, we should be greater
than our Lord was. " He was tempted in all
points like as we are, yet without sin.'' It is
no sin to be tempted. The sin lies in our yield-
ing to the temptation. Mr. Dow says: "We
can not prevent the buzzards flying over our
heads, but we can keep them from making nests
in our hair.''

Here on earth is the battle-field ; here we are
waging a warfare. Can there be war without
conflict? Can there be conflict without enemies?
Of all persons on the earth, those who are the most
holy are the most exposed to temptation. Those
who are the most holy are placed in the front
of the battle. God has chosen them as his van-
guard. They are the ones who make assaults
upon the enemy. If they are in the front, and
lead in the charge, they are, more than any oth-
ers, exposed to the fiery missiles of the foe. At
the pure Satan will hurl his sharpest arrows.
Against them he will level his heaviest artillery.
One holy person cast down is better for the
empire of Satan than a whole regiment of ordi-
nary Christians. One who is now in heaven
once said : '^As certain as night follows day, so

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 407

certain will the black angel persecution follow
holiness.'^ A man who had recently come into
the experience of perfect love, under the minis-
trations of Rev. Mr. Caughey, the great evan-
gelist, went to him and said : " I do n't under-
stand this. I never had such severe temptations
in my life as I have had since I received this
blessing." ^' O," said Mr. Caughey, " that is not
at all strange. It takes ten devils to watch you
now, where it took only one when you were in
a weak and sickly state." The less religion
Christians have, the less trouble they have with
Satan. Satan is satisfied with weak, worldly-
minded Christians, and seldom troubles them.
If we have no severe temptations we may well
suspect the genuineness of our religion. A man
once said : "I am opposed to revivals on princi-
ple." Another one said: "I am opposed to this
doctrine of holiness." Are not such men sound
asleep? The devil can do almost anything with
a man when he gets him fast asleep. A man
once dreamed he was traveling, and came to a
little church, and on the cupola of that church
was a devil fast asleep. He went on a little fur-
ther and he came to a log cabin, and it was
surrounded by devils, all wide awake. He was
surprised, and asked for an ex|)lanation. One
of the little imps said : " I will tell you. The
fact is, that whole Church back there is asleep,

408 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

aud one devil can take care of all the members
and sleep at the same time; but here in this
cabin are two holy, wide-awake persons, a man
and woman, and they have more influence and
power than that whole Church.'' The greater the
effort put forth on the part of the Christian to
live near God and save souls, the greater will
be the effort on the part of Satan to hedge up
his way and thwart all his commendable plans.
Every step we take from here to the throne of
God will be hotly contested by the devil.

Then God will have a tried people. Job said :
*'When he hath tried me I shall come forth as
gold." (Job xxiii, 10.) David said: '^ Thou, O
God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us, as silver
is tried." (Psa. Ixvi, 10.) Solomon says : " The
fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
but the Lord trieth the hearts." (Prov. xvii, 3.)
God said of his ancient people : " I have chosen thee
in the furnace of afiSiction." (Isa. xlviii, 10.) " I
will refine them as silver is refined, and will try
them as gold is tried; they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them." (Zech. xiii, 9.)
James says : " Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation ; for when he is tried he shall receive
the crown of life." (James i, 12.) He does not
say blessed is the man that has temptation, but
blessed is the man that endures, that stands firm,
is loyal to God during the fiery temptation.

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 409

That man will at last receive a crown, before
the beauty and splendor of which the crowns of
the kings and emperors of earth will pale and
sink into utter insignificance.

It is said that Napoleon once ordered a coat
of mail. When the artisan completed it, he deliv-
ered it to the emperor. The emperor ordered
him to put it on himself. Then Napoleon drew
his large navy revolver and fired shot after shot
at the man in the armor. It stood the severe
test, and the artisan received from Napoleon a
large reward. So if we stand the severe tests
that will be applied to us here, great will be our
reward hereafter.

God^s method with his children here is found
in Daniel, twelfth chapter and tenth verse : " Many
shall be purified, and made white and tried.''
That is God's method. Purified, made white,
then tried. Many are purified, but when the tests
are applied give way.

"A few mornings ago," said a lady, " I placed
a clean, white platter in the stove-baker, to w^arm
it. By accident the door was closed, and the dish
became very hot. When I removed it a scum of
grease had covered nearly the whole surface.
The heat had brought it out. I w^as surprised to
see so much filth on what had appeared a per-
fectly clean, wdiite platter. I w^ondered if such a
scum of sin would come to the surface if I should
35

410 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

be tried as by fire. What a state that must be,
when no spot will appear, though a white heat is
applied to bring out the defects !''

7. Christian perfection is not regeneration.
It is a state of grace above and beyond conver-
sion. Paul said to the Christians at Corinth:
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as
unto spiritual, but as unto babes in Christ. I
have fed you with milk, and not with meat ; for hith-
erto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet are
ye now able. For ye are yet carnal : for whereas
there is among you envying, and strife, and di-
visions, are ye not carnal?^' (1 Cor. iii, 1, 2, 3.)
" Having, therefore, these promises, dearly be-
loved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God.'' (2 Cor. vii, 1.)

Christian perfection is the perfecting, the com-
pleting, of the work which was begun at conver-
sion. To the Church at Rome, Paul said: "I
beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sac-
rifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.'' (Rom. xii, 1.) And to the
Christians at Thessalonica he said : " The very
God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be pre-
served blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. v, 23.) Be it remem-

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 411

be red that the faith of these Thessalonian Chris-
tians had been spread abroad ^^ in every place "
throughout all " Macedonia and Achaia." They
were noted everywhere for their faith and good
works, and yet Paul prayed that they might be
wholly sanctified. All the above exhortations
were given to Christians, showing very clearly
that the work of entire sanctification had not been
accomplished in them. They were not made per-
fect in love; but their great privilege was clearly
set before them, and they were earnestly exhorted
to avail themselves of their high privilege.

" But,'' says one, " is not God able to convert
and wholly sanctify the soul at the same time ?"
Most assuredly he is. But it is not a question of
God's ability at all, but of our faith. We are
justified by faith. We are also sanctified by faith.
Paul, in his discourse before Agrippa, says we
" are sanctified by faith." (Acts xxvi, 18.) Dr.
Adam Clarke, in commenting on this verse, says
we are taught, " not only the forgiveness of sins,
but the purification of the heart."

We get just what we believe for. " What
things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
(Mark xi, 24.) When faith is genuine it is al-
ways distinct, and is put forth for a particular
object. A very common question with our Lord
was : " Believe ye that I am able to do this ?"

412 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

Blind Bartimeus cried out to the Savior, saying:
*^ Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
Jesus answered and said unto liim, What wilt
thou that I do unto thee? The blind man said
unto him, Lord that I might receive my sight.
And Jesus said unto him. Go thy way; thy faith
hath made thee whole. And immediately he re-
ceived his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.'^
(Mark x, 51, 52.) He got just what he believed
for — eyesight. The leper said to Jesus : '^ Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ^^ This
was his faith. Jesus said: ^^ I will; be thou
clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.''
(Matt, viii, 2, 3.) He received just what he be-
lieved for — cleansing.

A father went to the Savior with his son pos-
sessed with a dumb spirit. That father felt only
as a father could feel under such circumstances.
His own loved boy was under the complete
power and control of the devil. How his heart
must have bled with grief at every pore! Many
a parent\s heart bleeds to-day because a son is
under the complete power of Satan. With the
deepest anguish of heart the father cried out :
" If thou canst do anything, have compassion on
us, and help us. Jesus said unto him. If thou
canst believe; all things are possible to him that
believeth.'' The father exclaimed : " Lord, I be-
lieve; help thou mine unbelief. And the spirit

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 413

came out of him." (Mark ix, 23-25.) He ob-
tained just what he believed for — the deliverance
of his son from the possession of a dumb devil.

The Syrophenician woman believed for the
deliverance of her daughter from the power of
the " unclean spirit/' and she received just what
she believed for. The faith of all these persons
was put forth for a distinct object, and they all
received that for which they believed.

The blind man believed for eyesight, and re-
ceived it. The leper believed for cleansing, and
received it. The father believed for the deliver-
ance of his son from the possession of the dumb
devil, and the son was saved. The mother be-
lieved for the deliverance of her daughter from
the unclean spirit, and the daughter was rescued
from his toils, restored, and made pure. To-day,
as eighteen hundred years ago, we get just what
we believe for. If we believe for pardon, we get
pardon. If we believe for perfect love, we get
perfect love. If we believe for the anointing of
the Holy Ghost to qualify us for work, we receive
the anointing. If the penitent at the altar, seek-
ing pardon, could believe for pardon and entire
sanctification at the same time, I believe he would
receive both. But I have never known one who,
at that moment, could grasp all. Mr. R. P.
Smith, in his " Holiness Through Faith," relates
the following: *' While addressing a company in

414 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

one of the mission-houses in New York, I no-
ticed a young woman much affected. I found
after meeting she was an actress, who had been
brought to the point of turning her back on all
her past life; but she was unable to believe that
such a sinner as she was could receive the grace
that w^as set before her. To my explanation of
the divine sacrifice for sinners, she only ex-
claimed : ' O yes, sir ; I know that it is all true,
but I can't believe that it is for meP It seemed
too great presumption for her to believe that all
her sins were blotted out, and she at once placed
in the family of God. I left her in this con-
dition of mind — longing for salvation, and yet
too faithless to believe that it was for her.

"Upon parting with the actress, I was intro-
duced to a refined, matronly. Christian woman,
Avho, I understood, was giving her life to this
gospel work among the abandoned. Her ^vhole
heart was in her work with an energy and sim-
plicity that I have never seen surpassed. Her
joy was to spend her years in the midst of
this moral leprosy, raising the cross among the
dying souls around her. But even Avhile thus
laboring for Christ, she felt most deeply her need
of some privilege greatly beyond her present ex-
perience. So in earnest was she that she had
just passed a sleepless night of sorrow and prayer
for the full and satisfying revelation of Christ,

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 415

witli the complete victory over her own will.
She knew that her sins had been forgiven her,
and that she truly loved Jesus. Work for Jesus
was the most deliglitful thing in the world to her.
She knew that there was in the gospel a redemp-
tion * from all iniquity/ but she had not found it.
She knew that Christ bore her sins that she
might become dead to sin and alive to righteous-
ness ; but she had not attained to it. The secret
of this unsupplied need was soon found. Full
of faith for God^s work in others, and up to a
certain point in herself, she needed to open the
door of her heart yet more widely that the King
of Glory might come in. This dear saint, who
had so often taught the lesson to anxious sinners
of faith as the means of blessing, now saw that
the very same lesson was to be learned by her-
self upon a different level. The very words that
a few moments before had been said to the
awakened actress — trust in Christ for what her
soul felt the need of — were now to be applied to
herself Shortly after this interview, the actress
found Christ, through faith, pardon for all her
sins; and the missionary, upon her high level of
Christian experience, also /oif9i(i in Christ, through
faith, cleansing ^from all unrighteousness.'
Faith in each grasped the promise.'^ Each re-
ceived just w^hat she needed, and just what she
believed for. From the very beginning to the

416 SOLITARY PLACES MADE OLAD.

highest summit of Christian attainment, faith is
the channel of God's blessing, while unbelief is
the bar. "So much faith, so much deliverance;
no more, no less ! If we would live up to the
gospel standard of holiness, we must believe up
to the gospel standard of faith/' Christian per-
fection is a soul made perfect in love. A soul
made perfect in love is a soul perfectly pure. A
soul perfectly pure is a soul cleansed from all sin,
inbred or birth sin, and actual sin. If you desire
that perfect cleansing, believe for it and you will
have it.

8. Christian perfection does not imply that we
can not fall.

If " the angels which kept not their first estate,
but left their own habitation," fell into sin, and are
" reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness,
unto the judgment of the great day ;" if Adam
in paradise fell ; if Solomon, the best and wisest
man that ever lived, fell, — we need not expect that
we shall become so holy that we can not fall.
The very highest possible state of grace attainable
in this life will not exempt us from danger. So
it becomes necessary for us to say to the purest
men and women that walk the earth :

" 0 watch, and figlit, and pray ;
The hattle ne'er give o'er;
Renew it boldly every day,
And help divine implore.

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 417

Ne'er think the victory won,

Nor lay thine armor down ;
The svork of faith will not be done

Till thou obtain the crown."

9. Christian perfection is not maturity. Pu-
rity is one thing, and maturity is another. They
are just as distinct as day and night. Many
jumble the two together. Christian perfection is
purity. Purity is freedom from sin, and is the
result of God's extirpating power. Maturity is
the result of growth, and takes time. Purity is
a work wrought in the heart instantaneously by
the power of God. Maturity, being the result of
growth, is gradual, and may go on indefinitely.

Some think if they are sanctified wholly, they
can never grow any more, when in fact they are
-just prepared to grow rapidly. Purity removes
from the heart that which hinders growth. In-
born sin is a hindrance to growth, just as weeds
in the field are a hindrance to the growth of the
corn. Remove the weeds, and the corn will grow
more rapidly. Remove all sin from the heart,
and you will grow in grace more rapidly than
ever. Let the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ be
applied to the heart by the Holy Ghost, and you
Avill receive an impetus that will send you on
your heavenly way with a speed that you never
dreamed of before.

We are commanded to *^ grow in grace,'' but

418 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

not into grace. Grace must first be imparted
before there can be growth. As in nature, so in
grace; first life, then growth. Parclan is by faith,
and is instantaneous. God does not pardon
gradually. When God pardons a soul, it is a
perfect work. All actual sin is forgiven, and
will be remembered against that soul no more
forever; and that work is done in an instant,
in the twinkling of an eye. After pardon, then
we may grow. Entire sanctification is by faith,
and is instantaneous, just as pardon is.

A few years ago the wife of a distinguished
minister was lying hopelessly ill. All was mist
and uncertainty before her. She lon^d for the
purity and peace promised in the holy Word,
but her husband had always preached a gradual
growth in grace, and completeness in Christ only
at death, and she waited for that hour in dread
uncertainty. ^' O that I could have complete de-
liverance from sin now, before that fearful hour!'*
she exclaimed. " Why not?" the Spirit sug-
gested. She sent for her husband, and as he en-
tered her sick chamber, she anxiously inquired:
^^Can Christ save me from all sin." ^^ Yes; he is
an almighty Savior, your Savior, able to save to
the uttermost." " When can he save me ? You
have often said that he saves from all sin at the
dying moment. If he is Almighty ^ do n't you

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 419

think he could save me a few minutes before
death ? It would take the sting of death away to
know that I am saved." ^' Yes ; I think he
could." ^' Well, if he could save me a few min-
utes before death, do n't you believe it possible
for him to save a few hours, or a day before
death?" The husband bowed his assent. ^^But,"
she said, with deep emotion and great earnest-
ness, " I may live a week, or a month ; do you
think it possible for God to save a soul from all
sin so long before death?" "Yes; all things
are possible with God," he answered with deep
emotion. ^' Then kneel right down here and
pray for me. I want this full salvation now,
and if I live a month, I will live to praise God."

He knelt beside her bed, and oiFered a prayer
such as he had never offered before, and while he
prayed the cleansing blood that makes whiter
than snow was applied to her soul, and she was
enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory. She lived a month afterwards to mag-
nify the grace of God, and testify to that perfect
love that casteth out fear. From the grave of
his wife that husband went forth to preach Christ
as a present Savior, able to save from all sin.

A wholly sanctified soul is just as pure a mo-
ment after the cleansing blood is applied as the
soul of the man who has been wholly sanctified

420 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

for twenty years. But the man who has been
walking for twenty years under the cleansing
blood, has an experience deeper, wider, richer,
and far more extensive than the man who has just
been fully saved. The difference is not in quality
but in quantity. A drop of water may be just
as pure as an ocean, but there is more in the ocean
than in the drop. A soul cleansed of all sin is
prepared to grow more rapidly than ever.

When crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains
in 1850, after traveling for some time, we reached
a point whej'e we supposed we saw the summit.
A lofty mountain-peak rose in solitary grandeur
before us. We said, and w^e rejoiced at the sight,
"There is the summit." We started up the
rough mountain-side, and after traveling for some
three hours reached its summit. But to our sur-
prise, and not a little disappointment, we saw rising
far away above and beyond us another mountain-
peak. We said : " Well, we thought this was the
summit, but were very much mistaken. That^s
the summit away up there.'' We started, and
after several hours of weary travel, Ave at length
reached this mountain summit. But to our utter
disappointment and astonishment we saw rising
before us, higher up, and farther away, another
mountain-peak. We made no more predictions.
Again, after a short rest, we started, and after
plodding through slush and snow for near a half

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED. 421

a day, reached this mountain summit. Then away
above and beyond us'rose another. Mountain-peak
rose above mountain-peak, higher, and higher, and
higher. And thus it is with the religion of the
Lord Jesus Christ, if we live up to all the light
God gives us.

The Christian's pathway to the skies is an
ascending pathway. Mountain-peak of joy and
knowledge in divine things rises above mountain-
peak, higher, and higher, and higher. Our ex-
perience may grow deeper, and wider, and richer,
and grander. We go from a justified soul to a
soul made perfect in love, from a soul made per-
fect in love to a soul glorified in body and spirit ;
then onward and upward, forever and ever.

10. Perfect love is not simply ecstasy. It is
not simply a bubbling up of joy, overflowing the
soul with rapturous delight. It is, however, al-
ways peace, always rest of soul, and sometimes
the great tidal waves of joy roll over the heart,
deluging the whole soul, and filling it with an
unearthly rapture.

It is not always liberty in prayer, or in testi-
mony, or in preaching. So if we do not always
have great ecstasy, or great liberty in prayer or
testimony or preaching, avc are not to conclude
that we are not saved. Christian perfection is
not ecstasy, but purity; and we obtain purity, not
by feeling, but simple faith in Christ.

422 SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD.

" 0 for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not trem])le on the brink
Of any earthly woe !

A faith that shines more bright and clear

When tempests rage without ;
That w^hen in danger knows no fear,

In darkness feels no doubt!"

Unconditional surrender of all to Christ, and
unshaken faith in his ability and willingness to
save to the uttermost now, this very moment, will
bring to the heart the consciousness of this great
salvation. May every reader of these pages have
this sweet, rich, glowing, and abiding experience !

THE END.