I//P^ \Mii/''alii^^\'''l'^'''J^^^ ower of God unto salva- tion, and saves men from the polluting evils of hea- thenism, such as witchcraft, purrowism, cannibalism, polygamy, slavery, and the many debasing cruelties of those who inhabit the dark places of the earth. A certain writer has well said that man is a religious animal and will worship some object; hence, in the UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS, 19 absence of a knowledge of tlie true God he becomes an idolator. Man also becomes assimilated into the char- acter of the object he Avorships. If the object be pure and exalted it will tend to the elevation and purification i)f the worshiper. If on the other hand the object wor- shiped be earthly, sensual, or devilish, these will be developed in the Avorshiper. Hence, the importance of worshiping God, Avho is exalted above all principality and power, and v.'hose pure eyes cannot look upon sin with approval. It is said that the negroes of Benin, West Africa, at times worship their own shadows, which is quite as rational as to worship rej)tiles, animals, and many other objects, both animate and inanimate. The writer has seen gods made of wood, clay, iron, and stone, by the heathen of western Africa ; some male and others female ; so horrible and indecent in their appearance, as to make one turn away from them in disgust. How important that a knowledge of the true God be taught all men as the Savior commanded, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations. . . . Teaching them to observe all things what- soever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The utter impossibility of the heathen being able to emerge from the sad state into which they have fallen, without the gospel, demands that it ])e given them, as the Savior directed. It is a sad comment ujDon the zeal and liber- ality of the professed followers of Christ, not to say a shame, that about two thirds of the human family are still in the grossest ignorance of God and the way of sal- vation, enduring all that is meant by the words, " The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." The following passages found in God's word, show very 20 HISTOKY OF THE foreibh^ the importance of the mission work enjoined upon the church: "He that winneth souls is wise;'' "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament : and they that turn many to righteous- ness as the stars forever and ever;" ''Let him know, that he Avhich converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Two remarks are in j^lace. (1.) The human soul is the most valuable thing on earth. (2.) "Winning it for Christ, the wisest enterprise in which anyone can engage. In other words, the salvation of the soul is the greatest blessing which any mortal can gain, and the loss of it the greatest calamity which can befall anyone. This fact is most strikingly brought out in the question asked by Christ, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or Avhat shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" It is also said by the apostle, " There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," — the name of Jesus. Now if this he true, that salvation is only in the name of Jesus, and that the soul is worth more than an^'thing else, yea, than all else, in this world, and that we may instrumentally save souls, as is so clearly taught in the scriptural textfc quoted, then the missionary enterprise, and the part Christians are ex- pected to act, have a momentous meaning. The follow- ing from St. Paul is to the point : " For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom the}' have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent ? as it is Avritten, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things ! " UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 21 CHAPTER III. Certainty of work being accomplished — True, there is still much skepticism at home and heathenism abroad — Much as the gospel has to contend with, its progress is so marked as to assure final and complete vidlorj' — A shame that the liquor traffic in heathen countries, and the prostitution of heathen women, permitted by Christian governments, greatly hinder the cause of Christian mis- sions. The Savior when asked respecting his second coming and the end of the world, said, " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come." I quote this passage now to show that there is no uncertainty as to the accomplishment of the work of the Master en- joined upon his followers nearly nineteen hundred years ago. Though he made no special arrangements by which it should be done, the fact that he said it shall be done assures us that in his own good time he will bring it to pass' It is true that he organized no board of missions, and has not provided financial support for his mes- sengers who are to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Besides he had no indorsement from the rich and influ- ential, nor had he the patronage of kings, or the sanction of the learned and great of earth. On the contrary, it was bvit a short time after he said that this great work should be done, that he was betrayed by one of his fol- lowers, denied by another, forsaken by all of them, and arrested, scourged, and crucified as a criminal. Even now the prophecy is unfulfilled, though so many hun- dreds of years have elapsed since it was made ; yet there is much to encourage in what has been done during the 22 HISTOKY OF Tllli present century. Though there is much lieathenism abroad, and skepticism and ungodliness at home, the gospel is now preached to much of the world, and Christ has a large following, and of the best people living. One of the sad things, and that which much retards the 2:)rogress of Christianity in heathen lands, is the demoralizing influence of wick-ed men from enlightened countries, Avho indulge in the grossest vices among the heathen, who in many instances regard these as repre- senting the religion and civilization taught by Christ and his gospel. It is a humiliating fact that many heathen first hear the names of God and Christ in pro- fane swearing. Then the falsehoods, deceptions, frauds, drunkenness, debauchery, and other great vices perpe- trated among the heathen by those from Christian lands, do much to hinder the feeble efforts put forth to bring the world to a knowledge of the truth, as it is in Christ. The progress the gospel has made, considering the fact that it has had tenfold more to contend with than it would have had had the church been tenfold more active in disseminating the truth, is highly encouraging, and is proof conclusiYe that it will eventually triumph r)ver all opposition. One of the great wants of our time is a higher type of Christian rectitude in the lives and leg- islation of churches and governments. The liquor tralhc carried on in heathen countries, and the licensing of prostitution among the heathen for the accommodation of soldiers and sailors, thus dragging women into the lowest infamy, are things which shcndd bring deep humiliation to the church of Christ, as well as all lovers of morality and good society. The reign of Christ cannot be universal until Christian governments abso- lutely cease to do evil and learn to do well, and this will be brought about by the combined efforts of the pure and good demanding such reforms. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 23 CHAPTER IV. Missionary century — Dr. Cary, in 1792 — Opposed to missions because " We have no religion to spare" — Giving to others the best way to retain what we have — How a minister in Indiana was made happy — How a man was kept from committing suicide, and was led to help others. Dark as is the picture of the moral condition of the world, there is much to encourage the church in its efforts to bring it under the influence of Christianity. Prof Christlieb very properly says this is the missionary century. Much more has been done in the last one hundred years than ever before, and the success achieved Avas thought to be impossible previous to this centur}'. When Dr. Cary pleaded the cause of foreign missions, in 1792, he was told that " When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine." But a few years later, a General Assembly in Scotland declared that "the idea of converting the heathen was highly preposterous." When the American Board applied to the legislature of Massachusetts for a charter, about eighty years ago, to make it a legal organization whose aims Avere to give the gospel to the heathen, it Avas opposed on the ground that, "We have no religion to spare." That member of said legislature, as too many still, lost sight of the fact, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and there is that AA'ithhoIdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to 2:)0verty." The surest way to keej') some things, is to give them freely to others. A man of extensive reading, and Avho has visited places of great note, by frequently communicating to his felloAA'-men 24 HISTORY OF THE the knowledge thus gained, tlicreby more surely retains it. This is true of the Christian religion ; the more we help others to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, the more surely we will retain it ourselves. Not only did Solomon teaeh that the 1)est Avay to inerease was to scatter abroad, and that to withhold was to grow poor, but the same great truth is taught in the Xew Testament, " He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sj^aringly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." Remember that this language of the apostle was used to excite the Corinthians to greater liberality, and that in the same connection he quoted, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The divine economy, strange as it may seem, and different as it is from that which is purely worldly, is not only to freely give, heccnisc we have freely received, but to freely give that we may retain ivhat ive have, and continue to freely receive. On the principle that the one man who was nearly frozen to death brought increased warmth and strength to himself by exerting what he had to the utmost of his ability, in rul)bing and helping a fellow- sufferer who Avas also caught in the terrible snow-storm which came upon them when far away from any habita- tion, so by helping others to the waters of the well of salvation, we draw fuller supplies therefrom /or ourselves. "He that watereth shall be watered also himself." A minister in the State of Indiana, on a cold day met a girl on the street of the city in which he was preaching, who asked him for some money. Her ema- ciated face, scanty clothing, and imjjloring look, all indicated that she was indeed in want. This man of God, Avith l)ut tAventy-five cents in his pocket, and Avliose OAvn Avants Avere not as fully met as he desired by the salary he received, felt he ought to give something, and UNITED BTIETIIREN MISSIONS. 2o as what little he had was all in one piece of money, he gave it and passed on. The following week, while in his study, he became unusually happy, so much so that it led him to wonder why it should be thus. He had not been asking God for special blessing, nor could he think of any reason why such ecstacy of joy should come to him thus unexpectedl3^ While he was pon- dering the matter, and puzzling himself concerning it, suddenly the beggar-girl and his giving her the last piece of money he had, flashed upon him, and it was all made plain, and through his tears of joy, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "0 Lord, this is a good deal for twenty-five cents given to a poor girl." Another case is given, which illustrates how helping others saved a man from committing suicide, and made his life which had been wretched, happy. This man was on his Avay to the river to drown himself. Meeting a bo}' who asked money for his mother, v.ho was greatly afflicted, the man thought as he was going to end his life he would not need money for himself, and gave the boy all he had in his pocket, which was several dollars. The gift so rejoiced the boy that he shouted, " This will make my mother and all of us happy." The man concluded to accompany the boy and see what the effect would be. They went into a narrow alley of the city, and up a rickety stairway to a room in which a woman was lying on some straw. The boy ran up to her and shouted again, " Oh, mamma, look at what this gentleman gave me," putting down all the money he had received. This made her happy also. Seeing the blessed effects of his gift, the man thought he would go back to his boarding- house where he had some more money, and distribute it among the poor before he would accomplish the end for which he had started in the morning, viz., to drown 2G HISTORY OF THE himself. As he had no friends to whom to leave his money this seemed a relief to him. On his -way back he began to reason on the situation, and the thought came to him that though he had nothing to live for especially, yet he might be a source of blessing to others with the money at his disposal. The result was the man did not commit suicide, but lived and learned to be happy by making others happy. These illustrations show fully that by doing good to others, good is received; or, in other words, by blessing others, we l)less ourselves. Nothing is more fully established than the fact that there is always a reflex influence coming to those who do good in the name of Christ, or who are prompted by pure motives in their efibrts to promote the good of their fellow-men. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 27 CHAPTER V. Work of the last hundied years — Dver one hundred missionary organi- zations — Sixteen million dollars now, instead of five hundred thou- sand at the beginning of this century — The Bible translated into many languages, and circulating freely even in Catholic countries — Great success of missions in India, China, Japan, Madagascar, Sand- wich and Fiji islands. But now I wish to give a chapter showing that the work done within the last one hundred years, especially the last fifty, in the mission cause, as well as the outlook for the future, is highly encouraging. There are now over one hundred missionary organizations, which have for their object the extension of the gospel into all the world. Taking into the account the opposition to missions which Drs. Gary, Judson, and similar great missionaries encountered when they urged that they might go to the heathen, and that the}' had no mission boards to whom they could offer their services, this fact is remarkable. It is only about fifty years since a German professor apologized for founding a missionary society in Fatherland. Now there are twenty-five upon the continent, and as many more in Great Britian alone. At the beginning of the present century not quite a half million dollars was given to missions, against sixteen millions now. Theli there were two hundred ordained missionaries, and very few native helpers in foreign lands ; now there are three thousand ordained men, and thirty thousand other workers, native and foreign. These have not less than twelve thousand schools with forty thousand pupils in them. The Word of God has been 28 HISTORY OF THE translated into two hundred and twenty-six languages, and is being Avidely distributed in man}' portions of the world. Even in Italy, Spain, Mexico, and other Catholic countries, where heretofore it was diilicult to circulate the Holy Scriptures, owing to the teaching that the common people ought not to read the Bible, thousands now are gladly read, and thus the way of the Lord is being prepared. The fact that many steam-presses are kept busy printing the word of God, and steam-ships and cars are carrying it in large supplies to the ends of the earth, with a large force in the field as colporteurs and missionaries to distribute it broadcast among all classes of men, is to say the least a ver}' hopeful sign of the times. But not only are these ends accomplished l)y and through the organizations of the Christian world, but organizations for scientific and commercial purposes by their explorations, have also greatly increased the facil- ities for carrying God's word to the unenlightened, and in some instances prepared the way for the missionar}-. The moral aspect of the world is quite different from what it was one hundred years ago. The outlook is very much more promising for the speedy conquest of the Avorld to Christ, as will appear still more fully in what is to follow. So much space is given to this subject for the purjoose of convincing any who may have doubts as to the possibility of Christianity's becoming universal. When Dr. Cary entered India, less than one hundred years ago, he found three hundred millions of people practicing the Hindoo religion. Their system of caste and their superstition which had been degrading them for about thirty centuries, made their condition so deplorable that Dean Scholier exclaimed, "Where in all the world is there such a Satandom as India?" Truly it looked like a hopeless task to Christianize that UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 29 country. Now there are over one hundred thousand communicants there, though that field has never had a strong missionary force in it considering the number of people. Among the greatest achievements of the gospel, surpassing Messrs. Moody and San key's success, and equalling the day of Pentecost, is the wonderful work in routhern India under the labors of Messrs. Williams and Clough, who l)a})tized over eight thousand persons in forty-six days. Tliis, it will be remembered, occurred in " such a Satandom " as the above named Dean thought could not be found elsewhere in all the world. There had been so little done in this same field for several years previous that the Baptist Board, under Avhose auspices the work is carried on, seriously thought of abandoning it. Now for nearly twenty years remark- able success has attended their labors there. How simi- lar in this respect to our African mission, which was also so wanting in results as to cause our board to think of abandoning that field. The last ten j^ears God has signally blessed our work there, though on account of war and for want of funds to extend the work as could have been done to great advantage, much less has been accomplished than under other circumstances might and doubtless would have been. Marked results have followed the Avork done in China. When Dr. Morrison entered Canton, in 1807, he found four hundred millions in China. He was shut out from the }>eople largely as have been many other missionaries who went to that country to unfurl the banner of Christ. There are now in that country about twenty-five thou- sand Christian communicants, and twice that number who are nominally Christians. Then, in Madagascar the convert? to Christianitv, on good authority, are said to 30 HISTORY OF THE be larger than all who were made in the Roman empire during the first three centuries of the Christian era. The queen herself is a Christian, and Christianity is the common law of that island. It was most fittingly written upon the tombstone of Rev. W. Geddis, in the Hebrides, " When he came here there were no Christians ; when he left us, there were no heathen." This was high praise to the power of the gos- pel to reform and save men, as well as to the faithfulness of the missionary who introduced it among that people. Africa, with its two hundred millions of souls was in a truly sad plight at the beginning of this century, and much of it is still, but very marked changes for the bet- ter have taken place. Offering human sacrifices, feasting on human flesh, worshiping hideous images made of wood, stone, earth, and iron, as well as snakes, crocodiles, and even Satan himself, and practicing the most detest- able barbarities, such as burning witches, murdering deformed infants, and doing other equally inhuman things, are much less frequent now than then, and they will continue to diminish all the time. It is not hard to understand why the Dutch settlers in South Africa treated the natives as they once did, and by a mistaken policy put the following words on their church doors : "Dogs and Hottentots are not admitted." Now in Africa, where many of the people were so brutal as to be excluded from the houses of worship, there are at least one hundred thousand Christians, and many thousand more under Christian influence. By the explorations of Livingstone, Stanley, and others, the continent has been l^enetrated, roads opened, trading and mission stations established in important places, so that now multiplied thousands are reached by the gospel who were not at the beginning of the present century. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 31 Missions in Burmah, India, Japan, Madagascar, Sand- wich and Fiji islands, and other places, have been a great success, and the converts in connection with Prot- estant missions in heathen countries are not far from three millions. More access is had to the jNIohamme- dans, and Christian missions among them are succeeding better now than ever before. The papal power is weak- ening also in many countries, especially in Europe. The Greek Church is becoming more Christian — at least, less barbarous. All these things point in the right direction, and make the outlook hopeful for the future. 32 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER VI. Seiitinient becoming more friendly to missions — Churches which labor nicst earnestly to enlighten the heathen, grow most rapidly at home - This abundantly illustrated in our own church since 1S53 — The old negro's and the Chinaman's remarks — "I,o, I am with you alvva}^" is better understood now than formerly. But not only have very marked changes taken place in heathen lands and other countries in which the religious condition of the people has been greatly improved, in the last hundred years, but there has been a change of sentiment much more friendly to Christian missions in the most enlightened countries, which demands that they be prosecuted more vigorously. The expressions, "It is highly preposterous to suppose the heathen could be converted, and if God wants it done he would do it wdthout our help," and that we ought not charter a missionary society because "We have no religion to spare," the one coming from a member of the legis- lature and the other from a doctor of divinity, we no longer hear; j'ea, more, we would laugh men to scorn who would make such heterodox statements now, and demand that their places be vacated for those who had a better understanding of the spirit as well as the letter of the New Testament. The facts are pretty generally received now, that the surest way for churches and nations to keep the religion of Christ, is to give it freely to others ; also, that God does want the heathen converted, and that the divine plan is that this is to be done through human instrumentality. The fact is easily demonstrated, that the churches which are earnestly laboring to enlighten the heathen, grow no less rapidly UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. '6'6 at home. Indeed those most liberal in the support of missions, as a rule, are most prosperous. The history of our own denomination is a good illustration of this truth. At the end of seventy-five years after our organ- ization, we had a membership not to exceed forty-two thousand. Then a board of missions was organized, and we heartily engaged in sending the gospel to the heathen, and destitute elsewhere, and in the next fifteen years we doubled our membership, and now, thirty-six years after, we have waked up to the fact that we have more to do than merely to enjoy the means of grace and reach heaven the easiest and cheapest way possible. God has increased our membership to two hundred and seven thousand, eight hundred. In these thirty-six years, all our colleges as well as Union Biblical Seminaiy, our Sunday-school work as also the church-erection and mis- sionary societies, have been commenced and built up. Our printing establishment, also, has been made all it is since then. The sentiment is becoming deeply fixed in many Christian hearts, that to helj) to save others, greatly conduces to our own spirituality and enjoyments. The ques- tion now with many Christians is not so much whether the heathen can be saved without the gospel, as it is ivhether ice can be saved ivithout giving it to them. The ciuaint remark of the old negro, " The world do move,'' is true, and it moves in the direction of right. All things human must have a beginning, and a certain man is credited with saying that "There was an end to to all things, except to his Avooden poker, which he had burned ofif, and hence it had no end." The command of Christ, "Preach my gospel to every creature," is no longer looked upon as being an impossibility, or as asking too much at the hands of Christians. On the same principle that a Chinaman exclaimed, " Too mibchee, 34 HISTORY OF THE too muchee,''^ when the writer told him nc ought not lie, nor steal, nor get drunk, hut must be a good man, so many formerly thought it too much to ask the church to give the gospel to all men. The Chinaman men- tioned, assented to a part of what he was asked to do, but the last item, he a good man, was in his opinion making an unreasonable demand of him. How true that not a few of Christ's professed followers foi-uicrly thought that to be good themselves, and in addition to that, give money and time to enlighten and save their fellow-men, was asking too much. Sorry to say, they have not all died yet, but are very rapidly passing away and soon all will be gone. There was one great difficulty formerly in the way of earnest missionary work, owing to the fact, doubtless, that the latter part of Christ's commission, " Lo, I am Avith you alway, even unto the end of the world," was not full}^ understood. There was a time when Napoleon Bonajjarte was called France, and also the " one hundred thousand." He was so called because his presence on the battle-field Avas regarded as being worth one hundred thousand soldiers, and because he controlled the government, army, navy, and all that France possessed. It is said that when the intelligence reached him that his navy Avas destroyed, which Avas on the same day the scepter of Prussia Avas surrendered to him, he petulantly replied, " I can't be everyAvhere." How different is it Avith the Captain of our salvation, Avho can be everyAvhere and Avho can give victory all along the line, which he does in his OAvn good time, and in Avaj^s most Avonderful. His Avords, " Lo, I am with 3^ou," are noAV more and more understood to mean, " I am Avith you " to help a'ou disciple all nations. Christ is the church, in a higher, truer sense than Bonaparte was France, and hence, Avhat he directs it to do, can and will be fully accomplished. UNITED liUKTIlKEN MIS.SIOiNS. 35 CHAPTER VII. Illustratioiis of early piety — A boy's logic too much for his father — "We have heathen at home," no reason for not sending the gospel abroad — PraAicing self-denial makes us strong in the Lord— The efforts of Cary, Judson, Livingstone, and others quickened into new life the churches they left behind— A minister's remark, that what he had given to God's cause was all he had left to him. There is still another change in Christian lands which marks the nineteenth century as one of genuine progress, and makes the outlook very hopeful. Fifty years ago it was not thought proper for young people to make public profession of religion until they were eighteen or twenty years of age, except in very rare instances, such as occurred in the cases of Bishop Simp- son and Dr. Doddridge, who became Christians while mere lads. The writer will never forget how a small girl of eight years of age, Avhose mother was a devout Christian, pleaded with her to allow her to go forward and give her hand to the minister, who at the close of communion service invited persons to thus indicate their desire to unite with the church. Though more than forty years ago, the scene is quite as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. The audience was standing, and there was a mother, who had prayed for the early conversion of all her children, with her last born asking if she might unite with the church, deeply impressed to do so by the Spirit of the Lord. The mother could not say no, nor did she feel safe to say yes, and so she said nothing. The child went forward, and by the joy which beamed from her young face, she showed that she well 36 HISTORY OF THE understood -what it meant to submit to Christ. She lived less than two years after that occurrence. Being a close neighbor and her Sunday-school superintendent^ her manner f)f life and her calm and triumphant death are Avell known to the Avriter. In her last hours she often said she was going to be with Jesus. Another instance: A minister, who had settled near Chicago, was asked by his son to allow him to unite with the church. He was told that he had better wait till he was stronger, and then he could hold out better. His father, having a country congregation, kept some sheep. He was spending a Sunday assisting a neighboring pastor, on a communion occasion, having gone on Saturday and not returning until Monday. While he was awa}' the weather became very cold, and this caused him to feel some uneasiness about his sheep, especially the lambs, which\were quite young. As his son was almost always with him when he stabled and fed his sheep, and took a deep interest in their welfare, he comforted himself with the thought that the boy would take good care of them. As early as he could on Monday, he reached his home, and at once asked the boy how the sheep had fared, sajdng, " You stabled them and fed them, and brought all the lambs in, did 3'ou ? '' The son rej^lied, " I brought in the sheep but left the lambs out." The father, sur- prised and somewhat chagrined, asked, " Why, what made you do that?" The boy rei3lied, " I left them out so they would be stronger and could stand it better when stabled," adding, " That is what you told me, father, when I asked to be taken into the sheepfold, and if it is good for boys, why not for lambs ? " The boy's logic was too much for his father, and at the next communion he was admitted into the church, happy to be counted as one of Christ's sheep. Advice like that of the old lady to her UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 37 son, " Stay out of the water until you can swim," is no longer thought to ]>(' best for children. They of right belong to the church, and should be Avelcomed to its privileges when they feel the need of salvation, and desire to confess Christ. As the ho&pital is the place to get well under the skillful treatment and care of doctor and nurse, so the church is now considered a proper place to be cured of the malady of sin, under the guidance of the ministers of Christ, and by the help of fathers and mothers and Sunday-school teachers caring for the lambs of the flock. Surely, the sooner children are rescued from the paths of worldliness and sin, the better, and it would be well were multiplied thousands in it who are still out, i^rovided they received such attention as a spiritual church would give. A genuine missionary spirit led to the present great zeal in behalf of Sunday- schools, and the formation of young peoi3le's Christian associations, and temperance organizations, all of Avhich not only labor to rescue the perishing, but to snatch the children and young people from the paths of Satan in the days of their youth. Christians are called co-workers with Christ — "as Avorkers together with him." As such they are expected to be ready for every good Avord or work. The apology made, '' We have heathen at home," as a reason for not giving money to send the gospel abroad, has lost all its force in the face of the fact that those who are most zealous for the cause of foreign missions do most for the home work of the church, as a rule. There is harmony in all the divine arrangements, and hence it is reasonable that earnest Christian workers do Avhat they can everywhere to save mankind. God carries forward his work through the instrumen- tality of the church. He miijht have written his law o6 HISTORY OF THE upon the sky, and commissioned angels to preach the gospel, and'also created a gold mine to furnish all money needed for charity, but he saw it was best that his people, for their development in benevolence, s^'mpathy, and self-denying labor, should do the work he requires in his Avord. How strong in God and in the power of his might are Christians made by practicing self-denial ! Faithful Sunday-school teachers often feel it would l)e a great relief not to have to study the lesson and go to school when other cares press upon them, but how much such persons grow in grace and in the knowledge' of Christ by faithfulness! Now, as they increase their knowledge of God's Avord, and their strength to fight the battles of the Lord by thus laboring to help their pupils, so i^raying, working, and paying to give the gospel to the heathen is truly a means of grace to those who do these things in the spirit of the Master. While the efforts of Car}^, Judson, Livingstone, and others Avere put forth to bring those to Christ who kncAV nothing of him, hoAV truly Avere Christians in the lands from Avhich they had gone quickened into ncAV spiritual life. Their going abroad did more to cause the churches at home to consecrate themselves fully to the Master^ tlian they could have done had they remained at home. Not only Avere the denominations to Avhich they l)elonged much pros- pered at home, by becoming deeply interested in foreign missions, but all Christendom Avas greatly helped. HoAV true the statement made b}' a Christian minister, Avho at one time had considerable i)roperty, all of Avliich Avas SAvept aAvay by a great flood, leaving him penniless, that AA'hat he had given to the Lord's cause Avas all that Avas left to him. Being made in a meeting-house that AA'as largely l)uilt by the money of said minister, and which had Ijeen a great blessinii; to tlic town in Avhich UNITED P.KETITREN MISSIONS. ^ 39 it was, this declaration was received with joy by the people, who were made happy to see how glad he was that while he had money he used it freely for God's cause. All knew that if it had not thus been used, it too would have been swept away. 40 HlfSTOBY OF THE CHAPTER VIII. From 1S53 to 1857. Organization of Missionary Societj' — Worjc commenced in Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, Canada, and California — Missionaries sent to Africa — Co-operation with American Missionary Association — Prog- ress of work upon home, frontier, and foreign missions during the four 3^ears. The preceding jDages have prepared the reader to more fully understand and appreciate the history of missions in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ during; the period embraced in this volume, which is from the year 1853 to 1889. At the General Conference which met in the month of May, 1853, the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society was organized. Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner was elected president, Rev. J. C. Bright, corresponding secre- tary, and Rev. J. Kemp, treasurer, and these, with nine other persons, some of whom were laymen, constituted its board. INIr. Bright was a zealous and efhcient M:orker in the cause of missions, and by the stirring addresses which he delivered at the annual confeuences and other places he visited, aroused the Church to a sense of its duty in behalf of the heathen and all who were Avithout the means of grace, such as it had never before experi- enced. Money came into the treasury freely, and work was commenced in earnest. Two missions Were located, one in Southwestern Missouri and the other in Canada, and all the arrangements Avere made to send missionaries to Africa during the year. The first annual mecfin;/ of the hoard occurred in Wester- UNITED BKETHKEX MISSIONS. 41 ville, Ohio, June 1, 1854. An executive committee had been constituted by the board soon after its organiza- tion, consisting of five of its own members, which had frequent!}^ met during the year and transacted a good deal of business, as the results of the year's work show. Revs. J. Conner and J. Kenoyer had headed a colon}'' Avhicli had gone overland to Oregon, in the summer of 1853, for the purpose of establishing the Church in that new and far-off land. The}' had held their first quar- terly meeting in that country some weeks before the first annual meeting of the board in June, 1854, to which they sent a report, which stated that they had witnessed a number of conversions and accessions to the Church as the result of their labors in Oregon, and that the outlook was encouraging. Rev. J. Terrel, who had been sent to Southwestern Missouri during the year, reported that his success was quite satisfactory, and that forty more missionaries could find plenty to do in that part of the State. A mission conference had also been formed in the State of Michigan, respecting which the secretary in his report to the board said, " No field in the Church bids . fairer to yield a plentiful harvest than this." During the year ex-Bishop Erb had commenced a mission in Canada, and reported to the board, "Tlie gospel wants are numerous, and the prospects for our church are good here." Missions had been commenced also in the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and California, and steps taken to project missions among the Germans of the United States and in behalf of the heathen of West Africa. Rev. W. J. Shuey was appointed a missionary to Africa at this first meeting of the board. The board left home missions to the management of the self-supporting annual conferences, each conference, 42 HISTORY OF TlIK by the constitution of the missionary society, being a branch of the parent society, and as such controlled its own missions. Some of the annual conferences had been doing home missionary work on a small scale, before the creation of the board of missions in 1853, but now that a general organization was effected, including the whole Church as its patron, and the Avhole world as its field of labor, new life was infused into the annual conferences, so that they did much more for home mis- sions than before, besides giving quite liberal!}' foi" frontier and foreign missions. The following action of the board, at its iirst meeting, shows the spirit which it possessed and the views it entertained as to the work to be done : ''We originated in a revival of religion among the Germans of America, and our first preachers were home missionaries, hunting up the destitute. Thousands of converts were made, who were gathered into other churches, as our own German ministers did not organize them. The spirit of Church extension has been con- stantly increasing among us, and, God be praised, our labors have been owned and blessed in the conversion to Christ of thousands of precious souls. The conver- sion of the millions who have found homes in America, and of those who are annually seeking homes here, is a work of great importance. German rationalism, so called, has its hundreds of propagators in this land; atheism, bold and fool-hardy, has its zealous advocates, and the depravity of thousands causes them to wish in their hearts there were no God. Societies claiming to be Christian, but denying every fundamental doc- trine of the Bible, are industriously making proselytes to their errors; Roman Catholicism is employing all its resources to gain possession of this land; the Protestant UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 43 evangelical churches, most of them, have greatly weak- ened their moral power by the unholy compromises which they have made with popular sins. As a conse- quence of these things, a very large proportion of the people are ungodly. Hence a mighty work of grace is needed in every state, county, and town in America. Watchmen should go forth throughout this land in the ■ true spirit of evangelists. In our efforts for the salva- tion of the heathen, we should not diminish our Inl^ors at home. ^Millions here are yet without God and hope in the world. "We will continue to conjure our brethren by all their love of that most lovely One who gave his life for the redemption of the whole human race, by all their deep sympathy for down-trodden and degraded humanity, and by every throb of the heart that beats in the direc- tion of the good and brave, to listen to the voice of lamentation and woe coming up from the continent of Africa. "In the propagation of Christianity, both at home and abroad, we regard the law of God as paramount to all human compacts and as the foundation of moral obligation. Hence no human law can be binding upon the conscience if it clearly comes in conflict with the law of God. "The first Monday evening in each month shall be set apart for jDrayer for the success of missions." Thirty-five years have come and gone since these very excellent resolutions were put into the minutes of the board. So sound in doctrine, evangelical in spirit, and applicable to the present time are they that they are worthy a place in the history of missions — yea, they constitute a very important jxirt of the history couched in the pages of this book. The l)oard felt that to accom- 44 HISTORY OF THE plish the work God had for the Church to do in the great cause of missions, it must adopt scriptural methods of working, and pray much for the divine blessing upon its efforts to save men. The second annual meeting of the hoard convened in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 26, 1855. The secretary in his report said: "At the last annual meeting, Rev. W. J. Shuey received an appointment to Africa. Subsequently Dr. D. C. Kumler and Rev. D. K. Flickinger accepted ap- pointments from the executive committee. They sailed from New York in January, and reached Freetown, Sierra Leone, the first of March. After having accomplished what they conceived to be their duty, Messrs. Shuey and Kumler . returned to this country. Mr. Flickinger re- mained. He feels he has a work to do there, and is pre- ,pared to suffer, and, if need be, die at his post." The American Missionary Association of Xew l^ork had commenced a mission about ten years before, one hundred and twenty miles south of Freetown, known as Mendi mission, consisting of three stations. Rev. George Thompson was in charge at Kaw-Mendi, Rev. J. S. Brooks at Mo-Tappan, and Mr. D. W. Burton at Good Hope station. The last named is located in Bonthe, a town of considerable size at present. Other American mis- sionaries were at these stations, all of whom showed great kindness to the United Brethren missionaries. The secretary of the American Missionary Association, Rev. George Whipple, had given them letters of intro- duction to those in charge of Mendi mission, and the terms upon which the missionaries of the two societies should co-operate. Our missionaries made Good Hope station their headquarters, it being favorably located for the work of exploration to which they gave themselves while the three remained in Africa, which was between UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 45 two and three months. During this time, Mo-Kelli, on the Jong river, was selected as a place for beginning. Soon after Messrs. Shuey and Kumler returned home, Mr. Flickinger became fully convinced that it was im- practicable to open a mission station at Mo-Kelli, as it was about forty-five miles inland, and ten miles above the falls in the Jong river, and hence very difficult to reach from the coast. It is not yet occupied by us, but it ought to be added to the four hundred towns into which our itinerants have gone, and are going. Mr. Flickinger visited many places to find a suitable loca- tion, having ascended the Big Boone river twice, a dis- tance of one hundred miles, once alone in a native canoe, and another time with Mr. Brooks, in his boat; but owing to many hindrances, he failed to do so. Mean- while, he obtained valuable information of the country and its wants, and preached the gospel to many heathen. At this meeting, the board appointed him superinten- dent of the African mission, instead of Mr. Shuey, who had occupied the position up to that time. It also ap- pointed two more men to go to Africa, but for some reason they never went. The frontier missions of the Church progressed more satisfactorily, during the year, than the foreign. Michi- gan Conference, which had been organized but a little over a year, reported an increase of one hundred and ninety-five members. The work in Oregon had gone for- w^ard well, and mission conferences had been organized in Oregon and Canada with rather flattering prospects. Missions in Kansas and Nebraska were strengthened by an additional missionary to each, and were succeeding well. The German missions in Ohio and Indiana had been prosperous ; but far less had been attempted than should have been done on this field. There had been a 46 HISTORY OF TIIK missionary appointed to California, but he failed to go. Missions had been projected also in the states of ^Minne- sota and Tennessee, and the outlook "was good through- out this department of work. The following, in the secretary's report to this meet- ing, shows conclusively that efforts to enlighten the heathen, and give the gospel to the destitute in frontier fields, were very effectual in stimulating greater liber- ality for home missions: "Contributions to our home missions this year exceed those of last year S2,200. "We have ninety itinerants in this field, who preach at over six hundred places, and who arc winning many souls to Christ." The secretary's rejjort also said: "It is vain to suppose that suital^le houses of worship can be built in new states and territories without help from abroad. Let a systematic plan for raising- a Church-extension fund be brought before the conferences for their adop- tion." Successful missionary work developes many wants, such as building churches, parsonages, establish- ing Sunday-schools, and supplying them with books and papers. To do these things, money is needed. The aim of the board has been to train the people upon its missions to do what they can. It also furnishes help when needed. At this meeting the duties of the executive committee were defined, as follows: "(!•) It shall execute the ex- pressed Avishes of the board. (2.) It shall fill vacancies occasioned by death or resignation. (3.) It may suspend missionaries in cases of immorality, or manifest unfit- ness for the work. (4.) It shall make additional appro- priations in cases of extraordinary emergencies. (5.) It shall settle questions concerning the management of missions. (6.) It shall exercise a vigilant supervision of the whole missionary work. (7.) It shall stand for the board in all cases requiring immediate action." UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 47 The hoard hcla its third annual meeting in Mt*. Pleas- ant, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1856. Mr. Flickinger had reached the United States about two.Aveeks before, his physician in Africa having ordered him awa}' from there for a change. During his stay in Africa he had several severe attacks of fever, his life was despaired of, and for several months before he left, he was unable to Avork. ResiDectinghim and the work in Africa, the board said: "We regard it as of the utmost importance that our work in Africa be prosecuted vigorously. We are satis- fied that Rev. D. K. Flickinger did his duty as a mis- sionary in Africa, and Avelcome him as a brother beloved in the Lord to this meeting." Here the board appointed Revs. W. B. Witt and J. K. Billheimer to go to Africa with Mr. Flickinger the following December, which they did. Before Mr. Flickinger left Africa in the spring of 1856, he purchased, by the advice of the executive committee, a house and lot in Freetown, as a home for missionariesi' There Avere no hotels there at which they could stop, and as this was the place they must land from vessels, or embark to go on them, and as they had occasion to be in Freetown to get supplies of food and medicines, it was thought wise to have such a home. Such necessity still exists there, as this house had to be sold in 1861 to get money to keep the mission alive ; other strange sacrifices Avere also made, which Avill appear further on in this narrative. It is a great pity this propertj^ had to be sold, as more than its cost — tAVO thousand, four hundred dollars — has been paid in rent for a mission-house in Freetown since its sale. Such a mission-house has been, and Avill likely ahvays be a necessity as long as our mis- sion continues in that part of Africa. The secretary, in his report to the board at this meet- 48 HISTORY OF THE ing, said that the j-ear closed prosperously, which should call forth praise to God. In Oregon, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Canada, tlio work had gone forward well, and the new missions which had been commenced during the year, had a good beginning. lie also said there were good openings for projecting new missions, but the lack of both men and money prevented this. One very grati- fying fact which began to be developed, was the increase of home missionary work and success within the bounds of the annual conferences. Mission conferences and some frontier missions were becoming self-supporting. An aggressive spirit, largely awakened because of the missionary activity in the Churcii, pervaded every de- partment of church work. The following, taken from the minutes of this meet- ing, shows the disposition of the board in respect to the work to be done at home and abroad : "We would not conceal the fact that the moral and physical condition of Africa presents gigantic obstruc- tions to the progress of the gospel ; and were it not for the vast importance connected with its evangelization, and especially for the positive command of Christ to go there and preach, we should abandon the work in des- j)air. We trust the Church has counted the cost, and will stand by the board in every emergency. "It should be the object of the board to obtain the contributions of every member of the Church, because it is not the benefactions of the rich only, but the con- tributions of the comparatively poor, accompanied by their tears and prayers, that are to be relied on mainly to swell the great stream of Christian benevolence ; and these can best be secured by tlie sermons, visits, and systematic solicitation of faithful pastors." As an illustration of hov; marvelously successful the UNITED BRKTIIKKN iMI^SIONS. 49 work done by the board was, in some instances, the following extract from the report of one of the branch secretaries, made at this meeting, is to the point : " We have now five circuits, and seven missions, where four years since we had only two missions. Then we had less than one hundred members, where now we have thirteen hundred. At our last annual conference Ave made arrangements to sustain thirteen home missions, and two have been taken up since, making, in all, fifteen missions ; and the Lord is blessing our labor on all these new fields. Four fifths of the money necessary to main- tain these missions is paid by the missions themselves." Then, as now, there were mau}^ places, even in our own country, greatly needing missionaries. In many of these, the faithful preaching of the gospel brought forth abundant fruit, even a hundred-fold. It will be so until the end of time, as it has been ever since the great apostle to the Gentiles declared: "It [the gospel] is the power of God unto salvation to every one that be- lieveth." "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." The fourth annual session of the board took place in Hartsville, Indiana, May 8, 1857, the week previous to the sitting of the General Conference. Messrs. Flick- inger, Witt, and Billheimer had reached Freetown in January. The same vessel which carried them there from New York City, proceeded on to Liberia, and ^Ir. Flickinger went with it, to see if that was a hopeful field for mission work. He remained three weeks, when he returned to Sierra Leone, fully persuaded that, dark as Avas the outlook in the Sherbro country, it was the place to prosecute the Avork. Before he returned to the United States, he had frequently visited Chief Caulker 50 HISTORY OF THE to get a site near the town of Shaingaj'. He now re- doubled his efforts, and after several more trials, with the help of others, especially the assistance of D. "\V. Burton, of the Mendi mission, finally received a promise of one hundred acres of land, one half mile from Shain- gay, -which has proved to 1)e an exceedingly pleasant and healthy place for a mission station. The most i^ermanent and valuable buildings of Sherbro mission are located here, including a good missionary residence with six rooms ; chapel, thirty by forty-five feet ; Clark Theologi- cal Training-School building, thirty-one by sixty-six feet, and three stories high, all built of stone and cov- ered with slate or iron. Other valuable improvements are also here. Mr. Flickinger returned to the United States soon after securing this site, it being understood that he should do so as soon as this object was accomplished, and Messrs. Witt and Billheimer had a settled place in which to Avork. He reached the place of the annual meeting the clay after it commenced work, and also attended the General Conference. The report of the secretary, at this meeting of the board, showed that the mission conferences in Oregon and Michigan were flourishing, and that substantial work was done in Canada, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Tennessee. There were serious obstacles in the way of the work of Missouri and Kansas, growing out of the agitation of political questions, the extension of slavery into Kansas being the source of bitter oppo- sition between pro-slavery and anti-slavery people. Yet, notwithstanding all this, God blessed faithful missionary work to the salvation of precious souls. During the year, home missions had been prosperous. Quite a number had been commenced by the annual UNITED BRETIIUKX MISSIONS. 51 •conferences during the quadrennial term, and they had mostly been successful, thus increasing the membership of the Chureli to a great extent. The outlook was very encouraging, both in the home and frontier departments. The following financial exhibit, for the quadrennial term ending May, 1857, Avith those that will hereafter be given at the end of every four years, will indicate the comparative growth of missionary zeal in the Church, and show where the mone}' given the board has been ex- j)ended. These figures are taken from the statement of the treasurer of the missionary society, as published in his report of 1888, and are sufficiently full and reliable for all practical purposes. Africa $5,814 69 Oregon 3,892 00 Kansas 2,450 00 Missouri 1,750 00 Michigan 1,000 00 Ohio German Conference 1,350 00 Minnesota 300 00 Canada *.. 2,379 18 Nebraska.. 1,500 00 Tennessee 460 00 Total $20,895 87 To this there must be added at least twelve hundred dollars for contingent expenses of the board. Then the annual conferences expended upon the houic missions of the Church during the four years, including what was paid by these missions toward the support of those who served them, $60,101.21. This makes for lionu". frontier, and foreign missions, during the first four years, not including the contingent expenses of the board, a grand total of S80,998.08. The blessing of God was upon the work undertaken l)y the society from the beginning, vmder the efficient Icadersliip of its secretary, Rev. J. C. Bright. 52 HISTOIIY Ol'' THE CHAPTEll IX. From 1857 to 1S61. General Conference of 1857 — Illness of secretaries — Publication of Missionary Telescope — Financial crisis — Many conversions— House sent to Africa — Missionaries shipwrecked — The work successful. Tlte fifth annual vieetlng of the hoard was held in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1858, The General Conference of 1857 re-elected Bishop Glossbrenner presi- dent; Rev. J. Kemp, treasurer, and Rev. D. K. Flickin- ger, corresponding secretary, with the usual number of members necessary to constitute the Board of Missions. A financial crisis swept over the country in the summer of 1857, which greatly paralyzed business. As the mis- sionary society commenced the term with a debt of several thousand dollars, and Avith ])lans formed to Avork upon a larger scale than formerly, this sudden and seri- ous turn in the finances made it difiicult for the ofiicers of the society to pay bills as they became due. At one time one of them gave a mortgage on his home in order to raise one thousand dollars then due. Money was not as plenty at that time as it has been since the war of 1861, and the society had no permanent fund as at pres- ent to give it credit, so that its work Avas much hindered for lack of means to carry it on. The secretary became seriously ill in September, and consequently Avas utterly disabled for AVork during the remainder of the year 1857. He resigned his office in Octol^er, and Rev. J. C. Bright, his jDredecessor, became his successor until the annual meeting, but his health also failing in the meantime, he was unable to attend this meeting. At that time money UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 53 was largely raised by efforts made by the secretaries, and as they were disabled much of the year, and the financial pressure was so disastrous to business in general, the outlook I'or raising money, especially for missions, was very dark when the board met in ISoS. The (Jeneral Conference had ordered the publication of a paper to be called the Missionary Telescope, to com- mence with the year 1858, five numbers of which were alread}' issued, and had helped to get the claims of the society before the Church ; but the cost of publication exceeded the receipts from subscription, owing some- Avhat to the fact that all life directors and life members of the society received it gratis. The year, however, was an unusually prosperous one in securing conversions and accessions to the Church through the labors of the missionaries. Michigan Conference had become self-sup- porting, and all the mission conferences were reported prosperous except Missouri, for which laborers could not be secured. In the month of March, the Parkersburg Mission Conference, in West Virginia, was organized. A mission had been commenced in Kentucky, and another projected in Massachusetts. A wooden house, twent}'- four by thirty feet, prepared in New York, all ready to be set up, had been sent to Africa, and was erected near Shaingay. This was used as a school-room, chapel, and missionary residence for several years. Rev. J. K. IMll- heimer had the main charge of the work there. Dr. Witt was elsewhere most of the time, and itinerated exten- sively in preaching the gospel. Everything was going forward as well as could be desired, as the following message received from them by the board just before it met, shows "We are making a desperate effort to get the house up this season, now that we have received the deed for the 54 HISTORY OF TllK beautiful location selected. The work is going on as well as could be expected under the circumstances. AVe have c()nsideral)le ground cleared. As we Avere coming from tShaingay to Freetown a few days ago, we were wrecked upon the Banana Islands, and l)arely escaped drowning. Indeed, Ave are not yet out of danger, having had to exert ourselves violently. We lost from thirty to forty dollars' Avorth of goods, but Avere thankful to get aAvay Avith our lives. We are Avilling to live on rice and fish, Avhile our brethren live in luxury in America, if they will support this mission." Strange Avords to come from tAVO men, Avho Avere in a far-off land, aAvay from friends and the endearments of Christian society. Did they mean Avhat they Avrote, just after being shipAvrecked, and narroAvly escaping Avith their lives? "ire are trilliii;/ to live on rice and fish, while our brethren live in luxury in America, if they will support this mission.''' Yes, they meant it all, and in their lal)ors and sufferings in Africa and elsewhere, shoAved that they did. Alas! the Church here at home did not render sufficient aid to enable them to carry forAvard the Avork of the mission advantageously. They labored under many discouragements for a time, Avhen Dr. Witt came home, because the meagre support given the mission in Africa precluded the possibility of his laboring there longer to advantage. Home missions had enjoyed a successful year, and all was going forAvard satisfactorily in every department of our Avork Avhere the effort Avas made. The lack of money and the ill-health of the secretaries Avas a serious draAvback, Mr. Bright was chosen secretary at this meet- ing for the ])alance of the quadrennial term, but his continued ill-health prevented liini from doing any- thing. Mr. Flickinger had aeeepte(l labor elseAvhere, and UNiTKD bketjiuj:n missions. 55 on that account, as well as the fear that ill-health would not permit him to j^eri'orm the duties of secretary, de- clined the position permanently, but did the office work pending a choice to be made, and after a few months accepted it for the balance of the quadrennial term. The sixth annual session of the board was held in Milfora, Indiana, May 11, 1859. Dr. Witt had returned from Africa, leaving Rev. J. K. Billheimer the only laborer the society had there. He wrote in January that though the house sent was accommodating him fairly well for school-room, chapel, and residence, there was a necessity for the place of residence to be separate, and he had commenced such a building, which was to be of stonej thirty by forty-five feet. It was well planned, but owing to a lack of money, it was not finished until the year 1864. Mr. Billheimer was encouraged with the work, for, notwithstanding the number of scholars was few and the congregations for divine worship small, he saw that good impressions were made among the children and adults who attended. Early in the year, Rev. 1). 8huck was sent to open a mission in Central Missouri, Init owing to the slavery agitation there, very little was done. This also seriously hindered our work in Kansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Pro-slavery people not only did all they could to make the work of the missionaries a failure, but threatened them with violence also. The following, taken from tlie Knoxville Whig, and which Avas copied very extensively throughout the South, shows the attitude of pro-slavery people to an anti-slavery church sending missionaries into their midst. The beginning of the article reads: ''look oft for an abolitionist. "Rev. John Ruebush, a missionary of the United Brethren, is laboring in tlie vineyard of I'pper Tennes- 56 HISTORY OF TIIK see, and is a very popular man among the negroes. He is agent for the sale of divers books and ])ul)lications, hailing from Dayton, Ohio. Among the books are, 'Lawrence on Slavery,' 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and such infamous publications. It is astonishing that a mission- ary should be tolerated in East Tennessee. We hope this man and his associates will run off half of the negroes where they labor. This would bring the citi- zens to their senses." During the year, Nebraska and Wisconsin mission conferences were organized. Ministers had gone to Wis- consin from Northern Illinois, and having made a good beginning, the General Conference of 1857 ordered the formation of a mission conference, which was not accom- plished until the year following. Revivals of great power had taken place in Minnesota, Oregon, and Parkersburg. A lack of laborers kept a number of other missions weak, as in Massachusetts, which was at this meeting trans- ferred by the board to the Sandusky Annual Conference. In Nebraska very little was done. During the year, Rev. I. Sloane and family moved to California. Mr. Sloane was our first missionary to that State. But a few months after they reached Sacramento Cit}', Mrs. Sloane died, leaving her husband alone to care for sev- eral children, besides the large and important mission field of which he was in charge. He himself was per- mitted to lal)or l;)ut a few years in that country when, l)y a sad accident, while he was crossing the mountains, far from his family and friends, he Avas called from labor to veAvard. Of this heroic, faithful servant of the Lord, and of his death, more will be said in due time. In the home-mission department of the work, the pro- gress made was very good, with a few exceptions. Both in this, and in the frontier field, there were favorable UNITED BllKTIIKEN MIrioIOXS. 57 opportunities for greatly increasing the force of mission- aries, which could not be done, however, for the simple reason that the money was not at hand to support them. Except in the slave States, wlicvo the opposition to our missionaries was very bitter, the year's Avork was quite encouraging. The folknving resolution, adopted at this meeting, shows the board meant that its missionaries should Avork : " We require the missionaries under our control to devote tAvo hundred and forty days per annum to actiA^e labor on their respectiA^e fields, as nothing short of this Avill be regarded as full time." One of the missionaries of ]\Iendi mission, Avho had spent much time in Africa, and kncAv our Avork Avell, Avrote to the executiA^e committee, in January, 1859, as folloAvs : " (1.) You haA'e at Shaingay a very desirable field. (2.) Mr. Billheimer is a man Avell calculated to begin a ucav field of labor. (3.) The buildings are com- menced Avell, the plans are Avisely laid, and they ought to be completed, even if you haA'e to l)orrow money to do it, as the3Mvill be of great benefit before ncAv mission- aries are sent to join Mr. Billheimer. (4.) You may feel certain that every farthing of your money is religiously employed according to INIr. Billheimer's judgment." The seventh anmial session of the board met April 28, 1860, in Dresback meeting-house, near CircleAalle, Ohio. The i)ast year had been an exceedingly trj'ing one to the missionaries, OAving to the meagre support they received, and to the ofiicers of the society, ])ecause of their ina- bility to for\v;n'(l proiiqitly the installments due them. As it AA'as, the del)t of the society Avas increased, cA-en by the pittance given the missionaries. To saA'e expenses, the corresponding secretary accepted a field of lal)or in Miami Conference, and, Avith the help of two other .■>eople had set- tled in the places where we had organized our societies, it caused some little stir among them to be kept from joining our church for doing what they had done Avith impunity in other Christian denominations. We had much to contend with from this class of people on account of our temperance views, and then the love these heathen have for intoxicants was greatly against us. We maintained our position, however, and do so now with less trouble than formerly. The frontier missions of the Church had progressed as well as usual during the year. Tlie missions among the freedmen in Virginia and Kentucky, and the German missions in Toledo, Ohio, and I'liiladelpliia, Pennsylva- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 107 nia, had moderate success. The Tennessee, Osage, Ne- braska, Dakota, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Parkersburg conferences had a good year. The last four named were stricken from the list of mis- sion conferences at this meeting, and Oregon was put on the list again, as ordered by the General Conference of 1873. Oregon, as well as Walla Walla, California, South- ern Illinois, Fox River, and Ontario had but very little growth, and in some there was a decline, owing to the hindrances in the way of successful Avork. Home missions mostly had a prosperous year. It is difficult to ascertain the real work of this department, owing to constant changes, which sometimes merge two missions into one, or make some self-supporting, so that boundary lines and the membership belonging to the missions are constantly changing. The Church-Erection Society during the year assisted eight feeble congrega- tions to build houses of worship, and the Missionary Visitor was still sloAvly increasing its circulation. The following question was discussed with ability, and, we trust, with profit to the cause of missions, at this meeting : " What can be done to enlist the young men and women who are graduating in our seminaries and colleges, in the great work of missions, and induce them to enter this field, opened to us by the Master, and which is yet so destitute of efficient laborers?" Taking the aggregate of results, there was much in the year's work to encourage the society, and the out- look was good. God's blessing was most manifest in the work accomplished, though here and there a few dis- couraging things occurred, as is the case in most church enterprises, missions being no exception to the rule. IVie twenty-third yearly meeting of the board commenced May 11, 1876, in Dayton, Ohio. This being but a few 108 HISTORY OF TUK weeks before the death of. Bishop Edwards, who liad been the president of the board from May, 1S73, the following was adopted: "7?c.so/ivr7, That we hereby ex- press our heartfelt sympathy for our dear brother, Bishop D Edwards, in his severe affliction, and assure him that though not present to participate in the business of this meeting, he is not forgotten by us." The report of the secretary said: "There are many obligations resting upon lis for gratitude to the Giver of all good for His great mercy toward us and our missionaries in giving them and us a successful year. No less than seven thou- sand members were brought into our Church the past year through their instrumentality. Amid great finan- cial depression throughout our country, the receipts to our treasury have been in excess of last year. It would be well for us to keep in mind the fact, however, that as a Church we still fall far below the standard of libcralit}^ that God's word requires. Your attention is asked to the following mode for increasing funds : First, the pub- lication of well-prepared tracts, showing the good done. Secondly, a yearly budget of news, facts, and general intelligence respecting our work, to be published in our Church papers, and read by past5rs to their people, with such comments as will impress them with their duty to contribute liberally to its support." During the year the Woman's Missionary Association of the Church was* organized, respecting which the follow- ing resolution was adopted: "That the proposed efforts of our sisters of the women's board to open schools in towns adjacent to our missions in Africa, under the supervision of our missionaries, as presented in tho action of said women's board, has our entire sympathy and approval." The secretary's report also contained this sentence : UNITED BRHTHREN MISSIONS. 109 "The opportunity offered us to give the gospel to the heathen who come to our shores, when it can be done so mucli cheaper than to go to China, ought not longer pass unimproved." The board thereupon said: "We look favorably to the projection of a mission station at some point on the Pacific coast, with the specific view to the evangelization of the Chinese ; and we recommend that the corrresponding secretary ascertain as soon as jDOSsible Avhere such station should be located." The following W' as also heartily adopted : " Resolved, That we call the attention of our people throughout the Church to the importance of holding monthly missionary prayer- meetings for the purpose of awakening a deep interest in the missionary work and securing a more general out- pouring of God's holy spirit for its prosecution." It also directed, "That the executive committee continue Daniel Flickinger Wilberforce at the High School in Dayton, Ohio, two years longer, and furnish him with such instruction in vocal and instrumental music as should fit him to teach the same upon his return to his native land." The increase in the circulation of the Missionary Visitor was over twelve hundred above its pre- vious highest circulation, and its net profit, allowing five hundred dollars for editQrial work, was still seven hun- dred and fifty-eight dollars. The mission in Germany had considerable success during the year outside of Bavaria, but we were forbidden to work in that kingdom. Eev. J. Ernst, who had done good service for about three years, returned to America, leaving Rev. C. Bischoff the only laborer we had there. Mr. Bischoff still lived in Naila, Bavaria, and went into places outside of Bavaria that were close to his place of residence, which was near the line. The African mission, notwithstanding war, small-pox, 110 HISTORY OF THE and other unfavorable circumstances, progressed quite well. Rev. J. Wolfe was sent out by the board and reached the mission in December, 1875. A few months afterward Mr. and Mrs. Gomer, having completed a term of five years and a half, came to America, reaching their home soon after the board met. In January, 1876, Mr. Gomer wrote the following in regard to the previous year's work : " At the beginning of the year Satan went to work in earnest, putting forth every effort in his power to hinder the progress of the gospel in this field of labor. He selected for his prime agent, John Caulker, a Mohammedan, a very energetic and daring person. Thanks be to God he has given us the victory, John Caulker and his accomi3lices are in Freetown jail, and all their efforts to put out the fire which the gospel has kindled have only acted as so much oil thrown into the flames. I cannot describe to you the effect produced upon the minds of the people throughout the country by the capture of Caulker and his war party b}' the gov- ernor of Sierra Leone. We missionaries and our little band of converts are filled with joy and gladness, not because John Caulker is in jail, but because God is bringing good out of his war. A number of slaves have lost their masters, and three masters, who are professors of religion, have lost their slaves. Small-pox has been raging for two months, and many have died. As soon as they are taken with it they are carried into the bush or to a farm shed. Many come from neighboring vil- lages to attend worship at Shaingay. The people say, 'God done take the country.' I have received ten into the church here during the quarter, and nine others into a seekers' class. Two of our members died, one of them very happy." On the frontier field there were some great successes, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. Ill as well as some failures. Owing to serious difficulties in the Walla Walla Mission Conference, it was reduced to a mission district at the annual meeting of 1875. These having been removed and the prospects being better than formerly, the board rescinded its previous action and continued it a conference. In California, Colorado, Dakota, and Minnesota good progress was made, and in Nebraska over a thousand members were added to the Church, which was an extraordinary growth for a small conference. The success in Tennessee, Southern Illinois, Osage, Oregon, Fox River, and Ontario mission confer- ences was very moderate, and in the Kentucky mis- sion district scarcely anything was accomplished. The Toledo, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, German missions also had very little growth. The freedmen's mission in Virginia had a successful year. The four conferences, Parkersburg, Missouri, Kansas, and Wiscon- sin, Avhich had become self-supporting one year before, had a very prosperous j^ear. Home missions had also a prosperous 3'ear, gaining fully five thousand members. The hventy-fourth annual meeting of the board was held in Vermillion, Illinois, May 8, 1877,' two days before the General Conference met near the same place. The great national centennial of 1876 had brought many people from every part of the United States, who necessarily paid out a good deal of money in visiting Philadelphia. There was an unusual political agitation during the year also, as there frequently is preceding an election of presi- dent of the United States. So much time and money were given to these things as to draw somewhat from charitable institutions. The finances of the society were well maintained in comparison to other similar institu- tions in the countr}-. The secretary's report gave the following explanation : 112 HISTORY OF THE " But for the fact that considerable more money than usual came into our treasury fur the current contingent expenses of the year from bequests and special contribu- tions for the African industrial school, and even our regular work, we, as well as many other mission boards in America, would have to report quite a large debt. A small debt against a missionary society is sometimes unavoidable ; but it is certainly the better wa}'^ to carry forward mission work with money consecrated to this object upon the j^art of the donor rather than by money consecrated to gain upon the part of the money lender. The Bible plan, ' Let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,' is the way to obtain money for charitable purposes. The practice of doing business on borrowed capitcd is questionable ; and in church matters, especially in missionary operations, it is a great im- propriety, if not a p>ositive ivrong^ The secretary also had the following in his report: " The executive committee did not see its way clear to project a mission among the Chinese on the Pacific coast during the year, owing mainly to a lack of funds. The following extract from a letter written by Rev. S. V. Blakeslee, of Oakland, California, last February, and published in the Chicago Advance, will show the great need of such a mission. He says, ' About two hundred and forty thousand Chinese have come to this country, of whom one hundred and twenty thousand are yet here, the others having gone back, or died. They are already so numerous as to establish for themselves a complete social, moral, and commercial support, in all their own customs, moralities, and religion. Of the Avhole number who have come, only about five hundred have renounced heathenism. Throughout California, they have their temples, idols. i)riests, and heathen vices, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 113 and are degrading our morals, distracting our politics, weakening our military strength, embarrassing our schools, rendering difficult the work of our churches, 13re venting white immigration, Avearing out our lands, and degrading the whole class of manual laborers. Let us see to it that the result may not prove as fearfully evil and destructive as slavery did, for it is having the same effects upon Americans, with the exception that it does not ignore the rights of the laborer.' A mission might be commenced in connection with the one opened in Sacramento City the past year." The following from the report of the committee to which the African, German, and freedmen's missions were referred, and which was heartily approved by this meeting, will indicate all that is necessary to state here in respect to these missions : "Our large, important, and successful mission Avork in Western Africa, with favorable openings for almost indefinite enlargement, places us under the strongest obligations to consecrate ourselves fully to the Christian- ization of that country. The Sherbro country, extend- ing for miles from Shaingay, should be occupied by us soon. With two regular mission stations, three chapels for day and Sunday-schools, and an industrial school but lately commenced, a large number of missionaries and native helpers must be kept in the field, and the means put into their hands to enable them to work advantageously. . Our obligations to the faithful mis- sionaries we have there, to the heathen, and to the Mas- ter, whose command is to '■ teach all nations,' require us to employ all the means within our reach to prosecute that work." « Mr. and Mrs. Gomer, who had spent almost six months in America, returned to Africa during the year, arriv- 114 1IIST()I;V OF THE / ing in Decoinber, 1876, accompanied by Misses Bow- — ~j man and Bcekman, who were sent l)y the exeentivo committee to teach and otherwise assist in that work. In the absence of Mr. Gomer, Rev. J. Wolfe Avas in charge of the mission. INIiss Beekman also commenced a night school for the benefit of those who conld not attend the day schools. There Avas also a fourth day school to be opened soon after this meeting, to support which Summit Street Sunday-school, of Dayton, Ohio, pledged one hundred dollars annually, Avhich pledge has been faithfully kept. The secretary in his report, the board in its proceedings, and the General Conference also recognized the valuable services of the Woman's Missionary Association in establishing a school in Africa, and commended their purj^ose to enlarge their Avork there, in connection Avith the Avork of the Board of Mis- sions. Respecting Germany, it adopted the folloAving: " We recommend that our Avork in Germany be prose- cuted vigorously, and that additional help be employed, provided the civil authorities do not close the door against us." Rev. C. Bischoff, who Avas the only mis- sionary there, Avrote that he preached a good deal, as did also some of the quarterly conference preachers, and that he had seventy-three members who had left the state church. The freedmen's mission in Virginia had succeeded well under the labors of the two brethren employed. The board and General Conference both expressed deep sympathy in behalf of this Avork ; but, alas i on account of not having suitable men to prosecute it after Rev. Evans returned to. Africa, and having no money to de- vote to this object, little has been done. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Toledo, Ohio, missions made satisfactory progress during the year, and UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 115 the board resolved to prosecute them vigorously. The mission in Kentucky had average success, but the great poverty of that country and want of liberality upon the part of those living there who could do something, were discouraging features. In the following mission confer- ences there was prosperity, viz : California, Colorado, Nebraska, Osage, Minnesota, and Tennessee. In several of these there was marked progress made during the year, and in all quite a good deal was done to build up the Church. In Ontario, Fox River, Dakota, ^Yalla Walla, Oregon, and Southern Illinois, the work did not succeed so well. Some of these lost heavily by emigra- tion, in some there Avas a want of harmonious effort, and in others a great lack of laborers. The grasshopper scourge and failure of crops kept back financial progress, which made it still harder to work successfully in some of these conferences. Home missions had a large share of prosperity during the year, and home missionaries reported nearly five thousand conversions and accessions to the Church. Here, as in the frontier and foreign de- partments, the more the success the greater the demand for additional laborers. The secretary, in his reports both to the board and to the General Conference, emphasized the thought that there should be given for missions an annual average of one dollar to the member. He had urged this in the Mis- sionary Visitor, of which he was editor, and in other Church periodicals, as well as in missionary sermons and addresses which he delivered, for four or five years, but now he made this the kej'-note of his plea' for more money, and insisted on the General Conference devising ways and means by which so reasonable and necessary an object might be secured for the future. The follow- ing extract taken from the secretary's report to the 116 HISTORY OF THE General Conference is suggestive : " Onr foreign mission work has taught us the highest form of benevolence. We give to it, expecting no return save that which accrues from the grateful acknowledgment of the saved heathen ; yea, without so much as hoping to see those who are benefited by our gifts until we shall meet them before the judgment seat of Christ . . . It has taught us another valuable lesson, namely, that it is safe to engage in large undertakings for God. He sometimes leads churches and nations into places where they arc com- pelled to undertake and accomplish great things, or be dishonored, not to say destroyed. Had Ave known in 1861, when our late war commenced, what a task it "would be to crush the rebellion, the sacrifice of life, treasure, and happiness that would be required, we would have despaired of ever saving our country, and perhaps ceased all effort. We had not the faintest idea, then, what we could do to extricate ourselves from the fearful dilemma into which we had fallen. As we went deeper and deeper into it, we realized more and more the fact that we had to get out, or be hopelessly ruined. In the providence of God we commenced a mission in Africa over twenty years ago, which was then for us no small undertaking. But it has grown and continues to grow, so that it needs thrice the number of laborers and five times the amount of money now it did at the begin- ning of the last decade. Why, we are so deej) into the work there, that we must go forward or be disgraced in the eyes of God and men forever. The heathen there would rise up in judgment and condemn us if we did not." The following table shows the amount paid out for the support of missions during the four years ending May, 1877; UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 117 Africa §23,913 28 Arkansas Valley 249 88 California 2,470 18 Colorado 2,646 19 East Germtn 2,105 49 Dakota 3,079 52 Fox River 1,866 00 Germany 4,108 91 Kansas 722 G9 Kentucky 756 00 Minnesota 2,850 88 Missouri 982 74 Nebraska 2,356 87 Neosho, or Osage 2,830 00 Ontario 1,446 00 Ohio German 1,251 12 Oregon 1,812 57 Parkersburg 1,149 92 Southern Illinois 2,482 56 Tennessee .. 2,260 40 Freedmen in Virginia 1,174 52 Walla Walla 1,785 43 Wisconsin 804 48 Total §61,605 63 In addition to these sums paid by the mission treas- ury, the above mission fields paid their missionaries $61,079.14. Home missionaries received from their fields of labor and from branch treasurers during the four years ending May, 1877, the sum of $249,116.27; making a grand total for home, frontier and foreign missions, of $374,801.04. 118 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XIV. From 1S77 to 1S81. Missionary bishop for Pacific Coast — Unjust discrimination against color — Missionary quarterly — Wilberforce and wife go to Africa — Boys' home built in Africa — Persecution in Germany — Organiza- tion of mission districts in Africa and Germany — Prosperity at home and abroad. The hoard met in its twenty-fifth annual session in Harts- ville, Indiana, May 10, 1878. The General Conference of 1877 had again elected Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner pres- ident, and Rev. D. K. Flickinger secretary, but chose Rev. J. K. Billheimer for treasurer instead of Rev. J. AV. Hott, who was elected editor of the Telescope. A few new members of the board had also been chosen. The General Conference also elected Rev. N. Castle mission- ary bishop of the Pacific coast, his district to embrace California, Oregon, and AValla Walla mission confer- ences. Ex-bishop Shuck was appointed missionary to California soon after, who, with his wife, and Bishop and jNIrs. Castle had gone to California in the autumn of 1877. The three conferences had a reasonably prosperous year, and the outlook fov the future was brightening. The General Conference had divided the Michigan Confer- ence, continuing the old name to that which was in the southern part of the State, and making the northern portion a mission conference, called Saginaw. This new conference had a prosperous year, as had also Minnesota, Nebraska, and 'Osage conferences. The other frontier mission fields, viz. : Tennessee, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Colorado, Dakota, Fox River, Ontario, the Ger- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 119 man missions in Toledo, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and the freedmen's mission in Virginia had but limited growth, and upon some not only was little prog- ress made, but the outlook for the future was not very encouraging. There was a strong jiressure brought to bear upon the board at this meeting to project a new German mission in Minnesota, but the financial condi- tion of the treasury would not admit of it. Home mis- sions had success in some of the conferences, but in others little was done in this department of work. The year, taken as a whole, was not very successful, either in the home or frontier missions of the Church.^ In the foreign department the work progressed satis- factorily, as the following action of the board at this meeting s"hows : "We are thankful to our heavenly Father that the difficulties connected with our mission in Africa d^iring the past year have mostly passed away, and that the present outlook is quite hopeful, provided n we soon forward reinforcements. We approve of Mr. / Gomer's purpose to open two additional schools in / Africa, and we earnestly urge Sunday-schools in this i country to respond to the call for money needed to con- / tinue them." The board also approved a recommenda- tion to send D. F. Wilberforce, who had aliout finished his course of studies in the High School at Dayton, Ohio, to Africa, and to provide other necessary assistance. The mission in Germany also had some success during the year, and a more cordial support was accorded it upon the part of the Church at home than formerly. Rev. C. Bischoff, and the quarterly conference men whom he had called to his help, were all the workers the society had in that country. They were still abridged in their li])erty, and as a matter of course worked under many disadvantages. 120 HISTORY OF THE The society had for years done something for church- erection, but so little the past year that the secretary, in his report to the board, said, "So little has been accomi^lished in this department of our church work, that but for the necessity of saying something, I would most gladly pass it by. There have been about fifty applications, requiring some labor and expense to an- swer them, and only four hundred and seventy-nine dollars and ten cents collected for this purpose. We ought to do more, or quit." The secretary of the board had corresponded with Hon. Carl Schurz, secretary of the interior department, Washington, D. C, during the year, for the purpose of securing recognition b}- the United States Government for our church, that our Board of Missions might be placed on a par with other mission boards in recom- mending suitable j^ersons to be appointed as Indian agents. While other denominations smaller than ours and doing less in mission work than our church, were upon the list, a number of our people felt we ought to be there also. The honorable secretary treated this with great indifference, and finally wrote: "The Indian agen- cies are now divided between the various denomina- tions, and no new division can be made without their consent. Possibly you might yourself, by correspon- dence, effect a transfer of some agency to your society." As a matter of course, this the secretary of the board never did, and thus the matter ended. The twenty-sixth annual session of the hoard commenced in Westerville, Ohio, May 9, 1879. The following shows the temper of the board in respect to the d-own-trodden and its willingness to help them: ^^ Resolved, That the unjust discrimination becoming so general in this coun- try against negroes, Indians, Chinese, and all who have UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 121 mixed blood, is criminal before God and a shame to our Christian civilization. The Chinese, because they work for fair wages and do not patronize the venders of intox- icating drinks ; the Indians, because they have been forcibly deprived of tlieir lands, and on account of being shamefully cheated and outraged, do at times resent these wrongs ; and the Africans, because they were forci- bly reduced to diattels, and regained their God-given rights, are despised, misused and cruelly wronged. We are none the less under the same obligations to them as we are to others. They bear the image of God. Christ died for them, and hence they have claims upon our sympathy, benevolence, and efforts for their civiliza- tion." The secretary also recommended at this meeting the publication of a missionary quarterly, through which raluable missionary intelligence might be put into per- manent form. He had in former reports suggested the publication of tracts to be read by pastors to their people, and a plan to receive their missionary money in weekly, monthly, or quarterly installments, instead of only onoe during the year. He urged that many would give ten cents a week who could not, or Avould not, give at one time five dollars. He quoted the following to show that the organ of the board was doing good service : " No one of our periodicals has done or could do as much to cul- tivate a disposition to sustain the institutions of the Church as the Missionary Visitor.^' It had now a circu- lation of nearly forty thousand. In June, 1878, Daniel Flickinger Wilberforce grad- uated from the Dayton High School. The following August he became a member of Miami Conference, was ordained, and in October he married Miss E. Harris. They sailed for Africa the nexth month, reaching Shain- 122 HISTORY OF THE gay the 24th of December, and on tlie following day tliey spent a happy Cliristmas witli their new friends. During the year the boys' home, a building thirty by seventy-five feet had been completed, and shops were built for the industrial school. There Avere fourteen boys and five girls in this school, the girls lodging •with the missionaries and the boys- in the house built for them. This school had done well. The farm had produced arrowroot, corn, cocoa, cassava, yams, sweet y. potatoes, ginger, and other edibles to the value of one / hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Gomer wrote that they had five day and Sunday-schools, and were doing well. I During the year Mr. Gomer visited Liberia, in reference / to Avhicli he wrote to the board about two months be- ./ fore it met: "I have just returned from Liberia. I hired a farmer, bought three hundred coffee-plants and two bushels of coffee-seed." The executive committee I directed that Mr. Gomer should superintend the indus- trial school and the general work, and Mr. Wilberforce , take charge of the day schools and book-kee2:)ing, Mrs. / Gomer be house-keeper, and Mrs. Wilberforce teach the girls to sew, and all to be active in conducting the relig- ious services of the mission. The mission in Germany gained a native missionar}^ this year in the person of Rev. G. Noetzold, who came to us from another chwch. He and Rev. C hristiar. Bischoff devoted their time to itinerating. Other (quar- terly conference preachers, some of whom had been raised up during the year, also preached more or less. Opposition, coming from various sources, still had to be endured. At one place a party of men came to where a meeting was in progress, forcibly broke down the door and laid violent hands on a coui)le of our members, who they supposed were missionaries, but the two UNITED BRETJIKEN iMLSSlOXS. i23 they were after Avere not present at the time. Notwith- standing all this, the Avork went forward very well. Mr. Bischoff arranged five different missions and employed four of the quarterly conference men he had received, who, with himself, supplied them at a cost of one thou- sand dollars furnished by the board. In the frontier field oue new mission conference was organized during the year, called West Nebraska. This, with East Nebraska, Osage, Colorado, California, Dakota, Minnesota, and Saginaw had a good degree of prosperity. In Tennessee, Southern Illinois, Fox River, Ontario, Walla Walla, and Oregon mission conferences the suc- cess was not great, owing largely to a lack of efficient laborers, and there was but moderate success in the mission district in Kentucky, among the freedmen in Virginia, and in Toledo, Ohio, during the year. Phila- del^jhia mission was divided, that part lying in Camden, New Jersey, being taken from it and made a separate mission, Avith some prospects of growth. Home mis- sions were more successful than the year before, and upon some rapid progress was made ; and not the least to be mentioned is the fact that the Church was becom- ing more and more interested in the great work of the salvation of the destitute, both in heathen and in Chris- tian lands. During the year the society made grants from the funds contributed to the Church-Erection So- ciety to three churches for the purpose of erecting houses of Avorship, which shows it still had some life in it. The hoard met for its twenty-seventh annual session in Fos- toria, Ohio, May 6, 1880. In October, 1879, the secretary, at the request of both the missionaries in Germany and Africa, and of the executive committee, took his depart- ure from the United States to spend the balance of the mission year Avith the missionaries in these foreign 124 HISTORY OF THE fields. On his return home he arrived in New Yorlc C'itv the day the board met, liaving l)een aV^sent for seven montlis. The treasurer 'of the society had performed the secretary's duties during his absence, and in his report to the board submitted the following from the secretary in respect to Germany : "Having decided to organize the mission into a mis- sion district, we called the missionaries to Lobenstien, December 10, 1879, for that purpose. The following mis- sionaries were admitted : Revs. C. Bischoff, G. Noetzold, F. Holeshuer, H. Oelschlagel, G. Gottschalk, and PI. Barkemeyer. There were rej^orted thirty-four preaching places, eleven organized classes, and two hundred and thirty-five members. Five missionaries were employed last 3'ear, and one was added at this meeting.'' The work in this field was taking permanent root, not- withstanding the opposition and the want of liberty to w^ork in a number of places. The board failing to send men from America, Mr. BischofT, who was in charge, induced them to enlist in the work here. Some of these were obtained from other denominations and soon left us, but still the Avork was permanently planted there, and as cheaply as it would have been had the laborers come from the United States. Mr. Bischoff was deter- mined to succeed, and saw little prospect to do it in any other way. The secretary, after spending six weeks among the missionaries in Germany, visiting all of the principal points at which they preached, started for Africa imme- diately after the organization at Lobenstien, and spent three months there. While in Africa he also visited all the preaching places, and in the month of March, 1880, organized that mission into a mission district, having also six ministers, viz. : Revs. J. Gomer, D. F. Wilber- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 125 force, J. C. Sawyer, J. P. Hero, J. W. Pratt, and B. W. Johnson. The last named was laboring under the aus- pices of the Woman's Missionary Association, the otli^r five under the direction of the Board of Missions. At Shaingay, at which place this meeting occurred, there was much interest awakened among the people. All the teachers and missionaries of both of our societies operating in Africa were present from Saturday until Monday, and it was a time of great rejoicing. Mrs. Mair, who was in charge of the women's work at Rotufunk at the time, was also present, and took an active and earnest part in the proceedings. The organization of mission districts, both in Africa and Germany, gave a new impetus to these mission fields, and greatly encour- aged the Church at home. The writer will never forget his feelings and impressions as he saw the work taking form in so substantial a manner. The German missions in America in and near Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and in Toledo, Ohio, had consid- erable prosperity during the year, and the freedmen's mission in Virginia did as well as could be expected with but one laborer in the field. Kentucky mission district had a prosperous year, gaining one hundred and seventy-six members, and building two new meeting- houses. As usual, it raised but little money for any general interest of the Church. The mission conferences, now fourteen in number, viz. : Tennessee, Southern Illinois, Osage, West Kansas, Colorado, California, Oregon, Walla Walla, West and East Nebraska, Dakota, Minnesota, Fox River, and Sagi- naw all had some prosperity, a portion of them a good deal, and a few of them had but little ; yet substantial progress was made in this department of mission work. In the home department the work progressed well gener- / 126 HISTORY OF THE ally. Quite a number of the conferences had incurred a debt in their zeal to prosecute this work, and were making a determined effort to liquidate the same. To do tliis an extra collection was taken in many places, which decreased the sums collected for general distri- bution, and indirectly kept some money from the jjarent treasury. This also caused some home missions to be abandoned, and kept other new ones from being formed, which otherwise would have been done. The Church-Erection Society did good work this year. The treasurer of the society put forth special efforts in urging its claims, which brought more than twice the amount of money into his hands he ever received in one year before. In all, forty churches had been helped ; none to large sums, but enough to stimulate them to erect houses of worsTiip since the organization of the society in 1869. This society being under the direction of the managers of the missionary society, and having the same officers, received less attention because the want for missionary money was so great. The twenty-eighth annual meeting of the hoard occurred May 11, 1881, in Lisbon, Iowa, the same place the Gen- eral Conference met the next day. In Africa, where we had less than three hundred seek- ers and church members, there was much done during the year. Mr. Gomer wrote, just before this meeting: "Five new members have been received into the church at Shaingay. The Sabbath is well observed here and elsewhere, where our schools are located, and in other villages. To compare ten years ago with the present, it does not seem like the same place. Then, every farm had its medicine, and every hut its devil-house, or sabe- house. The latter is where the spirits of the old people are supposed to dwell. Now, there are many vik UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 127 lages where none of these things are seen. The future of this country hioks hopeful." The missionaries, be- sides keeping up four day and Svinday-schools, did a good deal of itinerating into neighboring towns, preacli- ing the gospeL This, with the weekly meetings for prayer and Bible study, and training of native converts for teachers and preachers, with the blessing of God, promised future success. The business affairs of a mis- sion among the heathen — such as building mission residences, chapels and school-houses, procuring shops, managing farms and erecting boats to travel in — is a heavy tax upon the time and energy of missionaries. Of the German mission district, the secretary's report stated: "Though Germany is the land of schools and learned men, there is great need of just such missionary labor as we were doing there. The people are heavily taxed to support their civil and military institutions. It is by practising the most rigid economy that the poor can make both ends meet, owing to the small price paid for labor. To be required, under these circumstances, to pay for building state churches, pay pastors, organ- ists, and even the choirs for furnishing music, has given them such a disgust for their institutions, especially their religious services, that the majority of people at- tend church only on funeral or extraordinary occasions. The religious services there, with slight exceptions, are a cold, formal, unsatisfactory exercise, furnishing but little food for mind or soul. The pastors are not unfre- quently in the beer-houses indulging in drink with the t)eople through the week, and when Sunday comes most Vf the people return to these places of resort, leaving the pastors to preach to empty pews. In many villages there are no religious services. That country needs and deserves our help to reform its drinking habits and dese- 128 HISTORY OF THE cration of the Lord's day, and to teach its people experi- mental godliness. As a Church we are repaying a just debt Germany has upon us for giving us the great and good Otterbein, our founder. We have at this time nine missions, Avith two hundred and ninety-seven members, and nine Sunday-schools with two hundred and ninety children in them. Poor as our people are, they paid in the last year for all Church purposes, three hundred and fifty dollars in this district." The freedmen's mission in Virginia, German missions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Toledo, Ohio, barely held their own, and Kentucky mission district did no better. In the Saginaw, Minnesota, Dakota, Colorado, East and West Nebraska, West Kansas, Osage and Tennessee mission conferences there was something done in building meeting-houses, and increasing the number of Sunday-schools and members of the Church. In some there was a good deal of revival power, but the winter had been cold and stormy, and in the West and Northwest meetings could not be held sometimes on this account. Fox River and Southern Illinois confer- ences, as was too often the case with them, made but little progress during the year. The Pacific coast con- ferences had a good year in the main. Woodbridge Seminary (now a college), in California; Philomath College, in Oregon, and Huntsville Seminar}'-, in Walla Walla Conference, being yet quite young, esjjecially the two seminaries, were prospering. Home missions made commendable success, and owing to the large emigration from the old country, there was a growing sentiment in the C>hurch that more attention should be given to those cities and places in which so many persons coming to the United States were settling. There were at this time three hundred and seventy-four UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 129 missionaries employed in the three departments of labor, the largest number of whom were upon home missions, and less than twenty in the foreign fields. Among the indirect or secondary good results of mis- sion work in the United States, may be mentioned the organization of many new Sunday-schools, and the rapid increase of Sunday-school periodicals and lesson-helps sold to these from our publishing house. The educa- tional work was also much helped thereby, as the three institutions on the Pacific coast and the other three found in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri are the out- growth of the missions carried on by the Church in these places. From the organization of the Board of Mis- sions in May, 1853, to this time, just twenty-eight years, there had been no less than one hundred and fifteen thousand mem- bers received into the Church through the labors of our mis- sionaries alone. The average cost of a member was not to exceed ten dollars, and as nearly as figures can show the results, for every fifteen dollars of missionary money expended, one soul was led to accept Christ as a Sa- vior. That the smiles of Jehovah were upon this work, leading the Church to victory and greater success in all its undertakings, is evident. Building up missions among the Germans, both in Germany and in the United States, is quite slow work ; and carrying forward mission work in Western Africa among the most degraded heathefi to be found, who are without a written language, and where cannibalism, slavery, witchcraft, purrowism, and pol3'gamy are seen in their most horrible aspects, and where the super- stitions of the people enter into everything they do, is also a very slow and difficult Avork. But God is giving success to his gospel in both these mission fields. 130 IIISTOHY OF THE The following table shows the amount paid out in the four years ending May, 1881 ; Africa ^26,718 41 California 3,409 25 Colorado 2,257 92 East German 2,150 GO Dakota 2,329 71 Fox River 1,789 55 Germany 4,616 35 Kentucky 1,339 58 Minnesota 2,713 9S East Nebraska 2,443 13 Neosho (or Osage) 2,469 36 North Michigan 1,672 12 Ontario 783 30 Ohio German 1,C62 51 Oregon 2,076 55 Southern Illinois 2,296 56 Tennessee 3,236 84 Freedmen in Virginia 1,236 64 Walla Walla, Washington Territory 2,375 67 West Kansas 943 66 West Nebraska 1,800 00 Total $69,921 09 Amount paid by these fields to their missionaries, as salary, $73,882.41. Paid to home missionaries, from all sources, during the four years-ending May, 1881, the sum of $245,720.00; making a grand total paid to home, fron- tier and foreign missions, of $389,523.50. ^^llll'lfl •?'■ ^"Mi' l|l UNITED BKETIIUEX MISSIONS. 131 CHAPTER XV. From iSSi to 1S05. Commencing new mission stations in Africa — Rev. Gomer and wife come home, and then return to Africa — Transfer of Mendi mission to the United Brethren Board of INIissions, with money necessary to sustain it — Freedmen's Missions Aid Association of London — Papers published in Africa and Germany — Chinese on the Pacific coast — Rapid growth in all the departments of work. The tivcnty-nintli annual meeting of the hoard took place in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1882. The General Conference of 1881 had made no change in the officers of the hoard, but had added some new members to it, enlarging it to fourteen, instead of twelve as at first. Owing to important matters to be looked after in Africa, the secretary was requested by the executive committee to visit that country again, which he did, going in a sail vessel. Pie left New York the 1st of December, 1881, and returned the day before the board convened. Rev. J. Gomer and wife, having completed their second term of five years in Africa, accompanied him to America, all three attending this meeting of the board before proceeding to their homes in Ohio. The year had been a prosperous one in Africa, espe- cially in enlarging the work. The chief of the Sherbro country, Mr. George Caulker, had died about five months before the secretary visited Africa, and his brother, T. N. Caulker, became his successor. The new chief was more friendly to the mission than his brother had been, so that the secretary' and the missionaries boldly launched out to obtain new sites for permanent mission stations, and succeeded in securing the following sites, ^ 132 m.sTOUY OF Till-: each containing a hundred and sixty acres of land : At Rembee, about twenty miles from Shaingay, in a northeasterly direction ; at Mambo, fifteen miles south of Piembec; at Mo-Fuss, fifteen miles east of Mambo; at Tongkoloh, twenty miles south of Mo-Fuss ; and at Koolong, about eighteen miles northwest of Tongko- loh, and but fourteen miles south of Shaingay. This circle of mission stations, extending interior from ten to twenty miles, and about one hundred miles around, embraced over one hundred towns. At each station there was a resident missionary, and day and Sunday- schools; and from these central stations many other towns are easily visited by the resident missionaries and their helpers, for the purpose of preaching the gospel. One object for which land was obtained, Avas to, teach the mission boys how to cultivate it properly, and train them, as well as the girls, to habits of industry, and thus become helpers in the work of enlightening the people. It was also a consideration to have this land, which cost but little, to settle converts upon, in lots of from five to ten acres, and thus keep them under Christian influence, and so far as possible, from heathen practices. It is an important part of mission work in Africa to teach the people how to farm, how to build and live in houses, how to raise, cook, and eat food, how to make and wear clothes, how to take care of their bodies as well as their souls, — in short, how to make an honorable, honest living, how to care for themselves, and how to act toward each other as well as toward the Lord. To be civilized and Christianized, they must be helped out of the small, dirty, cheerless mud huts in which they live; clothes must be put upon their naked bodies; they must eat their food from tables, instead of sitting on the ground and taking it with their hands out of the same vessel in UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 133 whicli it is cooked; and they must sleep upon some kind of decent beds, instead of upon mats on the ground, as the majority now do. To do this, profitable employ- ment must be given them. Hence the necessity of teaching boys and girls how to work. The people there love to live in good style, and acquire property, and about as large a proportion of them succeed in amassing wealth as do white people under no more favorable cir- cumstances. Our forefathers were once as degraded as these people in Africa, selling their wives and children as slaves, and doing things as barbarous and inhuman as many things so revolting to our feelings now done in that country. The year had been a very good one in Germany also. The executive committee had sent the editor of the German paper. Rev. Wm. Mittendorf, to visit the mis- sion and hold the annual meeting. He examined into affairs closely and made a favorable report. His travel- ing expenses were paid by the missionary treasurer, l)ut nothing was allowed for his time. Nine regular mis- sionaries were employed, who received an average salary of two hundred dollars, the board at this meeting in- creasing its appropriations to Germany from sixteen hundred and fifty to two thousand dollars. The following frontier mission conferences were, in the main, prosperous : Walla Walla, Oregon, California, Tennessee, West and East Nebraska, Dakota, Minnesota, West Kansas, and North Michigan, more especially the last two mentioned. Osage Conference was made self- supporting by the General Conference of 1881, and a new conference, embracing some of its territory, and known as Arkansas Valley Mission Conference, was formed. This conference did well during the year. The Fox River and Southern Illinois conferences, Kentucky dis- Id4 HISTORY OF THE trict, and freedmen's mission in Virginia, as well as the German missions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Toledo, Ohio, had but little success, though the out- look for the future was improving in the last named. In Colorado there was serious trouble, resulting in the n-ithdrawal of some of our missionaries from the Church, which somewhat militated against the work there. In Denver City, however, the Church gained valuable prop- erty', mostly donated by Mr. J. W. Smith, who, though not a member, was a warm friend of the Church, and gave this year about fifteen thousand dollars. The out- look was quite hopeful in this department, with the slight exceptions named. The home missions, in the thirty-one self-supporting conferences, had a good year, numbering two hundred and fourteen ministers, with fifteen thousand, five hun- dred and thirty-two members, three thousand, five hun- dred and sixty-three of whom were received during the year. The amount of missionary money paid to these conferences from the branch treasurers was over twenty thousand dollars. The Missionary Visitor had reached a circulation of about forty-five thousand, which was most gratifying. Church-erection was also making commend- able progress in comparison with the little it had gained in previous years, and most of the work of the board was progressing satisfactorily. The thirtieth annual session of the board occurred in Dub- lin, Indiana, May 31, 1883. The most important year's work in the history of the society had just closed. Rev. J. Gomer and wife had returned to their work in Africa early in November, 1882. Only a short time before, the secretary obtained information that the American Mis- sionary Association was about to transfer Mendi mission to the American Board, in exchange for one or more UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 135 Indian missions. Mencli mission being contiguous to Sherbro mission on the soutli, and in siw^cessful ojjera- tion before ours was commenced, and the two having co-operated and been on terms of friendship from the beginning, very naturally caused ^Ir. Flickinger to be deeply interested in this change. This caused him to write to Dr. Strieby, the secretary of the American Mis- sionary Association, that he hoped Mendi mission would be properly cared for, giving it as his opinion that if it had such supervision as Sherbro mission received under Rev. J. Gomer, with no more money than had been sent it, success would be the result. Mendi mission had been badly managed by those in cliarge in Africa, and for some years but little good was etlected. Late in Novem- ber, the secretary of the American Missionary Associa- tion wrote to our secretary to ask if the United Brethren Church would take control of Mendi mission and keep it going for five years on the avails of the Avery fund, which amounted to five thousand dollars annually;' also, whether it would accept eight thousand dollars Avhich had been collected by Sunday-schools for the special purpose of building a small steamer for Africa, to be called the John Brown, and take charge of the building and running of said steamer. As the headquar- ters of Mendi mission are one hundred and twenty miles south of Freetown, and sixty miles south of Sherbro mission, the missionaries were comi)el]ed to go occasion- ally to Freetown, the port at which those from abroad debarked and embarked, and where supplies of every description and the mails were received, it was very desirable t<.) have a more convenient way to go to and from Freetown, as well as from Bonthe to Shaingay, the headquarters of these two missions. After further cor- respondence, the terms of transfer between the executive y 136 HISTORY OF THE committees of the three missionary boards were agreed to about the 1st of December, 1882, one of the condi- tions being that the secretary of the United Brethren board should go to England for the purpose of contract- ing for the building of the steamer John Broitm, and then proceed to Africa and attend to the details of the transfer of Mendi mission to our society. He was also to look after the needs of Sherbro mission, hold the an- nual district meeting there, and returning by way of Germany, hold the annual district meeting there in the sjDring of 1883, and reach the United States in time to attend the annual meeting of the board. This he suc- ceeded in accomplishing. This trip to Africa, undertaken but six months after he had returned, had more responsibility and peril con- nected with it than any of the six previous voyages which the secretary had made to that country. He em- barked, December 9th, on the "City of Berlin," which Tost its- rudder in a fearful gale, at midnight, on the 11th, when about one thousand miles from New York. After floating about at the mercy of the waves for forty-eight hours, it was overtaken by the "City of Chester," another steamer of the same line, and towed back to New York City, reaching that port Decemljer 21st. On the 23d he again took passage, on the "City of Chester," for Liver- pool, and had a good voyage there and on to Africa. The first work of the secretary after reaching the mis- sion was to visit Good Hope and Avery mission stations, the two places then mostly composing Mendi mission, and take an inventory of all he found. Good mission residences, chapels, and school-houses were at both places. At Avery, there was also a saw-mill, a coffee-farm of one thousand, five hundred bearing trees, and quite a lot of lumber and logs, Avhich with the five rowboats and UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 137 household furniture at both places were considered worth two thousand dollars. As this with the Avery fund of five thousand dollars would not all be needed for the two stations, a new one was commenced at Mancloh, which is about thirty-five miles south of Shain- gay, and on the coast. Two new stations were also opened on the Sherbro side, and four new ministers were added to the mission district at the annual meeting. Rev. J. A. Evans, who had been financial agent at Shaingay during Mr. Gomer's absence to the United States, was now put in charge of Avery station, an important and responsible place of Mendi mission. A small paper had once been printed at Good Hope, and some type and material were still there which might be utilized. It was resolved at the annual meeting to recommence the publication of the Early Daum, provided the one hundred and fifty dollars voted by the General Conference for this purpose could be secured, with the approval of the board. This was accomplished, March 1, 1883, and Rev. D. F. Wilberforce was appointed editor. Mr. Flickinger, when on his way to Africa, had gone to Scotland to confer with ship-builders, and had also seen other parties in England, and received bids from three different firms as to what kind of a steamer they would furnish for seven thousand dollars. He thought it would cost the other thousand dollars to get the* steamer to Africa. Not being able to procure one which was thought would be serviceable, he did not contract for the building of the John Brown, and requested the New York committee to increase the sum, which it generously did, to nine thousand, six hundred dollars. Accordingly, on his return trip, after conferring with missionaries in Africa, and giving the subject much 138 HISTORY OF THE thought, he contracted with Mr. E. Hayes, of Stony Stratford, Enghmd, for a steamer sixty feet long and twelve feet in the beam, to carry fifteen tons cargo, and accommodate six or eight cabin passengers, besides fuel to run two days. It Avas to cost £1,777, and be finished by October, 1883. The steamer was an unlucky enter- prise, though it finally reached Africa, after encounter- ing a fearful gale, which caused its return to Dartmouth, England, where it was detained by the Board of Trade until May, 1884. There will be reference to this steamer again further on in this history. At the district meeting held in March, there were arrangements made to operate twelve day and Sunday- schools, and to preach in one hundred and fort^^-four towns, in connection with Sherbro-Mendi missions. The Bomjihe mission, Avhich is contiguous to Sher- bro mission on the northeast, as is Mendi mission on the southeast, and which is under the auspices of the Woman's Missionary Association of our church, had at this time four schools, and its missionaries preached in forty towns. The ministers of their board are members of the same district meeting, which at this time had sixteen preacher::, and six of them were ordained elders in the Church. Another important occurrence of the year was the connection formed between our board and that of the Freedmen's Missions Aid Association, of 18 Adam Street, Strand, London, England. When our secretary was in New York, en route for England, December, 1882, Dr. White, of New Haven, Connecticut, who had spent some time in England under appointment of the American Missionary Association, soliciting funds for its work among the freedmen in America, and who, while there, ■was secretary of the Freedmen's Missions Aid Society, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 139 gave him a letter of introduction to Rev. J. Gwynne Jones, then the secretary of the London association. Dr. Strieby, secretary of the American Missionary Asso- ciation, gave a simihar letter. With these, Mr. Flickin- ger visited Mr. Jones and gave him a missionary report of 1882, and other documents, and made such statements of our work in Africa as he thought wise, and what the prospects were. While in Africa he also wrote- Mr. Jones respecting it, and on his return prepared a lengthy report, in which he brought out fully what wc had in Africa, including Mendi mission. The result was, the London Association gave us nearly five thousand dol- lars the following year, and has since given us consider- able sums. This was a memorable year in the way of receiving large gifts, of which the reader will learn more hereafter. This association, organized to help educate the freedmen of the South, has ever since given its money to our African mission. The secretary's visit to Germany was also timely, and resulted .in good. The work there had progressed well in the main. Upon some of the missions marked prog- ress had been made, but the civil authorities had in- terfered upon others, hindering the work a good deal. Discordant elements had also developed among the mis- sionaries to an extent which foreboded evil, all of which were effectually put out of the way by the secretary's visit. Four new members were admitted to the district meeting, and thirteen were received into the member- ship of the Church during this meeting. Steps were also taken at this meeting to build two chapels, and to publish a small monthly paper in the interests of our cause in Germany, there having been one hundred and fifty dollars set apart by the General Conference of 1881 for this purpose, for the mission district of Germany as 140 HISTORY OF THE well as Africa. With additional laborers in Germany at the disposal of the board, it felt it ought to provide more liberally for the future needs of that country than it liad been doing, and this was to some extent accomplished. Rev. C. Bischoff was continued as joresiding elder and financial manager of this mission, and not receiving missionaries from America to enlarge the work, he pro- cured them in Germany. The frontier mission work of the Church had in many places peculiar hindrances during the year. In the North and Northwest, especially in Minnesota and Dakota, owing to the unusually cold weather, it was impossible to hold meetings part of the Avinter. In new countries, meetings are often held in school-houses and private dwellings. One of the presiding elders wrote : " In many places the roads were impassable for teams for weeks, and railroads were blockaded for days." Another wrote: "On account of the excessively cold weather and bad roads, I was able to hold but one meeting during the month of January." Notwithstand- ing various hindering causes, there was some growth in these and other mission conferences. In portions of the Pacific coast district, the West Kansas, Arkansas Valle}', Nebraska, Tennessee and North Michigan mission con- ferences, some excellent revivals of religion and large ingatherings into the Church had taken place. Upon some of the frontier missions and mission districts, there was very little prosperity, and upon a few there was actual retrogression during the year. There were em- ployed in this department one hundred and sixty-four missionaries, who received two thousand, seven hundred and thirty-four members into the Church during this very eventful year. Upon home missions there were two hundred and UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 141 twenty-three missionaries, who received into the Church four thousand, five hundred and forty-three members, and did much to enlarge the Sunday-school work and make it more efficient, which showed commendable prog- ress in this department of Church work. The rapid increase of population in America, and great destitution of gospel privileges in many places, make it important to prosecute home missions vigorously. The thirfy-Jird annual meeting of the board was held May 9, 1884, in Gcrmantown, Ohio. The year had been an exceedingly eventful one, and the work done of a pro- gressive character, yet it was disappointing because the debt of the society was increased instead of diminished. This was owing largely to the unfortunate disaster which befell the steamer John Brown, which cost several thou- sand dollars, and our failure to receive as much money from England as was expected. The treasurer of the society. Rev. J. K. Billheimer, had gone to England in September, 1883, to see that the John -Brown was built according to contract and sent to Africa in time, and to assist the secretary of the Freedmen's Missions Aid So- ciety of London to get money for our treasury. The steamer was not finished in the time specified, and when finished some changes had to be made, so that it was prevented from sailing for Africa for nearly a month later than was expected. At last the John Brown, com- manded by William Brown, left London for Sierra Leone. The second day out a severe gale was encoun- tered, which caused raany larger steamers to put back to port, and which so disabled the machinery of the John Brown, that it had to be towed to Dartmouth by a pilot boat. Being so small a steamer, and the season of rough seas being at hand, the Board of Trade refused to allow it to make a second venture before ]May, 1884. The cost of 142 HISTOm' OK TIIK towing it into port, ro])airiiig machinery, and keeping it at anclior from November until May, and finally getting it to xVfrica, was enormous, most of which expense would have been saved had the steamer started on its voyage two weeks earlier. This caused great disappointment in Africa, and also financial loss. Messrs. Flickinger and Gomer had conferred with the colonial authorities of Sierra Leone in regard to carrying the mails from Freetown to Bonthe — just the route the John Broicn was to sail — and prospects were good to have obtained the contract of carrying the mails between these two points, .at the rate of two hundred and forty dollars per month, had the steamer reached Africa in November, 1883, in- stead of May, 1884. She did make weekly trips between these two places, which are one hundred and twenty miles apart, and soon achieved a reputation for making her time more regularly than any similar craft which came to Freetown harbor. Truly, for the convenience of our missionaries, and for quick and safe transit of goods, the John Brown met a real want. Not getting the mails to carry, and being compelled to employ cheap men to run her, who neglected caring for her machinery, she soon became useless, and was sold for a small sum after being a source of annoyance and loss to the mis- sionary society. One fact in connection with this should be noted, viz. : the coalition of Mendi with Sherbro mission, building and sending the John Broivn to Africa, led our society to send, in Octoljcr, 1883, Rev. and ISIrs. J. M, Lesher, and Mr. and Mts. W. S. Sage to that country, and to the open- ing of new mission stations, and was the beginning of a general awakening and ingathering of souls into the mission churches. The year 1884 brought into the Church in Africa one thousand and twelve members, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 143 while in all the twenty-eight years previous, there had been only five hundred and fourteen received. This looks as though God's set time had come to favor that country ; and notwithstanding financial disaster and great discouragements were connected with some feat- ures of that work, glorious results followed. A part of the secretary's report to the board at this meeting, in view of the results of the j^ear 1885, when over eleven hundred were received, and of the 3'ear 1886, when over thirteen hundred more united with the Church, is in- serted here to show that some things may be forecast 2:)retty correctl}' : " The reverses of the last year caused me to carefully examine all the circumstances, to see whether it was not a blunder for us to undertake so great a work as we now have in Africa. The more carefully this question is ex- amined, the more fully will it appear that in this we were providentially led, and that God's blessing has manifestly rested upon our efforts to reinforce that field with efficient laborers, who in connection with those Avho were previously there, are having very encour- aging success. It is true of Africa that every prospect pleases, but our treasury is empty. Everything con- nected with the late great enlargement of our work in that country, indicates that the same Providence which led us so vmexpectedly into the responsible position we now occupy as a board of missions, will guide us to a glorious victory, and an honorable end, if we are faith- ful. As I stated to the General Conference fifteen years ago, in reference to mission work in Africa, so I say now, I cannot but believe that a glorious harvest of souls will yet be gathered among that people, and that before long, by the church which does faithful work in that dark land. The magnitud? of the work which our heavenly 144 HISTORY OF THE Father has so evidently placed in our hands may well cause us to falter, considering the great liability there is in our being misunderstood, and even censured, in case reverses should come, unless "vve are able to Avalk by faith and not by sight." The year's work done in German}^ was of an encour- aging character. Owing to the fact that Rev. C. Bischoff, who had been presiding elder of the work ever since its organization into a district, and general superintendent of it from its commencement, desired to retire from the work, the executive committee had appointed Rev. J. Sick to serve in said capacity for three years. Mr. Sick and family, consisting of his wife and one child, sailed the day before the board met, and reached the mission the last of May, 1884. The secretary had pleaded for an average of ten cents to the member for the growing Avork in Africa above what came to the society from the American Missionary Association, and the Freed- men's Missions Aid Society and now he modestly asks that two cents to the member be given to Germany in view of its success and increased necessities, stating at the close of his plea that with the debt against the society the appropriations to them ought not be more than the year previous. The secretary^ also said: "There are some questions relating to our frontier mission fields which the board and the next General Conference ought to consider and settle. There are several mission conferences that are eking out a miserable existence which ought never to have been more than mission districts. Whether this board ought to take the responsibility now of reducing them to what they should have been made by the Gen- eral Conference is a question. That there ought to be a thorough reconstruction of our fr;)ntier and home mis- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 145 sions is a fact which the General Conference ought to provide for at its next session, or which this board ought to inaugurate now. There is one important reform that the missionary board and the bishops should bring about at once, at least heroically grapple with ; namely, cease to employ incompetent men as missionaries. Better send fewer men into the field with an adecpiate support. Em- ploying men who not infrequently have little else to rec- ommend them, except that they offer to work cheap, thus necessitating the diminishing of appropriations to good men, is a mistaken policy. Better have half the number of efficient men, and pay them enough to live comfortably, than to pursue such a course. This board and our bishops should wage a fierce war against this evil, and stand by their guns until it is effectually extir- pated." Ontario Conference had made about the usual prog- ress, building two chapels, and in other ways strength- ening the places held, but not increasing its membership much. North Michigan continued to advance rapidly in enlarging its territory, increasing its membership, build- ing new houses of worship, and organizing new Sunday- schools. Fox River scarcely held its own, except in the town of Cascade, which place was favored with a season of revival, which resulted in the conversion of many sinners and the upbuilding of the church at that place. In Minnesota substantial progress was made in church- building and increasing the membership of the church. The cold winter caused many of our people to leave the State for warmer places. Dakota suffered for want of laborers, which, with the severity of the winter and want of houses in which to hold our meetings, militated much against our success. The work of the society here might have been greatly advanced had it kept a sufficient force 146 HISTORY OF THE in the field to occupy all the places open to its mission- aries. Walla Walla had one of the most successful years in its entire history. With the increase of membership, organized churches, and Sunday-schools, and with Wash- ington Seminary, at Huntsville, which was doing good work, our prospects in every way were brightening. Ore- gon Mission Conference had some very unfortunate in- cidents to occur during the j'car. Certain members of this conference seemed to think it was their duty to find fault with the board and the last General Conference. They spent more time in finding fault than in sacrific- ing for Christ's sake and exerting themselves to build up the Church. Revivals of religion at Philomath, the site of our college in Oregon, and a few other places, were encouraging. Rev. G. Sickafoose, who was elected a member of the board in 1881, had been sent to Portland as a missionary, it being embraced in this conference. His wife was appointed a missionary to the Chinese of that city by the Woman's Missionary Association of our church. They had reached that city in July, 1883. The secretary said in his report: "They have been quite suc- cessful in their work among Chinese, but less so in the other mission there. Mr. Sickafoose has labored at a great disadvantage, owing to the want of a proper place in which to hold meetings, and then his relation to the Chinese work prejudiced many people against him. Per- sonally, I am glad that we have indirectly, at least, done something toAvard the opening of a mission among the Chinese of the Pacific coast, and may heaven's blessing ever rest upon that well-begun work and give it contin- ued success." In California there was steady and encouraging, though not rapid, growth during the year. The work being scat- tered, required the missionaries to travel a great deal, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 147 which cost time and money. The seminary at Wood- bridge, California, had become San Joaquin Valley Col- lege, and had been built up a good deal during the year which had just closed. For the success of this institu- tion our missionaries had labored zealously and success- fully. This subject was receiving considerable atten- tion in the Pacific coast district, which, with but two thousand one hundred and sixteen members of the Church, and not to exceed thirty itinerant jDreachers, had established two colleges and one seminary, and had very little debt. Elkhorn Mission Conference, in Western Nebraska, had been organized, and at its annual session, in July, 1883, started with six missions, which were increased to twelve fields of labor, and had increased its membership over half since the beginning of the year, and was prospering generally. West Nebraska Conference was reported by one of its presiding elders thus : " West Nebraska is growing and the future is hopeful. Many things will have to be over- come. One per[)lexing thing is the support of our min- isters The western part of our territory is too dry for any certainty of crops, yet the people go there and need the bread of life, and we must strive to give it to them." This striving to reach points far removed from the main j)ortion of a mission has not infrequently caused a good missionary to scatter his work over so much territory that lie amounted to but little anywhere. East Ne- braska Conference continued, as it had generally done from its organization, to prosper during this year, and was ready to take its place among the self-supporting conferences and contribute money for other fields rather than receive for its support from the missionary treas- ury. No part of the frontier work Lad such uniform 148 - lilSTOlJV OF THE success as this, and nowhere was more done for the amount of money expended. West Kansas Conference had a good year and the out look for the future was hopeful. Gould College, which had been commenced a few years before within its bounds, had succeeded well, and the good beginning which it and the conference had made was encouraging. The country was filling up with enterprising people, which was an additional hopeful feature of this field of labor. Arkansas Valley Conference had held two sessions during the year, changing from fall to spring. This is mainly in the southern portion of Kansas, and has had a good degree of prosperity from its organization. During the year over four hundred had been added to the membership of the Church, which was rapid growth for a young conference. Southwest Missouri had but moderate success. The scarcity of laborers, and neglecting to follow up good openings made by revivals of religion, made the success here less than it should have been. Owing to the illness of some of the missionaries, and the inefficiency of others, the progress in Southern Illi- nois was not satisfactory. Here, as was the case in a few other places, the people had no spirit of liberality. They paid scarcely anything for the support of the gospel in their midst, and but little good was done. Tennessee Mission Conference had a jirosperous year. A good house of worship had been built near Knoxville, where there was a strong society, and similar organiza- tions were effected and houses built in other portions of the conference district. Edwards' Academy, at White Pine, had also a j^rosperous year. This institution of learning had been a hindrance rather than a help to UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS 149 our work in Tennessee, owing to its financial difficulties, which, as a matter of course, embarrassed the conference to which it belonged. Prospects are noAv good, although the lack of a spirit of liberality in the support of church institutions, so common in our Southern mission fields, is a drawback among the people here, also. Kentucky mission district had about the usual success in making converts and accessions to the Church, but continued to give so little to the support of those labor- ing among them that the secretary, in his report, said : •''Our heathen converts in Africa pay more money than the members in Kentucky. The ministers seem to be good men, and they preach well enough, but fail to reach the pockets of the people. They pa}' so little as to cause doubts of the genuineness of their conversion." Colorado mission district, especially the two churches in Denver, had a good year, and the outlook was becom- ing brighter than it had been. Some peculiar difficulties had existed here for years, and the deleterious effects of these were still seen and felt, but nevertheless there was successful work done in this field. The German mission in Toledo, Ohio, did well during the year. The most hopeful feature of this charge was that the Sunday-school connected with it promised in the near future to give the church an increase of mem- bers. The church and parsonage being located in a dense German population, and being paid for, was also a hopeful feature. The Philadelphia German missions, one located on Fourth Street and the other at Port Richmond, had little success, and, though .possessing interesting Sundaj'-schools, the outlook was not very promising. Home missions, though not so generally prosperous ciuring the year as in some preceding years, had a loO iiisToKY OK Tin: number of the most extensive revivals that ever occurred in our midst, which brought many into the Church. In January of this year, a four page tract which pre- sented the hopeful features of our mission work, written by the secretary, and authorized by the executive com- mittee, was sent to the preachers for free distribution. No less than one hundred and two thousand copies of this tract were sent out. Rev. J. Kemp, who had been treasurer of the society for twelve years, and a member of the board from its organization, died during the year. The secretary said of him : " Amidst all the discourage- ments and trials growing out of a lack of funds, Mr. Kemp never wearied, nor thought any privation too great which was necessary to sustain our cause. He was always hopeful and helpful, and we will greatly miss him in our councils." The following action of the board should also have a place in this connection : ^^ Resolved, That we have heard with profound sorrow of the death of David Louding, one of the African boys the Church has been educating for missionary work in his native country ; and while this dispensation of Providence is dark and inexplicable, and defeats many of our highest expectations, we bow M'ith submission to the stroke, praying that it may be overruled for good to the Church in this country and to the poor and degraded in Africa." It was on Saturday, the 10th of May, when this sad news was received by telephone. The following Monday most of the members of the board went to Dayton to attend the funeral of David. This boy was born in November, 1866, in a native African village, called Mosam, twenty miles south of Shaingay, the principal mission station of Sherbro mission. When about five years old he became a mis- sion boy at Shaingay. -, Though his training up to that UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 151 time was heathen, and he possessed all the vices and superstitions of that country, yet it is true of him that he arose rapidly to intellectual and moral greatness, and at less than eighteen years of age died a triumphant Christian death. He accompanied Mr. Flickinger from Africa to the United States in the spring of 1880, and during the four years he was in America he stood high as a Christian and a scholar, as he had for some years in Africa. His funeral Avas one of the largest and saddest that ever occurred in Dayton, Ohio. Professor John Hancock, superintendent of the public schools of Day- ton, one of the speakers of the occasion, said of him: "He maintained his place in the High School in the first division, and was one of the best scholars. I seldom knew a brighter intellect." Others spoke of him in equal terms of praise on that occasion. He was indeed a great and good boy and young man. His life and death, and the lives and deaths of others in Africa who were led to Christ through the labors of our missionaries, show that it pays to work among that people. John Wesley said of his followers that they died well ] and so it may be said of quite a number of our converts in Africa, some young, some old, who showed in death that they had been with Christ and learned of him. What- ever may be said of their ignorance and infirmities, the proof is clear that they exercised an intelligent faith in Christ in the last moments of life, and that there is good reason to believe they were prepared to dwell with the saints in light, through the atoning merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth," is a fact well attested in Africa and elsewhere. The thirty-second annual session of the hoard met in Fosto- ria, Ohio, May 13, 1885, where the General Conference con- 152 HISTORY f)i'' THE vened two days later. Owing to the difficulties in Oregon, referred to in the account given of last year's work, at the urgent request of Bishop Castle and the Board of Missions, in 1884, the secretary visited the Pacific coast district. He started two weeks after the former meeting and met Bishop Castle in Washington Territory, where they were busy for a few weeks attending quarterly and dedication meetings, and then the Walla Walla Mission Conference, which convened in Huntsville the following month. During the session of this conference the ques- tion was under discussion what to do with our church property in Walla Walla City. This consisted of a lot, with a house of worship and a parsonage, worth $3,500. Our work had failed in that city, and some thought it wise to sell this property ; others thought it would be best to lease it, as the city was a prominent place and growing. To sell was the most popular view, especially as a few other places, greatly needing mone}' to pay church debts, might thus be helped. The secretar}^ who was much interested in the Chinese work, after learning there were quite a number of Chinese in that city, and nothing done for their Christianization, proposed that it be used for a Chinese school, to which the conference agreed. With Bishop Castle's help, a subscription of five hundred dollars was secured the last evening of the con- Terence to start said school, and a committee appointed to superintend the work. The school was opened the fol- lowing November, and it has prosj^ered well ever since, though greatly straitened for means a number of times. . The bishop and secretary next went to Oregon, and visited the Chinese school in Portland, where Rev. G. Sickafoose and wife were doing a good work among the Chinese. The Oregon Conference met that time in Philomath, the site of the college controlled by the con- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 153 ference, and the home of Bishop Castle. The course of a few of the missionaries in their disagreement and dis- approval of some things done by the board made it diffi- cult for their bishop to administer the laws of the Church in some instances and greatly retarded the cause. A dif- ference of opinion upon the subject of holiness and re- specting secret societies, and the want of confidence in each other, produced a spirit of alienation among the members of this conference. One of the principal ob- jects of the secretary's visit to the coast was to bring about more harmony between the brethren of Oregon Conference and their bishop, and this end was largely secured. New issues were afterward developed which prevented a few of them from fully harmonizing, but not from working together as true yoke-fellows. By the efficient aid of Bishop Castle, the secretary received in collections taken for the African mission a sum which more than i)aid the expenses of his entire trip. From Oregon he went to California and spent about two weeks, and he also staid several days in Colorado, assisting the missionaries in these places, and in both of them the work progressed quite well. The year's work had been encouraging taken as a whole in the four conferences considered. There were in all of them some revivals which resulted in many conversions and accessions to the Church, but still there were discourag- ing features in Oregon and Colorado. There was but little progress made in Southern Illi- nois, Fox River, and Dakota conferences during the year. In Tennessee, Southwest Missouri, Elkhorn, West Nebraska, Minnesota, and Ontario conferences there was moderate prosperity. In Arkansas Valley, West Kansas, East Nebraska, and Saginaw the growth was rapid, though the last-nanird had some adverse winds 154 HISTORY OF THE to blow upon it. The Kentucky mission, the Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and ToledOj Ohio, missions made but little visible progress, though in Toledo the prospects Avere brightening continually. Home missions received the usual attention during the last year, as formerly, and Avith gratifying results. The average results were never better. The secretary raised the question as to whether there ought not be a branch hoard in each self-support- ing conference to superintend home missions within its bounds, saying if such should be provided, the branch secretary and branch treasurer should be members of it. About the 1st of October, 1884, the secretary went to England, where he spent two months working in con- nection with the London society in behalf of Africa. He sailed for that country in December, reaching the mission the first week of January, 1885, where he re- mained until the following spring, leaving Africa barely in time to reach the General Conference. In his absence the treasurer was acting secretary, and jirepared and read the annual report at this meeting. What he had to say respecting the foreign department is given here in full : "It would be satisfactory to know the number of con- versions and accessions in Germany the past year. The presiding elder has kept us well informed of the jjrogress of the work, but we are not in possession of the aggre- gates. We know enough, however, to be much encour- aged witli the work in Germany. While the poor have the gospel preached to them, the wealthier and more in- fluential are also hearing the word and accepting the Savior, being convinced that while the state fosters and churches conserve the highest good of the citizen as such, it does not and cannot save the people from their sins. If the blind lead the blind, both are liable to fall into the ditch. The cry from Germany for more money has UNITED BUETHKEN MISSIONS. 155 been loud and continuous. With our present resources we cannot enlarge the work." Respecting the Sherbro-Mendi mission in Africa, he said: "But few if any of our home charges are able to report so large an increase as this mission. While some may count thirty and some fifty-fold, Sherbro mission has had nearly two hundred per cent increase. Accord- ing to the directions of the board at its last annual meet- ing, the corresponding secretary went to England, where he did much to further our interests by public meetings and private solicitation. He found and left the Freed- men's Missions Aid Society in hearty accord with us in our work on the west coast. Some immediate fruits Avere the result of his labors, and the foundation al- ready laid was strengthened for future aid from that source. We owe a debt of gratitude to this society for what it has done, and have reason to believe it will continue to favor us. The enlargement of Sherbro mis- sion, which was based on expectations that have not been fully realized, has made the work more expensive to the society than during any previous year of its his- tory. The presence of our secretary was never more needed on the field than during the past year. Brother Gomer Avas being borne on the tidal wave of a great work with such force and rapidity as gave him no time to look back. The mighty ship Avas under full sail. It is easy to make sail with a gentle breeze — not so easy to take it in in a storm. The secretary helped him to take in and furl all the royal and top sails and the flying jib, thus easing the ship down to a speed more in conformity to the idea of the United Brethren Church. Our motto for this fiscal year is: 'Go slow; keep in the edge of the trade Avinds.' If some heathen craft Avith the distress signal hails you for a cup of water, or to be taken on 156 HISTORY OF THE board, and thus be rescued from death, answer back : 'Our supply of water is limited, and we are forbidden to take any more on board.' Sail on, good ship, and let them perish. Colloquy on the heathen craft : ' Wq i^erish for water! Why is their suj^ply limited? They have plenty of vessels, and can get more (missionaries) ; why are they not filled? Who sent the ship here?' 'The Christian people of America.' ' But why not fill their vessels?' 'Because some did not want to spare the water, and others think the barrels leak and the M'ater is wasted.' 'But if we could only have the leakage, we would not die,' like the woman who would be contented with the crumbs that fell from the master's table. The general order which was sent all along the line is: 'Re- trench ; go no further ; reduce your working force ; do less work.' This is the policy the committee and secre- tary are forced to adoj^t ; and this is the policy which will govern the Church until more money is placed at the command of the board. The management of our foreign work has been criticised. Why ? Because of our heavy ex2:>enditures. What is missionary money for ? Is it to keep in some safe place ? You must get all the money you can, but you must not employ any one to administer it, and you must not send too much of it to the missionaries. Now, if any man can prove that more could have been accomplished with less ex- penditure, he will make a point. Let us compare figures. The following cost of converts in heathen lands by differ- ent boards, given in the Foreign Mls-nonarij, does not in- clude our board, but we will include it : In the Congre- gational foreign missions there were added during the year 2,371 members (converts), at a cost of S2G5, 647.94, or S248.14 per member; the Christian Church received into her communion, from lieathen converts, 365, at a UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 157 cost of $72.88 per member; the Episcopalian missions received 228, at a cost of $592.03 per member ; the Meth- odist foreign missions received 2,781, at a cost of $234.91 per member; and the Baptist Church received on its for- eign missions 11,891, at a cost of $37.05 per member. But let us enlarge this price-list. So far as the Baptist mis- sion is concerned, the secretary of the Presbyterian board justly finds fault with the methods by which they arrive at those figures. The figures given by the other boards represent the number gathered in from among the hea- then, but the Baptists include all in foreign lands. About 7,000 Baptist converts were made in Sweden and Ger- many, while 4,679 converts were made from among the heathen at a cost of $67 per member, which is still the lowest by $5.88 per member, while we report for Sherbro 1,013 at a cost of $23.68 per member. This is one of the most encouraging facts that was ever recorded on the pages of the United Brethren missionary history. There is a time to sow, and there is a time to reap. We have had our seed-time ; now the harvest moon is full, the wheat is ripe for the harvest. Where are the reapers that garner in the sheaves ? Come with youv sickles, ye sons of men, and gather together the golden grain." The secretary in his report to the General Conference, which met two days later, said : " The last four jeavs have been the most remarkable in all our history. Truly God has led us in ways we knew not, and which have been extraordinary. Unlooked for and radical changes took place in Africa, and in some respects in Germany, which gave us much to think of and to do. Of the three visits made to Africa by myself, two of them were occa- sioned by the transfer of Mendi mission to us for a term of five years, half of which time has expired. As you are aware, we commenced the term with a debt, which 158 IIISTOKV OF THE ■\vc hoped to ])ay, and did pa}' in j^art, when things took a sudden turn against us; and despite our best efforts the debt grew larger instead of smaller, so that now we are deeper in debt than ever before. Your ofiicers, the executive committee, and board of managers struggled heroically to turn the tide, but failed to do it. The dis- aster which befell the steamer John Broivn cost us large sums of money, and caused us to send more laborers to Africa than we should have done. We also failed to receive as much money from England as we and our friends there hoped Ave would, owing to the hard times which prevailed there during the last two years. Over six thousand dollars have been paid to us in London, however, which justifies our co-operation with the Freed- men's Missions Aid Society. It is worthy of note that God has, in a marked manner, overruled for the promo- tion of his cause in Africa these blunders and mistakes, as they seem to have been. The work has been rapidly and advantageously enlarged, which could not have been but for the sending of the steamer Jb/m Brown, and the excellent services of the four missionaries sent out last year. The valuable buildings erected, with the fact that over one thousand were added to the Church during the year 1884,. go very far to apologize for the mistakes made, if they were such. It looks very much as though the Lord had managed some of the things charged up to Mr. Gomer, the officers of the missionary society, and the executive committee. At all events, he has greatly blessed these things in rapidly building up his cause and saving many precious souls in degraded Africa. \ While there last winter I examined into the financial and moral standing and worth of the mission more care- fully than I ever did before, and with results far more favorable than I believed possible. In our distress for UNITED BUETIIKKX .MI.-.SIONS. l59 money we seriously considered the question of selling out in part or in whole. This led to the discovery tluit we were worth from twenty-five to thirty thousand dol- lars, and that the cash could be realized upon one half of this at any time, and we believe upon it all in the near future. The cash assets consist in produce and goods in mission stores, nearly one dozen rowboats and canoes, and mission wharf and warehouse, with privilege to do business upon the mission premises, on condition that if we sell out we are not to engage in business. The bal- . ance of our assets consists in lands, houses, shops, and farms, which are valuable, and especially for mission purposes. " The more valuable assets of the mission are the relig- ious and moral influences in operation, producing results exceedingly gratifying. I tried to invoice the gospel seed sown in the two hundred and ninety-four towns into which our missionaries go. There are five hundred chil- dren in our day and Sunday-schools, upon most of Avhose young hearts the law of God has been so engraved as to lead them to Christ. I also took account of the one thousand, five hundred and twenty-six members we have there, the large majority of whom were, a few years ago, as degraded heathen as ever lived. Most of them are now striving earnestly to follow Christ. I also made note of the sixty raw heathen who walked several miles, near the hour of midnight, and awoke one of our missionaries to have him tell them of Christ. The mis- sionary had preached in the evening to about thirty persons, it being the first time he was there. Two men were there from a neighboring town, who went home after meeting and told what they had heard, which so interested the people that sixty of them came to where the missionary was, and waked him up, saying they 160 IIISTOllV OF THE feared that he would be gone before they conld get there in the morning, and so they came now to hear him speak that same God word to them tliat he had spoken a few hours before. As a matter of course, he dressed himself, got a light and his Bible, and preached, to the great delight of the people and joy of his own heart, for the Master was there. " I next took stock of the scores of souls safely landed in heaven. A few now come to mind : Quiah Mammie, the old slave-woman whom Mr. Gomer and myself saw- dying on a grass mat about half as long as her body, on the ground, with some dirty rags for a pillow ; the one- eyed old Avoman whom Ave saw lying on the sunny side of a large tree to counteract the chill of death, with a coarse coffee-bag around her body as her only covering; our Mohammedan friend, who was poisoned, and who suf- fered much and long because he renounced Mohamme- danism and became a Christian, and who died trusting Christ to the last moment of life; John Williams, one of our mission boys, Avho did good service for four years as interpreter, and who sent for the mission children one evening to come and sing, telling them as soon as they ar- rived that he would go to be with Jesus that night, and then named the pieces he wished them to sing, but died before the musical programme Avhich he had arranged was exhausted. The value of the souls saved in heaven, or even of those on earth saved from the terrible degra- dation of African heathenism, cannot be represented by figures, such as appear on ordinary balance-sheets. I am quite certain that the assets of Sherbro mission far ex- ceed its liabilities. "To put the mission on a less expensive basis without causing a retrograde movement, or injuring our good name and credit in that country, was a difTicult work ; UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. IGl but God helped us to do it successfully. As soon as I landed there the last time, word was circulated that our mission was bankrupt, and I had come out to close up affairs. By putting a few articles in the Early Dawn, explaining affairs, and stating that we soon expected to start a training-school, the mission has as much credit and popularity as it ever had, and the arrangement to give each station so much and no more, will, with God's blessing, enable us to hold the ground, and go forward slowly at least.'' Respecting the publication of the papers in connection with the missions in Africa and Germany, the secretary's report contained the following : " The Early Dawn print- ing office, with the hundred and fifty dollars paid, as you directed four years ago, by the agent of the printing establishment, has met all expenses. The paper has a circulation of about two hundred, and with the job work done, meets expenses of publication, and is rendering valuable service. All in all, the outlook is good for the future in that dark land, if we can give our work reason- able support there. The one hundred and fifty dollars paid to Germany, also by the agent of the printing establishment, according to your order four years ago, enabled the brethren there to commence the publication of the Heilisbote, which has been' a success, and a great help to our cause in Germany. It has a circulation of seven hundred, and is paying all expenses of publica- tion. Before passing from this field of labor, permit me to call to your minds the fact that it becomes more and more apparent, as the years come and go, that we are operating in such foreign fields as we are adapted to cultivate, and that it was Avisely ordered by Providence that we entered the ones we have. Desirable as it would be to have other foreign fields, we had better, for the 162 HISTORY OF THE present, push vigorously the well-begun work we have in Africa and Germany, and not attempt others until our financial resources are greatlj^ increased." The following is also from the secretary's report to the General Conference: "The Missionary Visitor ought to be conducted in the future as in the past, with this single exception, namely, one half of the profits should go into the missionar}^ treasury. Had the General Con- ference so ordered four years ago, our frontier missiona- ries could have had more money by at least one thousand dollars annually, which they ought to have received. Since I am the onlj'' editor the Visitor has ever had in the twenty years it has been published, and have often worked hard to make it a success when rest would have been most desirable, and since I am pleading for the half of its net profits to go toward increasing the support of our poorly-paid, hard-worked, and deserving missiona- ries, rather than elsewhere, I surely ought not be blamed for uttering my honest convictions. Then, too, there are others who think much as I do upon this same question." The following statement respecting church-erection is also from the same report: "It was my purj)ose, until quite lately, to recommend some radical changes in the constitution of this society, looking toward the forma- tion of a separate board, with the necessary officers to manage this important interest of the Church. The relation of church-erection to missions is such as to make it appropriate for one board to control both, but it will not likely be made as jDrosperous this way as if there were a secretary to especially look after church-erection, who shall devote his entire time to its interests. In view, however, of the many church enterprises greatly needing money at present, this had better be contin- UNITED BRETIIRloN MISSIONS. 163 ued for the next four years as it has been in the past. With the assessment of an amount to be secured by the itinerants, continued as it ought to be, and a general agent who shall work up large sums for church-erection and missions, as already recommended in this report, church-erection may safely be left with the Board of Missions and its officers for another term. Assessing the conferences for church-erection during the last four years, with what money came to us from other sources, we were able to aid thirty-eight societies in building houses of worship during the term. In all, since the organization of this society, ninety-one houses of worship have been erected by the help we gave them. Though this is less than half which should have been helped, it shows that great good has been accomplished by comparatively little effort and a small amount of money." As the last year was the most eventful of any in the history of the society, and surpassed all others in results, much space and large quotations from officers' reports are given, so as to bring out all the important facts connected with it. The amounts paid during the four years, ending May, 1885, are as follows : African Mission ? 60,185 77 Arkansas Valley Conference 2,140 76 California 2,944 91 Colorado 2,658 63 South Missouri 1,260 35 East German •'••• 1,736 90 Elkhorn and Dakota 3,077 06 Fox River Conference 1,392 44 Germany District 9,506 77 Kentucky 514 57 Minnesota 2,332 45 East Nebraska 1,628 13 Neosho ', Osage) 354 59 North Michigan 2,522 15 164 HISTORY OF THE Ontario 959 25 Ohio German (Toledo Missloni 1,039 50 Oregon 2,539 90 Southern Illinois 1,712 12 Tennessee 2,821 78 Virginia (Freedmen) 389 33 Walla Walla Conference and Cumese Mission 3,499 79 West Kansas 3,821 25 West Nebraska 2,8.57 61 Total , $111,896 01 The salary paid by these fields to their missionaries in addition to the above sums from the missionary treasury was $77,279.42. Home missions received from branch treasurers and gave to the support of those who served them in the four years $256,418.34, making a grand total for home, frontier, and foreign missions, of $446,093.74. UNITED BKETIIREN MISSIONS. 1^ CHAPTER XVI. From 1S85 to 18S9. New secretary and treasurer-Foreign bishops' district-Reduced ap- propriations-Changes in Africa and Germany-The work continues to prosper in Africa-Rufus Clark and Wife Theological Trainmg- School-Desolating war in Africa-Rapid increase of members- Success in paying missionary debt-Prosperity in all departments. The thirty-third annual session of the board met in Roan- oke, Indiana, May 14, 1886. The General Conference of 1885, believing that the magnitude of the work across the Atlantic Ocean, including Africa, Germany, and En- gland, the last as a place to get money, required the whole time of one man in the capacity of general super- intendent, and therefore made a foreign missionary dis- trict, and elected D. K. Flickinger to said office. Dr. Warner was chosen to take his place as corresponding secretary. Rev. Wm. McKee was elected treasurer, as the successor of Rev. J. K. BiUheimer. Mr. McKee had been the treasurer before, from 1865 to 1873, and had, therefore, valuable experience in the work to which he was again called. The same president was continued, but two other men were elected as directors of the board, it retaining all who were members of it before, except these. This board was especially charged with the work of liquidating the debt of the society, and entered upon this duty with enthusiasm. The first thing to be done, and which the former board and officers had labored earnestly with, was to bring the society's expenditures within the limits of its receipts. To show that under the circumstances this Avas not so easily done, I give the 166 HISTORY OF THE action of the board at this meeting, which was also its action one year later, with the change that the sum to be raised be increased from fifty to sixty thousand dol- lars, and that four energetic, experienced agents be ap- pointed, acting under the direction of the board, to raise said sum in one year. The report, as adojited, is as fol- lows : "Your committee on finance, after having carefully considered the matter of the indebtedness of the mis- sionary society, do respectfully recommend the follow- ing : Notwithstanding all the care we have bestowed upon the matter of appropriations, the expenses of our society have exceeded the amount of money received into our treasury, thereby causing a considerable increase in our indebtedness. This result we greatly deplore, but it has been simply out of our power to prevent it, with- out suspending altogether some of our missions upon which we have already expended much money, and greatly reducing appropriations to others. This we felt unwilling to do unless it became a positive necessity. This necessity we feel is now upon us, and we have been compelled to adopt a system of retrenchment and cur- tailment which will, no doubt, be seriously felt by our faithful missionaries, but we hope they will acquiesce in the necessity. " In order to meet the reduced appropriations of the coming year as well as liquidate our indebtedness, we can only appeal to our people — the whole of our people throughout the entire Church — to come to our relief Let us bear in mind that for all the money expended God has graciously given us many souls. Let all, then, give to the extent of their ability, and all our preachers especially see to it that the claims of our society are properly presented to the people, and all the money UNITED 13KETHREN MISSIONS. 167 secured that possibly can be. We recommend that a special effort be made to secure large donations by special and personal efiforts, and that the missionary secretary and treasurer spend as much time as possible in work- ing up this matter. " In order to have a definite and well understood plan before us, we recommend that an effort be made all over the Church to secure within the ensuing two years the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and that obligations be taken conditioned so that these notes are not payable, unless at the option of the donor, until the whole of this amount shall be secured." The reader will see by this report, passed at this time and reaffirmed one year later, that these new men found it as difficult to retrench as the old officers did, and made no better progress in doing so until there was ab- solutely no other way left to them. This remark is not made in the spirit of fault-finding, but to show that managers of mission work, who are made to see and feel the great demands for enlargement, are much inclined to attempt more than the means at their disposal war- rants. Under the circumstances, it was thought best to close out the business carried on by our missionaries in Af- rica, as the mission store, with warehouse and wharf, could now be leased, and such arrangements made as would enable the missionaries to get such supplies as were needed from the store on reasonable terms. It will be remembered that Shaingay, the headquarters of Sher- bro mission, is sixty miles from Freetown, which would be the point at which all trade must be carried on unless there was a mission store. As tfiere was" less manual la- bor to do, the farm being fully opened, and more to do in the schools and in what was, properly speaking, real 168 HISTORY OF THE mission work, it was well to look towards less secular and more educational and spiritual work. In this there there was a general agreement by all concerned. Ac- cordingly, in September, Mr. Flickinger, at the request of the executive committee, sailed for Africa, going on a sailing vessel again, which was from the 12th of Septem- ber until the 6th of November making the voyage, which the same vessel had frequently made before in from thirty to thirty-five days, but now, owing to un- usual calms, required fifty-five days. The day Mr. Flickinger reached Freetown, Rev. Mr. Sage, being in bad health, left with his wife on a steamer for the United States. Rev. Mr. Lesher had returned in July for the same reason, and Mr. Wilberforce and family a few months before, having completed five years in Africa. The only American missionaries on the ground were Messrs. Evans and Gomer and wives. Besides closing out the business of the Sherbro mission, for, owing to the saw-mill and the necessity of keeping some goods in stock to buy the logs and supply laborers, it could not be done on Mendi mission entirely. Mr. Flickinger was charged with the duty of putting the work upon a basis that would not require over eight thousand dollars a year above what the American Missionary Association gave, which was about five thousand dollars. He at once called Mr. Evans from Bonthc to Shaingay, where he and the above named missionaries spent a whole day in council, the all-absorbing question being how to keep the work from retrograding on considerable less money than it had received for the last few years. It was ar- ranged that the work should be carried on for ten thou- sand dollars a year from .Janua^'y, 1.SS6, to January, 1888. This was not to include the -salary and traveling ex- penses of Mr. Wilberforce, in case he was returned to UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. Iti9 ihat country. He had been employed lecturing, preach- ing, and in the meantime reading medicine. During the winter he attended medical lectures, and was one of the best students in the medical college. The secretary, Dr. Warner, in his report of the African mission, said: "The spiritual results of our work in Africa are very gratifying. One year ago there were re- ported 1,526 members; this year we report 2,629. From them we can select the men who are to redeem the peo- ple among whom we are laboring. The foreigner cannot evangelize Africa. The native church can and must do it. Strong leaders will be needed for years perhaps, but the rank and file of the Christian workers must be found among the members of the native church. The African mission sustained a real loss in the death of Thomas Tucker, the oldest convert in that mission, and pastor at Mo-Fuss. He died September 13, 1SS5. Among his last words he said, 'I am ready to die and go to reign with my Savior. I feel that God is with me all the time.' " As Mr. Flickinger had arranged with Dr. Jones,- of London, the secretary of the Freedmen's Missions Aid Society, to be with him at the beginning of the year 1886, he left Africa again on the 23d of December, 1885, and reached England the 10th of January following. The secretary's report says of him : '" Bishop Flickinger has been in England since early in January. While in Africa he visited all our stations, held the annual meet- ing, and ordained one native preacher. This visit will have a good influence on our work in the future, I hope.'' He gave the following figures a§ the value of our property in Africa- Sherbro mission, $9,368.80, Mendi side, $19,250, total, 829,618.80. The Early Dawn continued to be published, and was helping our cau?e in 170 HISTORY OF THE Africa, though it made scarcely enough to pay expenses of publication. The following extracts from the secre- tary's report respecting Germany will be sufficient to show how the work has succeeded there : " The field has passed through a varied experience the past year. Six months ago the health of Rev. J. Sick so failed that he had to cease active work. His health not having im- proved, he has been compelled to retire from the service of the board. The annual meeting was held by Bishop Flickinger April 21st. The present memberchij:* is six hundred and thirty-eight. By an arrangement, subject to the approval of the board. Bishop Flickinger will act as presiding elder the coming year. The true policy for Germany, I think, is to use native preachers, with a superintendent from the United States. In a few years the whole work may be managed by natives. A small paper has been published; also an almanac, four thou- sand copies of which were sold. While our missionaries are subjected to many petty annoyances, often j^rompted by ministers of the state church, and while there are legal hindrances to our work, still we are gaining the confidence and esteem of the people. During the year. Rev. C. Bischoff, the founder of the Germany mission, died. Being a man of property, he was a great advan- tage to our work as treasurer and book-keeper. God is using us in Germany for his glory. It will be necessary for the board to find a capable man to go out to superin- tend the work. The amount paid to this mission the past year was two thousand and one hundred dollars. There should be added two hundred dollars. Halls in which to hold service must be rented, which increases our expenses there." The frontier missions of the Church during the year had about the usual success, some growing rapidly, some UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 171 slowly, and some not at all, Arkansas Valley increased in all essential respects, gaining over five hundred mem- bers. California about held its own. East Nebraska had become self-supporting, and was doing quite well. Elkhorn, which, by the General Conference of the year before, had part of Dakota Conference added to it, seemed to have new life infused into it. Minnesota had some success, though there were difficulties owing to severe cold and scarcity of laborers. North Michigan reported some growth, but less than in some former years, for var- ious reasons. Neosho was in a good degree successful, and the outlook hopeful. Ontario had a good year, and prospects were brightening. Oregon had very little growth and the future was not promising. Southern Missouri did well compared to other years, but the pros- pects for future growth were, for various reasons, not promising. Tennessee had more conversions and acces- sions to the Church than usual, but the location is not goo-d for United Brethren. There are about fifty families of United Brethren in middle Tennessee, but they are more than two hundred miles from Tennessee Confer- ence. Walla Walla had a healthy growth, with a good prospect for the future. The Chinese school in Walla Walla City had extended beyond the Chinese population and a local church of about thirty members and a flour- ishing Sabbath-school had been organized. The school did well among the Chinese, and the board was very much encouraged. West Kansas made quite a good deal of progress in the year, but had not as much enter- prise as it should have had. West Nebraska grew rap- idly, and made in several respects substantial progress with prospects of a prosperous future. To Wisconsin was added what had for years been Fox River Confer- ence, and although the progress made was slow, it was 172 IIISTOKV OF THE quite up to its previous success, with some favorable indications. The mission districts in Kentucky and Southern Illinois, as in other 3'ears, had a number of accessions to the Church, but the prospects looking to- ward permanent growth were not good. Colorado had a more prosperous year. An effort was made to organize a third church in Denver, but failed. The other city charges and . portions of the district had considerable success. The freedmen's mission, in Virginia, had very limited success, and prospects were not good for more rapid growth, Toledo German mission had some pros- perity, and so had Philadelphia, with hopeful omens for future growth. A new mission was commenced in Des Moines, Iowa, which had a good year, and the outlook for the future was excellent. The Church-Erection Society had a prosperous year, and the home mission department of the Church suc- ceeded well also. Failures there were here as elsewhere, but these in comparison to successes were few. The thirty-fourth annual meeting of the board was held in Lagonda, Ohio, May 5, 1887, This closed a year ever to be remembered for several reasons. The death of Bishop Glossbrenner, the first and only president of the society, except four years from its organization in 1853, had oc- curred the previous January. The bishop of the foreign district had reached America barely in time to attend the previous annual meeting, and had, during his stay in this country, visited a few places in the East in the interest of the Germany chapel fund. He in this way secured about one thousand dollars for this interest. He was ready, with trunk packed, to start back to Eng- land to assist in collecting money when he received a letter from Mr. Rufus Clark, of Denver, Colorado, re- questing him not to leave until the fourth of August, as UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 173 on that day an important case was to be decided, which would enable him to give five thousand dollars for the erection of a training-school in Africa. The history of this, briefly stated, is as follows : Mr. Flickinger, as sec- retary of the society, was called to Denver some years be- fore, and while there preached and lectured on Africa in the First Church. Mr. Clark became interested in Af- rica, and made some inquiries about its wants. Mr. Flickinger told him it had many, and, among the press- ing ones, a training-school in which native teachers and preachers could be raised up to teach school and to itin- erate, and that it ought to be established soon. Mr. Clark, in an incidental way, remarked that it would be a good thing, and he might some time consider its claims. Rev. W. Rose, who was pastor there at the time, and who did a great and good work afterward in building Smith Chapel and parsonage in Denver City, and Mr. Flickinger took Mr. Clark's remark to heart, and from that day until the 9th of August, 1886, when Mr. Clark paid the five thousand dollars to Mr. Flick- inger in Denver, they had co-operated to get that money. Many letters had been exchanged between Mr. Flickinger and Mr. Rose, and the latter sent the following telegram to Mr. Flickinger, which said, " Come get the money." So, instead of leaving his' home, Willoughby, Ohio, for England, on the 4th of August, Mr. Flickinger left for Denver, and on the eighth he again preached and lec- tured on Africa in that city, and the next day he re- ceived a check for five thousand dollars and sixty dol- lars to pay cost of trip from Willoughby to Denver and return. On his way back he stopped to see Dr. Rosen- berg in Osage City, Kansas, from whom he got six hun- dred dollars for Germany Chapel. He proceeded to Day- ton and asked the executive committee to appoint Rev. 174 HISTORY OF THE J. M. Lesher to go to Africa the next month to com- mence building, as he had to remain in England until November. Mr. Clark had made Mr. Flickinger responsi- ble for the erection of the house and proper expenditure of money; hence he wished to select his helpers, which he did, leaving the money with the missionary treasurer to be paid as needed. Accordingly, on the 18th of Sep- tember, 1886, Rev. J. M. Lesher, with Rev. D. F. Wilber- force and family and Rev. R. N. "West and wife, the last two going under the auspices of the Woman's Mission- ary Association, sailed from New York to Freetown in a sailing vessel. The voyage was a long one, and it was November ere they reached Africa, and Mr. Lesher did not get fairly to work on the building before December. The first and responsible part of the work was to get materials on the ground, and stone-masons to dress the stone, and carpenters to do the preparatory work for such a building. No one but a good mechanic could well manage the native workmen or even the best mechanics there so as to get a serviceable building. Mr. Lesher was a carpenter before he became a preacher and missionary, and hence the man for the place. When Mr. Flickinger reached Africa on December 7th, he found Mr, Lesher had a large force of men at work. This continued until the last day of January, 1887, when the corner-stone was laid, the walls having been commenced before. This building is sixty-six by thirty-one feet, three stories high, the third story being lighted by large attic win- dows in the roof and similar windows in the gable ends. The corner-stone and many others in the building came from the walls of Mr. John Newton's slave pens on Plantain Island, three miles from Shaingay. Surely Mr. Newton, at one time a cruel slave-trader, and afterward a celebrated minister of the gospel, would rejoice with UNITED BKETHREX MISSIONS. 1~Q others, were he still on earth to see these stones, once used to promote the slave trade, now in the walls of a house in which to train men and women to work for the abolition of slavery and wickedness of every kind among the degraded tribes of West Africa. There are two reci- tation rooms of fourteen by seventeen feet, and a chapel twenty-eight by thirty feet on the ground floor; and on the second floor there are ten rooms, each large enough to accommodate two students, in which to lodge and study. The third story will accommodate as many more, though not in separate apartments. Much might be written upon the details of erecting this house which would interest the reader, but it must suffice to say that there were from thirty to lift}' men employed who completed it in five months. The stone had to be quarried on islands which were from one half to three miles from Shaingay, then loaded into boats and rowed to the mission wharf, then carried up a steep bank and put on the mission wagon and drawn a quarter of a mile by oxen to place of building, then dressed and placed in the wall. Lumber was bought here and there, and brought to Shaingay on boats, and to site of building in same manner as we did stone. Considering the fact that it takes three native workmen to be equal to one Ameri- can, and in many things one American is equal to four of them, it will be seen that to erect such a building is no child's play. But for the good supply of mission boats received from Mendi mission, and the good wagon, and wharf at Shaingay, for procuring which Mr. Gomer and others were so severely criticised, this building could not have been erected in one dry season, wdiich of itself would have been a great misfortune, and cost as much more money as was paid to procure the wagon, and building of whnrf, wliich are still very serviceable. 176 HISTOKY OF THE The secretary, Dr. Warner, said in his report to this meeting respecting the African mission : " The last an- nual meeting of the African district commenced Decem- ber 17th, and was one of the very best in our history. Bishop riickinger presided. Brother and Sister West were not present because of the illness of the former. The influence of this meeting on our native workers was excellent. Three of them had fallen into sin dur- ing the year and were expelled. This enforcement of discipline made a deep impression upon all. There are three presiding elder districts, Shaingay, Mendi, and Bompeh, with sixteen mission stations. The net in- crease in members is one thousand three hundred and eleven, making the whole number three thousand nine hundred and forty. During the year a number of our people died, leaving a clear, strong testimony to the power of divine grace to sustain them in their last hour. It will be seen by reports that many of these enrolled are seekers, but this does not mean that they have not been converted, for many of them have been. Such is the poverty of the Sherbro and Mendi dialects that it is very difficult to make these people understand the questions in the discipline which applicants are re- quired to answer in the affirmative before they can be received into the Church. The difficulty is not in the heart, but in the intellect. How to overcome this is hard to solve. The number of towns visited the past year was three hundred and eight-seven, an increass of eighty-four over the previous year. There is no egotism in saying that we are doing a work there that no other church has done up to this time. A gentleman of intel- ligence, not a member of our church, visited the African coast from the mouth of the Congo to Freetown, and said the reputation of our mission is the best of any along the UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 177 coast. Is this true ? If so, we owe it to the faithful work of our missionaries." The secretary after telling of the building of Rufus Clark and Wife Theological Training-school, says, " this school was opened February 21, 1887, with three students in the department of theology, and five bright boys in the primary department." This was an epoch of interest in the African work. The following resolutions adopted at this meeting con- sidering the previous criticisms of some who voted for them, and others in the Church, upon the management of the African mission, in view of its costing so much money, are suggestive, and in place here : "Whereas, Rev. J. Gomer, superintendent of the Sherbro mission in Africa, and Rev. J. A. Evans, super- intendent of Mendi mission in the same country, have gone forward with faithful work and successful efforts in winning souls, and building up the kingdom of our Redeemer in the midst of many trials and afflic- tions, and have reported from time to time how the Lord is pouring his salvation upon the people; there- fore, "Resolved, 1. That we give thanks to God for the pres- ervation of their lives and health, and the lives and health of their families, and for the good work which, under God, they have performed. "2. That the thanks of the board are due, and are hereby tendered to Mr. Rufus Clark and wife of Denver, Colorado, for their generous gift of $5,000 for the train- ing-school in Africa. "3. That we tender to Bishop Flickinger and Rey. J. M. Lesher the sincere thanks of the board for their successful management of the erection of the Clark Training-school building. We are also glad that Rev. 178 HISTORY OF THE D. F. Wilberforce has already commenced said school with flattering prospects of success. "4. That we appreciate the good work of Rev. R. X. West and his faithful wife, at Rotufunk, in the employ of the Woman's Missionary Association, and of all the good and faithful laborers, who have toiled in the field with these missionaries, and with those men and women of Sherbro and Mendi missions who have rendered such efficient help in the work of God during the past year." The following from the report of the secretary con- cerning the Germany district shows the results of the year's work there: "This work has made no strik- ing advancement during the year. Being wholly in the hands of native missionaries, it is somewhat difficult for them to make detailed reports. The accounts given of their work in the paper published in the interest of that mission are quite encouraging. Two churches will be built, one in Apolda and the other in GoUnow. We need a superintendent from this country in Germany. He should be at least fairly educated in the German lan- guage and well acquainted with the history, doctrines, and usages of our church. The Germany mission should be pushed with as much energy as possible, as it has compensations that our other foreign work cannot have. Immigration will bring some of the people converted there to this country, helping our German work at home as well as the whole denomination. The annual meet- ing occurred April 27th, too late to receive their annual report in time for this meeting. So far as I have infor- mation, the work in Germany is hopeful. Bishop Flick- inger has arranged for Rev. J. M. Lesher to spend some months in Germany, to aid the work as far as he can. I think this arrangement a good one." The frontier missions of the Church, with few excep- UIS'ITED BEETHKEN MISSIONS. 179 tions, Avere successful during the year, and there was en- couraging advancement made in a number of the mis- sion conferences. Arkansas Valley continued to grow rapidly, but needed much more money. California had some revivals and built two new church-houses. The college at Woodbridge did well, and was one of the most promising features of this conference. East Nebraska Av.as fairly successful, and was going into the important towns of the country. Elkhorn did not progress much, and its condition was not hopeful for the future, owing to a want of consecration among the missionaries. Min- nesota had gracious revivals and increased her member- ship, but was losing by people leaving it for warmer countries. Neosho ceased to be a mission conference in the year. In North Michigan the work of the year was not as promising as it had been in other years, there be- ing some difficulties in the way which time will remove. Ontario had some growth, and the outlook was good for the future. Oregon met with but little success, and there was but little prosj)ect that matters would improve soon. South Missouri had an encouraging increase dur- ing the year, and was enlarging its sphere of operations. Tennessee had as good a year, if not better, than any in its previous history. Edwards Academy had done well, and the prospects for the school and conference were flattering. The work succeeded well at Walla Walla, in- cluding the Chinese school in Walla Walla City, and Washington Seminary. West Kansas had an excellent year, gaining in membership, organizing churches in railroad towns, and building up Gould College. West Nebraska did well in building up Gibbon Collegiate In- stitute, in which a number of men were preparing for the ministry. It was paying attention to important towns. The outlook was good. Wisconsin Conference 180 HISTORY OF THE was extending its work, and several large towns were occupied during the year for the first time, which, with the extensive revival of religion in it, made the outlook hopeful. The Colorado mission district built one new house of worship during the year, but the results of the year were not encouraging. It is a difficult field to cultivate, for our church in and outside of Denver has been of slow growth from t'he beginning. Southern Illinois district had a good year, and added two new houses of worship, with quite a number of accessions to the Church. Ken- tucky district received no money from the board, and continued to do but little, so that the outlook was not flattering. Upon the freedmen's mission in Virginia the membership and spiritual condition of the people had increased. Des Moines City mission received aid from the board during the je&x, and was reasonably prosperous. Home missions had a reasonably good year, and also gained in membership as. rapidly as did the frontier mis- sions of the Church. The year, as a whole, may be re- corded as one of the most successful of the society. Es- pecially did the African mission succeed well. The large increase in members there, erection and commence- ment of Clark Theological Training-school, and the suc- cessful work done by Bomphe mission, under the aus- pices of the Woman's Board, with plans for opening a girl's training-school, and in other respects making the work there more effective, altogether made Africa a highly encouraging field of labor. The thirty-fifth annual meeting of the board occurred in Dayton, Ohio, May 10, 1888. Dr. Warner's connection with the society closed in August, 1887, and the treas- urer, Rev. Wm. McKee was elected acting secretary, and UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 181 hence he made the report at this time. The following extracts from this report show the result of the year's work : "The year just gone has been fairly successful. "We have had some reverses and apparent misfortunes, but our missionaries have lived, labored, and won many souls to Christ. It is with a sense of profound sorrow that I am called on to record the death of Dr. Warner, the former corresponding secretary of this board. After leaving the office of secretary, he accepted a call to the pastorate of the United Brethren Church, at Gibbon, Nebraska, and entered upon the active duties of his charge with enthusiasm about the 1st of November, 1887. He died the latter part of January. "Of the Sherbro and Mendi missions I have to report continued success. I do not mean by this that we have the figures to show an increased membership, for there is an actual loss ; but I do mean to show that, despite the ravages of war with its rapine, murder, conflagra- tions, and general demoralization of the order, and pur- suits of farming, manufacturing, mercantile, educational, and religious agencies of the country, our missionaries have continued at their posts of duty. God has wonder- fully spared their lives and enabled them to continue their work. It is true some of our stations have been captured, the towns and chapels burned, the people scat- tered—some of them killed and others carried ofif into helpless slavery— and the ministers greatly persecuted. Yet it can be truly said, 'out of all the Lord has deliv- ered them.' They have verified the experience of Paul in their own. 'We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; perse- cuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed.'" The following detailed account from Mr. Gomer, sent 182 HISTORY OF THE three months before the annual meeting, will show the condition of Sherbro mission : " At Shaingay we are get- ting along well, spiritually, as well as temporally. A few of our members have gone crooked, and have given us much grief, but they are on their way again trying. At the close of the year Mr. Wilberforce resigned the pastorate, his other duties being very hard on him. This makes it hard on me, as the out stations need close attention. At Mannoh the school has not opened yet, as the teacher is a war witness in Freetown. The people there hold prayer and class meetings among themselves, and an itinerant from Koolong visits them occasion- ally. They have repaired their own barra and mission residence, and cleaned the place nicely. At Koolong the outlook is very good. Mr. J. A. Richards is in charge. He has a good stafif of three itinerants, and his wife, David Louding's sister, is a first-class worker. At N'Charmany the work is looking up. The people have repaired their own barra for school and meetings, and are doing well. Tonkoloh has not yet got over the effects of the war; something needs to be done to stir up the people. At McCobo there should be a mission house and a barra. I believe the people will rebuild the barra themselves. The mi>ssion ought to build the house. The head people of the town have never re- turned since the war. Mo-Fuss has been sadly neglected. It is more dead than alive; but it is our fault more than their own. I hope to get the right thing there. Mambo is doing nobly. The people have rebuilt their chapel that was burned by the war, only the thatching and the doors and windows remaining to be done. At Rembee the religious interest is good. The people have taken a fresh start since the war. The Lesher school at Senehoo, with its branch at Cattah, under Mrs. J. Thompson, is UKITED BliETIIKEX "MISSIONS. 183 promising. Since the close of the war we have been paying special attention to hunting our people. Those taken captive are still returning, while many will never return, having been sent into the far interior, or killed. In the secular work there is constant demand for build- ing and repairs. I am obliged to keep two carpenters employed nearly all the time on our boats, canoes, and houses. All this means boards, timbers, nails, oakum, putty, and paint, besides the carpenters. All the school- teachers, and tAvo of the farmers, itinerate. I am con- stantly cautioning the itinerants to insist that there must be a change of life when they accept of Chris- tianity. All country fashion, purrowism, rum and gin drinking, polygamy, and slavery must cease, and unless they agree to this, they must not receive them as seekers. Respecting the Clark Theological Training-school, the following from its principal. Rev. D. F. Wilberforce, to the acting secretary, shows that this institution of sacred learning was looming up as a light-house to the "inland wanderers, beckoning them to the harbor of safety for their souls." February 8, 1888, he wrote as follows: "Last Monday, February 6th, was a day long to be remembered among us. It was the occasion of the opening of the training-school. There were present, as reJDresentatives of the feompeh Mission, Rev. Mr. Sage and wife, from Mendi mission, and Rev. J. A. Evans, be- sides several of our teachers and a goodly number of the Shaingay people. We begin this year with three stu- dents in the middle class, and seven passed the prelimi- nary examination successfully and will form the junior class. Will you pray that this grand commencement of work may continue as begun?" Of Mendi mission, Rev. Mr. Evans, who had charge, wrote as follows : " The year commenced with a prospect of an unusually 18-4 HISTORY OF THE large ingathering, in spite of our reluctance to admit persons to our class rolls; but the later war troubles on every side of us, although our territory was not invaded to any great extent, hurt our work in various ways. A great many of our people removed from Avery, Danville, and Konconany, and in Mandoh half the appointments, with about twenty classes, were dropped in consequence of not having sufficient men to itinerate that field. In short, our decrease has been three hundred and eighty- five during the year, chiefly from removals. The relig- ious interest has been rather better than in past years, as there has been more revival influence. Our buildings in many places having become so bad, has been a hin- drance to religious and educational work. We have suf- fered for want of books, and to me it seems almost folly to keep teachers when they have no books to teach from. The printing office, in consequence of more advertising in the Early Dawn and the reduced price of material during the past year, shows a small margin of receipts over expenditures." The saw-mill and farm at Avery and store at Bonthe had been a source of some profit to Mendi mission, and, taken all in all, the work done and and outlook Avere quite good. The Germany mission district made quite as much progress during the year as could be expected. A house was bought in Appolda, which contains, besides a hall for worship, a suite of rooms for the missionary to live in, and others which will rent so as to pay some of the expenses of the mis- sion. The secretary's report to the board stated : "They have made commendable progress during the year. They have not been persecuted so much as formerly. Indeed, it has been shown repeatedly that, while some lower church officials and petty magistrates have been ready enough to j)ersecute our ministers and to fine them for UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 185 holding meetings for worship and for collecting too many people in a hall or private house for the health or safety of the audiences or other trifling charges, by means of which they were able, by strained interpreta- tions of the statutes, to bring the law to bear against them. Yet, by appealing their cases to the higher courts, they have been immediately acquitted, and in some cases fines and costs incurred in lower courts have been returned and the judges have virtually bade them Godspeed in preaching the gospel to the people. The Heilisbote is paying its own way and doing an excellent work for our people. What the Early Dawn is to Africa, the Heilisbote is to Germany for this church. The con- stant cry in Germany, in view of the great destitution among the people, is more laborers and more money to support them." The frontier missions during the year had about the usual prosperity, as will be seen in the following : On- tario made steady, healthy progress and increased its net membership and Sunday-school work quite a good deal. North Michigan also made commendable advance- ment in most respects, and did quite well. Wisconsin built several new houses of worship and raised more money for its missionaries and other church purposes than formerly, and gained some in members. Minne- sota had good revivals and large accessions to the Church at some points, and did well as a whole. Concerning Elkhorn and Dakota, the secretary said : " I suggest that the board consider the possibility of making two districts of this conference, either now or one, year hence. The territory is important, but the fields are too widely scattered." There was no progress during the year. Good progress was made in Walla Walla, but more men and money were greatly needed. The Chi- 186 HISTORY OF THE nese school in Walla Walla City did not prosper during the year as rapidly as previously. Oregon was going backward rather than forward, though Philomath College was doing well. There were valuable accessions to the ministerial force in California, and increased success of San Joaquin Valley College, making the outlook favora- ble, though there was little growth during the year. In West Nebraska the work went forward well, building new churches and parsonages and increasing the mem- bership of the Church. West Kansas had a very pros- perous year, but lacked laborers to do all the work needed. The growth of Arkansas Valley continued rapid and permanent. South Missouri made commend- able progress, and prospects were brightening. Ten- nessee did well, growing in territory and membership. It sustained great loss in the death of Prof. D. W. Doran, who was doing grandly in bringing up Edwards Acad emy. The mission districts, viz., Kentucky and South- ern Illinois, held their own, and the latter built two church-houses and met with some success in other lines of work. The mission to the freedmen, in Virginia, during the year made advancement in church building, gaining members, and gave evidence of a healthy condition. The Staunton mission in Virginia, to which the board gave a small appropriation, was also succeeding quite well. The Toledo, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Penn., mis- sions were surrendered by the board to the conferences to which they belonged, and also Des Moines City mis- sion with a small appropriation. The East Nebraska, Neosho, and Wisconsin conferences were also struck off of the list of mission conferences. The secretary said nothing respecting home missions in his report, but from other sources the fact was obtained UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 187 that they had a good year, generally, and many conver- sions to God and accessions to the Church as a result of their labors. The Church-Erection Society had a prosperous year, in the sense that it collected and distributed more money than during the previous year, and on the whole the out- look is good. The Missionary Visitor continued to do well. One of the encouraging features of the year's work was the suc- cess which attended the efforts to pay the debt of the society. When the board met there had been collected in cash $18,546.06, and secured also additional in notes S19,780.91 ; total, $38,326.97. During the year the avails of the Avery fund, which were to cease at this time, were secured for another year. This being nearly five thousand dollars annually, was a great relief to the society. The thirty-sixth annual meeting of the board occurred May 7, 1889, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, two days before the General Conference met in York, same State. The year had been a very eventful as well as a successful one. The executive committee had employed Dr. B. F. Booth as assistant corresponding secretary of the society, Rev. Wm. McKee, the treasurer, having been acting sec- retary ever since Dr. "Warner's connection with the board ceased in 1887. This being the end of the quadrennium, at which time the ofl&cers of the society make both annual and quadrennial reports, which are prepared with great care, the following extracts from them contain all that is necessary to be said respecting the progress made and condition of work at this time : " Our missions in Africa have lost none of their inter- est during the quadrennium. The membership has in- creased from one thousand five hundred and forty-four 188 HISTORY OF THE to four thousand seven hundred and twenty. We have been hindered by war and the lack of means to carry on the work as rapidly as the way seemed open for us ; but still the Lord has given his faithful laborers a good de- gree of success in winning souls. ''Rev. J. Gomer has had the entire management of the Sherbro missions, as he had for a number of years previ- ously. Rev. J. A. Evans has also had the management of the Mendi missions. For six years the American Missionary Association allowed us the use of the Avery fund, — five thousand dollars annually, — but this was withdrawn January 1, 1889. This act of generosity and confidence reposed in us, as a board and as a church, by one of the ablest and most active missionary boards in the country, and approved by the Congregational de- nomination, should be heartily appreciated by us ; and the chief way to show our appreciation is to prosecute the mission work among the Mendi tribes with a vigor and heartiness worthy of the successors of the Rev. George Thompson, Mr. Burton, and others who founded and labored long and hard to build up these missions^ This is all the remuneration the American Missionary Association asks, and it is the best return we can make to them, to the Mendi tribes, and to the Lord of missions. The annual report shows that we have several valuable properties and a wide field for missionary labor among the Mendi people. "It ought to commend itself to our observation and greatly strengthen our hope in the future of Africa that our superintendents have employed so many of the na- tives, and, by their help, have been enabled to accom- plish so much. I have no doubt that God intends to save Africa chiefly through the instrumentality of Afri- can laborers. The ill health and return of the American UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 189 missionaries have made it necessary to employ more na- tive helpers, and the work done by these is an earnest of the great things we may hojDe for in the way of enlarged usefulness by them in the future. All that can be done by foreign missionaries toward the evangelization of two hundred and ten millions of souls on that great conti- nent is to deposit the leaven of the gospel. The Afri- cans themselves must furnish the host of laborers nec- essary to accomplish so vast a work. " Through the beneficence of Mr. Rufus Clark ana wife, of Denver, Colorado, who contributed five thousand dol- lars for the erection of a school building, we now have at Shaingay a fine stone edifice, which, as an academy of sacred learning, will not only be a most valuable monu- ment to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Clark, but a last- ing benefaction to the numerous tribes of West Africa. Rev. D. F. Wilberforce opened school in the new build- ing February 2, 1887. At first there were three students in the department of theology and five in the primary department. Now Mr. Wilberforce reports the follow- ing: Middle class, three students; junior class, seven students; preparatory class, two students. This makes twelve students in the training-school at the end of the second year. This indicates that the school will soon be filled with students anxious to secure the best possible training for the work of evangelists." Respecting the Early Datvn, the report said : " This paper is published at Bonthe, British Sherbro, by Mr. Evans. It is now in its sixth volume, and, as its name indicates, is performing an important part in driving away the darkness of a long night of ignorance, super- stition, and suffering, and ushering in a day of deliver- ance from the thralldom of idolatry. So far the pub- lisher has succeeded in making the Early Dawn support 190 HISTORY OF THE itself; at the same time it is doing much to teach the people how to live as civilized beings and how to earn a livelihood." The following resolutions, taken from the minutes of this meeting, so fully explain themselves that they are inserted without comment or introduction : " Whereas, Rev. J. Gomer and his wife have returned in safety to America after an absence of seven years spent in earnest missionary labors in West Africa ; and, "Whereas, Brother Gomer has for many years been our trusted and honored superintendent of missions in West Africa, and discharged his duties with great fidel- ity and skill; therefore, ^^ Resolved, 1. That we render thanks to the Lord of missions for preserving their lives and permitting them to return to us in health and peace to sit in the counsels of this board meeting, and to attend the General Confer- ence. '' 2. That we hereby express to them our hearty thanks for their earnest and successful labors, and our willing- ness to continue them in this blessed service for time to come. '' 3. That the thanks of this board are due, and hereby tendered, to Bishop Flickinger for his diligence and faithfulness in the superintendency of our foreign mis- sions during the last quadrennium. *' 4. That this board hereby expresses its confidence in the work of Rev. J. A. Evans, of the Mendi missions, and of Rev. D. F. Wilberforce, principal of the Clark Theological Training-school at Shaingay, and Sprays the blessing of God upon them and their work in the years to come." "Whereas, Bishop Flickinger and others report that industrial schools for the training of the boys and girls in UNITED I5RKTIli;i:X MLSSIONS. 191 Africa are an important factor in lifting the people from a state of barbarism to that of Christian civilization; therefore, " Resolved, That we look with favor on the plan of es- tablishing such schools in Africa in the near future." Dr. Hott, then editor of the Religious Telescope, who was at one time treasurer of the missionary society and well acquainted with its work and workers for twenty years, was present at this meeting, and in the report he made to his paper appeared the following ; "That veteran missionary of Africa, Rev. Joseph Go- mer, just home from that far-off land, was present. He comes like a battle-scarred soldier of Jesus. It is almost nineteen years since he, with his faithful wife, went out to that dark land. On the first of December, 1870, they started for Africa, and landed in Sierra Leone, January 10, 1871. He at once began to inaugurate the system of itinerant labor among the people of the towns and vil- lages who had not heard of Jesus. Since that time he has only twice visited our country. In 1876 he was asked to return to America for a season of rest, and after some months he again returned to Africa, and continued to labor there until 1882, when he again visited America for a short season of rest. He then arranged his affairs for a long service in Africa, and apparently with the in- tention to live and die there. For seven years he has la- bored incessantly in that terrible climate, and amid the perils of disease and dreadful war. Now he is home for a season of rest after these toils of long years. On the twentieth of next July he will be fifty-five years of age. He has lost some of his flesh and has grown not a little gray. On Sabbath morning he preached in Trinity Church, Lebanon, Pennsylvania., and on Monday night he gave a magic-lantern view of the scenes of our mis- 192 HISTORY OF THE sions in Africa, which was intensely interesting and in- structive. He is looked on with deep interest by all. God has wonderfully spared and blessed his life. " Bishop Flickinger is also fresh from Germany and Af- rica. He is in good health and, though just home from his eleventh visit to Africa, he is as fresh and vigorous as in the years gone by. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean twenty-two times, but often by the long route by way of England, making an equivalent of not less than thirty crossings of the ocean. He has stood in the front of our mission work as a church thirty-two years, for it is now thirty-two years since he was first chosen corre- sponding secretary of our missionary society; and in this work he has labored unceasingly through this long stretch of years. Two years before his entering upon the secretaryship he had gone to Africa in the first com- pany of foreign missionaries our church ever sent out. Eternity alone will unfold the wonderful results of his toil. The Church will warmly welcome him home again." The work in Germany, owing to many hindrances, did not succeed as well as in former years. It is true, how- ever, that the outlook is good for more rapid growth in the future, provided that field is properly cultivated. The following, from the secretary's report, presents it correctly : "Our mission work in Germany goes on as well and rapidly as could be expected with the money expended and the number of missionaries employed. Rev. J. Sick was, on account of ill health, obliged to return to Amer- ica early in the quadrennium, thus leaving our work en- tirely in the hands of native ministers, except the atten- tion given to it by Bishop Flickinger. Owing to the absence of other American ministers, he has devoted considerable time and attention to that field. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 193 " The donation of Mrs. M. S. Bischoff of ten thousand dollars, the interest of which is to go to the Germany missions perpetually, unless overruled by the courts, and the securing of several houses of worship through help obtained from the now sainted Dr. Rosenberg, of Kansas, and others in America, has imparted a degree of solidity and hope to our Germany missions greater than, ever before entertained, " The Heilisbote is edited and published at Coburg by Rev. S. Barkemeyer. The paper pays its own way, and is an invaluable aid in the prosecution of our work. One or two American ministers should be sent to this mission at an early day." The following taken from the secretary's report repre- sents the progress made in the frontier and home de- partments : " At the close of the last quadrennium we had on our list fourteen mission conferences and four mission dis- tricts. Of these, Dakota district was transferred to Elk- horn and Dakota Mission Conference. Fox River was transferred to Wisconsin Conference, and East Nebraska, Neosho, and Wisconsin conferences, by order of the Gen- eral Conference, were made self-supporting during the quadrennium. They have had no appropriation for the past two years. The past year they have all sent the one fifth of their missionary collections to the parent board. Tennessee has also been left, by its own con- sent, without an appropriation the past year. This leaves eleven mission conferences to be supported in part by the Board of Missions, viz. : Ontario, North Mich- igan, Minnesota, Elkhorn and Dakota, West Nebraska, Walla Walla, Oregon, California, West Kansas, Arkan- sas Valley, and Southern Missouri, and three mission districts, viz. : Colorado, Southern Illinois, and Kentucky. 13 194 HISTORY OF THE "Seven of these conferences, viz., Ontario, North Mich- igan, Minnesota, Walla Walla, California, Southern Mis- souri, and Tennessee, have made creditable, if not rapid progress; not a great gain, though every one of them has increased somewhat in membership. Southern Mis- souri and Tennessee have increased their membership during the quadrennium about fifty per cent; Walla Walla, eighty-five per cent; North Michigan, Minnesota, and California have added about ten per cent to their membership ; but the meeting-houses and parsonages these conferences have built, the salaries paid their ministers, the missionary money collected, the num- ber and efl&ciency of their Sabbath-schools, indicate commendable progress. "Arkansas Valley, West Kansas, and West Nebraska conferences, which may be regarded as located directly in the United Brethren zone, have made rapid and solid progress. West Nebraska has gained in membership about fifty per cent. West Kansas sixty-two per cent, and Arkansas Valley one hundred and fifteen per cent. West Nebraska, though it has not increased so rapidly in church membership as the other two, has done most effective work in church building, paying the ministers, collecting missionary money, etc. These three confer- ences are destined at no distant day to take rank with the strongest in the denomination, " Of Elkhorn and Dakota, and Oregon conferences, I cannot speak so hopefully. Dakota district was too far away to help, or be helped by the union; and so the work has been separated and fragmentary, which, with the lack of a sufficient number of consecrated laborers, has so crippled it that it has actually sixty-seven less members than it reported in 1885. "Oregon Conference reported, in 1884, eight hundred UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. .195 and seventy-four members; in 1888, eight hundred and ninety-one, a gain of seventeen members. Of the causes of this slow growth it is needless here to speak. It is enough to say that some internal strife and a lack of a sufficient number of unreserved itinerants appear to be the chief causes of failure. However, the accession of three or four active laborers from the eastern conferences during the last year, and the revival reports we have had, indicate that a more hopeful day has dawned on Oregon. " Southern Missouri Conference has added about sixty per cent to its membership, and is doing quite effective work in various ways. It has a wide field, and it is be- lieved it will soon become a strong conference. "Colorado district has gained one hundred and thirteen members in the term, and reported a membership, at the last conference, of four hundred and ten. This is a diffi- cult field to Avork. We have sent several ministers to the district during the term, but, owing to sickness and other causes — some of them not well defined — it has been hard to keep them in the field. A number of ex- cellent ministers are at work there now, and the prospect for the future is more encouraging than it has been for a number of years. "Kentucky and Southern Illinois districts have re- mained at about the same mark. The board has made no appropriation to Kentucky for three years. They have managed to support themselves. To Southern Illinois we have made light appropriations each year. I think the chief difficulty in both districts is the fact that we have been working in the out-of-the-way local- ities, and while we have accomplished good in bringing souls to Christ, other churches have very largely reaped the fruit of our labors. 196 HISTORY OF THE " Walla Walla Chinese Mission was commenced by- Walla Walla Conference in 1884; in 1885 the board resolved to take hold and help it on. Rev. C. W. Wells has served it three years, and Rev. C. C. Bell one year. The mission has had a good degree of suc- cess. A number of Chinamen have found the pearl of great price, and many are anxious to acquire a knowl- edge of our language, manners, civilization, and religion. " The freedmen's work in Virginia, under the care of Rev. T. K. Clifford, is moving along quite well. He is a good and worthy man, willingly devoting his time and energies to his calling. While our people there are mostly poor, many of them are securing homes for themselves, and will be able after a while to support their own pastor. They love the Church and are pious Christians. They claim to have a good opportunity to build a church house in Jonesborough and to build up a good society. As this is the only work we have among the freedmen, it should be well cared for and sustained, if we would have any just claim to interest in the col- ored race as a church, and show our love for people so greatly oppressed and wronged in the past. The mis- sion has five classes, and two hundred and fifty-eight members. *' In the home field, under the control of the confer- ences, there are about three hundred and forty-six mis- sionaries employed, with an average salary of $287.48. "Home missions supported in part by the board are located in Staunton, Virginia, and Buffalo, New York. In both these cities good church-property has been se- cured, and the work has gone forward well. "The missionary money of the Church is spent in about the ratio following : " To the home field, forty-five per cent. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 197 " To the frontier field, forty per cent. "To the foreign field, fifteen per cent. " The work of liquidating the missionary debt has been pressed steadily on, with a marked degree of success. One year ago there was reported as secured in cash col- lections on the debt of $60,000, $16,675.54. We report as having been paid the year past in cash $23,842.23, mak- ing a total to date of $40,517.77. This shows that in- terest in the full payment of the debt has not ceased throughout the Church, but that there is an intense anxiety to see the last cent wiped from our records. Numerous citations from communications all over the Church might here be given to show that there is a large class of ministers, laymen, and outside friends who do not intend to cease paying on the debt until it is fully canceled. It needs to be kept before the people and urged actively until this much desired end is reached. We recommend that thank-offerings, to be applied on the debt until it is all paid, be taken up during the time of the national Thanksgiving, in the month of November, the Sabbaths before and after being the ap- pointed time, with the intervening days or the Sabbaths nearest that time, that the several pastors can devote to mission thanksgiving services; and that after the debt is paid, from year to year, this be the chosen time for such services and offerings for missions. " The collections for missions in the quadrennium are unprecedented in the history of our church, and the more remarkable as the term has been a period of transi- tion and no small amount of confusion and strife in many places among us. " The whole amount of contributions received by the parent board for the quadrennium is $309,496.60. "This is a showing for which we should be grateful to 198 HISTORY OF THE Almighty God, through whose grace alone we have been able to accomplish this cheering result. " The Missionary Visitor has been issued regularly and seems to have given fair satisfaction to our people. Dur- ing the first two years of the quadrennium, under the editorial control of Dr. Warner, it was received with special marks of favor and appreciation. It is not the easiest thing to give satisfaction to all in a paper designed both for the Sunday-school and the missionary society ; and yet the Missionary Visitor has held its own remark- ably well with the Children's Friend.'' The report further says the Church-Erection Society, in comparison with what it did in preceding quadren- niums, did fairly well during the past four years ; but, on considering the vastness of the work to be done, the urgent calls for help, and the ability of the Church to render aid, our work is so little as to humble the board and the whole Church. However, the treasurer's figures show that a good and noble work has been accomplished. In the sixteen years preceding 1885, the society had col- lected $20,374.98 , and in the past four years it has col- lected 812,325.39 in new funds. About two fifths of this was in bequests. From 1865 to 1885 there were seventy- five houses aided in their construction ; in the four years just gone the society aided sixty-nine houses — in all, one hundred and forty-four. The facts brought out in these reports, with the table of figures to follow, show that God's blessing has been bestowed upon the mission work of the Church in rich measure. The first and second quadrennial reports showed this conclusively, as have all the succeeding ones. The last shows a remarkable spirit of liberality in giving money to pay the mission debt, and to continue ttie good work so well begun in Africa, Germany, and America in UNITED BRP:TJIKEN iMLSSlUXS. 199 an enlarged and more vigorous manner than ever before. The last thirty-six years have been glorious in results in the department of missions, Sunday-schools, education, publishing interests, and increase of members in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Before closing this chapter it would be well to call to mind how wonderfully God has favored our society in bringing to it financial help from sources outside of the United Brethren Church. During the last seven years, the American Missionary Association, of New York City, has given us nearly $39,000, including $9,600 for the steamer John Brown. The Freedmen's Missions Aid Society, of London, England, has paid us about $13,000. Dr. J. Gwynne Jones, secretary and treasurer of the last- named society, has been a fast friend of our African work, and not only has done all he could to secure for us this help, but assures us that more is to follow. Dr. M. E. Strieby, secretary of the New York association, through whose influence our society was so generously aided, as well as Mr. H. W. Hubbard, the treasurer of the associa- tion, have been and still are true friends of our cause. Rev. George Whipple, who was the secretary, and Mr. L. Tappan, who was treasurer of the American Missionary Association, when our first company went to Africa in 1855, were very kind to them, and in this respect the officers of the association have followed in their foot- steps ever since. Both the New York and London asso- ciations have placed the United Brethren Church under many obligations to them. Their help in time of great need was providential, and ought to call forth our sin- cere gratitude both to them and to the God of missions. In addition to these large sums, which were especially given to Africa, Mr. Rufus Clark and wife, of Denver, Colorado, gave $5,000 for the training-school of Africa, 200 HISTORY OF THE and Mrs. Bischoflf (deceased) gave the society $10,000 for missions in Germany. Thus, in ways very wonder- ful, God has helped us to over $65,000 for the foreign mission work of the Church. Without this aid, the suc- cess we have had could not have been achieved. The following table shows the amount expended for the four years ending May, 1889 : Africa $ 62,209 89 Germany 8,880 60 Walla Walla Chinese Mission 1,524 96 Arkansas Valley Mission Conference 2,298 91 Colorado Mission District 3,326 79 Elkhorn and Dakota Conference 2,028 04 California Mission Conference 3,036 43 Oregon Mission Conference 2,256 79 Walla Walla Mission Conference 3,064 08 West Nebraska Mission Conference 2,666 76 West Kansas Mission Conference 3,135 56 Minnesota Mission Conference 1,660 15 East Nebraska Mission Conference 305 45 South Missouri Mission Conference 1,540 15 North Michigan Mission Conference 1,635 95 Ontario Mission Conference 937 69 Neosho Mission Conference 47 47 Wisconsin Mission Conference..... 650 59 Tennessee Mission Conference 1,929 89 Virginia Freedmen's Mission 443 88 Southern Illinois Mission District 770 55 Philadelphia Mission 542 59 Des Moines (Iowa) Mission 300 00 Kentucky Mission District 159 48 Buffalo (New York) Mission 200 00 Staunton (Virginia) Mission 175 00 Kearney (Nebraska) Mission 40 00 Indian Missions 75 00 Toledo (Ohio) Mission.. 375 00 In support of Remmie Caulker in Africa 657 49 Home missionaries, from branch treasurers.. 97,110 39 Paid by missions as salary 250,922 98 Total during the four years $454,908 51 Number of missionaries employed 346 Average salary paid them $287 48 UNITED BKETHKKN MISSIONS. 201 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. WILLIAM M'KEE. Rev. William McKee was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, February 20, 1831, and when twelve years of age moved to Blackford County, Indiana. From that time up to eighteen years of age he learned how to clear the forests, dig ditches, make rails, chop wood, plow, ride the wildest horses, and do all kinds of farm work. This part of his training gave him a body which, for strength and endurance under hard tasks, has few equals. He had received a good education in the common schools of Ohio, for one of his age, when he left the State, and when twent3'-two years old he finished at a seminary in Marion, Indiana. At the age of twenty-three he was converted, and a few weeks afterward united with the church. His parents were members of the regular Baptist Church, but for various reasons he preferred to belong to the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, to which he has given thirty-three years of efficient ser- vice as a minister of the gospel. At twenty-four years of age he was married and engaged in school teaching for a time. In 1855 he received quarterly conference license to preach, and in 1856 he was received into Auglaize Annual Conference, commencing his itinerant life the following year. After three years of circuit work, he was elected presiding elder, in which office he has served, at one time and another, eighteen years. In 1863 and 1864 he was a missionary to the freedmen, laboring with great acceptability and success, both as preacher and teacher, in Vicksburg and at Davis' Bend, Missis- sippi. In 1865 he was elected missionary treasurer, in which position he served for eight years. The reason for his not being continued was that the majority of the General Conference thought he was not as radical as he should be on the secrecy question. Owing to the mis- 202 HISTORY OF THE sionary society's debt, and inability to pay full salary, Mr. McKee was in charge of a field of labor during six years of the eight in which he was treasurer the first time. At the General Conference of 1885 he was again elected to this office, and re-elected in 1889. Respecting his preaching, and his work as treasurer, the follow- ing extract taken from the York Daily, which published the proceedings of the General Conference, held in York, Pennsylvania, last May, presents the case as fairly as possible in the brief space which can be given here : "He is a man of vigorous physical powers, is a good preacher, and has rare ability as a financier. It is now four years since he was elected to his present po- sition, though he previously served his church in the saine office eight years. During the past four years Mr. McKee's efforts to pay off the Church missionary debt, amounting to sixty thousand dollars, have resulted in securing nearly fifty thousand dollars, leaving but ten thousand yet to be provided to cancel the debt. This has been the result, in a large measure, of his wise man- agement of the society's affairs that have been entrusted to him. His efforts have been much apj^reciated by his church, and he has, as he deserves, their gratitude and esteem." Mr. McKee has represented his conference in General Conference at six different times, and served as the trustee of our printing establishment and Otterbein University a term of years. He is a ready and able de- bater and writer. His numerous and pointed articles published in the Religious Telescope and the Missionary Visitor, and his addresses upon missionary and church- erection interests, will long be remembered by many. As he is but little past fifty-eight years of age, and bids fair to do effective labor for another decade, at least, he will doubtless continue to speak and write for the B. F. Booth. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 203 enlightenment of the Church upon missions and kindred interests. May many hearts and purses be thus reached, and much money secured. Mr. McKee has been married twice, and is the father of four living children. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. B. F. BOOTH, D. D. Benjamin Franklin Booth was born July 4, 1839, in Holmes County, Ohio. He was a twin, and his brother was called William Penn. The parents, Edwin Booth and Sarah Metcalf, were of English origin and raised under Quaker influences. The father was among the first anti-slavery advocates, and lived to see the system of slavery perish. His home for a long time was a sta- tion on the underground railway, and the son spent more than one night in assisting fugitives toward the north star. There were ten children born to these pa- rents. Of the six sons, one died while president of a college, three were physicians, one a farmer, and the subject of this sketch has been a minister of the gospel for nearly thirty years. He was converted February 14, 1858, and united with the Baptist Church, and in 1860, Avithout his request, was licensed to preach. Though he preached frequently, he never accepted a charge while a Baptist, owing to a want of harmony with some of the doctrines and practices of that church. In January, 1863, he was received on his credentials into the min- istry of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and from that date until now he has been an active and efficient worker in the Church. He was elected presiding elder for twelve successive years by the Muskingum Conference, of which he has been a member, and retained on one station for six years. He has been trustee of Otterbein University for nineteen years, and president of the board for four years. He has 204 HISTORY OF THE been trustee of Union Biblical Seminary for eight years, and is at this time president of its board. Numerous articles written by him, of a highly interesting and in- structive character, have appeared from time to time in the last twenty years in church papers and other period- icals. He has also been a member of five successive General Conferences. He had the degree of D. D. given him by both Otter- bein University and Lebanon Valley College in June, 1887. In August, 1888, he was chosen assistant mission- ary secretary, and at the General Conference of 1889 he was elected to the office of corresponding secretary of the missionary society. He has been married twice, and has six children living and one dead. As he has just entered upon his fifty-first year, his prospects are good for many years of service yet in the vineyard of the Lord. Being in the prime of life, with antecedents of a highly commendable character, and now called to a position which will give him ample scope for the exer- cise of all his gifts and graces. Dr. Booth has a brilliant prospect before him. As editor of the Missionary Visitor and contributor to the columns of other periodicals of the Church, and as a preacher and lecturer, he is destined to exert a great influence in the Church, if his life be spared. Circumstances have so changed that the secre- tary of the missionary society does not spend as much time in doing outside work as formerly, which will en- able him to more carefully and efficiently attend to the duties of the office than his predecessors did. With his ability, energy, and well-informed mind, upon the ques- tion of Christian missions, he will speak and write much that our people ought to know respecting the moral con- dition of the world and their duty toward those who are without the light of the gospel. •UNITED BPETHRKN MISSIONS. 205 CHAPTER XVII. Woman's Missionary Association — Preliminary remarks — Its begin- ning — Its mission fields — Its prosperity. The following extracts from a history of the Woman's Missionary Association, published by that body a short time ago, so clearly and concisely set forth the remark- able success of the organization, that nothing more of what could be justly said in this respect need be added to show that this society has upon it the seal of God's approval. Without flattery to the association, or censure to the parent society, it can be said that the women, in some respects, manage their interests more wisely than the men. Their annual meetings are much more interest- ing and profitable than those of the parent board. In 1872 the older body held a meeting similar to those of the Woman's Missionary Association, which was very successful, but was objected to on account of the expense consequent upon the attendance of so many speakers and delegates. It is true it costs the women a great deal to have such large delegations, but the return is five-fold. However, intending neither to flatter nor censure, we will make no further comparisons. Wise management and grand results must be accorded to this association. Its managers have shown great skill in collecting money, and much wisdom in expending it. Its mission fields have been wisely chosen and success- fully worked. Under its present management it will continue to do great things for God's cause. 206 HISTOUY OF THE The originator of this organization, Miss Lizzie Hofif- man (now Mrs. Derrickson), has given the following ac- count of her experience. Miss HofFman, at the time of the events described below, lived a few miles north of Dayton, Ohio : "The beginning of my call to missionary work was a desire for a deeper work of grace in my own heart. There was a burden on my heart. I took it to our Bur- den Bearer in prayer, and the answer Avas a question, ^Are you willing to go to Africa?' I felt unqualified. The Lord's answer to Moses came. Thus I labored on for over one year. I sometimes felt as if I could not en- dure the weight. One evening I took my Bible, my best instructor, and read and prayed in my little room, deter- mined to conquer or die in the attempt. It was near the dawn of day when the Angel of the Lord rolled the bur- den off my poor heart. Abraham was not required to slay Isaac — only to become willing. I said calmly and peacefully, ' Lord, use me as seemeth to thee good.' Soon there was a prompting in my heart that the women of our church should be organized for active and special work for missions. ' The duty became imperative. I re- vealed the fact to Father John Kemp. He at once be- came interested, and visited the most active workers in Dayton, and prayed and planned until he succeeded in calling the meeting for the organization of the women of Miami Conference." Prominent men and women met at Summit Street Church, and spent a day and an evening in consulta- tion. A woman's organization was effected for Miami Conference, May 9, 1872. The following preamble to the constitution then adopted is of interest : " Believing that the promulgation of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world depends upon the sue- UNITED BKETllKEN MISSIONS. 207 cess of Christian missions, and that the responsibility of this success devolves upon all Christians, we therefore do, in obedience to the command of our risen Lord and Savior, ' Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,' in convention assembled, in the city of Dayton, in the name of our Divine Master, and moved, we trust, by the Holy Spirit, organize ourselves into a missionary association." A number of auxiliaries were organized in the confer- ence. Money to the amount of $328.13 was collected, but no mission work was undertaken. It was expected at this time that other conferences would organize. Noth- ing was done, however. For want of an object, all but two of the societies of Miami Conference ceased to work. These two were discouraged. A meeting was called in the First Church to consider the question of issuing a call for a general meeting. Six ladies responded to the call. Some timid, faint-hearted ones suggested that they could not work as the women of some of the sister denominations, and if they undertook it, there would be responsibility, and certain failure. Sister Sow- ers repeated after each one of these, " They cannot do our work. If God calls, dare we falter?" All felt that God did call, and agreed to take steps toward a general organization. The missionary treasurer. Rev. J. W. Hott, and the missionary secretary, Rev. D. K. Flickin- ger, urged the matter in private and through the press. The General Board of the Church had recommended such an organization. Mrs. Hadley, returning from Africa, pressed the project. Everything pointed to it as a duty, and hence the following call was made : " For the purpose of creating a greater interest and zeal in the cause of missions, and laboring more directly in the work of the Divine Master by bringing into more 208 HISTORY OF THE active and efficient service the sisters of the Church, a call is made for a woman's missionary convention, to meet in Dayton, Ohio, October 21, 1875." The call was answered by the following conferences : Miami, Scioto, Sandusky, Michigan, Indiana, Western Reserve, Lower "Wabash, Virginia, and Allegheny. Sev- eral other conferences appointed delegates, who sent let- ters of encouragement. Two days were spent in faithful, prayerful work. A constitution that had been pre- viously published, was discussed, amended, and adopted, and the " Woman's Missionary Association of the United Brethren in Christ " was organized by the election of the following officers: President, Mrs. T. N. Sowers; vice- presidents, Mrs Z. A. Colestock, Mrs. M. H. Bridgeman, Mrs. S. Haywood; corresponding secretary, Mrs. L. R. Keister ; recording secretary, Mrs. D. L. Rike ; treasurer, Mrs. W. J. Shuey. By the terms of the constitution, the association is under the direction of the General Conference, and sub- mits quadrennial reports to that body. But in the elec- tion of officers, and in general management, it is inde- pendent. At the meeting in May, 1876, Mrs. A. L. Billheimer, having returned from mission work in Africa, added new life to the meeting. It was determined to venture out and undertake some work, which assumed definite shape when Mrs. Billheimer moved "that the funds now in the treasury be used for the founding and support of a mission school in Africa." The first idea was to support a school under the con- trol of the missionaries of the General Board, near Shain- gay. But instead of this, by the advice of the officers of the General Board and the missionaries then in the field, it was decided to establish schools up the Bompeh River, UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 209 in a thickly populated territory that was calling for light, and was without any missionary work. The mission was located at Rotufunk, on the Bompeh River, about 'fifty miles east of Freetown. Miss Beeken went to Rotufunk late in the autumn of 1877. The pioneer work was difficult, but it was bravely ac- complished. The headman built a barra for worship, and the association a mud house for the missionary, near the town. Miss Beeken established two schools, and had public services in surrounding towns. She made an ur- gent request for a large bell for the station. Through the solicitation of Mrs. Sowers, Mr. John Dodds gave one; and as the ringing of the bell from old Independence Hall, on the morning of our nation's birth to freedom, said more plainly than words could tell, that all men are born free and equal, so this bell proclaims liberty to the captives, and the striking off of the shackles of sin that so long have bound them. Miss Beeken was succeeded at the end of nineteen months by Mrs. M. M. Mair, of Glasgow, Scotland. She landed at Freetown, October 19, 1879, and went to Rotu- funk the following month. The previous May, at the annual meeting of the association, it was agreed to send to Africa from this country the material for a good house. Two thousand dollars was raised, and Mrs. Mair superin- tended the construction of the building, and enjoyed liv- ing in it, as she so well deserved. She was indefatigable in her labors, and her influence over the natives was won- derful. She corroborated Dr. Flickinger's report, that of all dark places in Africa Rotufunk was the blackest. Rotu- funk was a station for slave traders when the mission was located there ; but before Mrs. Mair came away, this was broken up. A deed was received for one hundred and fifty acres of ground at Rotufunk. 210 HISTORY OF THE Early in 1882 the association was warned of the declin- ing strength of Mrs. Mair, and began to look for reinforce- ment. It was determined to send a man and his wife. Rev. R. N. West and Miss Lida Miller, students in Union Biblical Seminary, were chosen. They were married in the summer, and sailed from New York October 2, 1882, arriving at Freetown December 3d. Mrs. Mair remained a few months, and then came home. Her presence at the annual meeting at Westerville added new interest to the work. Here the committee on African work recom- mended the raising of two thousand dollars, for the erection of a suitable chapel. This amount was secured, and a neat, substantial structure was built. The main room was forty-two by twenty-eight feet. For two Sab- baths the house was crowded, and then the war came, and that dreaded disease, small-pox, settled down over the town and surrounding country. The war, which it was thought would be short, lasted with all its attendant evils of butchery, famine, and plunder, with little abate- ment, for two years. Mr. West wrote : " Two of our stations, Mo Shengo and Sumanosogo, were plundered, and the building at Mo Shengo was destroyed. We have been forced to give up preaching in forty-nine towns where before we had regu- lar preaching, and though we are pressed to the wall, sorely perplexed as to the course to pursue, yet there is one thing for which we should truly praise God. Out- people are scattered and in distress, but they have not turned away from the gospel. They are not willing that the mission should go away from them. Many cling to it with the energy of despair. Had it not been for the mission the people would all have gone away from this country. Mohammedanism, which has had such a deep- rooted hold upon the people, has, I think, received such UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 211 a check as will effectually destroy its power in this coun- try. The Mohammedans have so completely deceived and defrauded the people that they want nothing more to do with them." At the meeting of the board at Westfield, Illinois, it was decided to put up a new building, to be called the " Mary Sowers Home for Girls," and to raise $2,000 for the purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Sage, graduates of Union Biblical Seminary, with experience in African work, in the employ of the General Board, were appointed to go to Africa to build the house. The Germany mission work was undertaken at the an- nual meeting held at Fostoria, Ohio, in May, 1880. The association consented to support the work in Coburg, a city of about fourteen thousand inhabitants, with an appropriation of three hundred and fifty dollars. The name of the first missionary was Rev. G. Noetzold. He organized a church, March 27, 1881. He described the place as a moral desert. The state churches were given over to formalism, the pastors were neglectful of their flocks, and the common people had no gospel. The re- sults of his labors were highly gratifying. About the close of the first year, Rev. William Mittendorf, then our German editor, visited the mission and wrote : " I thank the sisters in America, as the people here say, ' a hundred thousand times,^ for beginning this mission." At that time there were twenty members and a good Sabbath- school, and the congregations were large. There have been trials and persecutions here as well as in Africa. The meetings were often disturbed by ruffians; stones were sometimes thrown through the windows from the streets. The city papers contained articles against the work, probably incited by the state preachers. Of these the missionary wrote : " The Lord is on our side. In 212 HISTORY OP^ THE spite of all persecutions our meetings are increasing in numbers." The successor of Rev. Mr. Noetzold proved unfaithful, and was dismissed. Rev. H. Barkemeyer was appointed to Coburg by the conference in the spring of 1886. He says : " The conduct of my predecessor did much harm, but still I believe we will recover the loss." Later re- ports tell of a good revival influence, and the contribu- tion of sixty-two dollars by a lady in Coburg toward the erection of a chapel. From the beginning of the organization the Chinese in our own country enlisted the sympathy of the ladies. At the annual meeting at Western, Iowa, in May, 1881, the board passed the resolution : " That we request the trustees to open a school for the Chinese on the Pacific Coast as soon as practicable." Letters were written to Bishop Castle, asking him to suggest a place. He visited San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon, and found a great many Chinese at both places. In Portland, Oregon, a Christian Chinaman by the name of Moy Ling had gath- ered his countrymen together and held a night school for six years. The school grew to such proportions that Moy Ling wanted some church to take it. This came to Bishop Castle's notice, and he began to negotiate for it. It was decided to take the school in October, 1882, and Mrs. Ellen Sickafoose, of Buchanan, Michigan, was ap- pointed to take charge of the mission. Her husband, Rev. George Sickafoose, was appointed by the General Board of the Church to take charge of the mission church in East Portland. Mrs. Sickafoose took charge of the school, July 16, 1883, with twenty pupils. At the end of the first quarter there were fifty-eight pupils and seven teachers enrolled ; at the close of the second, one hundred and thirty pupils and thirteen teachers ; and at UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 213 the close of the third, one hundred and fifty-seven pupils and twelve teachers, showing a steady increase. They themselves contributed for the support of the school in nine months, four hundred and seven dollars. Moy Ling has been a most faithful helper. He gave all the furniture, consisting of an organ, tables, seats, chairs, clock, stove, lamps, and books, to the association. The school is held every evening in the week except one, from 7 :30 to 9 :30 o'clock. Five or six are taught by one teacher. A building was rented in a good location, but with the growth of the school the rooms were much crowded, and there was soon a pressing need of a better building. Brother Sickafoose wrote to the association, describing a good piece of property which was for sale at a reasonable price. The location was Second and Mill streets ; the lot fifty by one hundred feet, with a new building, fifty by fifty, two stories high, with two splen- did' business rooms on the first floor, stair-way in the center, and twelve nice rooms on the second floor. The trustees of the association decided to secure the prop- erty, and the first year two thousand, five hundred and thirty-six dollars and ninety cents was raised toward its purchase. The remainder was apportioned to tha branch societies, and in due time paid. Already fifty have rejected the Joss, and accepted Christ as their Savior, and between four and five hundred have been instructed, both in letters and in the way of life. It will be of interest to everyone to know a little of the history of Moy Ling. He was born in Sun Ning County, Canton, China, in 1852. He attended a private school in China three years, and a grammar school four years. He has a good education in Chinese. He came to Portland, Oregon, in August, 1872, and has been there ever since. He had some idea of the great God when 214 HISTORY of' the quite young, and believed the only way to worship him was through Joss. The first light that dawned on his mind in regard to the Christian religion was from read- ing a Bible in Chinese, presented to him by General Howard in 1874. He attended a mission-school in Port- land about four years, has a fair English education, and is a beautiful writer. He joined our church at East Portland in 1883, and when a Chinese society was formed he became class-leader. He can read and speak our lan- guage well, and is a very fine interpreter. His people have great confidence in him. At first he worked dur- ing the day, and gave his evenings to the school. Since 1885 his whole time has been given to the school. Very much of the great success of the association is due to his ability and consecration to the work. Early in December the first number of the Womaii's Evangel was issued, bearing date, January, 1882, with a subscription list of twelve hundred. By the board meet- ing it was seventeen hundred. From the beginning it has paid all the expenses of publishing and of editorial service. The price was reduced to fifty cents in 1886, with such an increase in the subscription list as to prom- ise a profit for the association. It has proved one of the best agencies for extending and establishing the work of the association. The association now has three large, flourishing mis- sions in three quarters of the globe, seven American missionaries, seven native missionaries, five day schools, with an attendance of 192, church-membership of 706, value of property $26,000, It has gathered during the fourteen years of its existence $96,204.41. UI^ITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 215 CHAPTER XVIII. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. J. C. BRIGHT. Rev. John Collins Bright was born near Canal Win- chester, Ohio, October 13, 1818. He was the son of Major and Deborah Bright, who came from the State of Mary- land. The childhood of Mr. Bright was full of hard- ships incident to early settlers. He was an obedient, honest, and industrious boy. When about eleven years old he removed to Hancock County, Ohio, and at nine- teen years of age he became a Christian, under the labors of Rev. M. Long, and entered the ministry one year later. He became a member of Sandusky Conference in the year 1841, and fully gave himself to his calling. In 1844 he married Miss Ann Sophia Stoner, an excellent helpmate in his work. To them were born George W. and Mary E. Bright, whose mother died in October, 1849. Soon after this their father became violently ill, and for a time it seemed he would follow to the grave his wife, whose loss he greatly felt. As soon as health permitted, he was preaching again, and great success attended his ministry. In July, 1851, he was married to Miss Ann Maria Stoner, a sister of his first wife, who still survives, and has shown great energy and good management in rearing her own six children, as well as those of the first M rs. Bright. About this time Mr, Bright felt that the Church should take a deeper interest in the education of its youth, and began to advocate higher education, against much opposition. At that time many in the Church 216 HISTORY OF THE were opposed to colleges, especially denominational in- stitutions. This was not only on account of the cost of building up such schools, but the fear that they would ultimately lead to what then were usually called preacher factories, and thereby exclude from the ministry unedu- cated men. He did the Church valuable service in over- coming this opposition. He moved to Westerville, Ohio, when Otterbein University was in its infancy, and gave to that institution much time and. money. At the an- nual sessions of his conference, in the homes of the peo- ple for whom he. preached, and everywhere, he sought to awaken interest in behalf of higher education and enlist all he could in favor of Otterbein University. His earn- est advocacy of this college made some turn from him who greatly admired him on account of his remarkable success as a minister. With him the question what is right and proper to do carried him quite beyond all con- sideration of what results might follow. Loyalty to his convictions, which were always on the side of progress, made him as .firm as a rock. He was not content to run in old grooves or ruts. He must climb higher, do better work, and save more souls, or his ideal of life was not met. As an illustration of how deep-seated was the feeling against church- schools, the following may be cited: About thirty years ago, in Miami Conference, the question arose one afternoon and was discussed until nearly midnight, whether the conference should co-operate with other con- ferences in building up Otterbein University. The vote barely carried, and would have been lost had it been taken sooner, as several of the opposition left before the vote was taken, owing to the lateness of the hour. A like condition existed in Sandusky and other confer- ences. Mr. Bright would work by old methods so far as UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 217 he felt they were right, but no further ; and it mattered little who disapproved or who approved his course. Yet no man clung to his friends with firmer grasp or felt estrangement from them more keenly than he, for he had an exceedingly kind and affectionate disposition. Otterbein University had in him a staunch friend when it was greatly in need of such friends. He saw in prospect what we now see in reality; i. c, that from its halls would go forth men and women who would be efficient, zealous doers of good work in the Church. The president, secretary, and treasurer of the Woman's Missionary Association, and many others of both sexes, who are at this time filling positions of great responsibility and doing most efficient service in behalf of Christ and the Church, were students there. The great and good work accomplished by the colleges in the United Brethren Church has effectually crushed out op- position to them. Would that one half million of dol- lars, which they much need, richly deserve, and ought to have before the end of this year, were now proffered them. But successful as Mr. Bright's labors had been as home missionary, circuit preacher, presiding elder, and advo- cate of everything which tended to elevate and ennoble humanity, in the year 1852, a new field of still greater usefulness opened to him. Sandusky Conference had in it ministers such as Rev. A. Biddle, M. Long, C. Briggs^ and others, some of whom still live, though nearly four- score years of age, who earnestly advocated the question of foreign missions. Mr. Bright caught the spirit, and it was soon apparent that he was to be a leader in this cause. At a meeting of this conference a committee was appointed, of which he was chairman, which presented to that body a report, which was adopted v/ithout a dis- 218 HISTORY OF THE senting vote. The first and fifth resolutions of the report are as follows : "1. That the time has fully come when the United Brethren Church should unite her whole strength in a missionary society, which shall include not only the home, but the frontier and foreign fields. **5. That, whereas, the members of Sandusky Confer- ence have formed themselves into a foreign missionary society, our delegates to the ensuing General Conference are instructed to pray said conference to take such meas- ures as will create an effective foreign missionary society, in order to effect a concentrated activity throughout the whole church, so that we may confidently look forward to the time, not distant, when the Church of the United Brethren in Christ shall have efficient missionaries in foreign fields." Immediately after the adoption of this report, more than seven hundred dollars was pledged in the confer- ence room. This action of Sandusky Conference, under the leadership of Mr, Bright, in the autumn, led the General Conference, the following spring, to organize the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society, Very naturally and wisely it chose him for its corresponding secretary. The foregoing resolutions, placed beside the salutatory which Mr. Bright wrote in the first issue of the Mission- ary Telescope, of which he was editor by virtue of his office, show how zealously he desired the salvation of all men. We quote the editorial entire : " We make to you, dear reader, our humblest bow, hoping that this first visit will not be unwelcome nor unprofitable, and that after the lapse of a few months we may mutually form an acquaintance so agreeable, a friendship so strong, and a fcllnwship so holy that we UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 21^ shall not readily part company. We have no time to waste in mere compliments, and therefore beg leave at once to make known the object of our mission. We are, as we humbly trust, a servant of the Lord Jesus, called into his vineyard, not to while away the time, to specu- late, to dream, to take our ease, but to work. We come to you, therefore, in haste, for the Lord's business de- mands dispatch. " Believing, without the shadow of a doubt, that man is a perishing sinner, that he is utterly unable to redeem himself, that there is no salvation out of Christ, and, on the other hand, that there is full, free, available, present? eternal salvation in Christ-^that Christianity is true and exactly adapted to all the religious needs of man — and knowing that swarming millions of the people in our own country, in neighboring countries, and especially in foreign and heathen lands, are living and dying in sin, we wish to talk with you as friend talks with friend about the conversion of this world to Christ, about Chris- tian missions in the home fields, on the frontiers, among the Germans, and in foreign and heathen lands. We wish to furnish the latest and most useful missionary in- telligence, to stimulate missionary enterprise, to stir up men, and especially young men and women, to conse- crate themselves to the missionary work, to open the fountains of benevolence and guide their streams into the proper channels, to encourage faith in the early triumph of Christ's kingdom, and, in short, to join heartily with all of the laborers now in the field in the prosecution, by all practicable methods, of the grand en- terprise of the age, and of all ages, and of eternal ages — the conquest of the whole world to the Redeemer. This is our mission, our whole mission ; and, if God has touched your heart and kindled in it a spark of missionary fire. 220 HISTORY OF THE give us your hand, give us your jjrayers, and what aid you can." After reading such an article, it is not hard to believe that God still raises up men for special work, as he did George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and others. In United Brethren circles, Wm. Otterbein, Martin Boehm, J. J. Glossbrenner, D. Ed- wards, Dr. L. Davis, J. C. Bright, and others might be named. It is not saying more than the truth warrants to affirm that Mr. Bright aroused the Church upon the question of missions as it had never been stirred up on any question before. He moved hearts, opened pocket- books, and put people to inquiring, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" as is seldom done. The impas- sioned addresses moved people to give as they had never done before. Hundreds multiplied into thousands under his oratory, which was always full of Bible argument, very earnest, and full of sympathy for the lost. His soul was fired with an intensity in behalf of missions utterly indescribable. The people felt the heathen must be saved, that the new States and territories in our coun- try must have attention; in short, wherever there was need of missionaries on home, frontier, and foreign fields, they must go without delay. There were times when he seemed in great agony because more was not done. John Knox, when he prayed, " Lord, give me Scotland, or I die," could not have felt more intensely the weight of souls than did Mr. Bright. His addresses were irresisti- ble, and the results upon his hearers most salutary. Some very amusing incidents occurred while making pleas for money. He became so enthused at times that he thought everybody ought to pour out his money and be glad for the opportunity to send the gospel to the heathen. At his own conference he was receiving sub- UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 221 scriptions for life members and life directors of the mis- sionary society, the one costing ten dollars and the other fifty dollars, and he passed through the audience and took the names of persons who were willing to give these sums. Among others, he went to his little boy, six years old, and asked him to become a life director. The boy had only six cents, which had been given him as a pres- ent, and it was a little hard for him to give it up, but he paid it on a life directorship, and that same boy, now a wealthy merchant in Columbus, has not only been a fast friend of missions ever since, but is infusing a like spirit into many young people as the superintendent and teacher of a large Sunday-school. During all the years of his ministry Mr. Bright evinced the same zeal and success. In 1857 his health failed, and his physicians forbade his preaching or making public addresses. After a time he went into commercial pursuits, which proved disastrous to him. In 1860 his health had so far recov- ered that he took a charge again. His last charge was Gallon, Ohio, where he went in the fall of 1865, and died August, 18G6. Here the church was at a low ebb, having only about twenty-five mem- bers, and the Sunday-school was almost extinct. The church being poor and he almost without means, his faithful wife began a small mercantile business to meet the wants of the family. These were not only dark days, but days of great struggle in prayer. In December he began a series of meetings, which continued about two months. He was cheered to welcome over one hundred and sixty into the church, among these being some of his own family. The United Brethren Church, which never had been very friendly to instrumental music in worship, had at the General Conference of 1865 forbidden it. This he 222 HISTORY OF THE and others felt was wrong, and in his characteristic manner he made it, together with vocal music, an im- portant part of worship in Galion. He felt that for his people he needed instrumental music, and that he should help to break down opposition to it, which he bravely did. In March, 1S66, his old affliction returned, and his physicians ordered him to a sanitarium, as they had done before. His former medical counselor told him he could not recover. On his way home he stopped at a mis- sionary meeting in Dayton, Ohio, where he made a most touching plea for Africa, which he thought was above all others the most promising field for United Brethren mis- sionaries. His last days were very happy, and his last hours were spent in song and prayer. His funeral was conducted hy the venerable Rev. A. Biddle and others. The fol- lowing resolutions, passed by the pastors of Galion, show the high esteem in which they held him : ^'Resolved, That in our deceased brother we recognized a willing and faithful minister of the gospel of Christ — hold, earnest, sincere, and self-sacrificing — and one who, honest to his convictions, preached the word in season and out of season, and who would very gladly spend and be spent for his people and the gospel, counting not his life dear unto him, that he might finish his course with joy and the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel of the grace of God. And the church's Divine Head did not permit him to labor in vain and spend his strength for naught. Many have under God hailed him as the minister through whose efforts they were led to the cross of Christ — that Christ in whom his own soul trusted, in life and in death, for grace and for glory." UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 223 The remains were taken to Columbus and interred in Green Lawn Cemetery, His wife and eight children sur- vived him. Three of his sons, George W., John L., and C. E. Bright, are in Columbus engaged in mercantile business. Jesse L. is pursuing a theological course in Yale, and will soon enter the ministry. He is develop- ing much of the zeal and success of his father, supply- ing mission churches as he has the opportunity. The three sons in Columbus are highly respected, energetic, and successful business men. One son has since died. One daughter is the wife of a Kansas farmer, another the wife of a Parkersburg, West Virginia, lawyer, and one is unmarried. All are doing well. Bright Conservatory of Music in Toledo, Iowa, named in honor of the subject of this sketch, stands as a lasting monument to his memory. 224 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XIX. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. J. KEMP. Rev. John Kemp was born in Butler County, Ohio, August 29, 1813, and was buried on the last Sabbath of the year 1883. He was the son of Rev. John Kemp, who was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1779. His mother was a Zeller, also from Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, and engaged in agricultural pursuits more or less through life. His educational advantages were meagre, but he attended school a few months each year. He soon excelled his teachers, and was himself qualified to teach when yet a boy. When opportunity afforded, he studied higher branches at home at night. He had great taste for, and became proficient in, higher mathematics ; learned sur- veying, and practiced it from time to time through life. For several years he was engaged in teaching. At the frequent log rollings and house and barn-raisings of those days he excelled in athletic feats, and was noted for his strength and agility on those occasions. When a little over twenty years of age he was married September 18, 1832, to Martha Clawson, who after a few years fell asleep in Christ. In 1842 he was married to Ann Williamson, an estimable woman, who shared with him the toils, and joys, and sorrows of life forty-one years, and who now, in advanced age, sorrows in this night of bereavement. He was converted August 15, 1830, and constantly maintained a decided C.'hiistian character. In 1847, he UXITED BRETJIREN MISSIONS. 225 entered the ministry, and joined Miami Conference at Seven-Mile, in October, 1850. Before his entering the ministry his home and counsels cheered the ministers of the gospel of Christ in no ordinary degree. He was for twenty-five years an active itinerant in Miami Con- terence, often filling the ofiice of presiding elder. All these years he was deeply enlisted in the general interests of the Church, and few men so well understood its genius and spirit, or more mightily laid their hearts and energies of life in accord with its progressive enter- prises. He honored and loved the peculiar reformatory features of the Church, and especially its opposition to all forms of secret organizations. For thirty-five years he attended every General Con- ference of the Church save one, and kept himself intel- ligently abreast with all its enactments. Thirty-six years ago when the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Mis- sionary Society of the United Brethren in Christ was organized. Brother Kemp became one of the original incorporators, and a member of its board of managers. He was an active, progressive member of that board during life. For twelve years he was the treasurer of the missionary society, and was present at every meet- ing of the board while he lived with a single exception. When the last session of the missionary meeting which he attended was about to adjourn, it was sug- gested that Brother Kemp make some remarks. He arose and spoke as if divinely inspired : " On account of feebleness I have kept quiet. But it has been a meeting of great spiritual enjoyment to me. I see the work is open. I cannot speak at length, but I can see ahead. The way is open before us. We shall enter into it. The work will go forward and onward. I see great light ahead." He sat down, while the audience 226 HISTORY OK THE sobbed with emotion. It was as if a breeze from the other world swept over the place. He was one who held on firmly to our African mission in its dark hour. Can the Church take up the utterance and repeat it : "I see great light ahead ? " That speech, so very characteristic of his whole life, and the many he made before the board and its execu- tive committee during the thirty years he was a member of both, is an illustration of his faith in the power of the gospel to overcome all obstacles and triumph over all its enemies. He died just before the great in-gath- ering of souls in Africa. During all the lo'ng years we had worked there we had only 514 members at that time. In 1884 over 1,000 were added; in 1885, over 1,100, and in 1886, over 1,300. In 1887 the war greatly hindered the work ; many of our people were killed, and carried into captivity so that there was a loss of members, but in 1888 nearly 1,000 others were received. Put these facts alongside of Brother Kemp's speech in 1883, and it looks much as though he were both divinely and pro- phetically inspired. Brother Kemp met with great reverses and losses, and yet several times accumulated a large amount of wealth, and perhaps no man in our church gave during life so largely to any one institution as he did to the Union Biblical Seminary. He is the founder of the seminary. His munificent donation of the splendid grounds on which the building stands, and those adjacent to them, show the largeness of his heart. This was the beginning of the seminary. At the time of the donation these grounds were estimated to be worth ten thousand dol- lars. The present value far exceeds that sum. He was an honored member of the board of trustees and executive committee up to the day of his departure UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 227 into rest. He gave not less than five or six thousand dol- lars to the church building on Summit Street, in Dayton, Ohio. In intellectual powers all who came in contact ■with him recognized his ability. He had the spirit, and pluck, and heart of a dozen men. In intellect he was fleet as Asahel, and in perseverance he was as the cur- rents of the sea. He bore up like a mountain against every adversity and every storm. He thought and acted for himself, and could contend more earnestly and intel- ligently for a measure which his judgment and heart ap- proved, and if defeated submit more gracefully and in a more gentlemanly and Christian manner than any man the writer ever knew. He had strong convictions, and followed them ; he had emotions and passions like a storm, and withal a heart as tender as a child's, and a spirit ,as sweet as the spring-time. He carried in his bosom nothing but love and truth. He was the youngest old man to be met in a life-time. He went to heaven with a heart throbbing for the coming of the kingdom of Christ our Lord on earth. At the time he entered the active ministry of the Church, there was little provision made for the support of ministers. As was very often the case in those days, the preachers largely depended upon their farms, or the business they were engaged in, for a livelihood. Mr. Kemp being reared on a farm, and having been a mer- chant before he became a minister, continued to deal in real estate more or less until near the close of his life. Having considerable business, he most cheerfully declined being general manager of the Union Biblical Seminary, and treasurer of the missionary society, when these interests required the entire time of a man. He never, in all the years he gave so faithfully to church work, received enough to live upon, and hence depended 228 HISTORY OF THE more upon his business than his salary to meet his wants. He helped make good places for others, which he might have retained, but did not. In his younger days he was somewhat of a politician, and after his removal to Dayton in 1861, he served as a member of the city council, and also of the school board, and in all the places of importance and honor occupied by him, he was not only faithful, but success- ful. West Dayton owes much of its growth to him. His efforts did much also to have the National Military Home located near the city. He was in the true sense of the word a wide awake and enterprising man, and foremost in the cause of education, missions, and every good work both in church and state. Few men have lived a more active, useful life than did Mr. Kemp. With a great soul, a holy ambition, an indomitable will, a strong, well-developed body, and an iron constitution, he wrought long and successfully for humanity and the glory of God. He carried burdens which would have crushed a half dozen men often, and was cheerful and hopeful, and even happy beneath them. His motto was, "What should be done, can be done, and shall be done ; and the sooner it is undertaken the better." How much the world needs such men to stim- ulate others to deeds of noble daring. By the first marriage four children were born to him, two sons and two daughters, one son and one daughter of whom have passed away. By his second marriage there were three children, all of whom are living. Those surviving are Mr. S. C. Kemp, of Etimanda, California; Mrs. Martha Parks, of Dexter, Illinois ; Dr. W. S. Kemp, Hon. S. E. Kemp, and Mrs. A. A. Rike, of Dayton, Ohio, in which city his wife is pleasantly situated. All are well-to-do citizens, and some of them very prosperous. UNITED BRETHBEN MISSIONS. 229 CHAPTER XX. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MRS. MARY ANN SOWERS. This sketch consists largely of extracts taken from what others wrote. It will be a source of real pleasure to many to have permanently preserved a little of the very much which might be written of Mrs. Sowers. One so highly endowed, intellectually and spiritually, and who wasso abundant in good works, deserves more space than can be given in this volume. "Mrs. Sowers was born in the State of New Jersey, on the 28th of April, 1816, her family name being Burn- ham. She was converted and joined the United Breth- ren Church at a protracted meeting in Mount Pleasant, near Cincinnati, at the early age of twelve years, and from that time forward her voice was heard in the prayer and experience meetings of the Church. On the 15th of November, 1835, she was married to Mr. Thomas N. Sow- ers, whose name is familiar to the Church by his long connection with our publishing house in this city, and whose life, by it purity, godliness, and many Christian excellencies, was a fit counterpart of her own. Six children were born of this union, of whom three died in infancy. One of them, a son, after being care- fully nurtured, and having graduated from Otterbein University, died in the morning of life. Two of them, daughters, Mrs. Benjamin Marot and Mrs. W. J. Moore, survive. " About thirty years ago Mrs. Sowers was deeply im- pressed with the need of thorough consecration to God 230 HISTORY OF THE and of holy living. She gave the subject much thought, reading diligently and prayerfully the Scriptures, and dwelt much on those passages which relate to purity from sin and to a higher spirituality, and made the subject largely a topic of conversation. She first sought and obtained for herself decisive spiritual victories, and then strove earnestly to maintain the higher grounds which she had reached. It is not too much to say that her subsequent life, up to the end, was in thorough har- mony with the views she cherished and the professions she thus made. ''Mrs. Sowers was gifted with endowments which fitted her for prominence in Christian movements and work. In the Church, though never seeking to thrust herself forward, or in any unseemly way endeavoring to control with selfish purpose the perfect freedom of others, she yet could not well do otherwise than occupy the position of a leader. "Her death occurred on the 17th of November, 1880, and her remains were laid to rest beside those of her husband and son, in the beautiful cemetery overlook- ing the city of Dayton. It may be said of her with more than ordinary emphasis that the earth was made better by her having lived in it, and that heaven is made richer by her entrance into its glories." " The Ladies' Aid Society of the First United Brethren Church of Dayton have very recently been called to suffer a great loss in the death of Mrs. M. A. Sowers. "We feel that something more than mere resolutions are due to the memory of one so devoted to the cause of truth and humanity, and so pure and noble in all that goes to produce a ripe, rich, Christian womanhood ; and yet .we feel that any attempt we may make will be but a feeble portraiture of one so gifted and true. U>JITED BRETIIRKN MISSIONS. , 231 " Sister Sowers was one of the few still left who assisted in the organization of our Aid Society — lacking but a few months of a score of years gone by. She was its first, and for a series of years its continued and faithful secretary, and afterward, for a long time, its honored president. " Her charity was unbounded both in deed and thought. Never a case so far gone but with her there was hope. Never a human soul so low down but she was ready to reach forth her hand to help up. When material aid failed, her great lever prayer would be brought to bear with so much force as to make one feel there was indeed a power unseen. Her faith knew no repulse. She believed with all her heart that whatsoever we ask in his name we shall receive, if for the best. She believed not, however, in faith with- out works, but fully in the doctrine of ' whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;" hence her untiring activity in every good word and work. Mrs. Sowers wcs not only an active worker in her own church organization, but all over this city her works do follow her. " As far back as the great Rebellion many will remem- ber her labors in the Soldiers' Aid Societ}'^, and her devo- tion to liberty and the cause of her countr3\ The old, worn-out soldier had no truer friend. She loved to clasp him by the hand and bid him GodsiDeed. "The colored people were the especial objects of her care. In their darkest hour, when despised and rejected, they found in her a friend to cheer and encourage them on their way. " Intemperance, that scourge of our fair land, received her just and righteous indignation. She so hated this deadly sin that her prayers ascended and her labors con- 232 HISTORY OF THE tinued for its suppression as long as health and strength permitted. She lived to see many reformed inebriates brought to the foot of the cross and made new creatures in Jesus Christ. " She was a devoted worker in the Bible cause. She was for quite a time president of the Bible Society of this city. It afforded her great comfort to assist in dispens- ing the word of life in this way. "But perhaps in all her labors of love and deeds of kindness, none gave such wide scope to the workings of her great heart as the cause of missions. This work did indeed seem to be her meat and her drink. To assist in sending the gospel to the dark corners of the world, to rescue the perishing millions by telling them the story of the cross, to have the banner of salvation unfurled to the breeze in every clime, was to her the greatest work in which hand and heart could be en- gaged. She was one of the prime movers in the Wo- man's Missionary Society, its first president, and an enthusiastic worker to the very last. Some of us will not soon forget, when the outlook was darkest, her words of cheer and hopefulness, together with the enthusiasm and faith with which she inspired us. "It falls to the lot of but few to be so sincerely re- spected and so tenderly loved by their friends as was Mrs. Sowers. Children too young to remember her have been taught to cherish and revere her memory. Little boys and girls of twenty years ago, to-day recall with pleasure bright spots in their child-life made so by her tender notice and loving care. "Ministers and their families who were so fortunate as to make her acquaintance will never forget how the cares and discouragements of life were banished by an hour spent at her home. Blessed indeed is the memory, of one UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 233 whose life was a benediction and whose death is a grief to all who knew her." As the author of this volume was well acquainted with this extraordinary woman for upwards of thirty years, and often shared the hospitality of the family when her husband was yet alive and their three children, who grew up to mature years, were with them, and often witnessed her work at camp-meetings and in the church, he can unhesitatingly indorse all that has been said in the above extracts. A good many of the ministers who preached in the presence of Mrs. Sowers will remember how she preached to them sometimes. She did not often take a text at the beginning of her discourse, but had the happy faculty of clinching a well made point with a "thus saith the Lord." A very common method was to invite the minister home to dinner from a forenoon service, and after a good meal was served she would in a very ingenious and kind way take what seamen call sounding — in short, she would find out what his knowledge of God's word was, his Christian experience, and his aspirations, and he was very likely to go away with the feeling that he ought to be a better man and a better preacher. 234 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XXI. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MRS. SYLVIA CARPENTER HAYWOOD. The pens of others have written a considerable portion of the following sketch, and have done it so accurately and forcibly that we prefer to copy from them. Our re- gret is that space does not allow a more extended state- ment of the life of one so pre-eminently useful. Sylvia Carpenter Haywood was born near Delaware, Ohio, August 17, 1828, and died in Westerville, Ohio, October 24, 1886, at the age of fifty-eight years, two months, and twenty-four days. Her father was a deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and she became a member of the same church at the age of fifteen years. She grad- uated from the Worth ington Young Ladies' Seminary in her eighteenth year, and began teaching in Otterbein University in 1848, and was lady principal from that time until 1854, except one year, during which the school was closed on account of cholera She was a teacher of classes in Otterbein and elsewhere for many years afterward. She became the wife of Professor John Haywood, July 8, 1852, and bore to him six children, all of whom are dead except Lida, the wife of L. 0. Miller, of Dayton, Ohio. While teaching in Otterbein, Mrs. Haywood became a member of the United Brethren Church. She was associated with the educational work of the United Brethren almost from its beginning, and worked nobly before her classes and with her pen; and her work will UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 235 remain. She was one of the originators of the Woman's Missionary Society of the Church, and served as president of that organization during most of its history; and her wisdom and zeal have contributed largely to its success. In the local church of which she was a member, her wisdom, sympathy, and help could always be relied upon in every department of service and work. To a highly cultivated intellect and uncommon nat- ural gifts she was continually adding by reading, obser- vation, and experience, a rare treasury of wisdom and knowledge. To a heart conscientious, sympathetic, and believing, there were added the beauties and graces of an exalted Christian experience. She had a will as resolute and courageous as her mind was intelligent and her heart was pure, producing a life full of activity and good works. Two habits were very marked, the one of trusting God and relying upon his guidance in everything and at all times, and the other of economizing her spare moments by reading. She kept a Bible or Testament in the different rooms of her home where she was in the habit of being employed, and when a spare moment came the book was opened if but to read a verse ; and thus food was furnished for the soul, which gave strength and tone to her whole life and character. When she spoke of the riches of the love of Christ, of his power to save to the uttermost, of the blessedness that springs out of the victories of the faith, of the sweetness of perfect trust in God, or of the calmness with which the Christian may meet all the difficulties and perplexities of life, she ever impressed one with the conviction that she spoke out of a full and complete experience of all that she uttered. 236 HISTORY OF Til]': Her influence upon the earth has made rich and fragrant many lives which will be her crown of rejoic- ing in eternity. Mrs. Haywood had a broad, intelligent idea of mis- sionary work. The secret of her devotion and interest is found in her own words: "We are not engaged in this work because we sought it, but it has come to us." "By divine authority woman has a part in missionary work." Her zeal and quiet enthusiasm did not depend upon results or special pleas, but an abiding conviction that loyalty to the King of kings meant obedience to his commands, an absorbing desire to see his kingdom extended, and a complete consecration of self and service to the conquest. Nothing she possessed was too precious to be given as an offering. It is a sincere pleasure to remember that in her home she was eminently Christian. Here her virtues, shining with a steady luster, were the highest order of adorn- ment. Calm, dignified, vivacious, but earnest, hospita- ble, and social, she ever impressed one with her character as a Christian matron. She had a peculiar skill, what- ever the subject of conversation might be, in finding a ready occasion to turn the current to some aspect of religious faith, or experience, or hope, or to some feature of Bible-teaching. At her funeral there was a large audience, composed of the faculty and students of Otterbein University, and citizens and friends from a distance, assembled to pay their tribute of love and respect. The literary society of which she was the founder, and the local missionary society, attended in a body. The casket was placed in front of the aitar, upon which was a floral offering by the trustees of the Woman's Missionary Association. UNITED BltKTHREN MISSIONS. 237 The secretary of this association, in writing of Mrs. Haywood's death, says : " We shall miss her wise coun- sel in the board of trustees. When we assemble in an- nual meeting, the queenly, dignified one, who, from the first meeting, filled the office of vice-president, and since 1879 hag occupied the president's chair, will not be with us. But her influence cannot die. We can honor her memory in no better way than to follow her example of thoughtful devotion to the spread of the gospel. A few days before she left us, when bidding her good-by, she said : * I send love to all the dear sisters.' Thousands of those who knew and loved her, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and in far-off Africa and Germany, would join us in our floral ofierings and tribute of respect were they permitted to do so. " Some years ago Mrs. Haywood was very deeply im- pressed that the Sunday-school of Westerville was able to support the teacher of one of our African schools. Having a Sunday to spend there, she invited me to her house to dine, and help her to some facts respecting this matter. I can recall some of her words, and especially her spirit, which reminded me forcibly of the words: 'For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." ' (Isaiah 62 : 1.) This w^as before the organization of the Woman's Mis- sionary Association in our church. She felt that there was far less done by the people of Westerville than should be in behalf of the heathen. In her efforts to collect money for missions, she had met with much opposition from persons Avho said the mission in Africa was not successful, and would not be soon. In a short time after this interview the Sunday-school there was 238 HISTORY OF THE organized into a missionary society, and undertook to support a school at Mannoh, in Africa, which it has done most of the time since. Mrs. Haywood does not belong to the class of persons who spend their time in showing how and why things can't be done. In this respect she and Mrs. Sowers were alike; they believed it more consistent and necessary to show how things can be done, and then proceed to do them, in a kind, Christian manner, even before others finished their harangues on the opposite side of the question. Much of the success of the Woman's Board is due to the executive ability and self-sacrificing spirit of its first presidents. Their godly lives, great love for souls, and unceasing efforts to rescue the perishing, are a legacy to the whole Church of inestimable value. They be- lieved it possible to reform and save men, through the gospel, and they showed their faith by their works. Thanks be to God for such trophies of grace. Some have gone to heaven, but others remain to bless the world. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 239 CHAPTER XXII. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF AFRICAN CONVERTS. David Kosambo Loading was born in the autumn of 18G6, in Mosam, an African village situated eighty miles south of Freetown, and about twent}^ miles south of Shaingay, the capital of Sierra Leone. It is our first mission station in West Africa. David's father's name was Bannah Kosambo, and his mother was a daughter of Thomas Stephen Caulker, who was chief at Shaingay when a site was obtained for a mission near that place. David's father was in good circumstances for that country, having two wives and a number of slaves, and was a man of a good deal of energy. His mother was also a superior woman, considering her heathen sur- roundings. David was one of the first two taken as mission boys at Shaingay by Mr. and Mrs. Gomer. This was when he was five years of age. Children of well-to-do heathens who own slaves are not required to do anything that slaves are expected to do, so that David did little else but play before coming to the mission. Besides being trained in idleness, he was also taught all the heathen superstitions. His father had in front of his mud hut a circle three feet in diameter, and in the center of this was a small post made of counter wood, on the top of which was a coun- try-made axe, which was there to keep witches from en- tering his house. His father was also a purrow man, and had him put in the purrow bush at the age of three 240 HISTORY OF THE or four years. When he came out he received a new name, as is the custom, and was called Contam. The purrow bush, sometimes called "devil bush," is a se- cret society, which has for its objects the promotion of idolatry, amuletism, and devil worship. It holds its meetings in the bush, near to where Satan is supposed to have a stopping place, and over which he exerts a pow- erful influence. Near most African towns of considera- ble size a spot of ground of from ten to forty acres is dedicated to the Devil-bush Society. A certain initia- tory ceremony is observed pledging the person joining the society to do certain things, and refrain from doing certain other things. This mystic order regulates the religion, commerce, and laws of the country to a large extent. It is the means in the hands of Satan of great evils.. To tell it in a sentence, David came to the mission with all the vices common to heathen children of his age. Those most marked and difficult to overcome in him were lying, stealing, using obscene language, and a violent temper. When provoked, he would fight boys twice or thrice his size, but his courageous pluck carried him through without serious injury. He had more pride and self-esteem than were for his good. The haughty feeling very common among men, especially Purrow-bush Society members, that women are inferior to themselves, fully possessed him. But now let us see what this boy amounted to as he grew up. When he came to the mission he could not speak a word of English, but he learned to speak so read- ily and made such rapid progress in his studies that he soon became a favorite both in the school and the mis- sion family. Mr. and Mrs. Gomer, who had charge of him when out of school, taught him scripture texts and UNITED BUETIIKEN MISSIONS. 241 hymns, and had him repeat them occasionally and soon discovered that he retained whatever he was taught. The boy's faults they corrected, none of which was harder to overcome than his unwillingness to do slave's work, as he called digging in the ground or any kind of farm work. At most of our mission stations in Africa there are farms, and mission boys are required to labor on them about five hours each week day. Mission girls work in the houses and sew the same number of hours. Anything that was not slave's work David did cheerfully, and in time he learned that it was right to do that. David's natural good sense, his ability to learn, and great love for knowledge, as well as his good talking ability, made him a leader among his schoolmates. He was a natural-born orator, and could plead his cause well. He could look you in the face and boldly declare he had never seen a thing, which, at the same time, he had eaten, hidden, or given away. When detected, he would insist that some one else must have done it. He had a great dread of punishment. One of the methods at our missions is to write the name of the offense on a large, stiff card, putting a string into two corners of it, and tying it around the neck so that it will hang over the breast. This would bring the truth from David, but it was not often necessary to resort to this punishment in his case. He mastered any study given him in a reasonable time, and was never satisfied unless he was at the head of his class. The result was that he was the best scholar connected with the mission when he left Africa for the United States in 1880, as he was among the best during the four years he attended both day and Sunday-schools in America. In August, 1878, he and five of his classmates and 242 HISTORY OF THE three adults united with the Church at the same time. It was soon seen that the Spirit of the Lord had touched his heart, though he was only about twelve years old. As the palm trees with which that country abounds throw off old and superfluous branches, so David, as he grew up, threw off his ugly, wicked ways, and be- came truthful, honest, and prompt in the discharge of his duties as a mission boy and a Christian. He could interest and amuse others while he was yet quite young and before he could speak English well. At the weekly Bible class all mission children are present, unless there are special reasons for their ab- sence, even before they can read. Mr. Gomer could not attend one of these Bible meetings, and when David re- turned he asked him what the lesson was about that night. He replied substantially as follows : " Dis night me been read one place where dem people bin want for keep meeting, and dey bin one gate dere dey call um beautiful. Dem people dey bring one man what no able to walker, and lay him dere so he can beg dem people for give copper, [they call all money copper in this part of Africa] and Peter and John want for go into that meeting, and he look um and say, give me copper, and Peter say, I no got copper, but that ting what I get I go give you, for get up and walk; and de man begin for walker." All Bible readers will readily recognize that the lesson for that evening was the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, ajid that our heathen boy, of about six or seven years of age, got the fact well fixed in his mind that a miracle had been wrought upon the lame man by Peter and John in the name of Christ. One more very amusing incident, not so to him how- ever, occurred in Dayton, Ohio, where he lived and at- tended school. By over-work his eyes became inflamed, UNITKD BRETHREN MISSIONS. 243 and his adopted mother, Mrs. P. Louding, took him to a physician to get a prescription. After having examined the eyes and written the prescription, the physician said, "David, you must not gj to school nor look at a book for a week, but keep your eyes shaded." As Mrs. Louding and he came out of the office, she told him to go home, and she would get the medicine and soon follow him. Half an hour later, as she was passing the street on which David had gone, she heard a boy crying, a few rods up an alley, and saw a group of other boys around him. Thinking an accident had happened some one, she went to see if she could not render some assistance to the un- fortunate lad, little expecting to find her own adopted son there, crying as though his heart would break. He had gone into this alley to give vent to his grief at his being forbidden the school-room and all use of his eyes for a week, and a group of his schoolmates had gone to inquire what troubled him, and he told them he would not be able to keep up with his classes, and that caused him great distress. His love for books and thirst for knowledge was remarkable. Rev. W. J. Shuey, his Sab- bath-school teacher, who had a large number of well-in- formed men and women in his Bible class, said David was the best scholar he had. His pastor said "His brilliant life and untimely death had settled beyond doubt two very important questions; one that the mission work of the Church in that dark land was not a failure. The pure, successful life and victorious death of young Louding was compensation in full for all the Church had ever done in that country. The other, that a man with a colored skin could have brain and soul ; that this dark heathen boy was brought here, put into the school, taught with the white students, and that he pulled even and much of the time ahead; 244 HISTORY OF THE that his amiable life and sweet, triumphant death were assurances that the African had a soul full of tenderness and love." He was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, May 12, 1884, not yet eighteen years of age, but fully ripe for heaven. THOMAS TUCKER. The subject of this sketch was born in 1836, in Tong- keh, on the Bargroo River, in Western Africa, an African village, about one hundred miles south of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Rev. J. K. Billheimer found him on Sherbro Island, in 1857, in a nude state, as many of the people in that country are now, and exceedingly ignorant and superstitious. Mr. Billheimer at first employed him as a common la- borer, but he was soon promoted to captain of the mis- sion boat, and made foreman of laborers on land when not boating. He early showed executive ability and suc- cess in the management of men. In less than two years after he came to the mission he was deeply impressed with the truth of Christianity, and made an effort to find the Savior. Having but one missionary on the field, and that one disabled by sickness, religious services were irregular, and instruction to seekers after truth meagre. Owing to this and other causes, Thomas did not progress rapidly ; but he never intentionally took a step backward. He was from the first a fast friend of the mission, and finally he showed in his life that he was a changed man. In due time he took to him a wife, according to the custom of the country, and not long afterward, a second wife, as polygamy is common there. This last step came near plunging him into the degra- dation of heathen life again. When he was made con- scious of the great wrong he had done, he put away one UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 245 wife, and was married to the other one according to Christian marriage. We hatl no organized church in Africa until 1875, con- sequently those who renounced heathenism did not have such advantages as exist at present. Thomas was sober, industrious, truthful, honest, and reliable ; very superior to the natives generally, and to what he was when he first came to Shaingay. Soon after Mr. J. Gomer and wife reached Africa, in 1870, Thomas was greatly aroused in regard to his religious condition, and made a fuller consecration of himself to Christ. In a greater measure than ever before he exemplified the religion of Christ. Not only was he prompt to attend the means of grace, and was found, whenever practicable, at prayer meeting, public preaching, and the morning and evening family prayers at the mission, but he began to speak to those around him who were out of Chri&t about their soul's salvation, and urge them to abandon heathen practices and become Christians. About this time Mr. Gomer had him lead prayer meet- ing, and occasionally pray at the close of public worship. Not unfrequently he would go to neighboring villages, and there tell the story of the cross. In this way he be- came a kind of home evangelist, a lay preacher, and as he was a large, well-developed man, with an open, honest face, which seemed to say to all, I will do you no harm, but try to do you good, the people listened to him with interest and profit. His manly bearing and sincerity — for he was pre-eminently sincere — and deep sympathy with the people in their sufferings, and especially his zeal for their salvation, gave him great influence over them. He also became a very influential man with Chief Caulker. A few years before his death, while laboring as our missiorary at Mo-Fup=, wliere he died at his post. 24(3 HISTORY OF THE Chief Caulker made him a sub-chief over a large district. He gave general satisfaction, and no appeal was ever made from his decisions to the superior chief. He con- tinued in this office from 1882 to 1885. The last two years of his life he was a member of the missionary district meeting, being admitted to the min- istry in 1883, and dying in 1885. Rev. D. F. Wilberforce says: "I was one of the committee to examine Brother Thomas Tucker for admission into our district meeting. There were examined at the same time a young man fresh from the grammar school in Freetown, and another from our schools. In his own peculiar way, and in bro- ken English, Brother Tucker gave answers which only a man who had experimental knowledge of religion could give. He came out ahead of the other candidates, who were better educated than he. They had bojk knowl- edge, but he had long been a learner at the feet of Jesus. All who ever heard him took knowledge of him tliat he had been with Jesus." Bej'ond being able to read the Bible, he had but little desire for literary attainments. His natural good sense and genuine Christian experience, with a proper regard to the interests of both his superiors and inferiors, made him influential and a valuable helper. He cheerfully accepted the responsibilities of positions given him, but never sought for them. It was his right to become head man of Mo-Fuss. This town belonged to him in the sense of his being its ruler, but he chose rather to make it his headquarters as an evangelist than a temporal ruler, and from it go to the adjacent towns and villages and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. His round of appointments reached from twenty to thirty places, and with joy did he visit these, traveling on foot or in native canoes, to tell the story of Christ to the people. UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS. 247 One night when he was in his canoe, a large, hungry, and determined alligator tried hard to make a supper of him. The Lord enabled him, with his oars and by- skillful management of his canoe, to keep his enemy at bay until he landed, and escaped from danger. The writer's last associations with Thomas were at the annual meeting at Bonthe in the spring of 1885. He seemed more than usually devout, cheerful, and inter- ested in all that was done. The business was finished Saturday, and Sunday was given to worship. Early in the morning was a love feast, and Thomas spoke with unusual unction and power. His face became radiant with divine light and shone with the glory of God. All day did he and others feel the divine presence, and truly it was good to be there. His death, supposed to have been caused by eating pois- oned meat, the animal having been bitten by a snake, was very sudden, but it found Thomas ready. His dying testimony was clear, and though he was in great agony, he gave directions as to the disposition of his body, which he wished carried from Mo-Fuss to Shaingay for burial, assuring those around him that his soul would sweetly rest in the arms of Jesus. Thus passed away a truly good man, leaving a wife and an only child. JOHN WILLIAMS. This boy, whose short but brilliant life and death, for in his case it is not amiss to speak of even his death in this sense, was born at Bomphctook, West Africa, about the year 1872. His father was among the first Christians there, and was very earnest and faith- ful. The mother of John Williams was a heathen, when he was born, and continued such until after his death. John was a good boy; that is, he was well 248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED BRETHREN MISSIONS, disposed, and prepossessing in his ajDpearance. He made good i^rogress in his studies, was very fond of music, and had a good voice, which made his singing attractive. He spoke English quite well, and soon showed good ability as an interpreter. He w^as a good leader of singing also. Because of these qualities, he for some time acted as interpreter of Rembee station. Mr. McCauley, the missionary there, itinerated a good deal, and took John with him. It was by wading swamps, no doubt, and the exposure he endured during this service, that he laid the foundation of the illness which ended his life. He and his mother had been stopping at Debia, a village only about a half a mile from Shaingay, for some time previous to his death. His disease was the African scrofula, which may be generally known by the knots which form around the neck. It is called knot disease by the natives, and these knots are frequently burned out by them. John had reached the point when all hope of recovery had gone, and he was patiently and hopefully awaiting his end. Daily the school children at Shaingay visited John, and often at his request read and sang for him. Late one evening he sent for several of the school children to come to see him. When they got there he told them to sing, "Thou, my everlasting portion," and, "I am sweeping through the gates," They all heartily joined in the singing and finished the first hymn, but had hardly commenced the second when John's soul went to God, He had told them he would die that night, but still no one thought it would be so sudden and glorious. Mr. Gomer was present, and says it was an hour not to be forgotten by those who witnessed the victory of faith in Christ. ,l:-..^li,^^^iti^ . ;7-Ji^^;"i .. T:, <~, £jm^^4^-M r:,IS m^j,, ?^