1

"/give theft Btiokl
'or the feundexf ef a CcT,„ , Colony"

'Y^LE«¥]Mn¥EI^SIIir¥«

1933

Samuel A. Pukdie.

SAMUEL A. PURDIE
HIS
LIFE AND LETTERS
HIS WORK AS A MISSIONARY
AND
Spanish Writer and Publisher in Mexico and
Central America
BY
JAMES PURDIE KNOWLES

With an Introduction by
ALLEN JAY

"Lives of great men ell remind as
We can make onr lives sublime
And departing leave behind as
Footprints on tbe sands of time. "
—Longfellow

Publishing Absociatioh of Fbishdb,
Plaih field. Indiana

TO HER WHO SHARED WITH HIM, THE TOIL AND
STRUGGLES, THE DANGERS AND DISCOURAGE
MENTS, AS WELL AS THE VICTORY AND
BLESSINGS, OP THE WORK AND TO
THE SON WHO HAS WILLINGLY
TAKEN UP THE FALLEN MAN
TLE, THIS VOLUME IS
AFFECTIONATELY IN
SCRIBED BY THE
AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

It is usual when those have passed away who by their
greatness, their goodness or by their talents, or ambition
and devotion to some special line of effort, and sometimes
apparently at least by the force of circumstances, become
land marks in society, or stand as mountain peaks before
the world, for their surviving contemporaries, to leave in
permanent form, some sketch of their life and labors, as a
memorial to them and an historical record for others
who follow them.
Such annals serve as an inspiration to the young leading
them out to nobler and greater efforts in life.
We trust that this volume, the record of a man of rare
abilities and attainments, who gave them all and his life
also for the upbuilding of humanity; may prove an incen
tive to its readei s to go forth with renewed courage in the
battle against wrong in the world.
With this thought in mind one of the New York Friends
interested in the distribution of literature cast about for a
writer to do this work, and made inquiry of a friend of the
author for some one in this locality who would accept the
task, finding no one else attainable, he appealed to him
to take it up. Quite unused to such a work and with
limited abilities in that line, it was with much reluctance
that hrt consented, in consideration of the fact that he was
a relative as well as a life-long acquaintance and friend of
the subject.
It has been a labor of love, otherwise the hindrances
and discouragements which have arises might have caused
its abandonment.
The task was accepted In the summer of 1904, in the au
tumn, material was oollected consisting of several hundred
letters which he had written to the old folks at home; the
family having all passed away they were left with a rela
tive who willingly surrendered them; also a package from

iv PREFACE
the wife and son in North Carolina, containing his early
journal, many letters written to them in his absence, pa
pers, etc., added to these were several letters to the
writer, and he is also indebted for letters from Perrin
Reynolds, a friend and companion of Samuel in North
Carolina, from Santiago G. Gonzalez and Andres Campillo
Spanish co-workers in Mexico, and to Joseph M. Purdie
for the translation of their communications and especially
to Allen Jay of Richmond, Indiana, for the introduction
to this volume.
Having secured the material, work was commenced early
in 1905, but springtime brought duties which laid it by with
the expectation that it would be taken up again in the au
tumn, if not sooner; but with the fatlrng of the leaves, the
loved life long companion of the writer was stricken with
fatal illness and after four months of intense suffering
passed to the life beyond, a rest seemed necessary so the
work was delayed until the winter of 1906 and 1907, since
which with many interruptions and hindrances not the least
of which was a thorn in the flesh by which the writer is
handicapped, it has been going forward.
Many of the letters were very lengthy and abound in de
scriptive detail expressed in beautiful language, thus cal
ling for much reading and study in the selection of so
small a portion as space would permit.
While we have sought to make it as free as possible from
errors, it is quite possible that the readers will find some
mistakes, and we ask their kind indulgence for the same.
Smyrna, N. Y., Jan. 1908. J. P. Knowi<es.

INTRODUCTION.

Over fifty years ago Commodore Perry sailed
into the harbor of the Japanese capital and held re
ligious services on board his warships, while on the
gates of their city the Japanese had posted the
warning that if any one tried to introduce the
Christian religion they would cut his head off.
Perry remained there, entered into a treaty with
them and the gates were opened. Not only have
the gates of their cities been opened but also the
doors of their homes. China has followed. Other
nations have heard the knock and have swung their
doors open to receive the light until today the dark
places of the earth are reaching out their hands
for help.
The history of the foreign mission work among
Friends reveals the fact that it came into the
church soon after the revival movement. Some
forty years ago a number of the members of Indi
ana Yearly Meeting organized a committee on this
subject. This committee realized the leading of
the Holy Spirit in that direction and the object of
their organization was to foster and encourage this
work, and to extend the helping hand to those who
might feel a call to the foreign field. About the
same time individuals in different parts of the
church began to feel that the Lord was calling them
to this work and they began to make applications
to the committee to enter different missionary

vi INTRODUCTION
fields. Lewis and Sarah Street heard the call from
Madagascar and they went out under the care of
the English committee. Elkanah and Irena Bean
saw India in their vision. Joel and Hannah Bean
were impressed that the Sandwich Islands were
their field. Eli and Sybil Jones, who had visited
Liberia on a missionary tour as early as 1851, also
some places in Europe, were now stirring up New
England and stating that they had found a field in
Palestine. So the missionary spirit was abroad
in the church.
When the Baltimore Association called us to take
charge of the work in North Carolina, I found one
of the teachers who had come to that field from
New York, who had caught the same spirit and
was feeling that Mexico was calling him to come
over and help. He was not enjoying the work he
was engaged in for his mind was in Mexico. This
man was Samuel A. Purdie. The second year I
was there this was impressed on me so clearly that
I never doubted it again. Driving up to the school-
house at Back Creek one day, at the noon recess, I
found him out in the woods sitting on an old log,
with an aged Spanish miner sitting by his side,
engaged in studying the Spanish language. When
I came up he said, "Excuse me, for I must obtain
a knowledge of Spanish," and ina serious manner
added, "Some day the Lord will open the way for
me to use this knowledge to his glory." So a few
months after this time, when Charles F. Coffin, of
Richmond, Indiana, wrote to know my opinion
about Samuel A. Purdie's going to Mexico as a

INTRODUCTION vii
missionary, I was prepared to give my approval.
There was no doubt but that he was filled with a
true missionary spirit. His mind and heart were
there in body. It was not home bo him anywhere
else. He rejoiced when the time came for him to
leave all and go, and when he received the word
that he was accepted by the committee, it did not
take him long to be on the way.
He came to our house one evening with his
youthful wife. It was a night long to be remem
bered. We talked until a late hour of the work
ahead of them. Neither of us knew much about
what foreign missionary work meant, but the way
looked bright before him. To him it was the way
of duty. His wife, who was leaving all her people,
was nevertheless cheerful in the prospect of the
work befere them. We loaded what few goods
they had into the spring wagon and drove to the
depot at High Point, where they took the train. As
I watched the train go out of sight I turned away
feeling that it was carrying a man who was going
cheerfully at the call of the Master. He believed
the Master had other sheep who were not of this
fold and he was going in the name of the Shep
herd to bring them in.
Years rolled on. He stood at his post and the
Lord blessed the work. The church was organ
ized and the seed sown, not only by the voice but
by the printing press with which he was provided
by Friends in New York State. Through the press
the Spanish speaking people, not only in Mexico
but in other places also heard the message of the

viii INTRODUCTION
gospel. Today the work is spreading. Others
have entered in and are gathering the whitened
harvest. The time came when he believed that he heard
the call to another portion of the vineyard. There
was no hesitation on his part. He hastened on and
entered this latter field, and when the Master
called he found him "faithful unto death." He
laid down his life among those he loved.
Thus lived and died Samuel A. Purdie. Others
may have been just as devoted, may have done a
greater work, but none have been more loyal, none
possessed a truer missionary spirit.
Allen Jay.

List of Illustrations.
Samuel A. Purdie  Frontispiece
Facing Page
Samuel A Purdie's Birthplace   25
The C. G. Hussey School for Girls  10*)
Meeting House at Gomez Far as  125
Samuel A. Purdie and Family  139
Elisco and Eva L. Mascorro  148
Gertrudis G. G. De Ureste  157
Silver Wedding Group  183
Townsend. Moody and Purdie  ¦. . . . 187

CONTENTS.

Page
PREFACE  3
INTRODUCTION  5

CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY.

Scotch. Removal to England. In business as a weaver.
Contact with Friends. Joining the Society. Financial
embarrassment. Removal to America. A stormy voy
age. In Canada. Back to New YorK. Their home at
Smyrna. Samuel's marriage. Howard Ancestry Lo
cated at Columbus  17
CHAPTER II.
CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.
Location. Birthplace. An Humble Home. A Mother's
Teaching. His love of nature and of Literature. A
family encyclopedia. His schooling. Reading and
study at home. Teaching school  25
CHAPTER III.
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES.
Parental traits. Inherent tendencies. Doubts and difficul
ties. His journal. Extracts from a former one. Com
ments and quotations. Interrupted by teaching school.
Fear of a call. A lost opportunity. A New Year's
Prayer. Courtmartialed. Brother's death. Prophetic
pointings. Closer to Friends. Looking toward teach
ing in the South. Attends New York Yearly Meeting 30
CHAPTER IV.
TEACHER AND PREACHER.
Going to North Carolina. On the Chesapeake Bay. Bat
tle grounds. Friends meeting house. Opening school.

x CONTENTS
Incidents among the Freedmen. Appearance in the mi -
istry. North Carolina Yearly Meeting. Meets Eli
Jones and others. Joseph Moore. School prospering.
In Normal school. ''Not much larnin. " Teaching at
Back Creek. Social life. Astronomy. Sabbath School
Work. Lovely Carolina. Loving People. A letter
from Parrin Reynolds. A good school. A Normal.
"Quakerism in Dixie. " Teaching among Freedmen. 38
CHAPTER V.
MARRIAGE.
Friends at Back Creek. The Hoovers. Close of School.
The Wedding. Trip northward. Life at old home.
Ministry. Return South. Farming and teaching. A
full school. Letter from Allen Jay. Resigns farm life.
 52
CHAPTER VI.
MISSION FIELDS.
Travels in the ministry. Looking toward Mexico. A call
to Richmond, Ind. A marked coincidence. A Spanish
teacher. The work accepted. Trip to Mexico. Del
tained at Matamoras. The work opening. A printing
press. Need of School books. Called for outside the
mission. Learning the language. An interesting inci
dent. The responsibility of the work. Mechanica
skill. Under siege. Bathing in the Rio Grande. ... 57
CHAPTER VII.
MINGLED RACES.
Social Traits. Reliability. A peaceable admixture. A
peon. Mexican slavery. Estovan Galegos. Brother
hood  65
CHAPTER VIII.
AS PUBLISHER.
Religion and Science. War vs. Peace. The Periodical
Books as remedies. Under Siege. Printing press. The

CONTENTS xi
Flores sisters. Three languages. A busy life. Sab
bath School meeting. The mission funds. Scattering
the truth. School books. Peace again. Prevalence of
fever. An arid region. A donation. Fluent in Span
ish. Plans. Change of residence. A wind storm. . , 69
CHAPTER IX.
A VISIT TO VICTORIA.
Location. The journey. Improved health. Fear for Gu-
lielma. Added workers. The Binfords. New Experien
ces. Busy day. Low funds. Return of the Binfords.
Added funds  78
CHAPTER X.
THE STORY OF ANGELITA.
Birthplace. Early days. Roman Superstition. Father's
death. Removal to San Fernando. Catholic education.
Resolved to be a Protestant. She unites with Friends.
Her sister also  84
CHAPTER XI.
VISIT TO TAMAULIPAS.
A stormy voyage. Through the breakers. A storm at sea(
A school of porpoise. A calm. A long voyage. On foot.
The country. The market. Trip to Tancol. Puebla Vi-
ego. Religious labor. Antiquities. Hastened return.
On the Alba. A stormy time. Well at home  90
CHAPTER XII.
REVOLUTION.
General Diaz at Brownsville. A Sabbath Attack. The
Victory. Quiet restored. At his post. Return of gov
ernment forces. No resistance. A turbulent summer.
Horrors of war. Political chaos. A night attack.
Diaz sweeping the south. Cortinez enters Matamoras.
A touching incident  98

xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII.
PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
The meeting increases. A remarkable incident. El Tejon.
Schools flourishing. Independence of opinion Change
of teachers. Pedro Gonzalez. Francisco Pena. A
wedding. Mexican Marriages. Julio Gonzalez Gea.
A useful member. A distant member  107
CHAPTER XIV.
VICISSITUDES.
On the Gulf. A gloomy letter. Stereotyping. His li
brary. Yellow fever. Faithful Shepherds. Letter to
Perrin Reynolds. Trip to Gomez Farias. A ride to
San Fernando. On horseback to Gomez Farias. The
Southern Cross. A mountain path. A beautiful vil-
Father Lozano  114

CHAPTER XV.
BUILDING CHAPEL.
On Liberty Square. Many sick. Angelita's journey
City of Victoria. Image of the Virgin  125
CHAPTER XVI.
THE HURRICANE.
A dark night. Ruined Homes. Hurricane of 1867 and
1874. A midnight tour of inspection. Bailing out the
water. Brother J. G. Gea. Small pox epidemic. Wil
liam A. Walls goes to Gomez Farias. Return. Inci
dent with highwayman. From jest to earnest. Guliel-
ma in North Carolina. The epidemic. Samuel has
pneumonia. Encarnation Gonzalez. Goes to Gomez
Farias. Angelinas return and death  129
CHAPTER XVII.
VISIT TO THE HOME LAND.
Takes Janita and Petra. Arrival at Back Creek. Moves
northward. To Indiana. The reunion at home. Return

CONTENTS xiii
in the autumn. Janita goes to Earlham College. Mar
riage of Wm. A. Walls. The office work. A heavy bur
den. The call of duty. A Summer outing. Yellow
fever  139
CHAPTER XVIII.
TO THE SOUTHERN MISSION WITH ISAAC SHARP.
To Gomez Farias. The return trip. "A time of storm'*
and mud. Some curious plants. Home life brightening.
Rushing the work. A railroad. Visit San Fernando.
Joseph gets the smallpox. Trip to Soto La Marina.
Sabbath service. Joseph questions. Isaac Sharp. Ju
lia L. Ballenger. Killing rattle snakes. Trophies for
England. Isaac's return. Samuel goes to Gomez
Farias. Building the meeting house. Its location. An
cient ruins. Again at home  144
CHAPTER XIX.
THE HOME WORK.
Quarne. A New press. A feeling letter. New helper. A
visit to Gomez Farias. A plague of locusts. A board
ing school building. A stormy election. A trip south
ward with Mahala Jay and Gertrudis G. G. de Ureste.
Moves to Matamoras Street. His mother's death. A
trip to Richmond. Flying visits. At New Orleans.
Storm on the Gulf  153
CHAPTER XX.
REMOVAL TO VICTORIA.
Smallpox. Return of Frances' father. Moves his family
to Victoria. Elevation and Climate. The Alameda.
-Trip to Matamoras. Margaret M. Marriage. A letter
to his father from Matamoras. Meets Murray Shipley.
In storm on the Gulf. At Matamoras. Prostrated with
congestive chills. Again at Victoria. A horse-back
ride. On furlough. In North Carolina. Once more at
the old home. The Pan American conference. Visits
President Harrison. A week in North Carolina. The
return  161

xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXI.
FINANCIAL BURDENS.
Financial responsibilities. Purchasing school buildings.
Making repairs. A public servant. A man of all trades.
A railroad. Acting Vice Consul. Many responsibili
ties. Summoned to Matamoras. A new correspondent.
Removal of the business to Victoria. Emma Caven
dish. The typhoid fever hospital. A letter to the au
thor. On the school board. Building a residence. Jo
seph's help. A missionary rest. Generous bequest.
Has yard and garden. Nature studies. A letter to his
brother. A country home. A letter to the author. Pub
lic service  170
CHAPTER XXII.
THE SECOND VISIT OF ISAAC SHARP.
His arrival. A letter to the writer. Interpreter. A sil
ver wedding. Memorial trees. "Human flesh vs. patch
work." The abundant fruits in the tropics. A graphic
narrative. A fatal storm. Deep snow. A busy day.
Letter to his brother. A telescope. Joseph the ob
server  182
CHAPTER XXIII.
CONFERENCE AT TOLUCA.
Another interesting letter. A large conference. Volcano
of Nevado. The great divide. Snow capped Popocata-
pel. Mexico. Its antiquities and wonders. A wireless
message. Hastening homeward  187
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE NORTHLAND.
W. J. Kelsey at the head. The family come to North Car
olina. He goes northward alone. A man of culture.
Surrender the work. Faithful service. Considering
Central America. Aocepts an appointment. A letter to
the writer. The means forthcoming. Gulielma and

CONTENTS xv
Joseph in North Carolina. The Central American Mis
sionary Association. A journey to Texas. Then to
Victoria. On toward the south. Last letter from
Victoria  190
CHAPTER XXV.
*LHE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD.
Last farewell. Tampico at midnight. A Sabbath service.
On board the Spero. At Goatzocoacos. Railroad to
Tehuantepec. The route. The city. The people. The
first Sabbath. Among Catholics. Boarding himself.
A letter to his wife. Ways of the people. A long
delay  197
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE ZAPOTECAS.
The primitive race. A long letter. A letter to his wife.
Love of display. A kindly quiet people. Drunken fes
tivities. An interesting r aee  204
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE LONG DELAY.
Waiting for steamer. A severe trial. Translating. A
letter to Joseph. One to his wife. First visit to the Pa
cific. Landing the passengers. Loneliness. His best
literary work. Thankfulness  214
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE NEW FIELD.
On the "Barranconta." Death of a passenger. At his
destination. A letter to Joseph. A study of the situa
tion. A letter to the writer. Astronomy and agricul
ture. Izalco and Ilopango. Annual festivities. A let
ter to the "American Friend." Prices high. Boards
himself. Feast of San Salvador. Idolatry. Visit to
Mexicanos. Union between state and church. Letter to
G. W. Hoover. Another to the author. Penzotti. Op
position. Yellow fever. His family in New York.
They join him. Letter to the Central American Bulle-

xvi CONTENTS
tin. R. H. Bender. A printing press. First number of
La Luz de la Verdad  218
CHAPTER XXIX.
CLOSING SCENES.
Press work again. A slight accident. A fatal result. His
last letter. Unfinished. Lockjaw in the tropics. A re
markable card. A lonely home. Heroic lives. Return
to North Carolina. Joseph at Guilford College. Mar
ried and went to Cuba  234
CHAPTER XXX.
IN MJiMORIUM.
Remarks. His rare endowment. His wide experience.
The great promotion. The Heavenly welcome. A sketch
by W. A. Walls. Letter of Rev. Luther Rees. One
from Andres Campillo. And also one from Santiago G.
Gonzales  240

Life and Letters of
SAMUEL A. PURDIE
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY.
Blessed are the happy parents
Of those who in this world's wild strife,
By being grandly strenuous
Stand sun-crowned at the goal of life.
While it is the privilege of every individual by
the best use of the gifts God has bestowed upon
them to build up a noble and useful life, whether it
be in the humble walks of society or in those more
exalted; still it is common to look to ancestry for
the prototypes of the gifts by the use of which men
become famous. So perhaps we need make no
apology for introducing our readers to the rugged
Scottish life of the eighteenth century.
James Purdie, the grandfather of our subject
was born in Kilmarneck, near Paisley, Scotland,
Jan. 10, 1768. His youth was spent among the
mountains and lakes that gave inspiration to the
poet Burns whose wife, Jean Amous, was his
cousin. In a family of six children he was the only son.
We know but little of the father except a well pre
served tradition, that he was a descendent of the

18 LIFE AND LETTERS
famous clan of Percy, but that in some of the Scot
tish wars for political reasons, the name was
changed to Purdie. When James was in his child
hood his parents died and he went to live with an
uncle, schooled in the austere creed of Calvin and
Knox, life was to him a stern reality and prompted
him as guardian of the orphan boy to follow the
maxim spare the rod and spoil the child so his life
could not have been a very sunny one, for the uncle
was wont to punish with undue severity the way
wardness of the lad. In that city widely known
for its woven fabrics, he learned the trade of a
weaver, all of which was hand work in those days.
In July 1794 he married Marion, daughter of
Alexander and Margaret Dunlop, Lisle of Paisley.
Little strangers came to stay with them until there
were five in the family, when in 1802 he moved to
Norwich England, where he started into business
ior himself as a weaver of silks, bombazines and
shawls, and gradually extended his work until he
gave employment to many others in his prosperous
business. Here on June 12, 1804, their fourth son Samuel
was born and after him four sisters and one brother
were added to the family besides several, one a
twin, who died in infancy.
Samuel received his education in a school taught
by PrisciUa Gurney, a sister of Elizabeth Fry,
later three of his sisters and one brother attended
Ackworth, the Friends High School for the
kingdom. Norwich was the home of the Gurneys, that fam-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 19
ily so well known in Quaker history, especially for
the great controversolist Joseph John Gurney as
well as the world-wide philanthropist his sister
Elizabeth Fry.
James Purdie and his wife had been nurtured in
the Presbyterian church of Scotland but contact
with these and other Friends about them led them
finally to the acceptance of Friends principles, and
a request for membership in the society; a change
that met with some resentment for a time by her
father but which was finally forgiven.
They accepted heartily the ways and customs as
well as the doctrines of the society and sought to
be active, useful members honoring the sect of
their choice by their exemplary lives.
The fellowship and intimacy of the family with
the Gurneys and Frys in those days of their public
activity brought to their knowledge many incidents
and experiences to be narrated in later years to
their descendant its impress upon their young
Hves was in some of them undoubtedly a potent
factor in the building of their character.
Among their neighbors and acquaintances they
could number Amelia Opie, Harriet Martineau and
William Grimshaw, afterward celebrated authors.
James Purdie assisted by his sons had extended
his business very successfully up to 1826, when a
general financial depression so embarrassed him
that rather than to go on and perhaps sacrifice his
credit and wrong his creditors, he chose to close
his shops, sell his property and pay his debts.
Having a little money left, his friends urged him

20 LIFE AND LETTERS
to start again in business offering him pecuniary
assistance, but he^declined their proffered aid and
decided to try their fortune in the new world, so
early in the spring of 1827 he gathered his family
(except the oldest son Alexander who was already
married and did not come until later), Marion from
Ackworth school and Margaret the oldest daugh
ter from a delightful winter's sojourn among her
relatives and friends in Scotland; they all met at
Liverpool and embarked on an old sailing vessel
for New York; the voyage proved a very stormy
one, so they were tossed for six weeks on the roll
ing billows of the Atlantic. A journey that is made
by modern liners in six days.
The writer has frequently heard his mother, the
oldest daughter Margaret then in her twentieth
year, relate to her children the perils of that stormy-
voyage, until his young mind became so filled with
dread of the ocean, that many years of knowledge
and experience in life were necessary to efface it.
The roughness of the sea soon caused the ship to
spring a leak and to prevent danger from it the
pumps were put to work, not by steam, but by
hand power, so continuous and arduous did the
task become that the men among the passengers
were called upon to help in the work and for days
together they were obliged to take their turn and
relieve the crew.
So severe was the storm that much fear was felt
f or the sa f ety of the vessel so much that when a
passing ship which came along side offered to take
the passengers on board, the captain said that the

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 21
women and children might go, but that the men
must remain to assist the crew, an alternative they
did not see fit to accept, preferring to share to
gether the fearful dangers of the voyage rather
than be separated.
Margaret, who had become somewhat familiar
with the captain, had asked him if it was not a very
bad storm and he playfully told her that when she
saw two men at the helm and his hair standing on
end she might conclude it was a severe storm; so
as it continued with increasing fury for days to
come, she concluded to go on deck and investigate;
on going up the hatchway she met thejcaptain and
in response to her request to see if there were two
men at the helm, he told her that it was no place
for her up there, and lifting her in hisjstrongarms
he carried her back into the cabin, his hair she
thought already on end thus confirming her worst
fears over the situation.
But time will pass and after six weeks of strug
gle with the elements the welcome cry of "land
ahead" rang through the ship and they finally
passed up the harbor to their landing in New York
a thankful and happy company. They came ex
pecting to locate on British soil, so passing up the
Hudson to Albany they took a packet boat on the
recently completed Erie Canal. In those days
when railroads were unknown this mode of travel
was quite pleasant and satisfactory, irksome as it
would seem to the world today.
From Buffalo they passed on to British soil.
And taking up Crown lands near Lake Simpcoe he

22 LIFE AND LETTERS
purchased three hundred acres and then started
in as a backwoodsman, the change from city life to
country life, from silk weaving to wood chopping
was a great change. Bears killed their hogs and
James and Samuel who went farther into the
wilds were pursued by wolves, and Samuel lost
his favorite silk umbrella in a fight with a lynx or
a wild cat, only rescuing the ivory handle as a
memento. After a brief sojourn in Canada they decided to
abandon pioneer life and returned to New York
Mills near Utica, N. Y., where some of the family
found employment in the Mills and remained there
until the autumn of 1831, when they purchased a
farm in the town of Smyrna, N. Y., and removed
there. This was the last home of the parents and
remained in possession of the family until within a
few years.
Some of the boys worked the farm, while the
father again turned to his old pursuit, as weaver,
so with his rare mechanical skill and inventive
genius he soon had a shop well equipped for weav
ing such fabrics as table spreads, bed spreads and
coverlids of linen or cotton or wool, some of the
latter woven in two thicknesses with contrasted
colors on the opposite sides, figured with beautiful
designs and bordered with lions or eagles, were
unique and rare productions which have been
handed down as heirlooms in many of the families
of the section.
James Purdie, never robust, being of moderate
stature and slender build with a highly nervous

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 23
temperment passed away in one of the closing days
of 1839, at the age of 72, his wife more vigorous and
enduring lived to her 83rd year. Soon after com
ing to Smyrna Samuel made the acquaintance of a
young woman, a teacher of select schools among
the Friends of Smyrna and Brookfield, a woman of
marked ability and good culture, having an
academic education embracing nearly all the nat
ural sciences, especially astronomy and chemistry.
Her name was Waity, the daughter of Stephen
and Lucinda Angel Howard who came from Rhode
Island and settled in Columbus, N. Y., in 1802.
The next year he built a house on a farm about half
a mile east of Columbus village where he resided
until his death in 1847, here Waity, the oldest of
of the seven children (three of whom died in child
hood) was born and reared.
Stephen's father was William the fifth of the
seven sons of Isaac Howard who came from Eng
land about 1722 landing at Marblehead, Mass., and
settled in what is now Foster, R. I. His family
were noted for there stature none of the seven
being less than six feet, one being six feet six
inches and another six feet five inches in height.
William is known in the annals of Rhode Island
as a revolutionary soldier. The Howards were a
family of great energy and force of character
traits which were inherited very largely by their
danghter Waity. The housewife where she taught
one of the schools referred to above used to say
that she frequently expressed her ideas of family
government and kindred topics in those days and

24 LIFE AND LETTERS
that in after years she came nearer fulfilling her
ideals than any other woman she had known.
It is recorded that Stephen Howard was active
in the work of the Universalist church, however
much the daughters may have been led by precept
and example in that belief, her acquaintence and
intercourse with the Friends led her to join the
Society about the time of her marriage to Samuel
Purdie which occured February 23, 1836. They
lived for one season in Smyrna and then bought
a farm about a mile from her fathers in Colum
bus where they settled, reared a family and lived
the remainder of their days. It was an upland
farm of light soil and it was only by industry and
economy that they were able to enjoy the necessar
ies not to say the luxuries of life and lay by a little
for old age and a rainy day. The younger son Wil
liam remained at home and worked the farm thro
their dechning years and kept it until his death in
1901 when it passed from the family into other
hands.

o

O

•J.

a>
XI
*"-*

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 25

CHAPTER II.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.
4 'He had the happy heritage of those hard condi
tions — obscurity and poverty. But passing by the
palace with its cradled princes, Fortune paused
within his humble home and emptied out her horn
of plenty upon that royal head." — Frances E. Wil-
lard In iife of John B. Finch.
In the southern central portion of the state are
those two tributaries of the Susquehanna, the
Chenango and the Unadilla and on the hilly and
rolling upland between them lies the town of Col
umbus in the northeast corner of Chenango
County, bounded on the east by the Unadilla which
is about two miles distant from the "Old Home
stead." This is on the west side of a north and south
road so it fronts the east, with the driveway and
entrance on the south and outbuildings westward.
The house has been somewhat improved and re
painted and the largest barn added since those
days, otherwise it was much the same as the illus
tration taken in August 1906.
It was a retired home on a highway traveled so
little that the grass grew along its track with but
few neighbors in sight, none very near, one and a

26 LIFE AND LETTERS
half miles from town and twelve miles from the
Friends meeting at Smyrna where they were
members and occasionally attended.
It is in such surroundings that we look for a
simple life and originality of character, not follow
ing all the fads and fashions of society, life is fre
er and more independent it may be sometimes less
progressive. In this home were born two sons and two daugh
ters and after them on March 5, 1843, the fifth and
youngest child Samuel Alexander first saw the
light. With four pair of eager eyes looking into the face
and watching beside the cradle of the newcomer,
the oldest scarely six, the mother could have had
little time for any unnecessary attentions to the
little one, yet often times these thrive when those
on whom is bestowed all the care and comfort that
luxury can give, find less of health and happiness.
So while the parents labored about the farm and
fireside to feed their little flock, the child grew in
statute and was soon able to follow the others
around the house and yard.
The instinct of a mother's heart throws love at
its flood- tide on the smallest, feeblest of her flock,
thus he had a large measure of his mother's love,
and led by her cultured mind he soon learned to
read and thus enlarge the circle of his knowledge.
His attention however was not confined to books
for, in the long warm summer days he might be
seen roaming the orchard and the meadow watch
ing the birds and bees and gathering wild flowers,

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 27
developing that intense love of nature which never
foresook him in the busiest, most eventful periods
of his life.
His mother a student of the sciences was able to
lead him out in botany and astromony and give di
rection to his study of those branches.
In books however he acquired a taste for history
and travel and so retentive was his memory that
he soon outshone his brothers and sisters and be
came the standing authority for the family, so
prominent did this become that he was frequently
called out by his parents before visitors to render
a verdict on mooted questions. A degree of par
ental pride in the attainments of children is to be
expected and is indeed laudable as an incentive to
effort in their behalf; still some may have thought
in his case that it was carried a little too far pro
ducing a sense of superiority unexpected for his
years. Of slender physique, an early playmate says of
him that "he seldom took part in rough sports
would stand back and look on, or gather them
around him to listen to some story of travel or lion
hunters." The Friends in those days more exclusive in their
intercourse with society than to-day sought to
guard children from the temptations and allure
ments of the world in their youth by secluding
them from the public schools, which were indeed
far from their present standard of excellence; and
educated them in private schools attended by mem
bers and held frequently at a private house such

28 LIFE AND LETTERS
as his mother taught referred to in a former chap
ter. So his parents as their family grew started a
school in their home held mainly in the winter sea
son, taught somewhat by the mother, at other
times by a hired teacher; living as they did, distant
from other Friends the school seldom had any
pupils from outside, to change the even tenor of its
way. This seclusion had its advantages and brought
its blessings but there is much to learn from con
tact with others that will help to fit us for the
duties and responsibilities that come later. It
was here with few books and fewer companions
that this lad of active brain and a growing thirst
for knowledge, picked up the rudiments of an edu
cation which enabled him in after years to take a
high rank as a scholar in the world of literature.
This comprised his whole early schooling except
the winter of 1857 and 1858 when he attended a
school taught by Orlando Blackman at Columbus
village; and perhaps a term or two at other High
Schools. But his education did not stop here,
helping with the work upon the farm, he found
much time for reading and home study.
While he had much love for sciences especially
astromony and botany instilled by his mother's
teaching yet his favorite field was grammar and
history. With a remarkable gift of language, he
very early learned to spell with surpassing ac
curacy, and his earliest writings show a command
of langnage, an ease and elegance of diction very

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 29
rare for his years. These gifts conspired to make
teaching a congenial field for his efforts, and for a
time he looked forward to that profession as his
calling. In the winter of 1862 and 1863 he began teaching
in a country district school, he also taught a short
term the next summer. But he did not make a
success in government and failed to complete
either term; how much his peculiarities of dress
and manner may have tended toward the results is
a matter of conjecture, they were homespun and
original in the extreme. The winter of 1863 and
1864 he taught a family school at his uncles in
Smyrna, N. Y. The next two succeeding winters
he did not teach but spent the time at work on the
farm and reading and study.

30 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER III.
Religious Experience.
"Speak for thy servant heareth." I Sam.
As Paul was raised a Pharisee as according to
the "most strictest sect" the children of Samuel
and Waity Purdie were raised Friends.
The parents positive by nature carried that trait
into all their religious life and teaching.
Believers in orthodox creed and doctrines and
the sacredness of the scriptures, they expected
their children to believe without question as they
did; and the youngest more perhaps than some of
the others, accepted their teaching as indisputable
authority. In heriting a very full and active moral and re
ligious nature, any deviation from the ways of his
parents in conduct or faith was to turn from the
truth into the paths of sin.
In those days the adherents of religion and
ssience were often marshalled in hostile array
against each other; many of the details of modern
science not then before the common people, many
indeed not discovered have contributed along with
the increased breath and liberality of religious lead
ers to acceptance of the truth of the unity of science
and inspiration. The young student ever reaching

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 31
out after truth is ready to grasp the first subject
that brings with it the proof of its authority.
The youthful mind like "the poor Indian sees
God in clouds and hears him in the wind" so as
they meet the facts of the physical universe and
see before them the footprints of the Creator, not
entirely in harmony with the teachings of Scrip
ture, they have received in their home life, a season
of doubt quite often enters with the development of
thought and research, in the mind of those just
stepping on the tereshold of monhood.
So we find him recording in his journal years
afterward some of the experiences of his early
wandering in the ways of doubt and unbelief.
His regrets and sorrows, his humilation and re
morse were evidently borne in silence and alone
without the confidence and sympathy of parents or
other friends.
In the autumn of 1865 he began a journal of his
life with the purpose of a permanent preservation
of his experiences from which we shall draw some
what for this work.
In the early portions of this journal he makes
frequent extracts from one commenced about six
years before which has not been preserved. In
the preface he says this account of his life is pre
served with a wish that the record of such an ex
perience may be a warning and consolation to
others. "A warning by showing the truth of the asser
tion," there is no peace to the wicked," as exempli
fied in the experience herein recorded, and consol-

32 LIFE AND LETTERS
ation from the fact that so great a sinner as myself
was not cut off in the midst of his sins but allowed
a day of repentance."
"In some hours of trial my sins would undoubt
edly have been greater, but for the preserving hand
of God, who has at times opened a way for me to
escape sin, when danger was very imminent. To
Him be all the praise for these deliverances, both
now and for evermore. Wishing to be as far as
practicable the biographer of my own Ufe, in order
that praise to man as it relates to me at least may
be excluded, I now at the age of twenty-two
commence compiling my journal.
He begins his journal by recording the place and
date of his birth and a few minor details already
noted; and then takes up the main subject of his
thought and purpose of his journal, — his rehgious
experience as follows:
"Many times in my early childhood would that
servant of the Lord, Zebulon Weaver call at my
father's house on his way to and from Quarterly
meetings, and usually at the close of breakfast he
would say a few words of loving counsel to us. As
I grew older, sin and wickedness grew within me
until I departed far from the sheepfold of my
Heavenly Father."
" If there had been no miracles recorded in the
Holy Scriptures it is quite probable that I should
have been strongly tempted to disbelieve them on
account of the absence of such evidence of the di
vine power of their great Author.
It was only in the face of incontrovertible evi-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 33
dence, that I came to oelieye them to be true,
Oftentimes have I wandered to a distance from my
fathers house, on the first day of the week, carry
ing my Testament, and have pondered upon the
important subject of the truth of the Holy Bible.
Aside from the immediate operation of the Holy
Spirit printed books and the like were the chief
means useful in effecting my conversion.
Among these Grimshaw's Vindication of Chris
tianity, Dr. Goodman's Essay and some of Rollins
Ancient History occupy a prominent place. Some
remarks in Dr. Fitchs' Six Lectures on consump
tion were also useful. Thus was I gradually in
duced to place more confidence it the truth of the
Bible." "I might here state that I believe he who created
and who governs the universe is able to do far
greater miracles than any on record. I would
here press upon parents the duty of teaching their
children in earliest infancy to place their con
fidence and faith in God. If they themselves be
lieve and always have believed the Holy Scriptures
they know not but some doubts may arise at times
in the minds of their children concerning their
authenticity; and they should narrowly watch and
be prepared in every manner to strengthen the
hands of their children in their battle with Satan.
A supply of books relating to the proofs of the di
vine inspiration of the Bible which profane history
affords can cause no harm and may be the means
of saving some immortal soul from an infidels
death and infidels reward."

34 LIFE AND LETTERS
"I opened my Testament and read 'go thy'way
¦and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon
thee," but how often have I sinned since."
"I am at present rather unwell and spend a part
of my leisure in reading the Memoirs of Joseph
John Gurney, which I like much, who can be will
ing to gainsay a life like this, spent (as it was) to a
considerable degree in the cause of Christian
¦benevolence, and the best interest of humanity.
'Should I not wish to inhabit eternity with such as
¦he." He follows with frequent extracts from his
former journal in which he mentions attending
¦several Quarterly meetings, also names those who
had service in the ministry and his satisfaction
therein, and also refers to two sermons by Cornel
ius Bowerman which he heard in the summer of
1863, which he thought were intended in part at
least for himself.
"One commenced 'Satan hath desired to have
thee' and the other was from 'There is a way which
seemeth to be right the end whereof is death.' I
have often reflected upon the latter sermon, trying
to find out its full meaning as it relates to my case
I am at present of the opinion that the sermon as
far as it relates to me, was to warn me against
leaving the Society of Friends and taking another
active position in the religious world and also as to
going as a missionary of the Society of Friends
without the calling of God to such a work."
Later in the season he heard a sermon where
the text was " Are not Abana and Pharpar rivers

OF SAMUEL R. PURDIE 35
of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel"
which he thought was partially intended for him.
The first two months of 1864 he taught a family
school at an uncles in Smyrna and made no records
in his journal that are preserved. He went back
to the farm in the spring and helped make maple
sugar, and wrote that he had for some time feared
being called with^a Heavenly calling to labor among
the Freedmen.
In the Eighth month he mentions being drafted
into the State Militia but without further com
ment. Toward the close of the year]jhe"refers to an
opportunity to stand valiant for the truth before
men but failing to do so he suffered much remorse
of conscience as the result, and refers to Peter's
example of denial and gains from it hope and
prophecy for himself it seems for he wrote "yet
Peter was after that event an able advocate of his
Master's cause and has no doubt entered upon a
glorious and happy eternity."
New Years day 1865 he records this prayer "O
Lord, may I live henceforth to thy glory and when
called upon by thee in any manner to labor for the
amelioration of the condition of my fellowmen
may I be faithful."
So from time to time he dropped expressions
which showed that the aspirations and purpose of
his life was to lift his fellowmen.
Second month 21st he was tried by Court Mar
tial at Norwich and fined $5.00 for not attending
the parade of the State Militia to which he was

U LIFE AND LETTERS
summoned at^Sherburne on the first day of Twelfth
month last.
He does not inform us if this fine was ever paid;
but we see he had trials on account of peace prin
ciples in his early years. Other trials soon follow
ed; on the'first^of Third month his brother James
died at Smyrna, he writes of attending the funeral
on the 4th. On the 5th he says "To-day I am
twenty-two years of age. O, may the coming year
present a full dedication of both body and spirit to
the service of»God."
A year later he speaks of the spirit of prophecy
iortelling the future of Ehzabeth Fry and turning
to himself says it remains to be seen whether
faithfulness will be sufficient to fulfil the predic
tions in his own case, and describes an interview
nine months before with Freeman Andrew who
assured him that if not already called he would be
to the work of the ministry which came home to
him like Nathan's to David "thou art tbe man."
He also names Jarvis M. Rider as one who had
been impressed to speak in the same way of his
future. Tenth month 1st he made this record. "I have
felt more close union with the Society of Friends
recently than for some time past. I can now
accept their principles without omission or de
duction." "The doctrine of the guidance of the Holy Spirit
is an important doctrine and should not be lightly
cast aside or trampled upon."
Almost the whole of his journal in these early

OF SAMUEL R. PURDIE 37
years when life is usually preoccupied with its
surroundings, was devoted to his religious exper
iences, his trials and disappointments, his long
ings and aspirations; anticipating as he began, to
a call to the Masters service as a special worker in
his vineyard; the future with its duties and possi
bilities was ever before him.
Early in 1866 he wrote to several points in re
gard to teaching, especially among Friends ia
North Carolina, without any immediate results.
Tbe first of Sixth month he attended the Yearly
Meeting at New York and speaks of it as an inter
esting occasion, but also records a neglected op
portunity and call for vocal service in a family
gathering at their boarding house.
In those days with no C. E. societies and no
social prayer meetings in which the young may be
led out in the expression of their first convictions
of duty and religious experiences, the way of the
beginner in the ministry was one of extreme diffl -
culty. To break the stillness of one of those often
silent meetings was to the young at least so
great and awe inspiring responsibility to be
approached only with reverence and fear, before
which trembling human nature frequently re
coiled; and this backwoods boy sensitive in every
fiber of his being must have realized it in the
superlative degree.

LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER IV.

TEACHING AND PREACHING.
"A voice is ever at thy side
Speaking in tones of might
Like the prophetic voice that cried
To John in Patmos, 'Write.'" — Longfellow.
With the conviction that his life was to be given
to the ministry came the inquiry for some field of
labor among Friends where he might devote his
time and spend his energies for some time to
come. After some correspondence he arranged to go to
North Carolina as a teacher of a Friend's Monthly
Meeting school about to be established at Centre.
In his journals he speaks of his doubts and fears
in regard to teaching, reviews his past experience
which he says was not encouraging. But he re
solves to make the attempt in this new and dis
tant field.
So gathering his few belongings into a trunk and
bidding farewell to the loved ones; on the 7th of
the Tenth month 1866 he started for his destina
tion by way of Albany taking a steamboat down
the Hudson, then by rail to Baltimore where he

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 39>
stopped over night, saw some of the Friends and
promoters of his work; among them Richard
Henry Thomas who humorously remarked that
they would take him for a Confederate officer as
he was dressed in gray. It was probably his
Mother's homespun woolen suit.
He took a steamer down the Chesapeake to
Norfork, and during his midnight ride he wrote to
his sister at home a description of his experience
and impressions of the voyage some of which are
so vivid we must quote a paragraph. "We have
had a powerful thunder shower. The bay is much
rougher than the Hudson. I have just been out on
deck admiring the beauties of steam navigation.
The clouds still gently dropping, while the white
waves behind us, some of the waves at our side,
Ut up by the ships light chase each other about
like glittering meteors, and the black cloud from
our smoke stack, and the western shore light
house in the verge of the horizon, together with
the undulating motion is grand beyond descrip
tion. It being stormy the Bay was rough and the
boat rocked and pitched so that many were sea
sick; while he escaped and says he rather enjoyed
the motion and writes of the occasion as one of
pleasure. Not accustomed to travel these opportunities of
observation and experience were a rare privilege
¦which he enjoyed to the full.
Of his stop in Albany he wrote and mentioned
his visit to the museum of Natural History saying

40 LIFE AND LETTERS
" I was highly pleased, yes more than pleased with
what I saw there."
Landing at Norfork he took the train for Welton
•and Greensboro, reaching High Point late on the
11th, from there by team stopping at Bush Hill he
arrived at Centre, his destination, on the 13th.
He wrote to his sister, " General Hardis corps of
Johnsons' army surrendered at Bush Hill, was
-shown the ground on which they camped" and also
*dds, "During the Revolution the army of Corn-
wallis advanced past Centre meeting house to the
battle of Guilford Court House and then retreated
past it. They burried many soldiers in the
^Friends burying ground."
He makes some amusing comments on the old
meeting house, its ancient appearance he thinks,
would make it an object worthy of exhibit in the
•north. It was to be his school house for the pres
ent and he waited a week for them to seat it and
arrange the heating, so it could be used until a
school house was built. This gave him a httle
time to make the acquaintance of the people and
the country.
To a young man from a country home in the
north this south land so different in many res
pects and with a people of two races each with
ways new to him the situation was a novel one.
In his letters to his friends at home he described
in those days many of the incidents of personal
experience, the persons and things which he saw
with a Minuteness of detail, which showed the
-close observer.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 41
He lost few opportunities of seeing and learning
and as he mingled with the people he soon felt
quite at home there.
The house being ready on the 22nd of the Tenth
month he opened the school with about twenty
pupils increasing to forty before Christmas.
He had a boarding place with an old lady living
near who he says was a mother to him in caring
for his physical needs. His students ranged from
A, B, C, to latin grammar, so as the number in
creased his time was very fully occupied during
school hours; and some of the time between in
reviewing studies in advance of his higher
classes. Saturdays he found time to go out and feast on
the wild persimmons which abounded in the woods,
and which he came to enjoy very much, he said
when ripe they were fully equal to a good
muskmellon. In his letters home he describes with much
minuteness the peculiarities of the people and
productions of that land, so new and strange In
many ways to him.
Born and reared among northern abolitionists
he had a lively interest in the f reedman and soon
found his place as a teacher in the Bible school
among the colored people at Bush Hill, there
seemed to be little affinity between them and the
resident whites, but a yankee could easily win
their attention and confidence.
The first funeral it was his privilege to attend
and take part in was that of a negro child burried

42 LIFE AND LETTEBS
in the church yard there. He and his pupils went
to the grave and as there was no minister he felt
called to give a few words of exhortation and en
couragement and offer prayer.
In his intimacy with the colored people he met
with incidents humorous as well as pathetic, in
contrast to the above he related in one of his letters
the following: One day an illiterate young wom
an came to him with a request to write for her a
letter to her sweetheart, who was living at a dis
tance. He kindly accepted the delicate task which
must have been well accomplished, resulting as it
proved in a permanent union.
Looking forward as he did to the fulfillment of
the prophecies of the Lord's servants in the home
land in regard to his future; he was deeply inter
ested in the spiritual progress not only of his
pupils but others of the community and congrega
tion with whom he met from week to week.
So we are not surprised that he soon found
o.pportunity for its expression in public, sometimes
with crudeness and even amusing originality but
always with earnestness and sincerity.
He wrote to his parents the details of his first
efforts, feeling that they were in some measure an
answer to their prayers.
, In November he closed his school for a few days
to attend North Carolina Yearly Meeting where he
met for the first time many of the Friends in that
section as well as several visitors of note, among
them Thomas and Allen Jay, of Indiana, and Eli
and Sybil Jones, of Maine; all of whom visited

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 43
Centre a little later and broke in on his school
hours by holding a meeting in an afternoon in the
school room, and also one for freedmen in the
evening at which Eli Jones gave them adrscription
of his visit to Africa and especially Liberia, setting
before them the capabilities of their race and giv
ing them much encouragement, to all of which
they gave the closest attention.
Samuel frequently wrote of Joseph Moore who
under appointment from Baltimore was superin
tendent of Friends schools there and so was the
one who hired him; his wages being paid by Balti
more Friends, while his board, etc., was by local
Friends. The winter was a severe one for that latitude
and the old house so open and cold that they suf
fered much, he wrote of the scholars all gathering
around the two stoves to keep warm; and yet on
the whole he thought it far preferable to our north
ern winters.
The school was large, often as many as forty, so
that with some assistance from older pupils, he
still found himself very busy, but he bore it well
and speaks of improvement in his health since
leaving the northern home. He seems to have so
thoroughly interested his scholars in their work
that discipline was at least easy; he does not speak
of any trouble during the term; while previously
he had been much discouraged in his government.
At New Years he moralizes on the changes which
a year has brought to him and draws a vivid con
trast between his surroundings then and now.

44 LIFE AND LETTERS
Toward spring he frequently wrote of his desire
to once more see his northern home if he could feel
at liberty to leave the work there, which seemed
quite doubtful. He wrote frequently to his moth
er of his religious service in the meetings both in
prayer and ministry. Improving in the exercise
of his gift to the satisfaction of his hearers, he was
soon asked by the elders at Centre to sit with them
in the gallery.
On the whole his school was quite successful and
closed on May 22d, 1867, with a public examination
on the 24th.
A Friends Normal School at Westminister, some
20 miles away, was opened June 18th, and he de
cided to attend it; holding about two months with
that able teacher Joseph Moore at the head, it
proved an interesting and profitable time of stndy
as well as extended acquaintance with the young
people at that section. There were 90 students,
they had lectures from outside by able Profes
sors. In a letter to his mother July 23 he spoke of the
qualifications of Joseph Moore as a teacher, es
pecially of natural science, having attended some
of the highest colleges and associated with such
men as Prof. Gray the botanist, Louis Aggasiz the
comparative anatomist, Dr. Cutler the physiolo
gist, had given him a vast fund of information on
all topics in the domain of nature. He used very
few big words particularly when preaching. At
one time after he had spoken in a meeting he over
heard an illiterate man speak to another and say^

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 45
"I don't believe that man has much larnin', for I
can understand him. "
Before leaving the Normal he made arrange
ments to teach another year for the Baltimore
Association, this time at Back Creek in Randolph
county about twenty miles from Centre. This
took him again among strangers which made him
think of the old folks at home; yet boarding around
he soon became acquainted with a large circle of
interesting young people, many of them his pupils
with whom the time passed merrily and his service
in the ministry increasing he felt strongly drawn
in the bonds of Christian fellowship. His school
with an average of about thirty went off so well
through the winter that he fell quite in love with a
teacher's life and thought quite seriously of mak
ing it his life work instead of farming which he
had frequently written to his folks of as the best
he probably could do. There was growing up in
his heart the desire, which comes to every true
and well developed man and woman to have a home
of his own an abiding place. He writes of board
ing at John Hoovers where they had nine children,
most of them his pupils, among them some inter
esting daughters, whose society he enjoyed.
Reference has been made to his love for Astrono
my fostered by his mother with whom he frequent
ly enchanged notes on current observations and
under date second month 1868 he wrote, "by look
ing in the almanacs I found that Mercury was
coming to its greatest elongation east under very
favorable circumstances for its recognition, owing

46 LIFE AND LETTERS
to a conjunction with Jupiter while in sight. I de
termined to watch, and last night to my great joy
three planet bodies were visible in the west, the
lower one was the long wished for sight of my life."
His letters home were full and copious with the
details of his daily life and experience and yet he
says there are very many interesting and amusing
incidents transpiring from day to day which he
has not time to relate.
He took an active interest in Sunday School work
and attended the conventions being held through
out that section, frequently giving addresses and
lectures on Bible subjects.
His love for the old folks at home found expres
sion in every epistle to the north and with much
canvassing as to the probability of his meeting
them in the near future.
Toward spring he began to think of the long
summer vacation and the advisability of adopting
farming as an avocation. There being several
farms in the neighborhood for sale at very low
prices, he wrote to his folks at home urging them
to sell the old home, buy one of those farms and
locate in the sunny south, whose rare beauties he
described in glowing terms.
On third month 27th, 1868, he wrote his mother,
"you can hardly form any idea of the beauty of
Carolina in its scarlet and crimson dress of peach
blossoms— Lovely Carolina: how can I leave thy
sweet festive bowers of Edenic loveliness. How
can I leave thy glorious mission fields, thy many
wants, thy many needs."

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 47
But as the winter wore away and his acquaint
ances increased he became more in love with the
people and the country; and he wrote to his rela
tives as follows: "I have found in the family of my
friend Jabez Hodgin almost a brotherly tie, and a
home when I wish, and no doubt if sick there
should find the same care of an own child or broth
er. What more do I want, what more do I need or
can I ask for. A great open field lies before me
and I am in one of tbe loveliest climes on earth.
The loveliest and most responsible of all worldly
occupations, the society of the good, the educated,
the lovely associations of teacher and pupil, with
loving children and the favor of God."
Thus the pendulum of his life was swinging be
tween here and there, between north and south,
between duty and inclination, under the impress
of his varied experiences.
Perrin Reynolds, an intimate friend both socially
and religiously, in those days, thus writes after
forty years separation his impressions of the
man: "Samuel A. Purdie came to my father's house at
Centre, North Carolina, in 1866 to teach the school
at the place under the care of the Baltimore Asso
ciation of Friends. He was a young man whose
habits and manners of life were quite different and
even odd in many respects compared with the lives
of most young men of his a-j-e with whom I was ac
quainted. He was of a lively disposition, cheerful
and full of fun, but never engaged in conversation
or encouraging it in others that bordered on the

48 LIFE AND LETTERS
sinful and unclean or impure, he seemed to be
severed far from evil even in the thought.
"S. A. Purdie began his ministry I think soon
after going to Centre. Speaking of his ministry
afterwards he said to me, 'I guess thee heard me
the first time I spoke in meeting.' I remember
the scripture he repeated, Luke 20, 17-18v; after
this he frequently spoke in our meetings at home
and visited a few other meetings nearby. After
one year with us he went into the adjoining county
south of us where he taught two or three years
and formed an attachment for Gulia M. Hoover and
married her. She proved to be a loving devoted
wife, honoring her husband as all Christian wives
should and ever in her untiring efforts seeking to
be a true helpmate in all the interest of his life.
They seemed beautifully mated and when he was
called home from the field of service in the earth,
she took up her pen and wrote an obituary notice
exceeding in simplicity, beauty and sweetness, any
like notice I have ever read.
"While boarding at my father's we were quite in
timate friends and talked often of the work which
we both seemed much interested in, and I suggest
ed to him the propriety of opening school with
scripture reading and an opportunity for vocal
prayer, he readily assented and often engaged in
prayer on behalf of his scholars. He told me soon
after coming south he thought his work there
would only be temporary, he believed his work lay
in Mexico, to which work he was no doubt called
and well adapted.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 49
Samuel A. Purdie had an excellent memory. I
think Joseph Moore of Earlham College said once,
'he had the best memory of any man he had ever
met.'
"He seemed to be void of any thought of his repu
tation or care what the thoughts of others were
about him. No thought of self exaltation, no de
sire to be chief among men, no seeking the approval
of men, no bossism about him. The one thought
which seemed to be always uppermost in his mind
was to minister in anyway, teaching, preaching, or
like Paul of old laboring with his own hands, he
was willing to be servant of all; by the aid of the
printing press he was able to send the gospel to
many he never had the privilege of seeing. I be
lieve he was a man truly called of God and chosen
for the great and noble work to which he gave his
life and in which he was honored of the Lord. No
Rev. prefixed to his name or D. D. affixed, but as
one of the friends of Jesus he went about the Mas
ter's business cheerfully, lovingly, yea joyfully,
counting all things but loss that he might win
Christ and finish his life work with joy.
"I have never met another man like him, he was
so caught up with the Lord and his life hid with
God in Ch-ist Jesus, actuated by a spirit different
from most of us, with our selfishness, pride, self-
esteem; which has shamefully hurt the ministry
of many a man and not a few women. He moved
right along through this life where trials, tribula
tions, sorrows and disappointments abound, with
out seemingly to ever be moved or swayed by them.

50 LIFE AND LETTERS
He seemed able to practice the words of the Hymn,
"So on I go not knowing
I would not if [ might
I'd rather walk by faith with God
Than go alone by sight."
1 should like to mention one little circumstance
in this life to show that be was as ready to be ser
vant of all as to preach at people f rom the pulpit.
While he was at Centre, N. C. , in the eleventh month
occurred the Friends Quarterly Meeting at that
place, on seventh day evening a goodly number of
rthe visiting ministers and others had gone on the
¦east side of a creek that was nearby the meeting
ihouse, that night it rained in torrents and the next
morning when the Friends came to the creek there
being no bridge could not cross; there was a foot
way but one end of that was floating but held by a
tree so it could not go down stream, but the water
was about three feet deep on the west side for
some three rods, so Friends were very much dis
couraged about getting to Quarterly Meeting.
Samuel came down among the company and shout
ed out, 'Oh ye of little faith why stand ye here;'
he took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trous
ers and waded into the end of the foot way and in
vited all who would cross the foot way to come
on and he took them one by one on his back and
carried them to land safely; some of the men
weighed as much as 200 pounds; the ladies did not
attempt to cross. I think the service was truly
one of joy to him."
His school proved a pleasant one to the end of

OF SAMUEL R. PURDIE 5Jk
May and after doing some visiting in families and
meetings he again attended the Normal which held
for six weeks in the summer and proved a session
of much interest.
He talked of teaching again at Back Creek, but
it was finally given to a former teacher and he se
cured a position as teacher under the Freed man's
Bureau near, at Belvidere; interested as he was in
this down trodden race he willingly accepted the
situation, glad to do something to help to lift them
up out of the pit of ignorance and degradation in
which slavery had left them; a truly needy field
for human effort.
During his summer vacation he became a con
tributor to the Herald of Peace published at Chi
cago, and furnished it a series of articles on "Quak
erism in Dixie, " for which he received a satisfac
tory remuneration. In getting the facts and in
formation for these articles he traveled many miles
on foot visiting the different meetings and many
families throughout the state.
He was kept very busy up to the time of opening
his school in November, and then he was still hard
er worked as its numbers soon rose to about forty,
in a room 16x24, but they came to learn c ven amid
difficulties and required little effort to keep them
in order.

52 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER V.

MARRIAGE.

"Man's sweetest heritage below
From which life's richest fruitage flows
Two warm hearts melted into one
Two lives abreast, the race is won."
Few young men in society reach twenty-five
without some aspirations and air castles in regard
to a future home and our subject was no exception
to the general rule.
At Back Creek he had in his school a good rep
resentation from the families of the brothers John
and Alfred Hoover, the former of whom had nine
children and the latter eight, in these homes he
passed many pleasant hours, at John's there were
three grown daughters who attended the school,
one of these proved very attractive to the teacher
and during his vacation he made frequent stops
with them, helping at times with the farm work,
as some remuneration for his board; so in his let
ters home frequent mention is made of the pleas
ant incidents and associations surrounding him
there. Their friendship soon ripened into a stronger
tie; and before his winter school term began the
plans were peing formed for his wedding at the
close of the term to Gulielma Maria third child,

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 53
but second daughter of John Hoover; a man highly
respected in the community for his business abil
ity and integrity his upright life and peaceable
disposition; he and his brother Alfred on adjoining
plantations had raised up their large families with
out ever a jar or an unpleasant word between them;
a fact of especial interest to this peace loving
preacher. He seems to have sought very earnestly for Di
vine guidance in this important step and to have
weighed the matter with much calmness and good
judgment, realizing how great might be its bearing
on his future.
Closing his school with a public examination
which was very largely attended by the colored
people and proved a very interesting occasion on
13th. of February 1869.
On the 15th. was their wedding at the home of
the bride conducted after the order of Friends at
which his young friend Frank A. Blair was beau
tifully led in prayer and after a tour to Center and
vicinity for a few days they returned to her home
and stayed for a few weeks.
In April they started for his home in the north
stopping on the way to attend Philadelphia Yearly
Meeting and met a warm welcome on their arrival
at the old home of his boyhood in Columbus.
Here among the loved friends and pleasant sur
rounding endeare ¦ to him by so many cherished
memories they tarried for more than a year; help
ing his father on the farm and doing such work
as came to hand.

54 LIFE AND LETTERS
In the winter in company with his old time friend
Jarvis M. Rider he made a religious visit to the
meetings and families of Butternuts Quarterly
Meeting of which he was formerly a member; much
to his comfort and satisfaction.
In August they started again for the beautiful
southland feeling that life would be not only pleas-
anter but more useful among the hungry, needy
souls thirsting for the water of Life, whom he had
left there, to welcome his return he would go and
seek a home among them and await the leading of
the future.
After a short time spent in visiting he hired a
plantation near Back Creek meeting house and
went earnestly at farm work; at the same time en.
gaging to teach the freedmen at Belvidere for three
months in the winter. The school proved very
successful, its numbers swelling to an attendance
of fifty-seven with about eighty on the roll. It was
during this term of school or a preceeding one that
the incident occured that is narrated in a recent
letter to the author from Allen Jay, of Richmond,
Indiana, from which we quote.
"When I went to North Carolina in 1867 as Su
perintendent of the Baltimore Association work,
Samuel A. Purdie was already there as a teacher.
One circumstance in his life will explain in what
direction his religious thoughts were directed.
One day as I was on my way around visiting the
schools I drove up to Back Creek school house and
was somewhat surprised to find that the scholars
had not been called in from their noon hour play as

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 55
they should have been, upon inquiry I was told by
the children that their teacher was down in the-
woods sitting on a log by the side of an old man
and when I spoke to him in regard to failing to call
the scholars to their study he excused himself on
the grounds that he was so interested in his stud
ies and had forgotten the time of day. He had
found an old Spaniard who could speak and write
the Spanish language well and he was availing
himself of the opportunity to prepare himself so
that he might use it in the future, saying that he
believed the time would come when the Master
would open the way for him to make use of it so
that in the early part of the year 1871 I received a
letter from Charles F. Coffin of Indiana Yearly
Meeting asking me if I could recommend Samuel
A. Purdie to go to Mexico as a missionary; I re
membered his impression the time would come
when he would be called to that work and at once
replied that I believed he would succeed and a
short time after tbat he and his wife came to our
house and stopped with us over night and I re
member the earnest prayers that were offered
during our family worship that he would be led
and guided by the Spirit. Next morning I took
him to the train and saw him leave for what was to*
be his future field of great usefulness where his
hfe work became an important factor in the For-
eicn Missionary work of our church."
With a large school he could do little outside,.
but having got the farm well in hand in the autumn,
and with some hired help in the winter, he was able

56 LIFE AND LETTERS
to start some of his crops in good season and also
a good supply of garden vegetables. Vegetation
thrived for a time, he wrote of the height of some
of his corn in the early summer; but later it be
came dry and corn on upland was almost a total
failure, in the vicinity.
When hot weather came on he was afflicted with
erysipelas. That and other ailments kept him
from work for several weeks in the summer so
that his farm work was somewhat in arrears and
he became convinced that he was hardly fitted for
heavy outdoor work in the heat of summer, the
skin eruption seeming to be a constitutional ten
dency, the physicians told him he had best aband
on farm work in the summer. This may have
made him more willing to follow promptly the lead
ings which through all the months had been draw
ing him toward other fields; still it was probably
but a slight factor in the problem of his future.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 57

CHAPTER VI.
MISSION FIELDS.
"Go ye into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature." Bible.
About the first of August he visited in gospel
ministry the meetings of Deep Creek Quarterly
meeting covering several counties to the northwest
a trip of 300 miles with William C. Winslow as a
companion, which they accomphshed much to his
satisfaction and peace of mind. In writing to his
parents he also says "whilst feeling my weakness
and unworthiness, the manner in which I felt call
ed to labor for others has been a cause of surprise.
I have felt since my return to North Carolina (one
year ago) drawn to extensive fields of labor and
what is reserved for me in the future seems at
times to almost overwhelm me with a sense of its
magnitude. A concern which has rested upon my
mind at times for nearly two years, but all the
time for some ten months past seems soon to call
for action: the subject has been before the Friends
Foreign Missionary Association for some months
and they have invited me to attend Indiana Yearly
Meeting at their expense to have conference with
them upon the subject."
Later he writes of his trip there by way of Rich-

58 LIFE AND LETTERS
mond, Va., where he read for half a day in the
State library, his stop at Washington on the Sab
bath where he attended the small Friends Meeting,
on to Richmond, Ind., by the Baltimore and Ohio
R. R., his experiences there and particularly of the
public meeting of the Association on the evening
of 10 month 2nd, where John D. Miles, of the Kic-
kapoo Mission, who had just returned from Mexi
co was present and said that not knowing of Sam
uel's prospect until in that meeting, he had come to
ask them to send missionaries to Northern Mexico
and as the arrangements had just been completed
for him to go there he was strongly impressed
with the coincidence; he writes also that after he
had been studying Spanish six months a Spaniard
came within two miles of him to live and had as
sisted him in study nearly five months which he
did gladly free of charge.
This coincidence strengthened him in his pur
pose and with the more striking one narrated
above he says "is overpowering and shows that the
hand of the Lord is in the work."
Arriving home he began preparations for their
departure and at 3 a. m. of Nov. 13th-, they left
High Point, N. O, for New Orleans by way of At
lanta and Mobile at the latter place taking steamer
for Brownsville, Texas, opposite Matamoros, and
we find them at the border of the field in good
health ready to take up the work before them with
his accustomed energy and enthusiasm, up to this
time he had expected to go directly to Victoria as
his destination and headquarters for his work.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 59
Arriving at Brownsville, Tex., on the 24th, he
stopped there over the Sabbath having a meeting
appointed and thus beginning work in the south.
Ke found that international mail facilities were not
extended to Mexico, so by locating at Matamoros
he could use Brownsville in the United States as
his mail station, a great advantage in publishing
books and papers. He therefore decided to do so;
and opened the mission at rooms 64 and 66 Calle
de Matamoros on Nov. 28th, 1871 and began work
at once by the distribution of tracts furnished by
the American Tract Society and Bibles and Testa
ments by the American Bible Society.
He wrote in the introduction to memoirs of Angel
ita Aquilar de Mascorroby S. A. Purdie, 1885. "My
attention was called to this field because having
become interested in the spread of peace princi
ples for which I had suffered somewhat during the
war which desolated my native land I longed to do
something to stay the tide of blood which was be
ing shed in intestine strife in these countries and
to give them the Gospel of peace and purity in place
of their superstitious Romanism and the degrad
ing influence of their priesthood. ' '
"My aim was a Publishing House and the title
of our paper 'El Ramo de Olivo' was written on a
fly leaf of my Latin Lexicon long ere I offered my
services to the F. F. M. A.
"Detained in Matamoros by the Revolution which
terminated with the death of Benito Juarez, a con
gregation had gathered around us giving promise
of great local good and it did not seem best to leave

60 LIFE AND LETTERS
this gathering for a new field and thus for our
book work this change proved very beneficial, as
it placed us in the free trade belt where we could
import paper free of duty, thus reducing the cost
of materials to one-half what it would have been at
Victoria and we could also use the facilities of the
U. S. postal laws for remitting our publications to
other Spanish countries, thus we see the wisdom
of our Heavenly Father in detaining us where we
could be most extensively useful.
In the summer of 1872 Friends in New York
furnished us a small press and type suitable for
the printing of tracts, etc. We at once issued our
monthly paper 'El Ramo de Olivo' which has been
continued to the present time with a constantly en
larging field of influence in the cause of Christ.
"The want of suitable school books for our Mis
sion schools was apparent as soon as they were es
tablished, which was early in 187*2. The school
books issued in Mexico were intensely Catholic,
those issued in New York by businessfirms though
less so, all had Catholic forms of prayer, while
those from Paris were more or less antagonistic to
all religion.
"We had to begin with A. B. C. although our First
Reader was better adapted to the word method
than any other book which had preceeded it. We
only hoped to supply — our own school and 144 cop
ies were issued. This edition lasted over two
years and was mostly circulated gratuitiously.
Just as it was exhausted in 1874, Presbyterians
and Methodist Missions were organized in all parts

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 61
of the country and our First Reader was called for.
From that time to the present it has gained favor
until about 1000 copies per month are sold to
schools in Mexico, Texas and New Mexico. It has
been followed by a complete series of reading
books decidely evangelical in their teaching unex
pectedly to us they have gained favor in many pub
lic schools in all parts of Mexico.
"As early as 1875 the Catholic papers declared
our Juvenile issues to be the most dangerous ele
ment they had to encounter and unless they could
be counteracted the coming generation would en
tirely abandon Romanism."
After getting located in their new home among
these Spanish speaking people, their first work
was to learn the language that they might be able
to converse freely and understandingly with those
around them.
Having studied it nearly a year, he was able to
use it to a limited extent yet not well enough for
him to attempt public speaking in that language.
In June he wrote "I now speak Spanish with
nearly the same ease and facility that I do English,
changing often very rapidly from using one to us
ing the other, acting as interpreter every day to
those who use but one language.
"Gulielma uses Spanish much less than I do, I
think that in a few months she will use it freely,
as after a person once gains confidence in the use
of their tongue they learn rapidly."
An incident of this period is worthy of note as
he gave it in the "Christian Arbitrator" Sept. '95.

62 LIFE AND LETTERS
"The following dream was related to me just after
landing at Matamoros in 1871. An elderly lady
who had embraced Protestantism whilst in the
United States, was living in that city with a son
and two daughters. Two weeks before myself and
wife landed she had a dream, in which she was
leading her son along the street and was shown a
room which some one said was a church but which
she said was a carpenter's shop. In the building
she saw the young minister who was to preach
there. The effect on her mind was to convince her
that her son, who was then a bartender, would be
converted and become a preacher. As we left
High Point, N. O, November 14, 1871, and I landed
at Matamoros, November 28th, her dream was al
most or quite the same time of our starting. She
recognized me as the person whom she saw in her
dream. Her son was converted (presumably un
der his preaching Ed.) about a year later and be
came a Presbyterian minister, and is a very suc
cessful and devoted worker."
Involved as the country was in a revolutionary
struggle they were in constant dread of an attack
upon Matamoros.
Under date 2d. mo. 24th, he wrote "When I wrote
last we supposed Gen. Durioga would advance
upon Matamoros but he still remains at Comargo
and we hope Matamoros will be spared the terrors
of bombardment. We now meet for Sunday School
in Spanish which is encouraging to us and we see
work enough ahead now to keep us busy here for
a long time.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 63
"We deeply feel the increasing responsibilities
of our labors especially editorial as the only voice
of peace and holiness free from bitter controversy
published in all Spanish America. Yet the work
is scarcely begun, sixteen Republics are awak
ing from their profound slumber and clamoring
for the light of the gospel of truth. Aztecs and
Incas are losing confidence in Roman idols. We
bow in reverent gratitude to God that in this event
ful period, we have been called to this field and en
abled to acquire its language."
A natural mechanic, he had made much of his
household furniture in North Carolina and now had
an extended field for practice in the setting up of
his printing press, the fitting up of the press room;
and then the whole work of the office, from type
setting to mailing required him for instruction and
foreman as his helpers were all new and unskilled
in the work.
In August they were busy issuing tracts, transa
ctions of hymns and also some extracts from the
Life of Stephen Grellet and a sixteen page collec
tion of hymns of which he wrote. "They are a
beautiful collection of sacred poems and we think
will be in great demand here as Mexicans love
poetry." So between his work of translating, his varied
correspondence and his labors in the printing office
every moment of his time was fully occupied day
after day.
Early in the year the revolutionists advanced up
on Matamoros and it was in a state of siege for

64 LIFE AND LETTERS
several months, keeping them confined within the
city walls so he knew little about Mexican agricul
ture, but he wrote "Out in the country the people
live in ranches, in groups of five to twenty families
associated for protection and they always ride
armed coming to the city in trains of ox carts,
pack mules or jackasses."
On the 5th. mo. 30, he wrote "The Rio Grande
has been very low but is now rising from spring in
New Mexico; when low the water was quite salty
and immense crowds of people were daily bathing
in the cool of the day thereby saving a trip to Bra
zos on the Gulf. We were pressingly invited to
join some acquaintances in a bath in its muddy
waters, we are not quite Mexicanized enough to do
so. Mexican women, boys and girls were enjoy
ing themselves like so many porpoises. The wo
men wore an under garment, but the others were
mostly in natures attire." From 5 to 9 p. m. there
were crowds of people bathing every day. The
midday was so warm and sultry that people stir
red very little out of doors. His press room was
in the dwelling house so he was not obliged to go
out very much; so as they got acclimated they
found life pleasant and their work mostly congen
ial. As their work and their acquaintance with
the needs of the people increased they felt more
bound to the field.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 65

CHAPTER VII.
MINGLED RACES.
"Behold! I made of one blood all nations. " Bible.
Many of our people in their ignorance of the
Spanish people have in reading of the devastating
wars, the inhuman treachery and brutal cruelty of
Cortez and Pizzaro; been led to judge the nation
largely by that standard perhaps unjustly and
thereby aequire a dislike to them in general which
a fuller acquaintance would not warrant.
In writing to his mother he says "In the rela
tions of social intercourse the Spanish race is as
congenial, as ardent as their climate; which has a
moulding influence over the national characteris
tics; yet the habits do not change as rapidly as a
race changes climate. The two races are here
brought in more immediate contact than in many
other points on the American continent.
"Enter an American home and you are received
by a mechanical formality often by a generous out-
gush of heartfelt sympathy, yet there is a general
appearance of stolidity, impassive quietude. Enter
a Spanish house and you are received by a general
uprising every hand is at 98 degrees of Farenheit,
if their best seat is a dry goods box you forget but
that it is a rocking chair, and they at once enter

66 LIFE AND LETTERS
upon an open energetic conversation. If you meet
in the next half hour you receive the same warm
outgushing salutation; if you meet daily it is the
same. " We have yet to learn that there is more thiev
ing in Mexico than in New York in proportion to
the population. During one year we have lived in
daily, hourly contact with Mexicans, we have found
them ever reliable, or at least so much so as the
same number of Americans. There is however
among the masses many who delight in low amuse
ments but that is true of any city. The lottery,
the theatre and cock fighting find their votaries,
but there is a mass of people which have a deep in
terest in the useful, the permanent things of the
life to come. President Juaruz, the Lincoln of
Mexico, prohibited bull-fighting, and the Plaza de
Tarzo is now a pasture of goats and asses, a public
park for the future city."
The native Mexicans are a mixed people, Span
ish, Indian and Aztec and all grades of admixtures
with an addition of negro blood, so all shades of
color are met with from white to «opper, red and
black, all mingling together pleasantly and peae-
ably. Another feature in Mexican life he describes in
a letter to his older sister a little later.
"For some time we had become deeply interest
ed in the family of Estevan Gallegos a peon (the
Mexican slave) living three miles west of Mata
moros but who has been diligently attending our
reunions when his master would allow him liberty

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 67
of absence. He had requested to become a mem
ber of a society we had formed for evangelical in
struction, and although a pure Mexican Indian
was admitted among the members.
"The brief history of his servitude may illus
trate Mexican slavery, possibly awaken an interest
in the cause of an oppressed people. Mexican
slavery is firstly voluntary, secondly perpetual.
Estevan had ever been a peon, but was enterpris
ing and diligent and made his contracts of servi
tude on time, had ever passed in good haciendas,
whose liberal owners administered to his wants or
at least made his condition supportable. A young
wife to whom he become attached had borne him
two little daughters and unaccustomed to care for
himself he could not bear the idea of liberty in the
light of such increasing responsibilities. He ap
plied to the owner of a hacienda (or plantation) last
Eleventh month for the support of his family during
the present winter, they were thinly clad, bare
footed and suffering from hunger. The owner of
the plantation promised to supply the wants of the
family and Estevan entered joyfully upon his toils.
The winter has been unusually severe, no funds
could be gained from the master to clothe the
young family, they were reduced to strings and
our funds for aiding the poor did not arrive until
early in the First month when we visited the
hacienda and supplied them with clothing. Este
van had lived with a protestant family as poor as
himself and desired to learn to read the Bible.
We gave him a tract primer in Spanish and by the

68 LIFE AND LETTERS
aid of his friends he had with undaunted energy
made great progress in reading; a desire of liberty
or at least of comfort had entered his soul and he
recently expressed a desire to work in our press
room, thus to sustain his family.
"We needed some one there a*od his master hav
ing by such evident neglect broken his contract
we determined upon his emancipation. The past
week has been spent in this manner, anxious days,
disquieted nights two hours conference with his
master in our rooms in presence of mutual friend.
Last night the family came and will occupy a
kitchen in our yard and we have our hands full in
the effort to teach them how to use their liberty."
Having abundance of work coming on he proved a
good helper for them.
Drawn in Christian love to all these varied peo
ple, they found many warm friends among them,
which prevented loneliness in their wide separation
from their loved ones in the North land. So now
he seldom makes any reference in his letters to
the subject; while in his first year in North Caro
lina nearly every letter gave expressions to his
longing to see the old folks at home and to look
once more on the familiar scenes of his boyhood.
The contact with this mixture of races must have
expanded in their hearts the sense of universal
brotherhood one of the great fountains of mission
ary zeal.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 69

CHAPTER VIII.
THE PUBLISHING HOUSE.
The press driven by "The pen is mightier than the sword."
Anticipating the arrival of the printing press
and launching of his publishing business he still
was planning to occupy his time in various ways
outside; so on Fourth month 27th, 1872, he wrote
his parents:
"My labors will be largely translating and print
ing; perhaps also a Prof, of English in our Protestant
school to which all persons conforming to the reg
ulations will be admitted, the rich paying richly
for their instruction. If we do not open a school
(though I consider it certain a large number hav
ing applied already) I shall teach English classes,
deliver scientific lectures and thus aid the cause of
science, the twin sister of religion in the elevation
of the human race. In this manner we hope to
overcome the holy horror of Protestanism among
the better class of residents and meantime do all
we can for the elevation of the sons of Guatineszin
and not forget our negro population.
"Of course I can only hope to teach classes at
given hours. I think our teacher will be Eugenia
Rino, a young lady well educated in the Protestant
schools of Brownsville with whom we are well ac
quainted.

70 LIFE AND LETTERS
"I have had meetings at Brownsville two First
days at 10 a. m. and expect to have another tomor
row." "I forgot to say we are living in the house
formerly occupied by Gen. Palorios, commander
of the forces at Matamoros; his parlor is our meet
ing room, very probablylhis former office was our
book room, the peace officetof Friends for Spanish
America." The first number of the "Olive Branch," his
monthly periodical, "El Ramo de Olivo" was issued
about 1st of September 1872 and the demand for
evangelical literature increasing he was constantly
employed in translating and printing with several
assistants in the press-room, issuing tracts and
hymns and various extracts from English litera
ture. Previous to the arrival of the printing press he
was occupied in distributing tracts and bibles sent
from the north, in studying the language and get
ting acquainted with the people, also in fitting up
his rooms for school and perhaps meetings.
The city being in a stage of siege his work was
all within the walls, otherwise he might have made
a much desired visit to Tampico, Victoria and other
points in Southern Tamaulipas in the interest of
his mission work.
On 5th month 30th he wrote to his mother, "The
work here in Matamoros continues interesting but
I long for the time when other hearts shall feel the
power of the gospel. The delay in our press com
ing is a new trial, two or three days too late for tho
ship and a month to wait for another.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 71
"We have been arranging for a school and I have
been making some household furniture and read.
ing the History of Mexico; by Marares Arroniz,
brief, new and interesting, published in Paris as
are most Spanish books sold in Mexico. They are
just now very busy selling a supply of Catholic
books printed in Mexico. They are mostly prayers
of saints or dogmas of the church of Rome sold as
remedies for diseases, of both body and soul.
"We undersell them but do not recommend our
books for toothache nor rheumatism." In the 7th
month the press arrived and was installed with a
supply of type to meet present needs to which 50
pounds more were added a few months later.
He wrote his sister 8th month 13th, "I have been
very busy thus far this month with the press. We
printed on the first a tract of four pages consisting
of "Just as I am" and "Glory to God in the High
est." Since then the press and type have been ar
ranged in much better order and has been in oper
ation every day. We can not readily print more
than 4000 pages 16 mo per day or 8000 pages of
hymns. It usually takes as long to set type as to
print 1000 copies of the form."
About this time they printed in a 16-page pam -
phlet a life of Stephen Grellet; and soon after got
out the first number of the Olive Branch. He had
at this time two assistants of whom he said,
"We have now the assistance of Elizia Flores
as type setter, she is a well educated girl but
very bashful. Emiliana Incarnacion Flores is
much better educated and is a very easy writer,.

72 LIFE AND LETTERS
does all our copying and corrects all translation.
His reading and studying of Spanish and Enghsh
books and papers in addition to his office work
must have kept him more than busy.
Later he wrote his sister, "It never occured to
our minds that a small press would keep us as
busy and require so much writing to fill the paper.
Translating, selecting pictures, etc., keep us very
busy and then we have to do all the printing. Hove
to print, yet it is tiresome, especially to the feet and
legs to stand up all day when working the press.
"Sometimes we get tired of staying but soon be
come reconciled when we see some encouragement
in the work. We have plenty of girls to help us
and as Gulielma has a day school in English for six
French and five Mexicans, we have plenty of little
players around our rooms to keep us not only hap
py but watchful. Gulielma talks English, Span
ish and Alica Dessommes translates for her in
French when speaking to those who do not talk
English. Thus in play and in study we hear three
languages every day almost every hour. It is busy
life, almost too busy for pleasure, yet we want to
do all the good we can and so we keep busy all the
time. Sometimes we get lonely but have little
time to think of such things as we have company
almost every hour that we are awake."
The change from life in North Carolina has been
great. " We meet every First day at 4 p.m. in a
Sabbath School followed by a meeting for worship
in Spanish, also every Fifth day at 7 p. m. we meet
in the Mission room.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 73
"The regular establishment of a Friends meet
ing here we think a probability but there is wide
room yet for making our principles known. The
Protestants seem to appreciate the principles of
Friends as far as we have spoken about them, but
we have no tracts or books setting forth a concise
statement of our peculiar doctrines and we cannot
publish them till we do."
His work was sustained by Friends Association
in the north, and as it was by voluntary offerings
his needs were not always met as promptly as he
could wish.
In a letter to his sister Second month 1873, he
requests her to solicit funds in her locality for his
printing work and adds "we are now desiring to
print Epistles and Gospels and circulate them in
all parts of Mexico. Some are sold, others donat
ed, the returns generally pay postage and here in
the city sustain those who are occupied in sell
ing and we sometimes get a little toward reprint
ing, etc.
"The Missionary Association pays us what we ex
pend for our own wants as reported from month
to month. We make nothing but have no greater
anxiety that is caused by the rapid increase of our
press work which is sustained by voluntary do
nations. "We stand responsible for the wages of four as
sistants in our type and press room, but have nev-
yet been disappointed. Last year we expended
about $100 in the purchase of tracts printed in New
York, this year we shall try to expend all our

74 LIFE AND LETTERS
funds on the press here; thus $25 will pay the cost
of 1000 copies of the Epistle of James in large type,
of this $20 will be applied to the support of poor
protestants by the employment it gives them.
They will be mailed to Mexico City, Acapulc Vera
Cruz, Zacatecas, and sent by passes to all parts of
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. Thus scattering
Bible truth from the Rio Grande to the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec." Full of enthusiasm in the work he sought to meet
every opportunity for service, and soon found him
self the center of a constantly expanding field of
activity. He began with the publication of religious litera
ture but soon a need of school books opened a new
channel for effort in both writing and printing,
giving abundant work for all his force.
After being in a state of siege for months, with
repeated fears of attack and bombardment, it was
a cause for rejoicing when peace was restored and
the enemy withdrew their forces in the summer
of 1872.
After nearly a year of close confinement in this
city by the sea with its fog and damp, its rain and
mud and salt sea water, it is not strange that he
was looking toward Victoria, that inland elevated
and healthy city which he had chosen as the site
for his mission work ere his arrival in the country.
On Eighth month 23 he writes, "The school is
small owing to the prevalence of a fever, the most
universal I ever saw any disease. Dear Guli was
sick a week with it, but with care and medicine is

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 75
now well again; seven in the same building have
been sick with it besides four of the school chil
dren. "A regular deluge has changed the air and we
hope the disease is stayed. The proclamation of
peace throughout Northern Mexico makes us al
most inclined to wing our way to the lofty table
lands for a good drink of water and view of some
thing besides a desert plain and the dull realities
of city life.
"They consider agriculture a total failure here.
Five years ago there was one harvest, but the peo
ple who sowed in the hope it inspired have buried
their money too deep far recovery. There is no
good water nearer than 150 miles, all being one
uniform arid plain. The trade with the interior is
now active and the mail line will soon open to Mon
terey and Santo Rosa. The circulation of the Bible
in Tamaulipas is now thrown into our hands, by the
donation to us of their books at Victoria, by the
Mission in the state of Nevo Leon.
"This increases our responsibility, making 1,000
Bibles, testaments and portions, donated since we
left home ; we can do very little more here in Bible
distribution as those who wish have already pro
cured them, and the country we cannot visit whilst
we are responsible for such expenses as are un
avoidable in such a city. During all the war there
was no attack upon Victoria, and the prospect for
a considerable peace, and our now being as able to
write and read Spanish as we are our native tongue,
makes us almost conclude that we had best pro-

76 LIFE AND LETTEBS
tect our health and provide for our comfort whilst
we can do so and save at least $175 of rent annually
by a ride of seven days (to Victoria) and in reach of
a weekly mail line to this city, and better facilities
for communication to Tampico. We shall have
time for investigation and consideration, we hope
we shall not expose ourselves to too much danger
from tropical fevers; to avoid a daDger not at all
immanent of encountering the perils of a possible
war." Fertile in thought and imagination, he was ever
forming plans for the future much faster than he
could execute them; so these plans were delayed
by subsequent events for years ere their final ful
fillment. Getting tired of the confinement of city life, and
wanting a little fresh air, on the last of March
1873, they moved to the south side of town, far out
among the shade trees and gardens, with a large
yard filled with a great variety of tropical fruit
trees and plants. About a mile from the business
part of the city. This quiet country hke home
proved much more pleasant than the crowded ten
ements they had left and gave promise to be more
healthful. He wrote, "This coast is sandy and any well of
twenty feet in depth admits the salt gulf water.
The new steam water works supply this part of
the city with water fresh from the current of the
Rio Grande which settles in the tanks so that it is
fully as good as Croton water of New York city or
Fairmount at Philadelphia.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 77
"We have concluded that a country location Uke
this will be both pleasant and healthful and we
shall probably make this our permanent home
whilst in Mexico. We have been having a wind
storm, such winds you never saw, though less vio
lent than some have been. Six years ago Mata
moros was almost entirely destroyed by one of
these south winds, the brick houses of only one
story and strongly built were piled about in terri
ble confusion. For three days past this wind has
been raging without a single intermission and as
there is not a single hill between here and Tampico
the wind has fair play. "
Ready always to take up the work nearest at
hand to embrace every opportunity for usefulness,
his plans for the future did not check the current
of his daily work.

78 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER IX.
A TRIP TO VICTORIA.
There is a life we may live
That is richer and better
Than his who for riches is striving;
If we seek for the needy
A neighbor or a brother
Who in some lone pathway is stumbling.
Ever since their arrival at Matamoros he had
been anticipating a visit to Victoria the city of his
intended destination, he was anxious to look over
the ground and introduce in some measure his
work among the people of Southern Tamaulipas.
This city is situated on the table land at an ele
vation of 2,000 feet above the gulf of Mexico and
distant from it about thirty miles on the river San
Marcos surrounded by a fertile country producing
tropical fruits in luxuriant profusion.
Gulielma having been in poor health for some
time a vacation and change to a dryer and more
elevated location seemed advisable; with the hope
that it might be of much benefit to her.
They having been in the work now for a year
and a half had acquired the use of the language so
perfectly as to fit both of them for the journey in
that respect and by the circulation of El Ramo de
Olivo and other of their publications they had be
come known to many in that section, it seemed

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 79
that the time had arrived to undertake it. There
fore about the first of May 1873 accompanied by
Anthony T. Graybil, a missionary under the Pres
byterian Board they started. They drove in a car
riage to Victoria, most of the way a sandy plain
covered with an endless variety of cactus plants,
so numerous that Samuel said of them "that there
was moie cactus there than he supposed there
were in the world."
San Fernando was half way station nearly on the
direct road to Victoria the other stations lying
among the mountains to the west which were
reached on horseback. While the toil and expos
ure of the journey were at times wearisome yet on
the whole the change of scene and climate was of
benefit to Gulielma.
A few months after he wrote " Until our visit to
Victoria her health often gave us some uneasiness
but the journey, changing scenes and mountain air
seemed to be very beneficial and for some time we
thought she seemed like regaining her usual health.
"That her disease was purely pulmonary con
sumption with all its deceitful fluctuations seems
certain. Yet she is otherwise in quite comfortable
health, has suffered less physically than formerly
and often expresses her thankfulness that her ill
ness is not painfiul; yet she complains much of
weakness of the lungs and difficulty in breathing a
long breath. Since the death of her most inti
mate schoolmate, Mary Jane Winslow, now over a
year, she has often spoken of the similarity of their
condition when they last seperated and quite fre-

80 LIFE AND LETTERS
quently dreams of their meeting in a better land."
And yet this little woman in the nearly thirty-five
years that have since passed has been through
struggles and dangers, through privations and af
flictions more severe than falls to the lot of most of
us, and is still striving to make the lives of those
around her better and happier,
On their return trip he speaks of stopping for the
night at a small village where they were entertain
ed with much hospitality by a well to do family;
while the host showed little interest in religious
matters he seemed willing and ready to help them
on their way and also expressed satisfaction with
their stay. As they were about to leave in the
morning he said the way was somewhat danger
ous and he would accompany them a little way, so
mounting his horse he rode beside them for about
six miles when coming to a wood among the hiUs
he told them to stop while he went forward out of
their sight and at a concerted signal from him to
move on, he passed along and soon they heard the
discharge of his pistol, moving forward they found
him alone; then with a pleasant fareweU he sent
them forward while he returned. They reached
home safely and afterward learned that their kind
host was the leader of a gang of highwaymen who
operated in that region. So they could but feel
that they had passed through "peril of robbers"
on the journey. About a year later he turned
from his sinful life, sought religious teaching and
became a useful man. The fruit with little doubt
of Samuel's memorbale tarry with him.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 81
Friends in the north encouraged by the pro
gress of the mission and seeing the growth of the
work which was so ably conducted with its con
stantly increasing burdens by those in the field,
thought best to send additional workers to their
assistance. In the summer of 1878 the Missionary
Committee of Indiana Yearly Meeting having en
gaged the services of two young Friends of Car
thage, Indiana. Micajah M. and Susie R. Binford,
started them forward in the autumn to the field.
He wrote " I hope we shall be able to start a
school as soon as they get here."
And speaks of being very tired putting out fig
trees, flowers, cactus and other plants and found
one of his feet badly blistered from traveling over
the prarie seeking wild flowers.
We of the north land can hardly realize the lux
uriance of those tropical growths, possible with
little care and cultivation. A month before he had
written of their pet singing birds. " We have now
alive and well one parrot, one mocking bird, one
regular canary, and Mexican yellow hammer also
two other birds from the mountains, one a dull
green, is a most beautiful singer, the other more
beautiful than the oriole is wonderfully still all the
others sing loudly."
Coming with a warm welcome to such surround
ings the new comers must have soon felt at home
and ready to go on with the study of the Spanish
language, their first work on entering this new
field. Very few have the gift for acquiring another
tongue which was shown by Samuel Purdie, Who

82 LIFE AND LETTERS
after being there less than two years he was read
ing in Spanish, French and Latin, and speaking
fluently in all except the last which is a dead lan
guage not now spoken by any people.
The amount of reading which he did in these
three and in English was something stupendous in
one upon whom rested the whole care of the mis
sion. He wrote his sister "Our friends have to pass
through some curious experiences as they have
never before studied any foreign language. Last
fifth day night at meeting Micajah spoke through
me as interperter, and was surprised to learn that
I had just been preaching in almost the same
words. I recently received a letter from home
with the money they sent from Smyrna.
"We have been greatly relieved by several recent
donations and the printing work is released from
the indebtedness incurred, last spring and sum
mer, and we are likely to go ahead faster than ever.
It seems important that we should try to open a
wider sphere of circulation for our books and pa
pers and Yucatan has been before my mind for
some time."
So with an increase to the force of the mission,
they were able to enlarge the work both in the
office and outside, without added strain te the al
ready heavily burdened leaders.
The Binfords were pleasant company as weU as
cheerful helpers at the mission and must have
brought a little sunshine to the busy workers who
had held the fort so valiantly in the past.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 83
Brought up in plenty if not luxury at home, they
hardly knew how to accept much less to enjoy pri
vations inseparable from their changed surround
ings. Susie not very strong did not bear the
changed climate and environments and gradually
dechned in health until it seemed best for them to
return to their old home, for a temporary sojourn
at least.
Giving him an opportunity to present the needs
of the mission and secure aid; in which he was
quite successful. Indiana Yearly Meeting appro
priated $1,500 and Baltimore, Philadelphia and
New York added largely to it.

84 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER X.
THE STORY OP ANGELITA.
"Who hath not learned in hours of faith
The truth to flesh and sense unknown
That life is ever lord of Death
And love can never lose its own." — Snowbound.
We will at this time introduce to the reader
another worker who was, until called higher, a
prominent factor in the success of the mission.
So highly esteemed was she that after her death
Samuel wrote a sketch of her life which was pub
lished in Chicago in 1885 under the title " Memories
of AngelitajAguilar de Mascorro" and sketches of
Friends Mexican Mission.
From this we quote largely for this chapter and
occasionally in succeeding ones.
About midway between Matamoras and Tampi
co is the village of Soto la Marino (the Marine
Forest) about thirty miles from the coast on the
Rio de la Marina whose banks are lined with mag
nificent forests of giant tropical trees. The forests
still abound in jaguars and other tropical animals
and countless flocks of parrots, whilst the water is
proUfic in aligators and the manitee or aquatic cow.
In a humble dwelling in the village lived a young
couple by the name of Aguilar. Here their first
daughter was born August 2, 1858 and when she

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 85
was but a few weeks old her pious parents took
her to the parish church where she was baptized as
Angela and as she had a right to both paternal and
maternal surnames, her true name was Angela
Aquilar y Zuniga; being a pet her name takes the
diminutive ita and for years she was called Angel-
ita. Brought up to reverence the virgin and foUow
the blind superstitions of the priesthood in a home
where a few pictures of the Saints were purchased
and sprinkled with holy water by the priest for the
small sum of twenty-five cents each, and one cor
ner of their humble cabin was arranged so as to
form a kind of altar before which they could kneel
and count beads and say prayers. Some small
printed prayers or amulets were also purchased
from the priest as preventatives of certain disease
as well as remedies for many of the evils flesh is
heir to.
Hor father died and her mother soon after!with
her three children removed to the village of San
Fernando and was employed as house servant.
Angelita was now a robust girl of about a dozen
summers and spent the week days in the village
free school; in which they taught the elementary
branches and embroidery of various kinds, also
worsted figure work on perforated paper. A text
book on "Urbanity" or "Good Manners," is consid
ered indispensible and form the basis of that
courtesy and politeness so noticeable in Mexican
society. Thrown under the influence and in contact with
Catholic people she soon became a member and

86 LIFE AND LETTERS
constant attendant on the church services, well
known for her devotion to the principles and prac
tice of the Catholic church.
In 1874 the family removed to Matamoras, the
two other children were a sister, Encar nacion aged
twelve, and a brother, Manuel aged four, while
she was fifteen; and soon took an active part in the
Roman church in that city.
Such was her life when an unexpected incident
crossed her pathway. She had been intimate in
San Fernando with a sister of their host, known as
Petra, who lived near Julian Mireles the colporter
who had visited San Fernando. Julian bad a
daughter Gertrudis, an exceUent singer and a de
vout Protestant, who invited Petra to accompany
her to the reunion or meeting of the "Friends,"
which she gladly consented to do and was greatly
pleased with the singing. A few days afterwards
her intimate friend Angelita came to visit her and
was introduced to Gertrudis and was requested by
Petra to attend the Friends meeting where she
could see how their singing would compare with
that of the Catholic choir of which Angelita was a
well known vocalist. She had lost somewhat her
fear of heretics, the presence of two large Protest
ant congregations was a fact known to all the resi
dents, and her mother was servant in a famUy of
foreigners who were secretly Protestants. Thus
when invited by Gertrudis she consented to ac-
companyiher to the meeting out of curiosity only.
It was a beautiful night in June 1875 that with
many misgivings of conscience she attended the

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 87
Friends Mission and without the least thought that
she would ever enter the place again. The hall
had plain undecorated walls, was lit by side lamps,
at one end was a desk. Two preachers, both young
men, sat behind the desk on the same level as the
congregation. The street doors were open and
and oftentimes small groups of passers by stopped
to Usten to services, some quiet and attentive, oth
ers boisterous and reviling.
The speakers and audience were so accustomed
to these inconveniences that they did not appear to
be in the least disturbed by them.
These were however novel scenes for the new
comer and she would not fail to note the contrast
between this scene and the spacious naves and
heavy columns of the Catholic church edifice, with
the long rows of pictures and statues of the
Saints on each side and the altar in the front glow
ing with gold and tinsel and the new chandeliers
with their gaudy glow of glass prisms which had
but a short time previously cost over $700 and had
been formally blessed amid the showers of incense
and great demonstrations of jubilee in the presence
of over 2000 spectators.
Here everything was rude and simple, but the
language flowed forth not in the accustomed Latin
of the Romanish service but in clear words in the
language of the listeners. A hymn was read by
M. M. Binford and sung by the congregation, fol
lowed by scripture reading and remarks. One of
the preachers knelt in prayer, followed by a brief
and pointed sermon on the value of the Bible to

88 LIFE AND LETTERS
teach us the will of God, and the power of Christ to
save men from their sins. As Angelita listened to
these words she lost her confidence in the shadowy
forms of Romanism and then and there resolved to
be a Protestant. At the close a hymn was sung
and S. A. Purdie said simply "May God accom
pany all with his blessing as we separate." She
attended the next meeting on Sabbath afternoon
which tended to confirm her in her adhesion to the
Protestant faith.
During the week she was visited by Gulielma*
who presented her a beautiful little pamphlet en
titled "Father Ignocis and his Victims," a deeply
touching narrative of the conversion of a Spanish
Countess who was burned at the stake in 1559.
The foUowing Sabbath she made known her con
viction and her resolution to openly throw aside aU
allegiance to Rome and publicly declare herself a
Protestant. It was a severe trial for she was nat
urally timid and she knew this step would sever
many ties with former associates and would bring
upon her both ridicule and persecution.
At the close of the meeting the preachers, Bin-
ford and Purdie, held conversation with her and
inquired as to her experience and purposes. Her
answers were clear and decisive. She beheved
herself to be a child of God through faith in the
sacrifice of Christ and was determined by the
promised grace of God to bring her Ufe into fuU
conformity with the teachings of Jesus Christ;
and was ready to join in membership with Friends.
Her sister was fully prepared to second the move-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 89
ment and be one with her in Christian faith. At
the next business meeting of the society their
names were presented and they were received as
members by their making a public profession of
their faith and acceptance of the Gospel of Christ
as their rule of life and conduct. On the next Sab
bath the sixth of Eight month 1875 at the public
meeting held in the evening the opportunity was
given and these two young sisters made a pubhc
profession in the presence of the whole assembly.
Each rising at her seat, so that all present might
feel the force of their testimony for Jesus. They
were thus received with welcome to a part in the
fellowship and privileges of the society as well as
its duties and responsibilities, its trials and hard
ships." And through the remainder of her brief
life Angelita proved one of the most useful of the
mission converts of whom further mention wiU be
made in subsequent chapters.

90 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XI.
VISIT TO SOUTHERN TAMAULIPAS.
"Behold I send you forth to all the world to preach the
gospel to every creature." — Bible.
Leaving for a time these young people, whose
history has given us such a glimpse of CathoUc
superstition and the power of the gospel to lift
above it, we will take up again the busy life of the
mission, the burden of which must have increased
upon those remaining after the departure of a part
of the force for their northern home.
This and the dampness of the climate and close
indoors work seem to have worn on Samuel's health,
until he felt the need of a vacation and also his de
sire for the progress of the work in the southern
mission stations brought him to the conclusion to
leave work at home for a time and make a journey
by sail to Tampico.
There were no steamers running along the coast
at this time; so he was glad to secure passage with
a few others on the "Los Hermanos," a sloop of
sixteen tons burden drawing only two feet eight
inches water. Starting on Dec. 15th, 1875, they
were three days running down the Rio Grande to
Bagdad a land distance of thirty-two miles, but by
the river channel three times that distance. Here
they were detained four days by contrary winds
before they were able to cross the bar, an exper-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 91
ience far from pleasant as he describes it to his
wife in a letter written on the voyage from which
we quote, "We had been ordered to enter the
camarote or little cabin. As we neared the foam
ing breakers the 'Capt.' slipped down the tail
board of our httle door and shut to the upper door,
drawing down a tarpauling above them, thus shut
ting us in our little dungeon in utter darkness.
Quintero lit our lamp to remedy the latter evil and
just then we struck the breakers, a wave lifted our
stern, and in a moment another broke over our
frail bark there was a general moving of all things
movable, above and below; a rush of waters over
our heads which came dripping down through the
coverings; we were for a moment beneath a surg
ing wave, another strong wave rolled in but we
rose above it, and for a few moments there was a
fierce struggle with the breakers, but soon the
sounder said four feet, four feet and one half, five
feet, and we had crossed the bar, where so many
shipwrecks have occurred."
On the 27th he again continued his narrative
some of which has necessarily been omitted, by
writing as follows:
" The last I wrote was Christmas, the day was
calm and pleasant and the mariners cooked two
hens and tried to be a little lively. When night
came on a south wind set the sea boiUng and for
twenty hours we were tossing about in all the peril
and discomfort of a storm at sea. The gigantic
waves roUed abont our frail bark and every now
and then broke over our bows, scattering its large

92 LIFE AND LETTERS
drops over the whole deck; and now dipping on
one side, now breaking over the other, there was a
constant washing of our deck in about three inches
of water, and the pump had to be worked nearly
half the time to keep the cargo from getting wet.
" In the early part of the storm during the night
of the 25th, sleep was impossible, and aware of the
imminent peril; I was led to examine my immortal
concerns to see whether I was in fuU readiness for
what might not be far distant.
"The little company in Matamoros called my
mind to a full exercise of faith to leave their future
in the hands of the Father of all our tender mer
cies, but as nearest to my affections by thy self-
sacrificing love, I longed for one more meeting in
this vale of tears, yet even in this I felt aU ties
overcome by the love of Jesus, a full willingness to
leave all in his hands, a firm beUef that if caUed I
should feel ready.
" Soon after arising in the morning I had a viol
ent attack of sea-sickness; about three in the even
ing the storm abated, I had partially recovered
from sea- sickness. A perfect calm began to be
felt in the atmosphere, a school of some fifty por
poises began to play around our sloop enUvening
us by their antics for some two hours.
"During our stay in Bagdad my cough became
much less and since we left there has disappeared.
Our sea voyage is evidently beneficial."
They came is sight of the light house of Tampico
at 9 p. m. of the 28th. and at midnight crossed
the bar at the mouth of the Panuco.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 93
Thus taking six full days in the run from Bag
dad. A trip frequently sailed in forty-eight hours.
He was accompanied on this journey by Calixto
Lara as colporteur and having a large supply of
books and tracts with them while his chief object
was restoration of his health, he was prepared as
usual for active work in extending the gospel. The
day they left Matamoros a native helper named
Pedro Trujillo, of the Presbyterian church (north)
left Mexico City for Tampico and reached there
five days before they did. As soon as a place of
worship was procured he joined Trujillo in open
ing meetings, and thus his whole stay in the city
was an active effort to aid in laying the foundation
of the mission since sustained in that port by the
Associated Reformed Presbyterian church.
On the 30th, in writing to his mother he says:
"Calixto and myself seeing the sloop becalmed and
desirous of reaching the city in advance of our
baggage, came by land six miles on foot yesterday
morning and stopped at a house where the hill
side was covered with pine apples, bananas etc.,
and asked for breakfast.
"They soon made por tillas, coffee, and fried
some beef and only charged twelve and one half
cents for the both of us; we went to see the pine
apple plants now in bloom. The country here is
generally rolling, well cultivated, and all the scen
ery is in full vigor of the torrid zone. We have
been down to the plaza this morning and find that
the variety of its fruits and vegetables is surpris
ing. Animals were not wanting, I was offered a

94 LIFE AND LETTERS
young jaguar for nine dollars, and think I could
get him for five, I am not particularly interested
in the caravan line; though 1 am authorized to col
lect specimens of interest for the museum of Earl-
ham College, at Richmond, Indiana."
But few whose life work is so clear before them;
and who strive so persistently for the goal; can
discern and appreciate all the finer details of their
surroundings, and draw from them enjoyment, and
recreation from the strain of constant responsibil
ity that is upon them. Yet we find him ever re
sponsive to the heart throbs of nature in all her
various moods as they are given expression in the
wonderous forms of beauty displayed in both the
vegetable and animal kingdom. His vivid descrip
tion of those tropic scenes written to the "old folks
at home" in midwinter must have come with the
warmth of a beam of summer sunshine.
Writing to his mother January 18th, 1876, he
said "Last week we went up the river and through
the lagoons to Tancol, half way to Altamira. The
scenery is one of the most enticing imaginable,
yet nature has evidently got the upper hand and
poor frail mankind himself unable to cope with her
luxurance. The cultivated fields in a month's care
lessness, become dense thickets of tall weeds tied
together by gigantic morning glory vines, and cov
ered with dodder and a hundred other parasites,
where wild and venemous reptiles can hold unlim
ited sway. The path cut to-day through the thorny
jungle, in a week is lost in greenness aud the way
dosed over with a mat of fresh vines

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 95
"The trees are covered with cactus, mistletoe, or
chids etc., while their strong trunks are often so
tightly bound by strong woody vines that they die
in the embrace of what might appear to be a much
feebler plant. In the lagoons we were moving
through what appeared to be acres of geese, ducks,
water hens, pelicans and flamingoes, which opened
as we passed along and gradually close in behind
us. The banks in places lined with mangroves in
other places reeds, rushes and bushes covered
with beautiful flowers and filled with orioles and
many other gay songsters unknown to our north
ern regions. All was life and animation, beauty
and luxuriant greenness. The lowlands along the
Tamesi abound in fields of plantains, bananas, man
gles, with abundant fields of corn, beans, pump
kins etc., yards full of many varieties of roses, the
houses mostly hid in a dense shade of mangles,
but often consisting of a roof of rushes resting up
on a frame of poles. They must be cool and com
fortable in summer, but at this season the expo
sure to nothers produce most violent colds among
most of the natives. "When at Tancol we intend
ed to go to Altamira and I was expecting to go even
farther, but a norther accompanied by constant
rains induced us to return, after a successful effort
to combat spiritualism, and a considerable distri
bution of tracts and books. A few days after we
crossed ovei to Pueblo Viejo, in the state of Vera
Cruz, where the distribution was even greater.
Pueblo Viejo was founded by Cortez in 1521 and is
probably on the site of an ancient Aztec city.

96 LIFE AND LETTERS
"I am enjoying quite good health. All symptoms
of asthma seem to have disappeared since I left
Bagdad. The voyage was beneficial. So far as
religious services, my opportunities have been
greater than I could have anticipated and surpass
any other journey I have undertaken."
Near the city of Tampico are the ruins of sever
al cities, pertaining to the ancient Huastic King
dom, and he had hoped to visit them and collect
some of the interesting specimens of antiquity
which abound among the debris of their ruined
pyramids; but the severe weather which met him
at Tancol caused him to abandon the attempt for
the present at least. In his Memoirs he wrote "I
had especially hoped to obtain some of the smal
clay idols which abound in these ruins, and which
are so thoroughly burned that 300 to 500 years of
exposure to the moist tropical soil and the shade
of tropical vegetation have not injured them. On
my return to Tampico a pious Christian lady pre
sented me with one of these idols which is now in
the cabinet of Earlham College, at Richmond, Indi
ana." They are found in the places of interment
which were orderly in their arrangement and dec
oration. They were not more than four or five inches in
height and must not be confounded with the mas
sive stone idols which were placed on the summits
of their pyramids. Having been now nearly two
months from home, with recruited health and the
satisfaction of accomplishing considerable in the
Lord's service, he was looking towards his return,

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 97
and was soon hastened by rumors of revolution; of
which he wrote as follows:
"Darkening political clouds and the news that
Gen. Perfiro Diaz who had escaped from the coun
try, was at Brownsville, Texas, made me hasten
home at once, as Matamoros would be the probable
point of attack, and I was desirous of joining my
wife and little church in the hours of trial."
He took passage on the "Alba," a schooner of
nineteen tons burden, and left Tampico on the 19th
of 2nd month, 1878. On the 20th. a north gale
struck them, and for forty hours they were driven
back to the southward until near Cape Roxo off
Tuspan harbor, here they took refuge south of Lo
bos Island where the coral reefs permitted them
to anchor in safety until the storm abated. After
nine'days of tempestous weather they reached
Bagdad and near sunset of the 28th, he arrived
at home and found Gulielma in good health and
the church prospering in every way. With re
newed health, he took up again the duties of the
office with old time energy and enthusiasm.

LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XII.
REVOLUTION.
¦ 'For the cause that needs assistance,
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the cause of God and man."
The threatening political clouds did not delay in
gathering and on the second of Third month, only
three days after his return, Matamoros was de
clared to be in a state of siege, and no one was al
lowed to leave the city without a passport.
Gen. Diaz was at Brownsville and gathering his
forces on the border a few miles above. The gov
ernment forces in the city to the number of 700
infantry, cavalry and artillery with the city troops
or National Guard consisting of 1000 men were
strengthening the defense:? and preparing for an
attack. On 3rd month, 31st at a little before sunset a re-
connoitering force of 150 men headed by Gen. Dias
made a feint of attack and filled the city with con
sternation, the stores being closed and doors
barred awaiting the struggle. After taking a dis
tant view of the earth- works these forces retired
and order was restored; the stores opened again
the same night and Saturday 4th month 1st, was
passed without any alarm, the foreign residents
had not been warned to leave the city and it was ap-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 9&
parent that no immediate attack was expectefi.
Sabbath morning, 4th month 2nd, was a beautiful
sunny morning, all was quiet, the city was now
void of fear. At evening, however, he wrote to his
parents at home*. "We read about the sun standing
stiU on Gibeah and the moon in the valley of Ajalon,
but today the wheels of time became clogged and
it seems as though in the distant past there was a
faint recollection of the time when last the sun rose
on the Heroic city. This morning we arose and I
had returned from market and we had taken break
fast, when I went to the street door to take a look
at those passing, but saw the store doors flying to
in a hurry, everybody running in haste and a cloud
of cavalry pouring down the street full half a mile
away. I closed the door and called the family to.
gether and after a moment's reflection we conclud
ed that the brick walls of the printing office would
be better than the wooden house we occupied and
we ran over there and closed the door, leaving our
house to whatever fate might befall it. From the
first moment of our leaving the house the discharge
of firearms was constant, mingled with the most
deafening yells, and it seemed as though hundreds
must be falling. The cries " Viva Porfirio Diaz"
showed us that the revolutionary forces had enter
ed the city and as soon as they reached the plaza
they began ringing the bells, the firing ceased and
we supposed the battle was over. We ran through
the yard home, fearing that robbers might be pil
laging the house, but it was unmolested, yet we
had hardly entered the porch and opened the dooF

100 LIFE AND LETTERS
when the discharge of a line showed us the strag
gling fire had now changed to an attack in line
which from the direction was evidently the powder
magazine. The first fire of the line was followed
by a loud crack, something whistling over our
heads, and not wishing to risk a run to the press
room, we entered our rooms taking refuge in the
bed room, placing our straw-tick against the wall
in memory of Jackson's cotton bales. Two or
three fires of riflery and then the loud peals of
artillery for nearly an hour showed the effects of
grape and canister, but the firing ceased and again
the loud wild ring of bells told us that Matamoros
was capital of the Constitutional republic, and
Porfirio Diaz head of the nation. One ball struck
our house passing one wall, struck the other and
broke the glass of a picture and a splinter flew
over our heads as Guli, Francisco, Angelina and
Encarnacian Aquilar, stood in the portico. The
two hours of battle seemed like fifteen years and
the whole day seemed proportionately elongated.
The trial of nerves was exhausting, more so from
the fear and shrieks of the women, of which I had
a fair share in care, yet to the honor of Gen. Diaz
be it said that not a single robbery, not a single dis
order aside from the attack on ihe government
troops has marked the siege of Matamoros. The
property of individuals has been scrupulously re
spected and withal he did not knowingly permit
any shouting of Viva Porfirio Diaz." In two hours
order was restored, and a few bleeding horses
were all we saw of bloodshed, yet some six of the

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 101
cavalry fell before they entered the city and about
that many more in the attack at the magazine.
"It can only be accounted for on the supposition
or reality that the people were desirous of being
taken rather than continue under the arbitrary
military rule of the government administration.
As the fear naturally prevents one from going out
we cannot as yet give full particulars, we are too
tired and exhausted to be able to write much. Our
work has been interrupted by the fears of the peo
ple for the past two weeks, but now the worst is
probably over and we shall see a time of compara
tive rest." The revolution will continue in other
parts of the country until Diaz becomes chief ofthe
forces and the Lerd de Tejada ceases to be presi
dent. ' 'It is now half -past nine and the streets are quiet
and after so tiresome a day we feel like trying to
rest. 'Great cry and little wool, ' half an hour of
riflery, and an hour and one-half of cannonading
and twelve killed and about that many wounded
was all we had to notice. Leaving a small garri
son to guard the city, Gen. Diaz took most of his
force and moved forward to Monterey, to intending
sweep in the country southward and complete his
conquest of the nation. "
One of their members was seized by the revolu
tionary force and taken with them when they left
the city. Their members generally escaped by
avoiding the streets, keeping indoors; their printer
staid with them two nights before the army left.
So through this trying ordeal they realized some

102 LIFE AND LETTERS
of the perils of war without feeling very much of
its suffering. People of a more fearful nature and
less consecration to the work might have fied from
the field and left the flock to be harrassed by their
enemy uncared for.
His folks at the north had suggested to him that
they might live in Brownsville for a time, and so
on 4th mo. 30, we find him writing to his mother
these Unes: — "We read of a certain class of shep
herds who flee when the wolf cometh and the sheep
are scattered abroad. There never was an hour
when our constant presence and dUigent labor was
so imperatively necessary. Friends in Indiana at
first supposed we would leave the field temporarily,
but they did not know what timber their mission
aries are made of. They are now very glad we
did not neglectthe work. I think there will be no
farther interruption here."
The opposing forces had a battle at Hiscimolo,
near Monterey, at which it was said 180 were killed,
mo others of much importance occurred in northern
Tamaulipas. A little later a government force un
der Escabedo entered Matamoros with about 2500
men and four large brass field-pieces; to guard the
city from the attacks of guerrilla bands from the
outside to which they were liable at any time, but
mo serious disturbances occurred during the sea
son. Gen. Diaz had left so Uttle force that they
made no resistance but gave the city again into the
hands of the government.
There were no mails or commerce with the in
terior, all business was at a stand still, the city

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 103
was practicaUy in a state of siege, while the bands
outside were not strong enough to force an en
trance to the city, they occasionally made feint at
tacks at the gates, and the forces inside were too
weak to follow them over the cactus covered plains
surrounding the city.
As summer passed the conflicts rather increased,
so that on 9th mo. 20th, he wrote to his parents,
"The war continueswith increasing misery and
barbarity. The burning of the ranches around the
city was one of the most horrid sights I ever wit
nessed and gave me some idea of what war is; I
counted the flames of nine ranches in all, some
thirty houses burning at one time under guard of
cavalry, in f uU view of the western wall of the city.
We<have had several battles during the past month,
but none of great consequence. " Though the gov
ernment troops stiU kept possession of Matamoros
and Tampico the rest of Tamaulipas was in the
hands of the Diaz party. The mail lines were sus
pended in must of the republic and a state of the
most complete political chaos seemed to exist ev
erywhere. Thus things continued untU near the
close of 1876, for on the 14th of 12th month Samuel
wrote to his mother, "Last seventh day night was
to us a very trying occasion, for besides the damp
and cold of the night, the wood was minus, none
had been on sale for several days, when a little
past midnight the outsiders gave a desperate
charge on the Monterey entrance, which you may
remember is on our street. A close fire was send
ing its spent baUs over and around us, we heard

104 LIFE AND LETTERS
three or four strike before we got out of bed, and
then could make no more fire. The fireing kept
up until day. It is said that the outside forces
mounted the earth works and at one time had a 16
pounder in their possession, but the inside forces
concentrated and drove them back. The raUy of
the inside troops brought them within about four
squares of us. "Several of our members had nar
row escapes from the deadly missives. We were
kept in tranquility, yet the exposure brought on a
severe cold and cough which confined me to bed
for two days and from which I have not as yet ful
ly recovered. Last night there was severe fight
ing at San Fernando entrance. Our only peril is
from the minnie balls which being fired at the ele
vated earth-works fall in the city when their force
is spent. Few reach as far as our rooms, thus far
but one has been picked up in our yard during two
months of almost constant fighting. Yet many
pass over us and stiU have force to pass through
three inch planking, we generaUy seek four inch of
planking during attacks. We are certainly tired
of such a long siege and long for a change for the
better." After his defeat at Hiscimole, Gen. Diaz went
southward and by a series of unexpected victories
he soon took the capitol, and the surrounding pro
vinces all surrendered to him, so Matamoros stood
alone; Gen. Cortina having declared for Diaz on
2nd month, 19th, 1877 he entered the city in
triumph, the forces within having decided to sur
render whithout further struggle, and therefore

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 105
received him peacefully and it was to the people a
general time of rejoicing as the coming of peace
for which they had long been wishing.
With the restoration of Peace the mails were
soon reestablished throughout the country, their
books were again called for, their meetings better
attended, their mission work revived, and the out
look for the future took on a most cheerful aspect,
for which they could but thank God and take cour
age. The foUowing touching incident in connection
with the occupation of the city by Gen. Cortina will
prove of interest to our readers.
One of their members who had been an intimate
friend and partisan of Gen. Cortina having moved
with his wife and little son to Brownsville and
started a small grocery there whose name was
Castulo Sala determined to cross over the river
above Matamoros and accompany his old friend in
the hour of triumph and enter the city on horse
back but unarmed in company with the army. Af
ter the entry of Gen. Cortina a small bounty was
distributed to the troops and they prepared for a
big drunk to celebrate their victory; many of the
government troops got worse for liquor in half a
day. In his memoirs of Aquilar, Samuel made
mention of the occasion as follows: "Early at
night we closed our doors for groups of drunken
soldiers mostly of Cortina men were at the street
corners near our house still purchasing liquor and
increasing the roar. Just after dark we heard
terrible shrieks at one of the grog-shops, or rather

106 LIFE AND LETTERS
a store with a bar on the front of the counter, as is
usual in groceries in Mexico, and then followed the
shriU whistle of the police teUing us that some
thing had happened, yet we thought prudence the
better part of valor, especially when dealing with
drunkards and kept our house closed until after
day dawned the next morning. Just after break
fast one of our members brought in a paper with
the police report for the previous day and we saw
that Castula Sala had been struck down by the
drunken crowd, one of his own party having struck
him on the head with the breech of his gun, bury
ing the lock in his brain. A messenger soon call
ed us to the bedside of the dying man who was en
tirely unconscious, although he lingered most of
that day; Gen. Cortina offered to bear the expense
of the funeral, but the desire of his wife, and there
being no proof of his being in anyway culpable, in
duced us to take charge of the interment.
"This funeral was one of the most impressive I
was ever permitted to attend, and never did I feel
greater freedom and boldness to show how the
mangled corpse of our brother warned us to avoid
evil associations and yielding to temptations. The
open doors were however crowded with roughs and
quite a number of the associates of Contina were
seated in the room."

Samuel A. Pukdie's Birthplace.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 107

CHAPTER XIII.
PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
"For all human ties that bind me,
For the task, by God, assigned me
For the bright hopes left behind me,
And the good that I can do." Banks.
During aU those dark days of war and siege and
turmoil, the work of the mission was well sustain
ed. The school under the care of Angelita was
increasing in interest and attendance with the
return of peace, some of their members who had
fled to Brownsville came back, the meetings were
better attended, the interest in them was increas
ed by the musical gifts of Angelita Aquilar, the
teacher, and also by that of their printer, Luciano
Mascorro, once a week the school children were
gathered for an hour and trained in singing and
learning new hymns, and thus many gospel truths
were sown in these young hearts, which may have
borne a rich harvest in the years which followed.
Some of the parents of their pupils, whose lives
were very ungodly, were very friendly to their
work. Protestantism had become popular and
many who had no use for priests began extolling
Protestantism, thinking it a free, road to heaven.
In bis memoir? he relates the following remarkable
incident in their experience,: "We had in our
school the children of two noted bandits and high-

108 LIFE AND LETTERS
waymen, one of whom had been shot as an out-law
whilst the other was an officer in the army of Gen.
Cortina, known better as the border ruffian 'El
Tejon ' (The badger) a corpulent and daring feUow.
He met me one day, praised our school, and said
he wanted to join our society as he admired the
changed life of some of our members with whom
he was acquainted. He reminded me of a man who
was condemned to death in Greensboro, N. C,
some years ago and whom I visited two days be
fore his execution. Speaking of the visits of sev
eral of our ministers to his cell after his sentence,
he said to me, 'I have always leaned toward your
Society, when stopping himself, he resumed; 'No,
I have always leaned toward destruction, but I al
ways thought that you were right.' This bandit
could not help but realize that he was hastening
toward destruction, but he was persuaded that
Protestantism taught the way of life. 'One morn-
just after school opened, his daughter was sent for
in haste, with word that her father was dying.
The circumstances of his death caused a deep im
pression on the class to which he belonged, and
even they looked upon it as a direct judgment from
God. 'He was intoxicated and drove along on
horseback and was just passing the house of a wo
man of bad character, and stopping his horse, be
gan speaking to her, when taking his revolver from
his belt, he fired at her. At the instant she held
both hands aloft in surprise, when he discharged
his pistol the ball passed through her hand, and
striking the brick wall of the house, in the re-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 109
bound, struck him in the breast, and being imbed-
ed near the heart, caused death almost instantly.
It was evidently no chance work, and Christian
and infidel were alike awed by so unlooked for a
termination of the life of 'El Tejon.' How a ball
should have struck so as to return like a boome
rang and with sufficient force to cause a mortal
wound, and thus kill the one who fired it, is yet a
mystery, but the fact itself was so evident that the
judge had no difficulty in declaring that it was a
case of accidental suicide."
We have already spoken of the Presbyterian
mission there in the city under the care of Gray-
bill with whom they were intimate. This summer
of 1877 was one of unusual prosperity in the schools
and almost every month new members were added
to their meeting, some from a decided preference
for their tenets, others because they first received
Christ through the ministry of the Friends.
One of the former class, father of a numerous
family, had been a very wicked man, but his con
version was real and he became a piller in the
church. The Mexican converts evinced great in
dependence of thought, carefully studying the
Scriptures with desires to know the truth, and to
receive it from Christ alone and very unwilUng
that anything should hinder their doing the will of
the Master. " Casting aside the dogma of Papal
infallibiUty, they rest less on the opinion of others
than most Christians in a land where Romanism
never held sway."
Near the close of the year 1877 the school chang-

110 LIFE AND LETTERS
ed hands, for Angelita was arranging for her mar
riage and could not much longer retain her posi
tion. "A family which had been very useful in
aiding us to acquire language on our arrival, had
afterwards returned to Monterey and from there
to Lampasas, where the four daughters had charge
of the public school for about two years. Return
ing to Carmagro, on the Rio Grands, they wrote to
us offering to furnish a teacher, and a month be
fore Christmas Emilia Flores took charge of the
school, and her three sisters assisted in the com
posing room and the folding and stitching depart
ment, as our books had become numerous and the
circulation over all Spanish America required.
greater activity in the publishing department."
Thus the mission work was being carried vigor
ously forward, and the local church growing in
power and influence.
Early in the year 1878 occurred the death of Pe
dro Gonzalez, who, though not a member, had long
read their publications, and often in his sickness,
sent for them who would read the scriptures and
sing hymns by his bedside, much to his satisfaction.
In his Memoirs Samuel wrote: "I must not
omit to mention our first acquaintance with this
person and the permanent fruit which grew out of
it. In one room of his house was a cigarette fac
tory with five operatives, and the old gentleman
was usually seen sitting in the doorway. On one
occasion as M. M. Binford was passing along, dis
tributing tracts, he accosted Pedro and offered
him one. A conversation ensued and Micajah was

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 111
invited to enter, and gave tracts to all workmen
but one, this one was a son-in-law of Pedro and was
so fearful of being contaminated with heresy that
he dared not even look up to see the heretic, The
tracts were read and commented upon and on the
next visit this young man secretly wished for a
tract, but did not dare ask for it. Soon after, he
began attending our meetings and is now one of
our most successful revivalists, and endued with
a large share of spiritual discernment. His name
is Francisco Pena."
In March, Angela Aquilar was united in marri
age to Luciano Marcorro. Few countries take
greater care in regard to marriage than Mexico,
and the laws render clandestine marriages impos
sible. The parties go before the civil judge with
two male witnesses for each party of good charac
ter and residents of the town where the marriage
is to take place. The name and consent of parents
and the names of the grandparents as well as the
residence of all their ancestors, and at their re
quest a formal declaration of their intention with
proper credentials is issued and copies are posted
in public places for two weeks at least before the
marriage is consummated by the judge.
In Mexican law, marriage is a union for life, no
divorce being granted, and though a temporary
separation may be legally arranged in case of
adultery, yet even then neither party is free to con
tract matrimony, and the law hopes even in these
cases for an ultimate reconciliation and reunion of
the parties.

112 LIFE AND LETTERS
"The civil power does not prohibit but rather
encourages the parties to ratify their marriages
before their respective churches." The Protest
ant churches uniformerly require that the parties
present proof by their witnesses of having com-
pUed with the laws, the solemnization taking place
immediately after the civil marriage has been per
formed. Thus Lucian and Angela accompanied by
their witnesses, arrived from the office of the civil
magistrate and entered the meeting already gath
ered for the occasion and ratified before the assem
bled church that act which had just been sanction
ed before the legal authority.
Luciano and his wife were both of them earnest
and enthusiastic in christian service, their zeal in
the work did much to strengthen the church.
About a month later in the spriDg time, there ap
peared at the mission a very pleasant fisherman
from Reynosa whose name was Julio Gonzalez Gea.
He began attending their meeting regularly, and
two months later he was admitted a member as
were also his children at his request. He took
great interest in their meetings and his children
began attending the school, except his eldest daugh
ter, who was his housekeeper. He was soon after
appointed secretary of their business meeting, and
thus was present at the public recognition of Lu
ciano Mascoro as minister of the Gospel in the So
ciety which took place at the close of their pubUc
meeting for worship in the afternoon at 9th month
12th, 1879. Soon after this at the close of the
evening meeting, a man from Jemenez, about 180

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 113
miles south of them, expressed a desire to become
a member of the society. This was the first case
of receiving a non-resident member to the meet
ing, but he has been q uite useful in the work and
is a staple Christian.

114 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XIV.
JANUARY AND JUNE
"If men cared less for wealth and fame,
And less for battle fields and glory;
If writ in human hearts a name
Seemed better than in song and story.
If men when Wrong beats down the Right,
Would strike together to restore it:
If Right made Might, in every fight
The world would be the better for it."
On the shore of the Gulf with its fog and mist the
winter with its rain and cold northers was always
an unpleasant season and the winter of '77 and 78
seems to have struck them with uncommon rigor.
His letters home were usually cheerful and op
timistic at all seasons. But one written at this time
is so full of pathetic detail that we give it almost
entire for the perusal of our readers. Under date
of 1st mo. 5th, 1878 he wrote: "Dear mother: Thy
kind lettercame to hand a few days ago, but we have
had such terrible weather that I could not write
weU sooner. You may talk about spending winters
in a warm climate, but I can assure our northern
people that we suffer more from cold here than in
New York.
" My writing table is six feet from a parlor stove
and yet I have hardly been able to write five min
uets for a week past, can't get six feet from the
stove without suffering from the cold. I have on

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 115
woolen pants with two pairs of drawers under
them, two pairs of stockings, four shirts and one
cotton pad and woolen nubia under my vest besides
a good broadcloth coat outside, and yet I can't ven
ture out far without a shawl. None but those who
have seen it can form any idea of the influence of
such long continued heat on the system, our cold
days are few in number, but so sudden, so damp
that even under roofs the dampness enters every
where, thin watery mud below the dripping eaves
and the abundant ventilation of all house here
makes all attempts to warm large rooms utterly
unavailing. The water seems to enter the meat
and one is in Spanish praise.' 'Wet to the bones.'
The joints crack painfully as one moves and to keep
dry is impossible, because the air seems like %
sponge so full as to give and take with surprising
freedom. Gulielma says she is so cold she can
not write, when we have a warm day she will try
to write. We have had 11 days of drizzling weath
er with the thermometer from 36 to 40 degrees of
Fehrenheit. This kind of rain is called plumilla
or 'feathers' because it flies about in the air like
snow and enters everywhere. Winter here is a
general stop to everything, a mixture of mud and
water, mud and water, mud, mud. 6th, ice i of an
inch thick this morning."
Gloomy as this picture looks we must remember
that it was only for a few days, or at the most
weeks, in the year, while it was not uncommon for
his people at the north to have three or four months
of continuous sleighing.

116 LIFE AND LETTERS
The summer was a busy one in the printing
office. In June he received from the north a ster
eotype outfit, which he intended to use first on a
Ufe of Wm. Penn which he had in progress, but
was waiting the arrival of some new type for its
composition. He speaks of printing a grammar for common
schools, also a pamphlet for Spaniards to learn
English; he also mentions that they stereotyped a
small mental arithmetic for schools, as well as
made plates of plants and animals to use in the
papers. Attending to all the details of these var
ious branches of the publishing business in addi
tion to all the translating and editing of his num
erous books and papers must have made his life a
strenuous one.
Few have the wonderful versatility of gifts which
he possessed, and at the same time the ability to
concentrate his whole power on the task before
him. He writes to his sister of having to use many
big books and goes on to name five large diction
aries in English, Spanish, Greek and Latin and
seven histories of Mexico, some of them in sevei al
volumes, also a history of Popes and Kings, The
Races of Men, Milton Paradise Lost, all in Spanish,
Bibles in seven languages, and some books in Por
tugese which he would read quite readily as it is
very similar to Spanish.
Along in midsummer yellow fever broke out in
New Orleans and other places along the gulf; it
had not developed at Matamoros, but BrownsvUle
shut her doors against them and about the first of

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE -117
September they established a general quarantine
which continued for a month. There were prob
ably a few mild cases in the city but they were
so covered that it was not generally known that
there were any and no panic arose among the peo
ple still many of the wealthy left the city for the
highlands back from the Gulf where it never
reaches as it is said two hundred feet of elevation
from the sea shuts it out entirely.
"Friends are somewhat alarmed about our safety
and not altogether without cause, yet we trust in
the care of Him who calleth us. Those who have
thought we were hirelings, if any such there be,
may see that we have never yet left the flock,
neither seige nor pestilence. Do not be anxious
about us, all wiU be well, and I feel that my work
is not yet done, yet if God disposes otherwise we
must say, thy will be done."
The nearest place at which yellow fever was
epidemic was at San Fernando. Ere they were
aware of this Luciano had gone on a visit there,
finding the fever there before him he soon return
ed and was himself stricken with the fever but
passed through it successfully. So through a
season of trial and danger they once more emerged
in safety, whUe cheering and guarding the flock.
While teaching at Centre, N. C, he frequently
enjoyed the hospitality of the home of Lewis Rey
nolds several of whose numerous children were
among his pupils.
An older brother, Perrin, about his age, became
his intimate friend and during all his stay in North

118 LIFE AND LETTERS
Carolina they were frequently together either for
social recreation, or in their Master's service.
In November he wrote Perrin a letter, which is
such a graphic summary of his experience, his
dangers and narrow escapes of the seven years
since they parted that we give it to the reader
almost entire.
"Dear Friend: — It is now a long time since
I had any letter from thee. I had supposed thou
was at Centre, preaching away to that dear circle of
Friends which live yet in my memory as fresh as
if but scenes of yesterday. By looking over the
'Book of Meetings' I find thy address is Eagle MiUs.
up the Deer Creek region. It is over seven years
since I was at Centre. I recollect telling thee that
nothing was more remote from my thoughts than
establishing a meeting of Friends in Mexico, yet
over eighty members now form the interesting
circle at Matamoras, with one recognized minister
besides myself.
I have seen strange sights since we last em
braced each other, though the printing work has
kept me very closely occupied here in this city.
Traveling in Mexico is very expensive and even
perilous. I visited Victoria in 1873, Tampico in
1875 when I came near being shipwrecked off Cape
Roxo near Tuspan harbor. I visited San Fernando
last year and have several times visited the towns
along the Rio Grande on both sides of the river for
over one hundred miles from here. Last year we
spent a week bathing in the Gulf of Mexico. I had

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 119
several narrow escapes from assassination and
been through two sieges and one storming of our
city with close range of artillery inside the city.
This is memorable in Mexican history as the first
battle of the revolution which placed Porfirio Diaz
in the presidential chair. He rode through our
city that day in triumph and published the hopes
of the people after an unconditional surrender. A
baU passed through one of our rooms and threw
splinters over our heads. StiU later in the year a
baU barely missed all of us as we sat around the
stove, striking over one end of the table where I
was writing. One hurricane blew down one hun
dred and sixty houses since we were here, and we
can now boast of having lived in Matamoros 'be
fore the flood,' which kept one sixth of the city
under water for several weeks. Small pox has
paid two family visits to our city, measles one gen
eral visit. I had one attack of inflammation of the
the lungs, two of asthma and one terrible attack of
malarial fever, yet our general health has been
good. A giant wave of yellow fever seems now to
threaten our city and we can only trust in him who
has watched over us for these long years. Thera
are precious promises that fiU our hearts with
cheer in all these provings. Luciano Mascorro
while on a visit as Minister of the Gospel became
exposed to the fever and has been sick for several
days but is now on the mend.
Now dear brother please remember me in love
to Friends at Deep Creek where I made one of my
last visits ere leaving my native land. Those dear

120 LIFE AND LETTERS
friends are still very dear to my soul and I often
remember them in prayer to God. I would love to
repeat the visit, but perhaps God will leave my
part in that work to thee. Be faithful and God
wiU make thee useful. I feared I had nearly for
gotten my native language, but in this brief epistle
I have been refreshed in my recollection of the
grammar of the most heterogeneous of languages.
Please receive a genuine Spanish hug from thy
Well Wishing Friend,
Samuel A. Purdie."
Many of these experiences have been described
on preceeding pages, but the loss of some of his
letters has at times broken the thread of our
narrative. In his Memoirs he speaks of a journey to Gomez
Farias early in 1879 making copious extracts
from his diary kept on the journey; and from
these may be drawn some of the leading facts
and incidents of the trip.
"This winter was an interesting time in our mis
sion, as it was characterized by events which to a
certain extent exercised a notable influence on the
whole work. Early in January as I was busy in
the press room B .... S ... . of San Fernando en
tered and told me that I could have a seat in his
carriage as far as that village. He was desirous
that I should go to Gomez Farias and see his uncle
Father Lozano, whose movement was undeniably
the first effort to introduce a reUgious reformation
into Mexico. I accepted his offer and we started
the same evening, leaving Matamoros at 4 P. M.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 121
the 14th of January 1879, and reached San Fernan
do at noon of the 17th and were warmly received
by old acquaintances."
The weather being cold and damp he did not
feel like going out very much, still he visited in
some of the families and received many calls from
individuals who wished to talk with him on relig
ious subjects or buy books or tracts and thus
found quite a field for service during his stay
which lasted until the 21st when having secured a
guide and two saddle horses he left for Jimenez;
camping out by the way, we get some glimpses of
his natural tastes and especially his ardent love of
astronomy to which reference has been made in
previous chapters, here is his description of a
night by the way.
"Our saddle blankets of sisal grass were spread
upon the ground, and as I brought shawls and a
flannel blanket, I rested quite comfortable and be
ing weary with a ride of 54 miles and unaccustom-
to the saddle, I slept very soon after dark. I
awoke at 3:00 A. M. and my guide being chilly
bu'lt a fire, while I walked away from the light to
take a view of the starry heavens. Every thought
of fatigue was lost in a moment as, resting its base
upon the plain the southern cross stood bold and
briUiant before me, I seemed to imbibe for a mo
ment that enthusiasm which must have filled the
heart of Vasco de Gama, and his companions as
their eyes rested for the first time on so bright a
model of what they held in such high veneration.
Other groups of stars, which I now beheld for the

122 LIFE AND LETTERS
first time revealed to me what I had so long de
sired to see the brightest gems of the southern
heavens, which on my previous visits to the Tropic
of Cancer I had been unable to see, and perhaps I
should not on this occasion had I not slept upon
the ground. The perpendicular position of the
cross at the time I first saw it was the most favor
able that could be desired and my guide caUed my
attention to it with a feeling bordering on ador
ation. Passing onward through Jimenez where we
entered the more tropical region which was clearly
noticeable on reaching Llera. This latter part of
the route was through a region abounding in
jaguars and pumas, as well as the leopard cat, and
the tigar cat. The puma is very destructive
to herds, being especially fond of colts. The par
rots abound wherever there are streamlets."
We again quote from Memoirs. "Passing onward
from Llera we began ascending the Sierra Madre
chain amid a well watered but precipitous region
and had to descend the mountains by zigzag paths,
so steep that I dare not traverse them on horse
back. After sleeping aU night among the clouds
on one of tbe elevated table lands we descended to
a river valley where giant thorny reeds made our
pathway perilous. Soon after crossing the stream
over a rough bed of loose stones as large as pump
kins we entered a dense tropical forest where
giant trees bound together with vines and fiUed
with parrots and other tropical birds formed a
rough and picturesque passage between grotesque
and precipitous mountains with projecting rocky

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 123
ledges on either hand of the narrow vaUey which
led us, after a journey of about seven miles from
the ford, to the beautiful tropical village of Gomez
Farias. The wild beauty of the tropical forest
was not more agreeable than the scenery where
the hand of man had subdued nature and banana
orchards, coffee and pine apple gardens greeted
the eye.
"I began inquiring for our friend Pablo Ibarry
and on reaching the door his wife ran out to re
ceive me, overjoyed at so unexpected a visit. I
supposed that her husband was inside and entered
hastily to salute him but what was my surprise as
on turning around the door I saw our colporteur,
Galixto Lara with a large supply of books and
tracts. He was putting on his coat to go and see
Father Lozano, but we must now wait for dinner.
A boy ran hastily to the sugar mill to call Don
Pablo who was as overjoyed as any of us. Whilst
dinner was preparing his wife spoke to him in a
low whisper and he grasped his cleaving knife and
started out the back door, returning in a few mo
ments with a large cluster of bananas. After din
ner Pablo went with us to the ranch known as
'La Chinaca' residence of Father Lozano about a
mile and a half from town. The descent was
rough and when it rains is very slippery. After
passing through a field of sugar cane we came in
sight of the house, a long reed structure with a
palm leaf roof, as are aU the houses in Gomez
Farias. Father Lozano was dressed in the usual
style of a city lawyer, his clothes the worse for

124 LIFE AND LETTERS
the wear, probably those he wore when mentor of
the States Congress as our legislature is called.
He received us with warm hearted kindness and
Christian affability. He is extremely sociable,
humble in his assertions and charitable even to
his enemies. He has the true spirit of nature's
nobleman, as some one has called the agriculturist,
and says that food raised by the sweat of the brow
is much sweeter than when purchased with
money. February 2nd, 1879 was the most remarkable
day in my missionary labor in this journey. The
morning was slightly uncomfortable, but as soon
as breakfast was served our colporteur and Pablo
Ibarry were passing about town arranging for a
public meeting. The only place well seated was
the old Catholic Mission Chapel now used for a
public school, and permission was readily granted
for its use. At 3 P. M. a company of about 160
persons, including nearly all the principal resi
dents and a fair proportion of females had gather
ed in the chapel. I read some verses of John 4th
foUowed with an exposition of the same. The
audience was greatly moved by the clear and simple
teaching of the gospel, so that very many shed
tears and came forward at the close to express
their satisfaction with our visit to their village."
He soon after returned home the trip being
without special incident. On his arrival he found
his name given to a son born to the Mascorros dur
ing his absence.

Meeting House at Gomkz Farias.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 125

CHAPTER XV
BUILDING A MISSION CHAPEL.
"Let us gather up the sunbeams
Lying all round our path;
Let us keep the wheat and roses,
Casting out the thorns and chaff."
The fall of 1879 was a memorable one in the his
tory of the Friends Mexican Mission because the
building of a place of worship on one of the pubUc
squares changed greatly the sphere of action of the
mission. A lot had been purchased a year previous
on "Plaza de la Libertad" (or Liberty Square as
we would term it in English) and after many unex
pected delays the work began in November. The
Plaza extended from 12th to 13th streets 100 yards
the chapel was on the east side of 12th, near the
south corner while the house and press rooms was
at the corner of 13th street, the width of the square
away with shops and stores between and around
them. All their work was thus removed to that
square and as nearly all their members resided in
that vicinity the attendance became more regular.
Yet many who saw these preparations, and de
sired to see the building completed were to be
laid away in their graves ere it was finished and
opened for public worship. It was a very un
healthy winter in the city, many dying of con
sumption in that low lying seaport and their mem-
bership^suffered very heavily at this time. The

126 LIFE AND LETTERS
aged Petra Gracia who had so often come to meet
ing leaning on her staff bent with 90 years of toil ,
was taken suddenly ill and after lingering several
days died in perfect trust and hope of salvation.
The night before death, after Luciano had read the
Scriptures and prayed with her, Angelita began
singing that beautiful hymn, "O sing to me of
Heaven," and the dying Christian joined her voice
weak indeed but joyful, in singing of that land of
rest for the weary. Three or four others which have
not been introduced to our readers followed her
and the little infant of Angelita, on whom the fond
parents had placed great hopes of future useful
ness, passed away; and Angelitn. already stricken
with that fatal disease, consumption, was soon to
follow. She had prayed that she might be spared
to see the building completed and she was able to
be present on that interesting occasion which oc
cured about the middle of May 1880.
Her physician considering the case of Angelita
almost hopeless; and as a journey to the mountains
offered a slight hope and her friends at the mission
being anxious that some one should go to Gomez
Farias to gather those who had been awakened by
Samuel's visit there and also by the tarriance
there for one month of Luciano Mascorro a year
later; they encouraged them to go to that distant
field. It was a solemn parti tg not only with rela
tives, but also with those equally near and dear to
her in the ties of Christian fellowship; yet she
started with a cheerful spirit having high hopes of
a speedy recovery.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 127
The journey of three hundred miles by ambu
lance to Victoria was quite fatiguing but she was
rested and improved by a stay of a few weeks
amid the enchanting scenery of that upland city,
embowered in orange groves and nearly surround
ed by the bold outline of the Sierra Madre to the
westward with the Sierra of San Carlos to the
northward, anda series of isolated hills to the east
ward it presents a striking contrast to the unvary
ing unformiy t of su rroundings of most of the cities
of Tamaulipas.
The journey from Victoria to Gomez Farias was
made on horseback by mule paths leading between
the folds of the mountains. Delayed by constant
rains and flooded strems they weie nine days mak
ing the trip which in good weather might have been
accomplished in three.
Meetings were established and kept up every
Sabbath in the village chapel which was kindly
furnished them by the authorities, who were favor
able to the mission and every night a Bible Class
met at their house. About a month later the be
lievers were organized into a Church, by the admis
sion of sixteen members, and thus permanent work
began, the nucleus of a flourishing mission church
among the banana groves of Gomez Farias.
Angelita gave the following accounts of the be
nighted condition of the people around her. "Last
year in what we called the holy days (or Lent) no
tice was spread abroad that in one of the ranches
near the village a Virgin had appeared in the shade
of a green lemon tree, that God beholding the wick-

128 LIFE AND LETTERS
edness of men (said the precursor of the Virgin a
girl of fifteen summers) had sent the image to let
the world know that if the people did not do penance,
God would make an end of mankind. 'So soon as
this notice spread among the ranches, the females
of this and other villages gathered in great num
bers to adore the Virgin, and from a certain dis
tance they walked on their knees with lighted can
dles in their hands to the trunk of the lemon tree,
where they beheld a small round stone surrounded
by artificial flowers, which the ignorance and
fanaticism of the people had converted into an im
age of the Virgin of Guadalupe, although1 in reality
it was nothing more than one of the many beautiful
stones to be found in theb^dof our streams, adorn
ed by seams of varied color. Not women alone,
on this occasion but also men noted in these parts
for their learning, reverently approached the lemon
tree on their knees to worship the image; repeated
their prayers and sang. Although some declared
that they saw it, ere many weeks the greater part
of the people became convinced that it was simply
a stone which the hand of man had planted in the
fork of the lemon tree."

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 129
CHAPTER XVI.
THE HURRICANE AT MATAMOROS.
"Oh! souls that bravely do and dare;
O hearts that to the Truth are loyal;
A crown of glory ye should wear,
For ye and only ye are royal."
We quote largely in this chapter from Samuel's
graphic description in his Memoirs of the scenes,
perils, and incidents connected with this memor
able occasion; of which he speaks as follows; "Un
expected and thrilling events now crowded upon
the mission in such quick succession that our faith
accustomed to sudden and severe provings, was
tried to the uttermost but a little over a month af
ter the departure of Luciano and Angelita for Go
mez Farias, and just as the city was trembUng with
anxiety at a threatening inundation, one of those
terrible Gulf hurricanes, so dreaded upon this
coast, broke with unrelenting force upon the city,
spreading desolation and distress upon every hand.
"Never can the terrific scenes of that dark night
be effaced from memory, and although vivid in our
recollection how much more so must it have been
to those homeless amid the maddening fury
ofthe atoms, clinging to the ruins of their homes,
who passed the night in the open air, unpro
tected from the piercing blast. The dreadful
hurricanes of 1867 and 1874 werestill fresh
in the memory of many of the citizens, and
the ruins they left were still to be seen in many
parts of the city, and while more damage was done

13tt. LIFE AND LETTERS
to costly edifices in 1867, and that of 1874 lasted 72
hours, and was therefore more tedious, this one of
August 13th, 1880, fell with more force upon the
working class, and the morning of the 14th dawned
upon the ruins of 1615 homes mostly belonging to
the poorer class of residents. During all day
of the 13th tha police force was busy in gathering
the poor people from those shanties which seemed
likely to fall and some buildings near us fell dur
ing the afternoon, yet the greater part of the de
struction took place between sundown and mid
night, when there was a lull, followed by the
dreaded south wind. One of our members brought
his wife with her new born child to take refuge in
our house, and to satisfy her as well as to ascer
tain how our neighbors had fun-d, accompanied
by W. A. Walls, I made a tout around Liberty
Square, finding the house of our friend stiU stand
ing though five buildings on the south of the square
had been blown to pieces. The roof of the car
riage shop adjoining our residence had been blown
over our sitting room, throwing down some bricks
from the parapet wall and then striking our
kitchen had thrown down about half the gable. Our
school building was demolished, and the yard
filled with fragments of neighboring buildings.
During the whole storm both Bro. Walls and my
self were busily occupied in bailing out water
which the wind was forcing under the north doors
and threatening us with inundation. It is note
worthy that after having been a sufferer from rheu
matism for some months, and even during the first

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 131
part of the storm, I was forced to walk barefoot.
and often in several inches of water for about nine
hours, and suffered no inconvenience, nor did the
disease reappear.
"One of the most interesting visits during that
memorable night was to the residence of our
friend and fellow-laborer Julio Gonzalez Gea, for on
visiting our meeting house which had suffered
considerably we passed over ruins of fences and
shanties to his house, and seeing a light within we
knocked. We found the children asleep and the
bible lay open upon the table, where during the
force of the storm he had been reading the Psalms
of David and engaged in earnest prayer for his
fellow-beings. We saw him in an hour when all
gloss was cast aside, but he was relying upon the
promises of God. We never afterwards doubted
the sincerity of his faith in Christ.
"Many of our members had lost their homes and
were suffering for the necessaries of life, and we
obtained a loan from a merchant to supply their
wants, which was replaced by donations from
Friends in the United States and England. Col
lections were taken among the wealthy to aid the
poor and as our Mexican telegraph lines were not
destroyed, the news of our disaster stirred the
whole republic, and funds were speedily gathered
to relieve the sufferers. Nearly one third of the
houses have been destroyed and one third of the
town being still inundated. The poor people were
lodged in the school and municipal building as weU
as in those houses which were unoccupied at the

132 LIFE AND LETTERS
time, which were seized by the authorities for that
purpose. The smallpox which had become a con-
stand resident of the suburbs now broke out with
relentless fury in the central part of the city and
more than 500 fell victims to the scourge, among
them several of our flock.
" Whilst this dark cloud was gathering over us,
our anxiety about Luciano and Angelita was daily
increasing, and it was decided to send W. A. WaUs
to visit them; and not being able to get passage by
sea he went overland in a cart going to Victoria,.
Arriving at Gomez Farias in about two weeks he
found them prosecuting the work with vigor,
while her health was gradually failing.
"W. A. Walls after a short sojourn, to learn the
condition of the work and the workers, returned
alone to Matamoros. When about thirty miles
from the city he fell in with highwaymen and his
experience was so singular and perilous that our
readers will be glad to see it in his own words as
written at the time for the 'Christian Worker.'
" 'Before reaching Matamoros I got a lesson
which would have convinced the sturdiest of
doubters. On Tuesday started at three o'clock in
the morning partly because the rain made my
ebony bush an uncomfortable roof, and partly be
cause a seventy mile trip lay between me and my
bed room at Matamoros. About nine in the
morning I was overtaken by three horsemen, aU
on good horses, but as we were in sight of a farm
they simply past the usual 'Buenos dias, senor,'
and rode on to the house. I did not like the ap-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 133
pearance, but as I had no business at the farm I
rode quietly past. When about a mile beyond I
was again overtaken by the same company, and they
now proposed that we should journey to Matamoros
together. Consenting to the arrangement, one of
them went immdeiately in front and the Others one
at each side of my horse.
"As this order of march was a little suspicious, I
turned my beast suddenly, so as to be at the side of
the road, and saw that one of my companions had a
pistol in his hand, which he put out of sight as
quickly as possible, and supposed it had escaped
observation. I now knew the character of my com
panions, and could simply put upa fervent petition
to ou r Father for protection. The leader of the com
pany offered to show me a shorter road to Mata
moros, and proposed that we should leave the high
way to find this short cut. When I declined this
obliging offer, which was intended to draw me into
the chapparal, where the buzzards would probably
be the only discoverers of the body, he threw off his
mask of pretended kindness, and pointing his pistol
at my head, threatened me with instant death if I
did not follow the foremost of the company. As it
seemed like leaving the path of duty, I refused to
leave the only place in which I had a right to expect
God's protection. The front man now seized my
horse's halter and attempted to lead him away from
the road. I at once dismounted and with a jerk
freed the rope from his grasp.
"Knives, men," said the captain, and two knives
each over a foot long, were held threateningly over

134 LIFE AND LETTERS
my breast. Then the captain a second time order
ed me, on pain of immediate death, to accompany
them to the northward. The reply was, 'You may
kUl me if you wiU, it makes no difference to me;
thanks to God I am ready, but this is my road from
here I will not go. ' 'Are you prepared?' 'Yes.'
The idea seemed a novel one, and the knives disap
peared, though the pistol, with its five barrels aU
charged, still remained pointed at my "face. I then
asked who they were, and where they Uved, and
was told that they were 'Gentlemen of St. John, '
and Uved under the moon! He now demanded my
money. I gave him a fifty-cent piece which I had
in my pocket, not caring to show my purse, which
contained about eight dollars — more than I could
afford to lose. He said: — It is very Uttle; have you
no more? Yes, but I need the rest, which was
true. "He again asked for it, but in a somewhat doubt
ful tone, as if he expected to be refused, and it
seemed to me that I need make no further sacrifice,
so I told him that I could spare the half dollar, but
no more. 'Vamos, let us be off, ' he' said to his fel
low bandits, and they galloped on at a Uvely rate.
"Returning thanks to God, who had so wonder
fully deUevered me from the hands of those high
waymen, I remounted and at a slower pace foUow
ed. Certainly it is not usual for the Mexican 'road
agents' to let their victim escape with his Ufe,
much less to carry his money out of their hands.
I can only praise God, who, in the moment of peril,
kept my mind perfectly quiet. When I refused to

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE -135
leave the road I expected to receive a shot instant
y, and as the mind works with more than hght
ning rapidity the thought of past occupations, ap
parently important once, but now, when face to face
with eternity, utterly trivial, filled me with shame
for wasted^opportunities; at the same time I had an
unutterable gladness at the thought that sudden
death was sudden glory, that to leave this earth
was only to leave earthly friends for the presence
of Him who is dearer than all other friends.
"While regretting the misspent time and lost
opportunities, I felt great calmness from the know
ledge that through the blood of Christ I was ac
cepted, and was enabled say in my heart, O Lord!
deliver Thy servant in Thine own way, by life, for
Thy service on earth, or by death for Thy praise
in heaven.
"I have often thought, and now know, that the
mind can carry on several operations at the same
time. While meditating on my past life, and re
joicing that the question of salvation was settled, I
was also wondering at the same instant how it feels
to be shot, and whether he intended to fire at the
head or the heart, whether a second shot would be
necessary and what Mr. Purdie would say when he
heard of it. Also I thought of the pain which the
news would give at home, all apparently in an in
stant. One idea, amusing from its triviality, kept
coming up, certainly without any effort of mine
suddenly presented itself, "WeU Mrs. Purdie will
never get her oranges." While so many other im
portant questions were occupying my attention,

1S6 LIFE AND LETTERS
this was certainly an odd notion for that moment.
I also remember counting repeatedly the five bar
rels of the pistol, and even noted the carving of the
handle with a singular curiosity."
In speaking of his return which was unexpected
so soon, Samuel wrote as follows: "It was very
late one dark night about the middle of Nov. that a
caU at our door, summoned me from my studies and
recognizing the voice of Bro. Walls, I hastened to
the door and on oppening it he said, 'Behold a cer
tain man going from Jerusalem to Jerico fell among
thieves I did not ask an explanation, but hasten to
the yard to open the gate to admit his horse, and on
dismounting he jovially said that he had a bag of
oranges for Gulielma,' I replied that she was in N.
O, to which he paid no attention, and it was not un
til he had entered the house and found me alone,
that each became convinced that what had seemed
joking was sober reality.
"The prevalence of small pox making it seem
dangerous for our little son of six weeks old to re
main in the city, Guilielma decided to make her
proposed visit to her parents, (after an absence of
ten years), without delay, so had already reached
her destination."
Mention has not been made of the interesting
event in the family circle which occurred about the
first of October at which time he telegraphed to his
father at Columbus, N. Y., this laconic sentence,
"Joseph Moore Purdie, weighed nine pounds, moth
er and child both doing well."
During the au torn of 1880 the epidemic of smaU

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 137
pox was very severe, there being more than 600
deaths in the last three months of the year; and
Samuel during this time was constantly caring
for the sick and the dying, daily exposed to the
disease, he kept up until about New Years when a
severe storm and cold snap, gave him a hard cold,
Which was followed by pneumonia for two weeks he
was very sick, and was convalescent he thought
best to go soon to join his wife in North Carolina.
W. A. Walls with Francisco Pena, had been sent
to Gomez Farias to conduct the mission and allow
Liciano and Angelita to remove to Llera where there
were better conditions for her failing health. And
now to permit his absence it was necessary to re
call Bro. Walls to attend to the English correspon
dence of the mission, and all hopes of Angelita's re
gaining her health having been abandoned it was
thought best for them to return and take up the
mission woik at Matamoros. Just at this needy
hour, Encarnacian Gonzales, an elder of the Pres
byterian church, who had long felt called to the
work of the ministry, requested for a transfer to
our church.
This seemed providential at that juncture. Wm.
Walls returned during the latter part of Feb. 1881,
and arrangements were made for sending Encar-
natian Gonzalez and wife to the southern mission,
and soon after Samuel's departure for the north,
Luciano and Angelita arrived at Matamoros.
She only survived three days after her arrival,
and was often engaged in helping sing hymns full
of consolation for the dying Christian. She died

138 LIFE AND LETTERS
just as she seemed prepared for the service of Ufe,
mourned by aU who knew her, and the mission
church realized that the dear young woman who
had been called away at but 21 years of age had been
to them a mother in Israel. Her death could hard
ly have been unexpected to Samuel stiU its final an
nouncement must have brought to him as Uke
events do to each one of us, — a sense of sadness
and bereavement, when our hopes of again meeting
on earth are destroyed.
The news reached him just as he was entering a
Bible School Conference at Back Creek, N. C.
where the telegram was read and a sermon appro
priate to so solemn an occasion was preached by
Rufus P. King which wiU long be remember by
those who heard it.

Samuel A. Purdie and Family.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 139
CHAPTER XVII.
VISIT TO THE HOMELAND.
"This truth comes more and more to us the
longer we liye that on what field or in
what uniform, or with what alms we do
our duty matters tery little or even
what that duty is, great or small, splendid
or obscure. Only that we we find our duty
certainly and somewhere, somehow do it
faithfully, makes us good, strong, useful
men, and tunes our lives into some feeble
echo of the life of God. "—Phillips Brooks.
Leaving Matamoros on the steamer for New
Orleans about 2nd mo. 20th, 1881, he took with
him their adopted girls Juanita and Petra, who
were about eight and six years of age respectfully.
To leave them behind exposed to the epidemic
without their care would have been hazardous and
it gave him an opportunity to show their friends in
the north samples of those foreign races the Span
ish and the Mexican; and perhaps he then contem
plated the leaving of Juanita for school privileges
in English, as they eventually did.
Taking rail at New Orleans he arrived among his
friends in N. C, just in time to attend the funeral
of grandmother Hoover who died on the morning of
March 3d. After spending the month in N. C. visit
ing relatives, friends and acquaintances and at
tending meeting she started with his family for the
old home in New York; at Philadelphia he sent his
family forward while he tarried a few days to pre
sent the claims of the mission, from there he went

140 LIFE AND LETTERS
to Indiana to meet the F. M. Committee and the
many interested friends cf the work in that locality,
receiving their hearty approval of his diligence
and steadfastness in the work through flood and
storm, through war and pestilence
From his detailed and complete reports of the
work from year to year they must have realized
something of the magnitude of the work he had ac
complished. While there he made arrangements for the stay
of Juanita among them, to acquire an education at
Earlham College, entering a preparatory depart
ment in autumn. In the meantime she was attend
ing the closing term of a country school near the
home of the writer in New York, in company with
his brother Joseph's little daughter Rosa whom she
resembled very much in appearance and dispostion.
Having completed his work there he once more
turned his face toward the old homestead with its
loved ones.
After ten years of absence among varied seenes
and still more varied experiences in life, he comes
again to the old familiar fireside still surrounded
by his parents, brother and sister; the older sister
had married in the mean time and removed to west
ern New York.
A happy reunion a time of blessed communion
over the experiences of the past, life brings few
richer social privileges.
The summer passed rapidly, visiting with his
family among their many relatives and friends; and
attending some of the Eastern yearly meetings to

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 141
encourage them in mission work, and to show an
appreciation of their past efforts.
In the 8th. month they started on their home
journey by the way of Cincinnati to New Orleans.
They wereto meet Mahala Jay at Dayton to accom
pany Juanita to her home in Richmond, Ind.,
but by a mistake of a ticket agent they failed to
connect, and so left her at a friends' in Covington,
Ky., from whence she could readily reach Rich
mond. Reaching Matamoros in the latter part of the
month they resumed chargeof the work again.
On August 29th., 1881 Wm. A. WaUs and Concep
tion Aquilar the sister of Angelita were married;
and were stationed at Escandon where they labor
ed for two years under the F. M. Committe of
Ohio Yearly Meeting.
After this strenuous vacation in the north land,
he settled down, to the the mission work with his
usual energy and enthusiasm. But the severe storm
and continuous rains of the winter were so trying
on their health and the constant strain of the work
and the bustle and excitement of the surroundings
of the mission, were so exhausting to mind and
body that for a time they listened to the solicita
tions of his parents and thought seriously of re-
signing the work and returning to New York, and
make a home among the Chenango hills, as prefer
able to the more genial climate of the Carolinas.
But he was engaged in a great work no one could
have filled his place, without much experience and
long acquaintance with the conduct of the mission

142 LIFE AND LETTERS
field. From him to have left it at this time would'
have been a setback of perhaps years in this work.
The call of duty and the pleadings and prayers of
his friends led him to abandon his purpose in the
spring time, for we find him writing to his father
under date 4th, month., 27. "While I would for my
own part very gladly return to United States, and
so would Gulielma, but the tender pleadings of the
F. M. Committee and the tears of our members
here have for the present overcome our resolutions,
while dry weather and improved health and espec
ially that of Joseph have induced us to determine
to stand at the mission helm sometime longer."
June 25th, they took an outing on the beach at
Aqua Dulce, 42 miles to the southeast of Matamoros.
They occupied a house about 100 steps from the
beach, and bathing only twice a day, they had am
ple time to gather shells and ramble up and down
the beach and out among the sand hills.
Having as he said the most pleasant time of bath
ing they ever enjoyed, for about two weeks, arriv
ing home on the 8th. of July, anxious to hurry up
the press work which was now crowding them.
On the 11th, he wrote his mother: "I often think
of home, and how I could enjoy the retirement of
farm- life, so different from the crowd of an im
mense correspondence and the urgency of apublish-
ing house which sends its books over half the west
ern Continent, and the crowd and the stir of life in
a city. For the present it seems impossible for us to
think of leaving the work. It never was so exten
sive."

OF SAMUEL A! PURDIE 143
"Yesterday I had a call for books from Valparai
so, a few days before from Madrid, and from the
Central American States we have interesting cor
respondences." The latter part of the month yellow fever again
became epidemic in Matamoros. Gulielma had a
slight attack, as those who have had it once usually
suffer less the second time. "Yellow fever unless
fatal is a very slight disease. All depending on col
lapse or convalescence. " But some of his household
suffered much more, little Petra lay at the point of
death for several days, but finally rallied.
Samuel was down for two days and writing to
his mother under date of Aug. 11th., he says:
" We supposed that the illness of Gulielma ten day
before had been symptoms of yellow fever, but just
as I began to get around she was taken with violent
pain in back and lim bs, and her fever soon rose to
104 with delerium, no doctor could be had until 5 p.
m , as three of them had yellow fever, yet ice treat
ment was began at once, her fever lasted 8 hours
and next day she was quite cheerful and seemed
likely soon to be about the house. Her fever how
ever returned, and we are still struggUng with it."
"There are about 20 cases among our members as
yet no deaths, and only one in Presbyterian Mis
sion, which is now our care, its missionaries resid
ing in Brownsville being prevented from coming
here by quarantine."
On the 27th. he wrote that the fever stiU con
tinues its ravages, and had left many children or
phans and sometimes wiped out whole famihes.

144 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XVIII.
TO THE SOUTHERN MISSIONS WITH ISAAC SHARP.
' 'O the stars never tread the blue heavens at night
But we think where the ransomed have trod
And the sun never shines from his palace of light
But we feel the bright smile of our God." — Clark.
We wished to visit Gomez Farias as funds were
available for building a meeting house in that vU-
lage and also adds:
"There is great satisfaction in having passed
through the yeUow fever with safety, as I can now
leave home for a visit south better than before, and
we shaU all be less liable than heretofore to other
fevers." So about the middle of Sept. he started forward
tarrying for a few days at Victoria which he says
is much more beautiful than when he visited it nine
years before.
After his return he wrote to his mother a brief
account of his trip, some extracts from which may
prove of interest to our readers.
"I spent two weeks in Gomez Farias, and arrang
ed all I could about building the meeting house and
had meetings every night for the whole two weeks-
By day I visited the members at their homes, ate
oranges and bananas, visited one of the grottos, and
thus eoa ployed my time very closely. I twice visit
ed Father Lozano at his home. On 10 mo. 9th, we

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 145
left Gomez Farias at dawn and reached Escandon
about noon. The descent of the Sierra Madre was
tiresome, the pack-mule with two small trunks giv
ing us little no trouble and the horse used as a pack
animal suffered much from the weight of the large
trunk. W. A. Walls had dinner ready, and we soon
had our baggage in the carriage ready to begin our
journey. "We expected to spend fifteen days on the road,
but unexpected delays extended it to twenty days.
We had aside from our baggage quite a variety of
banana plants, ginger roots etc. for planting.
Our journey was rough and tiresome and much
more like working on a farm, hauling rails or wood
than like traveling on a public highway. Deep gul
lied streams, rocky places for leagues and thus on
foot and with rough driving there was scarcely any
pleasure on the whole trip.
"The second day from Victoria we broke the
king bolt of our carriage, and the next day worse
still were caught between two rivers in flood,
where we were detained five days and one half and
exposure to a severe storm of wind and rain brought
on an at tack of bilious fever, which gained force
for twelve days ere I reached a place where proper
remedies could be had.
"We reached San Fernando in two weeks from
Victoria, and the 12th day of my fever. There
proper remedies and kind care soon improved my
health, and on the 4th., I reached home. On look
ing back it seems a miracle that I did not die either
of fever or starvation, for scarcely any food I could

146 LIFE AND LETTERS
eat was to be had on the way. Since reaching home
I have improved rapidly and am able to take part in
office work.
"Among the curious plants we brought is a varie
ty of squash which has but one seed, or rather the
squash is a seed, and they sprout and grow for
sometime when hung by a thread, or while stiU at
tached to the parent vine."
Thus though dificulties and dangers, through
trials and hardships, he kept right on striving for
the advancement of the work in which he was en
listed. Toward the close of the year he wrote."
"There are still a few cases of yeUow fever in the
city, but it has ceased to be epidemic. Our work is
going forward quite encouragingly and our wants
are much better supplied and our home on account
of the repairs to the house last spring is much more
comfortable than formerly. Thus whUe we seem
obliged to stay here, we hope to enjoy our lives bet
ter than heretofore and with less hardshiys."
The family were just getting back to health, af
ter their siege with fever, and as he had repared
the shattered carriage, which arrived so dUapidated
from its trip across the plains, and having a horse,
as the weather and streets improved they began
riding out for their health, extending their drives
on to the beautiful plains west of the city. Writing
to his mother under date 1st mo 13th, 1883 he said:
"If the weather keeps as clear and beautiful as now
we hope to ride an hour or two daily. I think it wiU
help us for we eat twice as much supper as we usu
ally do. The grass and the trees are now brown as

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 147
we had a frost on the 7th. but a week of sunny
weather wiU change it all to a vivid green, and an
other week or two wiU spread the whole plain for a
1000 square miles with purple verbenas and pink
amapolis. "We have made great progress during the week
in the press room and yesterday and to-day both
presses have been running at their highest speed
hour after hour. We have a great crowd of work
on hand and next week hope to print 1000 second
Readers which wiUkeep our largest press running
most of the working hours of the whole week. We
have work for over six months already planned out
and in progress even working as fast as in the past
week." The first R. R. from Matamoros was just opened,
running south toward Monterey. On his fortieth
birthday March 5th., they invited to dinner a com
pany of young people and school girls, and after
dinner took a walk to the station just outside the
city walls at the Monterey gate a half a mile from
the mission to see the train start as some of them
had never seen the new R. R.
The trains ran twice daily toPala Blanco, about
11 miles and they were building rapidly beyond.
In the latter part of April Samuel with Gulielma
and Joseph made a trip for change and rest to San
Fernando going by carriage. They were four days
on the road, each way.
Joseph had some fever for several days before
starting homeward and the last day of the journey
he broke out with small-pox, it staid out twenty

148 LIFE AND LETTERS
days but was so mild he was up and around all the
time, and thus passed with safety through a much
dreaded disease.
A letter from the north induced him soon to make
a visit to Soto la Marina with Librado Ramirez, with
a view to establishing a mission in that port. They
started June 26th, accompanied by Julia Gonzalez
Gea and son who had been on a visit to Matamoros
and were returning to his home at San Fernando,
where he was taught the school which Samuel said
was the great element of future growth for the work
there. Soto La M arina has a fine location on a beautiful
river lined with heavy forest trees. After a stay
of a day or two they started homeward making the
trip in about six days.
Having made arrangements for their residence
there Librado and Frances prepared to remove to
Soto La Marina and open a mission there; their ro
bust little boy just beginning to creep was named
Micajah in honor of M. M. Binford who was at
Samuels when Frances first came to live with them.
In a week's time they were on the road to the
new field.
Writing to his mother under date 9th mo. 28th
he said: "While quite tired out by the over-exer
tion in the work during the week as well as to-day,
a day of rest, but not for those commissioned to
rescue the lost.
"This evening I addressed quite a large meeting
from Romans 6-1, and had more than usual free
dom and the words seemed to be felt by many.

Elisco Mascorro. Eva L. Mascokeo.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 149
"What a force and beauty in the expression —
'Dead unto sin," may all who profess the name of
Christ know of such a blessed experience as their
daily joy and their everlasting crown."
After referring to the expected arrival of Isaac
Sharp and his trip with him, he speaks of his own
good health>and also thatof Joseph, and then adds.
"He is becoming -very inquisitive, some of his
questions being very dificult to answer. A few days
ago it was raining very gently and he wished to
know how the water came down in drops, and if the
heavens had Uttle holes like our plant waterer? A
few minutes ago I was showing him the stars when
he asked me if they were made new every night,
and when I told him that they were there in the day
time, then when the sun went down we could see
them, he said that when the sun arose they went
out, and were lit again when it went down. He is
very much of a thinker, and very desirous of work
ing with a hammer and saw, though preaching is
his favorite employment."
In Nov. they received the expected visit from
Isaac Sharp an English Friend about 80 years of
age who was on a tour of the world and came from
the west by way of San Francisco. Samuel went
with him as inter peter, on a visit to the other mis
sion stations at the south. Julia L. Ballenger of
North Carolina had arrived and would be there with
Gulielma during his abscence, he speaks of her as a
remarkably earnest and devoted young woman, her
sister had been his classmate at the Normal
School at Winchester, N. C. in the summer of 1867.

150 LIFE AND LETTERS
About the first of Dec. they started south, at San
Fernando they were detained a few days by the ill
ness of Isaac Sharp, on the 4th he was so that they
visited the school and listened to the lessons and
some declamations.
Writmg from Jimenez on the 13th. to his wife he
says "Since San Fernando our friend has been get
ting on weU and has stood the journey better than
we anticipated.
We have been to Soto la Marina and returned
making near 500 miles of travel since leaving home.
"Yesterday we came near running over a large rat
tle-snake, and as Isaac Sharp had never seen one I
jumped out with him contrary to my usual pract
ice, and as a strong stick some six feet long lay near
by I gave it a blow back of the head which stunned
it, and made it an easy prey.
"A few joints of its rattle had been lost prior to
this battle, though nine were still left. It must
have been twelve years old. We took off its skin
and stretched it on the old flower stalk of a century
plant to dry, so he could take it to England.
"Ignacio Boledo gave him a Lion's skin which has
pleased him greatly." It having been decided for
W. A. Walls and family to return to Matamoros he
taking the position of teacher in the school, and
Isaac Sharp having visited all the southern mis
sions returned with them to Matamoros while Sam
uel tarried at Gomez Farias to aid in the completion
of the meeting house. The windows were not yet
in, and having sent to Matamoros for glass, he was
busy making the sash to receive it on its arrival.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 151
Thus we find him master of all trades and occu
pations, ready to put his hand to any work that
would help on the gospel cause.
Writing to his mother at the close of 1883 he thus
graphicaUy describe the location of the village and
the beautiful surroundings of the meeting house;
"Another year closes and 1884 is close at our door.
But how different from your New Year. Here I
am about 21 deg. 30 min. No. Lat. in a fertile nook,
closed in by the eastern spur and main chain of the
Rocky mountains, known here as Sierra Madre
(Mother Saw) from its cerrated summits. The
meeting house stands on a little plot of level ground
on a ridge between the chains, and faces the most
bold and precipitious range of the Sierra Madre
which rises before it at a distance of a mile and ap
pears to be perpendicular, although at an angle of
possibly 70 deg. from the horizontal and 20. deg.
from the vertical. Rising from the yawning abyss
which intervenes like a wall of greeness a 1000 ft.
in height, where aU along bare rocky faces project
from the wall amid the tangled forest of trees
bound together with countless vines."
Through all these busy days the spiritual needs
of the people were not forgotten; for a little later
he wrote from there to his wife: "We have had
large crowds of people at the meetings, and such
preaching as reached the heart and the church is
being greatly built up. I see that Gomez Farias
must have more of our attention, for there are
many talented children whose unfolding lives we.:
must strive to direct in the true channel."

B2 LIFE AND LETTERS
In this letter he also spoke of visiting the ruins
of two ancient cities, which Ue among the dense
forests which Une the banks of the Guavalejo. He
says, "I could not coUect many specimens owing
to the extent of the ruins and the dense mat of
quapilla which covers them as well as the giant
trees which for centuries have stood like sentinels
over the remains of a forgotten people, probably
the Noahs of the 8th. to the 10th. centuries.
"We left Escandon at 7:00 a. m. and after losing
our way, reached ElCelesti at noon and visited
the ruins there, barely entering a short way
among the pyramids, for to visit them all would
require days instead of hours.
" We then started for the more interesting ruins
some three miles away, at a ranch near them we
secured a guide and rode on horseback through
dense thickets and mats of quapilla some half an
hour ere we reached the principal square. I had
on long overalls or chivarros, and thus we could
walk over the quapilla and visit the mounds much
faster than at the other place. The idc ls had been
stolen since our guide was last there two years
ago, but I found some things of interest.
Along in February having seen the completion
of the meeting house, he once more turned his
face homeward and in the latter part of the month
after an absence of nearly three months, he was
again permitted to join the loved ones at home,
•and take up again the old familiar duties.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 153

CHAPTER XIX.
THE HOME WORK.
I saw a busy toiler bending o'er his task, with
tongue and pen, with hand and brain and print
ing press, heedless of wind or storm or torrid
sun, he drove right on scattering seeds of truth
o'er all the land. He might not stay to see the
fruitage, but he knew the soil would yield a
harvest for some reaper bye and bye.
The season of '84 was productive of less changes
at the mission than some previous ones, still it
brought the usual variety of effort and incident.
In June the place was again quarantined against
small-pox at other ports, just then a large printing
press weighing 3,500 arrived from New York; it
was double the capacity of their largest former
one; the work of mounting it and getting it in run
ning order was no smaU task.
About this time he wrote with characteristic
feeling and pathos to his mother: "I often think
of home with its beauties, attractions and social
joys, but when I see the fruits God has granted to
my labors in his service in this land, I am glad
that I yielded to his leadings in coming and re
maining here. I can hardly realize that father
has passed 80 years; and that soon after this reaches
thee, thou will reach the same ripe old age. How
I would enjoy being with you on so memorable a
day. May we ever look up to God as the author
of aU our blessings and aim to Uve daily in grate-

154 LIFE AND LETTERS
fui recognition of so kind a Father whose gifts and
whose chastenings are equally worthy of our most
grateful remembrance. Now may God's blessing
abundantly crown thy 81st year."
This summer two more helpers from Indiana,
Ora Osborne and Lillie Neiger, arrived and stopped
in the city to learn the language, preparatory to
going to Soto la Marina for service there. The
first half of July they spent by the sea- side at
Aqua Dulce, coming home refreshed for active
work in the publishing house.
In October he wrote; "A new house with a fire
place in each room, is offered to us quite reason
able, so we shall have many more comforts than
we do in this one.
"Our schools are overflowing and we have refused
about twenty boys for want of room. Sabbath
school is tbe largest we ever had in the rainy sea
son." Thus with a constantly increasing demand for
their publications he was busy at home without
special changes through the winter. In the latter
part of February, making another trip to Gomez
Farias, to encourage the work there, a few days
after his arrival on his 42nd. birthday, March 5th,
1885, he wrote to his wife as follows: "The meet
ing house here is very pretty and the members are
mostly very earnest. We have had meetings every
night since we arrived, the attendance and interest
still increasing. I have greatly enjoyed being here
and I trust the church here will be benefitted
thereby. The attendance last night was about

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 155
two hundred. In the recent census, some 500
persons gave themselves in as Protestants, many
of whom have never attended meetings but have
read our books. This shows that the opposition
has nearly ceased, and that all that is needed here
is for more reapers to enter in. There are many
smaU things needed here and I have been thinking
that we had best come in July instead of going to
the seaside. It would cost but little more and
might be as beneficial to health and much more to
the cause of Christ. The locusts entered this vil
lage two days before our arrival. When at rest on
the trees they can be seen distinctly at a distance
of three miles, and when in flight as far away as
the densest rain cloud. A cloud passed over our
meeting house yard yesterday. They move like a
whirl wind, a portion stopping to feed and the
others passing ahead of them, when these rise and
pass ahead of the advance guard as they stop to
feed. We kept them from lighting in the yard. In
an adjoining yard they left in ten minutes nothing
but the coarse veins of the leaves of a large tree.
"They did but little damage to the bananas. The
third cloud is said to have entered the vaUey this
morning" After their return they secured a lot and pre
pared to build a Boarding School building on the
same square and nearly in front of their meeting
house at Matamoros. On June 1st, they had con
tracted 100,000 bricks and one third were on the
lot ready for the work to go forward, and he says,
"This wiU keep us very busy this summer, as soon

.156 LIFE AND LETTERS
as this is done we must build a building for a Girl's
day school at Gomez Farias."
They made their usual trip to the sea-side in
August. Then promptly back to the care of the
office and the building operations which were being
pushed vigorously forward. Writing to his par-
. ents under date of 12th month 20th, 1885, he speaks
of his long delay by rush of work and says: " Dur
ing the past six months we have completed a Board
ing School scructure at an outlay of over $4,000 and
the chief financial care and oversight has been a
great addition to the usual cares and attentions of
mission life.
Julia L. Ballenger has charge of the educational
department, and her sister, Laura A. Winston, is
to be matron of the Institution. She and her daugh
ter Lonnie are to come with Mahala and Juanita
(whe is to teach the third grade) and are probably
now in New Orleans on their way here. Laura A.
Winston was a school-mate of mine in the Normal
School at Springfield, N. C, in the summer of 1868.
She is a widow and her girl is about nine years of
age." "We have been having considerable fighting
. today, several were wounded — owing to elections.
Last First day a baU passed over my head, enter
ing the transom light of my study room and it
would have hit near Gulielma's head in our sitting
. room but was flattened by a nail in the partition
and bounded back over my study room. I jump
ed out of my room into the printing office as soon
as the shot was fired, as a drunken man on horse-
. back had the muzzle of his pistol in my door, though

Gertrudis G. G. de Ureste.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 157-
the ball was fired by his antagonist. I thought it
was getting too hot in that corner of the house, so I
went to an interior room, and sat down by the
stove, where it was politically cooler. Our neigh
bor across the street was a candidate for office and
was riding about the streets trying to gain the
cause of his party by intimidation.
"We are getting ready for a visit to the southern
missions with Mahala Jay, the first visit from a fe
male minister.
"We shall start about the 4th of next month and
be absent nearly two months, and as Gulielma and
Joseph wiU go also, we shall ride in our ambulance
and probably another carriage will accompany us
with a Mexican female preacher, Gertrudis G. G.
de Ureste, who is now in this city. She is a high
ly educated lady and has considerable landed prop
erty." We do not find any memoranda of this trip, but
it must have been fully executed, for March 7th,
having been home two days, he speaks of their
weariness from 1.000 miles of overland travel and
two weeks of the return journey over very muddy
roads on which they walked a great deal. They
crossed two spurs of the Rocky mountains on
horseback, though he usually walked behind the
horse, while Joseph rode a little donkey, and Guli
elma one of the carriage horses.
He was ever alive to the wonders of nature in aU
her moods but especially so to the nightly display
of those southern skies, so on writing to his moth
er he says: "I had a good view of tbe southern

158 LIFE AND LETTERS
cross, of the bright stars of Centaurus and other
beauties of the South Polar heavens."
In May they moved to a very long house on Mat
amoros street. They occupied nine rooms on the
second floor and enough below for the printing
office and boys school. It took considerable time
to get the printing office in running order again,
this and his two months absence reduced very
much the amount of work done in the printing of
fice. In the latter part of June his mother passed
from earth to her heavenly home. The news of
her death reached him one week after her burial
and he wrote to his sister, "A meeting of aU our
foreign missionaries and most of our native mem
bers was held that night, and was a tender and ed
ifying occasion, both the sermons of Santiago F.
Gonzalez and W. A. Walls were very instructive."
They took as usual a vacation of two weeks by
the seaside. In the autumn the Missionary Com
mittee gave him liberty to visit Richmond, Indiana,
at the time of the Yearly Meeting in October and
return at their expense, so he decided to make this
brief business trip, tauing time of course to look
in at the old homestead, but to sadly miss the face
of the sainted mother.
Straightening up as far as possible the work of
the office about the middle of September, 1886, he
sailed for Galveston.
He had long hoped to have the privilege in pass
ing through Kentucky, of visiting the mammoth
Cave, but he wrote his wife from New Orleans, "I

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 159
do not expect to visit Mammoth cave as my ticket
only lets me stop over one train and we wiU reach
Cave City at 11:30 p. m. or near midnight."
The hurricane on the gulf when he left it at Gal
veston, gave him much anxiety, he feared the mis
sion had suffered.
Writing from Richmond, Indiana, on the 6th, he
says, "Yearly Meeting closed yesterday, my ap
pointments now are Cincinnati, tomorrow; Smyr-
N. Y., my home meeting 1st. day, 10th; New York
City, 17th; Cincinnati meeting 24th. After meet
ing of Executive Committee on Foreign Missions
on the 25th, shall start home at once unless mat
ters in Matamoros aUow me to attend some more
of the Quarterly Meetings here."
Thus he had to travel nights much of the time to
meet his appointments, had but a few days at the
old home, a few days to caU on all the friends and
relatives in North Carolina. Hurrying back to
Richmond by the 25th, for his final advice and in
struction from the Committee, he made a brief
stay and on the afternoon of the 27th, left for Cin
cinnati on his return.
Waiting at New Orleans for a steamer, he was in
the city over the Sabbath and visited the Bethel
for Sailors and spoke to them for a short time.
The next to his sister was dated " Steamer I. C.
Harris, off Lousiana Coast, ll-4-'86." Once more
I am out on the deep blue sea. My stay in New
Orleans was a very pleasant one indeed, I never
stayed at a hotel where I felt so much at home as
at the 'Texas House. ' They refused drunkards

r-Ti t ,1 Tf.-ttV-ftt rf

160 LIFE AND LETTERS
lodging, even for money, and were kind and soci
able indeed."
He wrote again off Corpus Christi on the 7th.
"Yesterday at this time, 11:00 a. m., we were only
thirty-five miles from the Harbor of Brazos, Santi
ago, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, and now we
are fully 120 miles. A furious norther has obliged
us to run back eighty-five miles to the leeward of
Mustang Island." And adds later that he reach
ed home en the evening of the 8th, and found them
all well.
Thus in a few weeks of great activity he visited
many points in the north, saw many friends of the
work as well as many personal friends and rela
tives.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE IM

CHAPTER XX.

REMOVAL, TO VICTORIA.
Victoria, — Queen of the Southland,
Into the bosom of thy orange groves we fly,
To meet the sweetness of thy love and care
While our active minds and busy hands shall try
To bear the burdens that await us there.
Soon after his return from the north, small-pox
broke out in the family, Petra having it first, and
when recovering Joseph was taken severely, for
three weeks he was in bed, and took no food for
nine days, but finally recovered and soon had ex
cellent health. Samuel wrote to his father under
date of January 31, 1887.
"I have been so upset with small-pox that I have
answered but few of the many letters I have re
ceived. We have had no frost since early in
Twelfth month. Our banana plants suffered very
little indeed. And our other tender plants look as
though there had been no winter. We have done
more work this winter in the printing office than
we ever did in any previous winter, having rooms
which can be duly warmed and the winter so very
mild. " Among the strange events of the past few weeks
bas been the return of the father of Frances, who
was with us in New York. He left home three
months before she was born and had not heard
from his family in 19 years of absence. For five

162 . LIFE AND LETTERS
years after leaving he kept writing to his wife, but
getting no answer he stopped writing ; she did not
receive his letters and thus never heard from him.
He is well off and came back to help his children,
and is very grateful to us for what we have done
for Frances. "
Very busy in the office while at home and doing
much correspondence while away, we hear no more
from him until on a trip to the southern mission,
he writes his sister from Victoria on April 22nd:
"Expecting to stay a year or so in this portion of
the work we thought best to come prepared to
stay, but as my first round would require a great
deal of exposure and extra travel, we rented rooms
in this city for one month. It is possible that we
may make this our home for some time to come.
Luciano Gonzalez Gea, who was at San Ferando,
has gone to Santa Barbara to take charge of the
work there in place of L. Mascoro.
" We expected to locate in Tula but the people
here are very desirous that we should make this
our home, and we are not certain where we shall
stay. We are quite contented here, for we believe
it is the place of duty at present. We were 12 miles
south of the Tropic of Cancer, therefore in the
Torrid Zone. Within the last two weeks I have
been high enough to see blackberries in bloom in a
great abundance as in North Carolina, all varieties
of timber from the pine and cedar to the orange
and palm. Thus I have been within a few days in
varieties of climate as different as from Canada to
Florida.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 163
"The road from Tula here is through a deep pass
in the mountains over a road blasted in the rocky
ledges and cliffs. The alameda in this city is the
most beautiful ride I ever saw. It is a street lined
on each side with sycamores and aquaca trees. On
each side of the alameda the orange gardens form
a glow of greenness at this season, as most oranges
are about one inch in diameter and intensely green
just like the leaves. In a few months they will
glow with yeUow. The acquacnte is a vegetable
butter and in a few weeks wiU begin to ripen and
continue all the year. Sweet potatoes and cab
bages are very cheap here and there is much
greater variety of eatables than at Matamoros.
But pine apples and bananas, except some of the
earliest varieties, did not thrive there on account
of the elevation, making it a trifle cooler than on the
lower plains."
His next to his father was from Matamoros,
dated Sixth month 12th, his father's 83rd birthday
of which he congratulates him and adds, "Iam
here on a visit and to attend to some office work
and to arrange the reinforcements which go to
strengthen our southern mission.
"Almost every night I am at a meeting either
here or in Brownsville. Have been much favored
in the ministry on this visit, and to a great extent
am more free from the pressing cares of our print
ing office, to which Luciano Mascoro is now devot
ing his principal care."
The summer passed without any unusual inci
dents to record. He wrote his sister in November,

164 LIFE AND LETTERS
" We are very busy in school, having some over 50
pupils enrolled and our meetings are very fuUy at
tended and very interesting."
Thus he felt that the call to service in this broad
field was upon him and he gladly responded. Mak
ing frequent trips from one part to another to keep
the work aU moving successfully.
On January 28th, 1888, he wrote to his sister
from Matamoros, saying, "I reached here on the
night of the 24th, very wet and tired from travel
ing 120 miles of muddy plains in a misty rain 3£
days from San Fernando here. Margaretta M.
Marriage will be here on the next steamer and I
shall ieave for Victoria about the 9th to the 12th of
February." Later he wrote from Victoria: "Margaretta
seems to find many ways in which to be useful,
both in school and out of school, and is unceasing
in her efforts to care for Gulielma who has been
confined to her bed for the last 10 days by illness."
Again on Seventh month Fourteenth he writes to
his father from Matamoros, saying: "I reached
here on the 5th, having suffered much from the ex
treme heat of the sun on my journey here. We
passed one entire day by a Uttle frog pond in the
center of an immense plain, one of our mules hav
ing escaped. It is probable that I there contracted
chill and fever of a very severe type. I had such
shakings as I never before experienced, but hope
they have left for good. I am very busy rushing
my larger Geography through the press."
The year 168(8 began with the usual routine of

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 165
duties and responsibilities, which kept him almost
constantly on tne move among the different sta
tions. In February he went to Matamoros to meet
Murray Shipley and wife, of Cincinnati, who were
on a visit to their missions, and whom be expeeted
to accompany on their visit possibly as far as Mex
ico City. They went by carriage to Victoria, visit
ing the various stations on the way and after a short
stay at his home, left on March 7th, and visited aU
the stations south of there except Santa Barbary
and then to Tampico, where they took passage on a
steamer for Vera Cruz on the 22nd. They had
rough weather through the night and the next day
while they lay at anchor off Tuxpan, waiting for it to
become calm enough to receive passengers safely.
While there he wrote to his sister and said, "that
Guli and Joseph were just leaving for Matamoros,
en route to North Carolina, while he should not
leave Victoria to follow until June 15th, he says,
" I had hoped to go forward much earher but the
Foreign Mission Committee did not think that I
could be absent so long at this time without serious
injury to the work at Victoria. I shall feel very
lonely, — But I trust God will keep us all in perfect
peace as our mind are stayed on him. Among the
50 passengers is a daughter of the late James
Pascoa of Toluca, one of the oldest and most noted
of aU the missionaries in Mexico. He died at Corn
wall, England. She is now returning alone to
Mexico to carry on the correspondence whereby
the mission can continue to be sustained."

166 LIFE AND LETTERS
He adds on the 25th : " We have landed at Vera Cruz
and leave early tomorrow morning for Mexico."
We have no further record of this visit to Mexico,
but June 4th he was in Matamoros, expecting to
leave in a few days for Victoria to attend the clos
ing exercises of their schools.
His stay there could not have been long, for on
July 20th, he was again at Matamoros confined to
his bed with congestive chills; during the first chiU
he fell in a fit and showed no signs of life for fuUy
three minutes. He says: "Very many people have
died in these fits during the prevalence of the pres
ent epidemic."
A telegram from Victoria had summoned him
there to look after some difficulty in regard to the
occupancy of the house. He arrived there on Au
gust 2nd, and was able to soon adjust the difficulty,
and they soon had the use of all the house for them
selves. On August 6th he wrote: "The weather
though very hot at noon-day is much more com
fortable than at Matamoros, where we did not ever
have cool nights. Here they are agreeably cool
and pleasant."
It was now five months since Gulielma and him
self parted and he was somewhat lonely, but Mar-
garette and the girls did all they could to make it
pleasant for him, in which they must have suc
ceeded quite well, for in regard to it he wrote to
his sister: "On the whole I enjoy myself very much
better than at Matamoros, where, when I was sick
my housekeeper was a dried up young man who
smokes worse than Popocatepetl"

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 167
Near the last of the month he again started for
Matamoros, arriving on September 6th well but
tired, having ridden on horseback 300 miles through
deep mud in less than eight days, sleeping on the
damp ground several nights, with heavy dews and
light rains. An experience which most of us un
accustomed to roughing it, would consider rather
severe. Having arranged as well as possible for his
absence he prepared to start on the 10th for North
Carolina, the Foreign Mission Committee having
granted him a short leave of absence.
He arrived at High Point, North Carolina, on the
14th, and attended four meetings the next day.
After a short stay with his wife among her people,
they came north to visit the old home and the dear
ones still left there.
His father though past 85 was bright and active
and enjoyed this home coming very much. These
meetings when loved ones long separated meet to
gether in social converse make some of the bright
est pictures that we can hang on memory's wall.
But few of those who have been for 20 years
away from the old hearth-stone, have had such wide
and varied experiences of life as had been his.
This must have added much to the richness of
their meetings. Yet he could spare but little time
for enjoyment at the old home; as the needs of the
mission fields caUed for his presence at some of the
large gatherings of Friends in several states. In
addition to all this his interest in, and famiUarity
with the Spanish Republic of the South drew him

168 LIFE AND LETTERS
to. the Pan-American Conference at Washington in
November, where he acted as interpreter for some
of the delegates.
He was in Baltimore on November 5th, with
Gulielma, who was examined by a council of physi
cians and they hoped would be much benefited;
from there she went on to North CaroUna.
Samuel returned to Philadelphia to see Pan-
Americans and then on to Washington for the same
purpose. A postal to his father dated White House,
November 18th, says: " I am here with B. C. Hobbs
to see President Harrison about an interview with
Pan-American Congress. I go to Pittsburgh to
night and back to-morrow night." Another on the
21st, says: " I have been very busy here though
but a little about the Spanish American Congress.
I have been to Pittsburg, then back to Baltimore
and now start on for North Carolina."
Stopping at Centre he spent a week visiting old
friends and had a fine time, especiaUy at Jabez
Hodgins', where he made his home so long while
living in that section. Also as usual dodging about
attending meetings at Flint HiU, Marlboro, Cedar
Square and Centre where he was at nine meetings.
Then down to Back Creek for a few days among
the Hoovers, in that circle of brothers and sisters
the time must have passed swiftly rehearsing the
experiences of 20 years and the memories of the
old school days.
On December 10th they were at High Point en
route for New Orleans and hoped to be in Mata
moros in about a week.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 169
At New Orleans while waiting for the steamer
they stopped at the Texas House referred to in a
former chapter, and found it as then a very pleas
ant home-like boarding house; with no bar, kept by
a Scotch woman and her daughter, who was very
sociable with them.
After much delay they finally reached Matamoros
safely and writing from there on December 31st to
his sister he says: "We are pretty fuUy tired out;
but as the horses have been here ever since the
18th waiting for us, we hope to start on the 2nd of
January for Victoria. I have my hands pretty full
of correspondence and hard work for the three
days stay here so I cannot write more."
Thus ended three months of almost constant ac
tivity, in many channels while perhaps sometimes
wearisome, yet fuU of pleasure and change, so in
contrast with the usual routine of office work at the
mission, that it must have been to him a season of
recreation and enjoyment.
To Gulielma and Joseph who spent the summer
among their relatives in North Carolina, it was a
long wished for change.

170 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXI.
FINANCIAL, BURDEN.
"Stand like an anvil
When the blows of stalwart men
Fall thick and fast."
The financial care of the mission was no smaU
part of the responsibility that rested on him.
On April 21st, 1890, he wrote his sister: "I have
been usually busy — unusually anxious — suddenly
placed in charge of over $4,000 worth of purchases
it has been necesary to use financial tact and to be
sending letters and telegrams in various directions
in order to get the money transferred from Cincin
nati here via New York, Matamoros and Monterey.
Any failure to do so would be fatal to my credit
here. I have purchased a house and lot for our
residence where our Boys' school has been ever
since it was opened, I am ready to buy the Board
ing School premises to-day if the owner comes for
ward with his titles, so I may have to handle to-day
no less than $3,700 in Mexican silver dollars. I
shall be a happy man when all the purchases are
satisfactorily arranged." So while he was sole
agent for a base of supplies more than 1,000 miles
away he honored loyally the trust placed in him,
and being equal to the occasion, he carried on the
work to the satisfaction of the Committee and the
good of all.
After purchasing these buildings it was neces-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 171
sary to make some change and additions to fit them
for their use, so they had a very busy season mak
ing repairs on them.
On July 4th. he wrote his father: " We are build
ing additions to the building purchased for our
residence and also to the Girl's School building.
We have four masons at work and from eight to 16
hands working and carrying mortar and stone and
several ox- carts with two yoke of oxen and three
hands each bringing stone from the quarries.
"The work goes forward rapidly and by the last
of this month we hope to get both buildings ready
for occupancy. I have also been appointed on the
Board of Examiners of the Public Schools of
this city, which also takes a large share of my at
tention. Of course we are tired out every day with
so much stir of laborers aside from our very large
circle of visitors, which is quite a tax on our time
and on our physical strength. Yet amid all tnese
difficulties we are enjoying quite comfortable
health. Gulielma has been much stronger this summer
than for several years, whether owing to her med
icine or not she seemed better so soon as we had
returned to this genial climate. Though some of
the days are very hot the nights are very cool."
Writing a month later to his sister: "The rail
road in very near us now, the work goes on rapidly
both north and south of Victoria. In two months
we hope to see the locomotive arrive, when I sup
pose there will be quite a sensation here. I never
was so strong as this summer, I have been rising

172 LIFE AND LETTERS
at 5 A. M., and working quite hard in the building
work, some days as carpenter, and some as mason.
This active life seems to have made me stronger.
AU our family is in splendid health and altogether
we are getting on quite well."
Their new and first railroad in that section was
the Monterey and Gulf raUroad, from Monterey to
Tampico; connecting on the north with the South
Pacific at Spafford, Texas. It reached Victoria and
was opened there on October 4th, 1890, "amid the
rejoicing of the people."
While absent from home in November, a Friend
from Gomez Farias brought him 50 cedar boards,
and he says, " I shall for some time be busy making
windows, transoms, etc,, etc., and benches for our
meeting room."
Writing again to his sister on the Twelfth month
Twenty-eighth he says: "The railroad is now op
ened 75 miles beyond here and Margaretta and her
mother went to the southern mission on the cars
two days ago. Mails are more rapid and secure
than ever before. Sisal grass loaded here is un
loaded in New York city without change of cars. I
am very busy indeed owing to urgent matters con
nected with the settlement of the estate of Dr.
King, late Vice Consul. I am now acting Vice
Consul of the United States here. There are sev
eral American citizens in prison whose trials I have
to attend."
Thus we see he became known to the public as a
man of ability and education, of reliability and
trustworthiness, which fitted him to fill acceptably

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 173
any post of honor or responsibility that might caU
for an occupant. And he seldom declined an op
portunity for usefulness.
With the beginning of 1891 the work at the mis
sion was moving quietly, they were enjoying the
first fruits of their garden as a reward for the care
and irrigation which made it flourish through a
rainless winter.
Near the last of January he was summoned to
Matamoros by telegram to meet difficulties in con
nection with the Internal revenue tax; the result of
which he explained a little later in a letter to the
writer, who comes in at this time as a new corre
spondent; and a word in regard to the manner of
his coming may not be out of place in this narra
tive. Joseph Knowles, the youngest brother of the
writer, a minister in the Society of Friends resid
ing ot Smyrna, N. Y., an old friend and correspond
ent of his cousin Samuel, died near the close of
1890, and a short time later the writer in a letter to
Samuel gave him some of the particulars of his
death and burial. The letter reached Victoria dur
ing Samuel's absence in Matamoros, and soon after
his return he replied to it.
He expressed his surprise at the unexpected
tidings of his departure to the "brighter and bet
ter land of eternal joy and blessing," and after
words of hearty sympathy he adds: "The special
blessing to myself came with great force 'be ye
also ready.' "
Some opponents of their work at Matamoros had

174 LIFE AND LETTERS
brought forces to bear that threatened to cripple
them if they remained, and the only way to foil
their plans and save themselves from future trou
ble seemed to be to vacate their rooms at once and
remove tne business to Victoria. So shipping their
fastest press and a part of the other material at
once, they stored the remainder in a room adjoining
the school-room of W. A. Walls, which they rented
at $4.00 per month. He wrote, "We hope to sell
our old type at Matamoros and buy new to be
freighted direct to Victoria, and thus the renova
tion of our printing materials which was necessary
at this juncture, made the transfer at this time
very desirable. We expect a new teacher for our
Girls' School next term. Emma Cavendish, from
North Carolina, a cousin of Julia L. Ballenger, who
has so long and so successfully directed Hussey
school at Matamoros.
"Emma has been a teacher for several years and
is the widow of a physician and a very successful
nurse. We hope she will be a valuable addition to
our force.
"I am not duly appointed Consular Agent, but
have been acting pro tern, by appointment of Con
sul Richardson of Matamoros. Appeals for my
appointment keep being sent up by American resi
dents here. I have been called upon by the judge
every time an American was arrested, even when
we had a Consular Agent, who was always drunk,
or nearly always. I cannot escape the work of in
terpreter for the English speaking persons in pri
son, and on taking the benevolent view, do not wish

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 175
to avoid it. If I accept pro tern an appointment as
Consular Agent from the .United States Govern
ment it will be merely as an act. of kindness to
prisoners. It is not a salaried office, and even fees will be
very rare indeed. My other duties press me to
decline, and I shall surrender as soon as any other
person will accept."
About the middle of April, Joseph was taken
with typhoid fever, followed a little later by others
of the household, until their home became a verita
ble hospital for a time. In another letter to the
writer on June 1st, he says: "I am just convales
cent, able to be about the room, but physically the
weakest I have ever been. Seven weeks ago Jos
eph was taken with typhoid fever. He was in bed
40 days. Only a few days after he was taken, one
of our school girls from Quintero was also taken, I
followed two or three days later, then a sister of
the other boarder, then Gulielma who had reso
lutely refused to go to bed, and was caring for us,
was so prostrated as to be placed in a more painful
and critical situation than any of us. She is still
very sick, but hopeful of recovery. One of our
young lady teachers has light symptoms, but as
yet not entirely confined to bed. Thus for seven
weeks we have had six cases in our house.
"Two young lady teachers and Petra our Indian
girl, have been our caretakers during all these
weeks of suffering and danger; they have prepared
our food and administered our medicines, have
done their task nobly, affectionately, solicitously.

176 LIFE AND LETTERS
" No one else saye a Baptist minister from Colo
rado, formerly from Georgia, who has watched
with us two nights each week. Dr. M. C. Cameron
has been spending nearly half his time by our bed
side during the worst of our iUness. So we have
been wonderfully cared for.
"We are all about the room except Gulielma, but
but very weak physically, almost a group of living
skeletons, just escaped, to use the words of Job,
with the skin of our teeth; but having received
many mercies and spiritual blessings during these
severe afflictions and trials of faith."
On June 12th, he wrote to remind his father that
it was his 87th birthday, and says: "It has been
to us a pleasant day. Joseph was up about tbe
house yesterday and again to day, and Gulielma
able to sit up in a rocking chair a little while this
evening. This after so long a time of sickness has
been quite pleasant to all of us." And adds, "lean
say very little about the religious phases of our
work. We have had an unusual great sale and dis
tribution of Bibles, testaments and tracts." A few
days later in writing to his sister he says: "There
have been quite a number of severe discourage
ments in our work within the past few months,
while on the other hand there have been two be
quests of $1,000 each. So altogether we seem
forced for a while longer to remain in the field."
The public authorities seemed to appreciate him
in the various duties of citizenship and especially
in educational matters.
In writing to his father on the first of July he

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 177
says: "I am a member of the board of exam
iners of the public schools and the examinations.
begin to-day. I hope, however, that they wiU only
require me to be present on the days when geo-;
graphy, astronomy, philosophy, and other such
branches are examined, as I am chairman of the
examiners on these branches, and can hardly be
excused." In the autumn, at the yearly meeting at Rich
mond, Indiana, their need of a printing office was
discussed, and it was decided to use the mission
rooms for that purpose, and build a residence
adjoining for their home, and the Friends were
asked for $1,000 for this building. Morris White,
of Cincinnati, and Benjamin Johnson, of Richmond,
offered $500 each for that purpose.
Thus Samuel had liberty at once to begin the
gathering of material for the structure.
In writing to his cousin, under date of March 30,
1892, in regard to the building, he says: "We
have, therefore, been very busy indeed. It is a
two-story building with a broad balcony, is well
ventilated and supplied with a fireplace on first
floor and stove fixtures on second fioor. We hope
to have it ready to occupy about the end of April.
It is just across the street from where we now live.
I have directed all the carpenters' work myself,
marking every cut made on beams or planks in the
whole structure. I have at the same time directed
operations in the printing office, where Joseph,
with a keen eye and acute perception of all the
matters pertaining to printing, has relieved me

178 LIFE AND LETTERS
of many tiresome duties. I have done very little
translating, however, and in this line have very
much before me.
"At Gomez Farias we are to build a Missionary
Rest, a two-story building of pure tropical cedar,
weU-lighted and ventilated. There all our laborers
will be allowed to rest and recruit in that balmy
air and beautiful scenery. A woman from near
Cincinnati gave a bequest of $1,000 for this purpose,
and we have another bequest of $1,000, which we
hope to receive this summer.
" 'Even before I asked, He answered me.' Here
are $3,000 within one year, and all outside of the
regular missionary collections and appropriations.
The Lord hath blessed us exceedingly, abundantly
above all we could ask or think in temporal and
in spiritual matters. There are evident signs of
steady progress, and whitening fields are opening
everywhere, — even Cuba and Venezuela open their
doors to our publications."
Devoted as he was to the mission work, and
counting that the calling and purpose of his life;
yet, his versatile mind was ever alive to the delights
and enjoyments of nature in the cultivation and use
of the wondrous variety of vegetable products,
both indigenous and adapted to tbat tropical clime.
In the letter just quoted, he spoke of lemon trees
from Guatemala, guacos from the West Indies, of
South Sea oranges, and says: "Of grains, I am
introducing Kaffir corn, Egyptian dhoura, Aus
tralian millet, and feosinte, the giant Central
American grass." Equally active were the higher

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 179
attributes of beaujty, sublimity and adoration, as
shown in his observation of the heavens during his.
nightly vigils, as seen in his letter to the writer of .
June 9th, where, after speaking of the difference in
climate, he says: "We bought ripe pears yester
day from Tula, 7,000 feet above the sea. Your
days are very much longer than ours at this season.
ThesiiQ is nearing onr zenith. , The Southern Cross
reclines at dusk on our southern horizon and soon
disappears, but that glistening gem, Alpha Cen-
tauri, the nearest fixed star, almost as oright as
Sirius, and Beta, scarcely less refulgent, adorn the
southern sky until past bed-time."
In the same, he adds : " We are so contented in
our new house that we may not take a rest in the
country this summer. Most of next month I shall
have to be in the city, owing to my appointment on
the board of examiners of public schools. I do not
feel at liberty to decline a position which familiar
izes the pupils of the schools with a Protestant and
missionary. Our health has rarely been so good
as now. Our meetings are larger than last year
and an awakening ministry feeds the flock."
In September he wrote to his brother WiUiam :
"I have done more farming the past year than ever
before since I came to Mexico. Ouryard extends
through from 10th to 11th streets, giving 320 feet.
I planted dhoura or Egyptian corn as the principal
grain and never saw such a yield. In extreme
cases one grain produced 7,000 in six months from
the same roots."
Again, on January 22, 1893, he. wrote his cousin,

180 LIFE AND LETTERS
saying: "Yesterday I received possession of a
country residence, purchased with my own money.
We expect to spend seventh day there mostly every
week as a relaxation from the constant mental
strain of editorial labor and the confined and deter
iorated air of city life. It lies inside the city limit,
but outside the city proper, on the great road to
Tula, and is near the north bank of the San Marcos
river. I purchased at less than hall the cost, and I
might say, at less than half its value. It has a
house 48x20 feet, of adobe, on a stone base a yard
high above the ground with porches full length,
front and rear. The fields, about '75x300 feet, are
enclosed by high stone walls. I bought it in good
condition for $200. I rarely see any of my own
money, result of my earnings ere coming to Mexico,
and am well satisfied with its investment here."
"The mission work is more active and encourag
ing than it was a few months past. I made an ex
tensive tour since Christmas, and hope to spend
most of next month among the mountain villages
south of the city."
He would have enjoyed a trip to the Columbian
Exposition in 1893 and especially the Peace Con
gress in the autumn, but expense and the pressure
of home work forbade it. In another letter to the
writer on July 2nd, he says, "We are expecting
some missionaries next fall. W. Irving Kelsey and
wife who are to be married on July 12th and come
in the fall. Once they become familiar with the
work it is quite possible that Lmay be ab-te to be
absent, from this field a longer time than hereto-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 181
fore. At present I can hardly be absent over three
weeks at a time, for the last week of each month
our paper leaves the press and the editor has to be
present. "I am just back from Matamoros, having been
absent a little over three weeks and quite unweU
for a week after my return.
"Over 609 miles on horseback was a fatiguing
ride, and the return journey was through contin
uous rains, muddy roads, flooded streams and con
stant exposure. I was five days going — nine days
returning. Juanita is still there but is to go north
in the fall to marry Prof. R. S. Garwood who is
teaching in a High School at Marshall, Mich. And
she has no prospect of returning to Mexico.
"It is now vacation of our own and the public
schools, — but the examination of the latter will take
a large share of my time during July, as I am on
tne Board of Examiners in both public and normal
schools in Geograpy and Geometry as well as of
English Classes."
Thusthe month.and the year flew by, with always
an abundance of office work and now it seems he
he had forced upon him the opportunity at least
for considerable gratuitous public work.
Added to all this he had the burden of St. Paul,
the care of all the churches.

182 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXII.
THE SECOND VISIT OF ISAAC SHARP.
"LIFE, — A golden opportunity for service but
when alloyed with base metal a worthless counter
feit of the genuine coin."
Soon after the advent of 1894 the old English
Friend, Isaac Sharp, who visited him some ten
years before now on his second tour around the
world arrived at Victoria and a second time accept
ed their hospitality and Samuel's company and ser
vices in visiting the various stations of the Friends
Mexican Mission.
In a letter to the writer, under date of February
24th, 1904, he wrote: "I accompanied Isaac Sharp
for three weeks including the visit to Matehuala,
where we saw Margaretta Marriage and her Mex-
ical husband, who has a very good command of the
Engl sh language but hardly enough to interpret
well enough for Isaac Sharp, who is accustomed to
speak through able interpreters. His sentences
often include 20 to 25 words and it requires memory
enough with out mental wear in translating to re
organize his sentences. In several meetngs I had
to interpret to him the discourses of others and
write down the prayers for him to take with him
as mementoes. We have some very eloquent speak
ers among our native workers. It is to me quite
difficult to translate from Spanish to English, aU

Silver Wedding Group. (Country residence.)

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 183
my work for 23 years having been in the opposite
direction. "We celebrated our silver wedding on the 15th,
at our country house (Bethesda) with a picnic and
dinner. At the request of Isaac Sharp two mem
orial trees were planted, one a dwarf Japanese
orange and the other a Brazilian Cherry tree. We
also planted four Surinam Cherry tree, the same
day. "These trees belong to the Clove family (genus
"Eugenio") like the Rose Apple of Hindostan and
are beautiful tropical evergreens.
"Without being a vegetarian, my preference has
all along been human flesh v. s. patchwork.
What I mean is that human flesh from vegetable
food is preferable to rebuilding from animal food,
or working over animal flesh into human flesh. I
was always passionately fond of fruits, and one of
my joys here is that we are in a fruit region."
"Of the banana I have imported two varieties and
W. I. Kelsey two others and I have five native or
cultivated varieties. Fried bananas are my pet
food in the hot region. —
"Amid the isolation of Foreign Mission life, we
have many blessings and seasons of religious
rejoicing at the evident presence and help of the
Lord." Near the close of 1894 he began an intended visi
tation of the mission field which he graphically de
scribed in a letter to the writer dated Victoria,
March 13th, 1895. "I have since December 20th
traveled on horse back fully 1000 miles, — holding

184 LIFE AND LETTERS
meetings from the Rio Grande to the south line of
Tamaulipas. I have seen more evident religious
interest than on any preceding journey. At Mat-
amaras and vicinity we held (S. G; Gonzalez and
myself) 14 public meetings in 10 days time, with
encouraging results. Of course I am pretty fully
tired out by the recent ride of 600 miles to Mata
moras and return, from which we arrived at 10 A.
M. yesterday. The horses were perhaps more so
than ourselves. Thou wilt have heard ere this of
the dire calamity caused by the blizzard of Febru
ary 10th to 16th, dying out in this section. The
thermometer stood for several days at 20 degrees
above zero, — killing many varieties of tropical fruit
trees to the surface of the earth, — our beautiful
grove of Custard Apple trees is completely blotted
out. "We were on our journey being caught by the
snow storm the second night from home. The
sight of the Sierras of San Carlos and CruiUas cov
ered in banks of snow reminded one of New York.
Snow fell as far south as Tampico, and frost killed
the coffee trees much farther south. At San Fer
nando over a foot of snow f eU on the level and banks
five feet deep were formed.
"The amount of cattle, horses, sheep and goats
frozen to death was appalling. At one ranch where
we stopped they had lost 1600 head of sheep and
goats during the snow. After four years of drought
the covering of the ground with snow for two days
was sufficient to kill sheep and goats and do very
much damage to larger stock.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 185
"The fall of snow was unparalleled in history
or tradition and the cold fully equaUed the mem
orable freeze of 1857. We passed during the 15th
of February the table land of Solis and from there
could see snow far beyond the Tropic of Cancer.
There wiU probably be no fruit this year of any
kind except grapes. Our Custard apples had grown
up since the sleet storm of 1886 and last year had
fruit on them for five months in succession.
"I have however not suffered so heavily as I had
anticipated. Orange and lemon trees well require
a year to replace what they have lost, banana and
pineapples will be 18 months in reaching fruit time
again. "At Gomez Farias the coffee crop this year will
be lost, but the trees will recover before next win
ter. I am to be at Toluca near Mexico City the 3d,
4th and 5th of April, it is expected that 100 mis
sionaries will be present and Moodyand Sankey
are to be among the prominent workers."
While resting after his long journeys he improved
the time in replying to letters received from his
friends at the north.
He wrote to his sister Lucinda, March 16th:
"Thy letter of the 3d inst. came during my ab
sence at Matamoras on that day I taught a class
of young ladies in Sabbath school at 9 a. m. , preach
ed in English at 11 a. m. to missionaries, was at
meeting at 4 p. m. at our meeting house and preach
ed at the Presbyterian meeting hcuse at Browns
ville at 7:30 p. m. Santiago G. Gonzalez preached
at the same hour in the Presbyterian church at

186 LIFE AND LETTERS
Matamoras. Duringour return on my birthday I
rode 66 English miles on horseback.
"There is much smaU pox here now. We have
rented our country house to the city for a small
pox hospital with a view to saving the city from its
severest ravages."
In writing to his brother on the 22nd, he repeats
much of his recent experience just narrated and
also says "I bought a marine telescope at Mata
moras, and since my return, Joseph has been very
busy studying the moons of Jupiter, all four with
their daily changes of position being clearly dis
tinguishable, making every night a new scene.
The rings of Saturn and one or two moons are
visible, but as it rises here at 9:40 p. m. we have
not been able to study it enough to eliminate all
fixed stars from the moons; but as Titan, its fourth
moon is much larger than Mars, and its farthest
2,000,000 miles from the planet we hope to have
some interest in studying their movements."
We shall very naturally conclude that he was a
close partner with Joseph in this study as weU as
an interesting teacher to the young student.
With a clearness of vision that looked through
nature up to Nature's God, he found something on
the earth below by day, and in the heavens above
by night to interest and instruct himself and those
around him, for his active mind and trained eye
were never idle during his waking moments.

Bros. Townsend, Moody and Pukdie.
Volcano of Nevado in Background.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 187
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE CONFERENCE AT TOLUCA.
"I know not where His islands lift
Their f ronded palms in air
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care." Whittier.
The very interesting letter to the writer quoted
from so largely in the last chapter was duly re
ceived and promptly replied to with the expecta
tion of drawing from him on his return some ac
count of his very interesting trip southward which
was anticipated in that letter. In this the writer
was not disappointed as will be seen by the follow
ing under date of April 17th, 1895.
Dear Cousin: —
Thy very interesting letter was at hand on my
arrival from the Conference at Toluca. We had a
most wonderful time, not only from the presence
of Moody and Sankey but more especially from the
manifest presence of the Holy Spitit. There were
gathered 129 missionaries, representing twelve de
nominations, all "with one accord in one place" and
the acknowledgement from above was the fuU
measure of all that the most sanguine had antici
pated. The scenery about Toluca is very beautiful, es
peciaUy the snow clad Volcano of Nevado, over
16,000 feet high, from the summit of which both the
Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico can be seen.

188 LIFE AND LETTERS
Jersey cattle are abundant and in clover; pansies
are blooming in a profusion, I had never before
seen in any part of the Continent.
Numerous vilages were scattered here and there
amid the mountain vaUeys. I took quite an active
part in both the English and Spanish exercises of
the Conference — in the latter I was one of the
group of participants on the stage at the Theatre
one of the two nights we occupied that building,
no other one being able to hold the people. The
governor sent us all kinds of congratulations
every day and a beautiful keepsake as a memento
of his interest in our work.
From Toluca I decided to accompany Moody and
Sankey to Mexico City, thus giving Joseph who
was with me, an opportunity to see the Valley of
Mexico, the city and surroundings especially.
The scenery between Toluca and Mexico is
grand. As we passed the Great Divide between
the Pacific and Atlantic slopes, Sankey led about
thirty missionaries in singing a long meter doxol
ogy. Soon after we caught sight of the snow peak
of Istaccihuatl, and later as we neared Mexico
hard to our right Popocatepetl shone forth in
beauty, with a 4000 feet cap of snow. Its total
height 17,000 feet above the sea.
Meetings were held in English twice each day by
Moody and Sankey at the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in Spanish by Father Marchand, a
converted French Priest from New Mexico at the
Presbyterian church near the same part of the
city.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 189
We visited the Cathedral, the fourth largest
building in the world; the hill of Tepeyac where
the virgin Mary, of Quafdalupe, appeared to the
Indian Juan Diego; the National Museum full of
antiquities; the Stone of Sacrifice with its bloody
reminiscences; the famous Azetes Calendai made
by order of Ahuizotl in 1471, the most remarkable
thing of the kind in all the world. How this stone
weighing 48,200 pounds could have been trans
ported across the the marshes and lakes of the
vaUey is a problem never to be solved. We also
visited the Art Gallery with its paintings and
sculptures aijd chapultepec with its palace and its
giant Cyprus trees festoned with mosses.
Joseph suddenly became very anxious about his
mother, in which I participated and we hastily left
for home and learned that the day we left they had
tried to devise some plan to reach us by a telegram,
the illness of my wife having become alarmiag,
We made the distance from Mexico to Victoria,
about 1200 miles in just 48 hours, finding Gulielma
a little better."

190 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE NORTHLAND.
"Home, sweet home,
Be it ever so humble,
There is no place like home."
W. I. Kelsey had been with them long enough to
become famUiar with the work and the needs of
the mission station and being a good scholar and
translator, he was also competent to take charge
of the publishing business and thus Samuel felt at
liberty to plan for an extended jou mey north and
had at times as yet indefinite and uncertain
theories in regard to his future. He had in the
years past occasionaUy expressed a desire to ex
tend the work of the mission southward including
perhaps the Central American Republics, and the
trend of events soon led to the fulfilling of tnose
day dreams.
In the latter part of May 1895 he came with his
family to North Carolina and passed a very inter
esting time among the familiar scenes of his school
days, meeting many of his former pupils, and other
dear friends, while not a few were missed from
the places they once fiUed in the home circles
where he was then a welcome guest.
Leaving Gulielma and Joseph among her people,
he went north visiting the meetings in the interest
of the mission work, and going to the old home he
once more greeted his brothers and sisters (the

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 191
parents now both gone) one of those blessed privi
leges, which when once experienced are long re
membered. Coming to Smyrna to see his Aunt Marian then
eighty-one years old (now still active in her
ninty-fifth year,) and his numerous cousins; and
spending a few days with tbe writer. And now at
the age of fifty-two the mirthful bouyancy of his
spirits, had the freshness and animation of youth
and in mental vigor and clearness he was at his
zenith. It was a pleasure to note the wondrous change,
the marvelous development of the individual from
the shy, akward, bashful, backwoods boy, who
served at times as a butt for ridicule by the vul
gar, to the affable cultured gentleman, the peer
of the foremost in the land; ready to meet with
courtesy and freedom any and all who came in his
way. Going back to his old home for a few days, and
bidding farewell to his numerous cousins of How
ard descent on Nov. 2, 1895 he gave the last linger
ing look behind at the old homestead and started
for the west, visiting the Friends at Richmond and
other points in the interest of the mission work,
and finally surrendering the position which he had
held so long with faithful, loving loyalty, to W.
Irving Kelsey now in the field and conducting the
work. This lifted from his shoulders a burden which
they had borne triumphantly not only to Victoria
but to victory, over Roman opposition and the

192 LIFE AND LETTERS
prejudice of ignorance, until the publications of
the mission were a necessity in the schools of
many lands.
It can hardly be supposed that he retired from
the Mexican mission field* without feelings of re
gret and sadness. For to it he had given the best
years of his manhood, had surrendered the asso
ciations of friends and kindred, which made dear
the memory of his early home, had been exposed
to war, to tornadoes, to scourges of yellow fever
and small-pox, and through it all had never faltered,
never neglected for a day the post of duty; and
still greater cou rage was called forth at times to
meet the opposition and persecution of the
ignorant and prejudiced enemies of the work.
The advent of the year 1896 found him spending
his vacation with his friends in North Carolinia and
following up his former leadings toward the needs
of Central America and knowing of the Central
American Mission now started in that field he open
ed communication with its leaders.
An undenominational work supported by volun
tary contributions, and carried forward by unsal
aried volunteers in the field only the most conse
crated and devoted of workers sought or accepted
the service of self-sacrifice which this mission held
out to those who came to its open doors.
On Jan. 23 he addressed the writer as follows:
"I have been so very uncertain as to my future
movements that I have not written to thee since I
last was at thy house in October, I suppose that a
full description of my leadings toward work in San

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 198
Salvador will soon appear in the Amerian Friend;
hence I shall not detail it here. On the 11th inst
I was appointed missionary by the Central Ameri
can Mission (Evangelical Undenominational) for
Salvador and Honduras. They had been praying
for some one for those countries and consider me
as an answer to their prayers. Whilst I might
have preferred to go out under Friends, quite a
number of very dear Friends have approved my ac
tion, which seemed to be the only alternative where
by I could go to those countries, and I trust he who
leadeth his own sheep will go before us.
As he learned of the situation and its needs and
decided to cast his lot with them, he was drawn
out in spirit with its promoters to pray for
financial aid necessary to defray the expense of
the journey there and to meet their future needs.
The treasurer of the society was Hon. D. H.
Scott, of Paris, Tex., and it was here that the 0.
A. Bulletin was issued quarterly.
In the number for April 15th, we find this com
munication from Samuel: "Post Oak, N. C, March 2, 1896.
I am happy to announce to you that the Lord
has answered our definite prayers for means to go
to Salvador. I am just in receipt of a letter from
Ettington, near Stratford upon the Avon, England,
enclosing 50 pounds toward our journey, complet
ing expenses. We must thank God and ask him to
give us in Central America an active church, an
evangelical ministry and a sanctified press, and
means to carry this work forward to His honor. I

4,94 LIFE AND LETTERS
believe God has greater plans for Central America
than we have dared to ask Him to grant us. How
He has already opened the windows of heaven and
poured us out a blessing to over flowing.
This donation it seems opened the way for him
to start to the field about the middle of March,
he bade adieu to Gulielma and Joseph and his num
erous friends in North Carolina, he went by way
of Cincinnati and St. Louis and across Arkansas
on the St. Louis and Iron Mountain R. R. to Tex-
arkana. Not every missionary would be willing to take a
second class ticket to help the- funds of the
Association; but he wrote his wife "I found
many kind friends on the cars; many were immi
grants and had families and one family from Tenn
essee showed us special kindness. I found the
second class passage gave me about as good com
pany as I ever had on the cars and not much smok
ing. A part of the way we had reclining parlor
car chairs, as there was not room enough in the
second class car."
He arrived at Paris, Texas, on the 20th and was
met at the station by Rev. Luther Rees and wife,
who brought him to Judge Scott's house, where
they had a pleasant gathering of people and a ser
vice of song and prayer. He stayed with them
over the Sabbath preaching in the A. M. at the
Congregational church to a large and attentive
audience, in the P. M. he preached in the jail to
;OVer 200 prisoners, Luther Rees and wife and
.daughter were with him and sang and. the service

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 195
was well received by them in their confinement,
and lecturing on Mexico in the evening at the G. E.
meeting. Writing to his son from Dallas on the 26th, he
said: "I arrived here yesterday and was very hos
pitably received by Earnest M. Powell, and L. H.
Jamison of the mission in Costa Rica and Rev Wm.
Reed of the Congregational church of Dallas. "I
listened last evening to a lecture by L. H Hastings
of Boston. He is a very earnest worker and I had
read many of his tracts. I have never seen a group
of such earnest persons with firm faith in God as
those among whom the C. A. M. was organized;
Bro. Scofield now at Northfield, Mass., built up the
Congregational church here, one man says he has
seen it grow from 7 to 700 members within his ac
quaintance." Writing to his wife on the above date he spoke of
a sore on his hand which was injured by their
hearty handshakes and adds, "after leaving here I
shall hardly find such earnest grasps and can
stand hugging in Mexico without injury to my
hand." Passing on by way of Houston and San Antonio
he arrived at Victoria about April 2nd.
On the 12th he wrote his son from C. Victoria.
"Another Sabbath has come, the last one I spend
among the dear Mexican brethren. I have been
very busy packing things. I feel as though my
journey really begins when I leave here, for I
traverse sections I have never before seen. Thus
far the Lord has given me repeated evidences that I

196 LIFE AND LETTERS
am in my right place and I trust that I shall as I
go forward from here have even clearer evidences
of diyine approval." He wished to take a steamer
from TampicO for Coatzocoalcos direct. So he
waited expecting from day to day a telegram an
nouncing the arrival of a steamer at Tampico and
On the 30th hejwrote.
"Dear wife: — It seems strange indeed that 1
Should write to you again from here. The steamer
"Spanish Prince" is now 12 days behind time and
thus I am thrown a fuU month behind in getting to
San Salvador. I shall have to stay until the steam
er of June 2nd passes for Acajutla. It will how
ever give me ample time to study the conditions of
the native race of the isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Three languages are spoken there and very many
viUages have no Spanish residents. The long
wait here has been irksome, though as Kelsey was
Sick and the other workers absent and the Presby
terians at their presbytery at Jimenez I have had
charge of nearly all the meetings at both missions."
" May 1st, the expected telegram came yesterday
and I leave on the afternoon train today. Last
night we had a fareweU meeting and a full house
though only on short notice. Kelsey spoke awhile
and I preached a farewell sermon from Acts 20-24."

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 197

CHAPTER XXV.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD.
Sail on, sail on through storm and calm
Unto the land where grows the palm,
Witjh him who brings like Noah's dove
The olive branch of peace and love.
Thus after unexpected delay he bade his last
fareweU to the beloved brethren in Mexico for
whose advancement he had given twenty-five of the
best years pf his life. Given them willingly, gladly
for the love he bore to the people and the truth, and
not to the people of Mexico alone, but in nearly al
the Spanish speaking countries of America his
work, through the productions of his press was
known as a strong factor in the advancement of
Christian civilization.
Arriving ip Tampico at midnight, he was met at
the station by Bro. Pressly, who took him to his
home and entertained him during his stay.
Saturday he went on board the Norwegian S. S.
"Sperp" and engaged passage to Coatzocoalcos;
the captain received him kindly and said he might
at once send his trunk and heavy baggage on board,
which he did, though they would not start until
Monday. On the Sabbath he preached in English
at 11 a. m, and again in the evening in Spanish.
In a letter to the "American Friend" he said,
"Having been privileged to preach the first Protes
tant sermon in this city twenty yearsago, this was

198 LIFE AND LETTERS
a pleasant parting remembrance to the state of
Tamaulpas; the agreeable sphere of service the
Master alloted to me for a quarter of a century.
Brother Trujillo, the native pastor, was present on
that occasion, and feelingly alluded to our joint
opening of the work in his closing prayer, the last
public one I am to listen to in Mexico."
Monday morning, May 4th, he hurried on board
with his hand baggage and they left the port. Ar
riving at Vera Cruz the next day at noon, and it
being a national holiday there was no loading or
unloading, so they had to lie over until the 6th, and
crossed the bar at Coatzocoalcos about 8 a. m. of
the 7th. On anchoring in the river they saw a
gigantic Octopus or Devil fish, the first he had seen
alive. Coatzocoalcos is a small town which grew up
with the opening of the Tehuantepec R. R. The
town is on a sand hill like Bagdad (near Matamor-
us where Samuel had frequently taken his family
for an outing) and about the same size, but mostly
gamble roofed houses of two stories amid beautiful
groves of cocoanut trees.
He staid one night in the place and taking the
raUway arrived at Tehuantepec in the evening of
the 8th, writing from there to his son the 9th, he
thus describes the route across the isthmus:
"From Coatzocoalcos we passed over a low swampy
region, then it began to be hills, trees and vegeta
tion, like Gomez Farias, then it became open like
plains of Escandon, and finally mountainous, with
deep cuts and one tunnel, the mountain rather

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 199*
steeper than at Victoria and nearly as high as the)1
first range, or more like San Carlos." The isthmus
is but 146 miles wide, yet the route across is sO'
crooked and devious that the railway is 225 miles'
long; Salina Cruz, the seaport on the PaeiffiC ocean,'
is 15 miles distant, Tehuau tepee lies on the west
sdie of a steep hill and has the river west of it. r
"The city is about the size of Victoria but the
surface is more uneven. I am on high ground near
the plaza and have rented a room at $2.00 per week'
with very good ventilation, which in such a warm
climate is of very great importance. This is the'
ancient city of the Zepoticas, a branch of the old
Aztec empire, they are physically a very superior
race, equal to any of ancient Greece or Egypt, but
Uke those races morally degraded."
"Never did I so want the camera as here. While
I feel very much disappointed in being detained
here, I shall for once spend a short time in the
midst of one of the most unchanged cities of the
native race of Mexico." On the 10th, he added:
"My first Sabbath day at Tehuantepec. The
early morning was very warm indeed, as much if
not more so than any day at Victoria. The moun-
ains are mostly bare rock and the air is thereby
super-heated, but at 10 a. m. a fresher breeze has
now and then come from the north. There was*
much lightning on the mountains last night — prob
ably it rained on some of the peaks, which are high
and sharp. The mountains lie almost wholly to"
the west and northwest, though there are hills to
the east— but all dry, hot and rocky at this season

200 LIFE AND LETTERS
ol the year, tbe most unpleasant on these regions
when the rain comes it cools off the atmosphere and
moistens the rocks. They have been shooting off
rockets quite frequently, I think it must be pray
ing to the virgin for rain.
"4 P. M. I have been writing* reading and
sleeping. It seems some like imprisonment to be
detained so long where there is very little or noth
ing that I can do for the Master, — both from not
having books and tracts and beeause so few read
Spanish and of course I have nothing in the Zapotic
language. Whilst I would love to be instrumental in raising
this people to a higher and a purer life, to turn
them from their idols to serve the living God, I
trust we shall find a needy and perhaps more pleas
ant sphere of labor in Salvador. There is a man
with his wife, child and mother-in-law detained
here like myself waiting for the steamer. They
are to go to Gautemala."
"Having a very satisfactory room in the home of
a family of ardent Catholics, he did not think it
wise to give them very much of his history or his
-position as a protestant minister, for fear they
might wish him to leave. He showed some bible
pictures to the children of the family, and their ap
preciation of them indicated quite a knowledge of
the scriptures.
They were free in conversation with him and
treated him very kindly; and writing of the family
to his wife, he said: "They are all very religious
and I got to know more about the home life of

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 201
Catholice than I ever could without being thus
thrown in contact with them." The few English
speaking people he met were fully occupied with
business and were not sociable, so he had no
visitors. Having no fire in his room he did no cooking, but
took his breakfast at some restaurant, or oftener
at the market where the Zopoteca women sold
every variety of food products whieh that section
affords, though speaking their native tongue, they
usually understood enough Spanish to enable them
to trade readily with him. He would buy some
tomales or bread and milk and an egg or two,
sometimes a cocoanut or banana, taking some to
his room for dinner he avoided going out in the
heat of the midday, he usuaUy bought tomatoes for
sauce, cutting them up with sugar which he kept
on hand. Thus it cost from 30 to 50 cents per day.
June 20th in writing to his wife he says: "I am
stiU dating my letter at Tehuantepec, and am still
in the enjoyment of perfect health. I have been
giving some finishing touches to 'The Bible in
Picture and Story,' since I wrote my last letters.
It is now a month since my last letter from you
was written, and I know not how many strange
things may have happened in the rest of the
world, for I have not had any papers to read.
The time passes rather heavily with almost no
visits at all, and very little to sttend to. I hope
that one week more wiU end this monotonous delay.
While if we were all here I would think we could
do a good work among the people. They are very

202 LIFE AND LETTERS
cleanly as compared te the Aztec-race. There were
two girls about 10 and 13 who seemed to be orphans
from some other tribe, and nearly every morn
ing the large one would sit down on the steps of a
building near the market and pick off and eat the
lice from the head of her sister. They had Uved
on what was given them by the market women.
Some two weeks passed when some women who
sell fruits, set them to work carrying fruit from
the orchards to the market, and now they are
washed up clean every day, and hair combed out so
that they look very different to what they did.
June 21st, 12 M. I have been busy writing to
people and now noon is at hand and I must get din
ner ready. If we were settled here we could have
nice dinners. I have no way to have a fire so do
not attempt cooking. If I could boil eggs I would
do so, but having learned to eat them raw I suppose
they are better for me in that way. There are lots
of nice fish in the market but only small ones are
sold fried. The tamales here are very good, the
white ones I never saw better in my life.
Champurrado here is made by beating three
cents worth of chocolate in a bowl of atolc bianco,
but the woman who makes it is not always at the
market at night, and I always take mUk in the
morning. Cakes of chocolate pass here as money
and the women keep to their ancient prices but
many are getting to learn how to count by cents. I
had no thought that I should Uve this way forty-
three days when I began, and still I had rather do
so than pay one dollar per day at a hotel. I

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 203
shaU have a chance to make up a little on the
steamer quite likely. Now may God bless and
keep you until he permits us to meet again, and
work for the advancement of his cause."

204 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE ZAPOTECAS.
Hail— fair women and brave men who struggling on
Through the dark shadows of the tyrants sway,
Await the coming of "The Morning Star''
"Which heralds in, a brighter, better day.
History in general is but the annals of the con
ditions and doings of mankind. An earnest and
enthusiastic student of history, Samuel had become
familiar with the culture and development of
Greece and Rome which has made them models
for the world in scholarship and in art; and had
studied the records of the prehistoric races of this
country and following the conquests of Cortez and
Pizarro as they planted the Spanish people among
the native races of Mexico and of the most of the
continent to the southward; he took much delight
in meeting and learning by personal contact the
present conditions of this remnant of the Zapote-
cas a branch of the ancient Aztec race who roamed
over the mountains and cultivated in a rude way
the plains of Mexico before the Spanish conquest.
They seemed to have been superior to the Aztecs
in the past and he found them so now as he had
mingled with them on the street and in the market.
As he bought his food every day in the market and
ate some of his meals there, he had ample oppor
tunities for observation of their ways and habits;
that he improved these opportunities is evident by

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 205
the voluminous comments he made upon this peo
ple in his letters to his friends in the north. Dur
ing his stay here which was lengthened out to
nearly two months he wrote every few days to his
wife and son in North Carolina, making many in
teresting descriptive notes of the people, from
which we shall draw Some extracts soon. On May
18th he addressed a lengthy letter to the writer of
this volume, which is so fine a description of the
Customs and peculiarities of this people that the
reader will find it interesting throughout and so it
is inserted nearly entire.
"Dear Cousin.— I do not know whether thou
wilt have heard ere now of my detention on this
isthmus, so that I shall have fully three weeks in
this ancient capital of the Zopoteca nation. This
nation for a long time resisted the forces of Monte
zuma II, their fortified hill being one of the strong
est fortresses ever raised by an American race. It
is visible from the river bank though nearly 12
miles away. It has quite recently been visited by
a scientific traveller and a road cut to its summit
though very difficult of ascent. This traveller says
that the Zopoteca women equal in physical per
fection the best models of Japan and Egypt. Their
peculiar dress and customs gives however an op
portunity for unlimited development and also for
considerable freedom of observation. They cer
tainly have the most perfect physical development
I have ever seen in any Mexican race, being far
superior in this respect to the Aatec race, from
whom they differ widely in language. The men

206 LIFE AND LETTERS
only wear shirt and drawers of sheeting and the
boys to about thirteen only a shirt often very much
abbreviated in front, but protecting the chest from
exposure. The men and boys are water carriers
which is unusual for an Indian race. They carry
the large stone jars on their shoulder and the half
of a gourd sheU they, use to dip with from the river
they use as a cap going and returning. Some of
them have substituted a tin cup of some form as
the half gourd shell and which they also uniformly
use as a cap.
"The women wear only three articles of clothing,
shoes and sandals being tabooed by both sexes.
The women wear a short jacket of high colored
ealico — sleeveless and very low necked and loose
at the bottom but reaching only to the waiste.
They put this on by raising the arms almost per
pendicular, and once in position it can go no lower.
The wind often raise it to the armpits exposing the
whole bust and always when walking an undulating
movement is given to the front by the breasts
which are very prominent even in young maidens.
The arm holes and bottom are ornamented by
narrow strips of yeUow, blue and yellow making it
look quite gay. Their plump arms are always
bare. The jacket reminds me of the pictures of
the Nautch dancing girls of Hindostan except that
it is loose at the bottom, below this they wear a
wrap made usually of bright red cloth with perpen
dicular stripes of blue and white about one-fourth
of an inch wide and three inches apart. This is
lapped in front, sometimes only four inches but

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 207
usually in grown women from thigh to thigh, but
closely adhering to the form. In the girl the lap is
usually in line with the centre of the right hip in
front so that in walking the right leg steps out of
the wrap until the left foot is brought forward.
This often happens in grown servant girls when
chasing each other playfully on the streets, even
in cases where the intermixture of races has very
nearly whitened the bronze skin. I think how
ever that the pure race has usually a fuller devel
opment, though nearer the Egyptian type than
any other. The mixed race is physically no im
provement on either for the pure Spanish race de
scended from the Romans have the finest forms
which have furnished models for Phidias, Cleome-
nes, Appollodoro, Canova and other sculptors who
have presented to us such works as the Venuse's
of Medici, Callipigae, Cnidus, Milo and Victrix, but
it is a different style of beauty perhaps more re
fined but not more striking than the Egyptian.
The Zapoteca women spend nearly their money
and attention on their huipil or head dress which
has not changed in style for over 200 years. It is
the most wonderful combination of frills, flounces,
tucks, lace and embroidery that I ever saw and if one
were ever to reach Paris I think it would take and
become the head dress of Europe for a s?ason.
They have to be seen to be admired for description
is well nigh impossible. It is about 5 feet long by
30 inches wide with an oval hole in the center around
which is a wide frill horizontal to the rest. When
the head is placed in this it looks like a lace bonnet

208 LIFE AND LETTERS
with a lace cap fore and aft, but usually for going
to church or holyday the head is placed in front and
the entire covering falls over the back reaching be
low the knee. The outer section is always a frill
or flounce of curtain like material, the section from
that to the head hole is often of a rich purple
brown color and adorned with flowers in rich col
ors with foliage, etc., worked on by hand in raised
figures. I might add that natural flowers form one
of the noted passions of this race. They seem to
be a joyous, careless people much like grown up
children and not bot rowing trouble. In this as I
heard L. H. Hastings, of Boston, say in his lecture
at Dallas, 'I would never borrow trouble if I had
any. ' They are fond of bathing, frolicking in never
the water, etc.
"In regard to morals and religion whilst some of
them adopt Romanism and go to the big church
where they repeat in concert prayers to the Virgin
Mary, listen to the Latin prayers and all kneeling
very devoutly on the brick floor with their huipil in
holiday position, yet there is no effort to preach the
Gospel of Christ to them even at the Big Church.
They have a great many chapels of their own
where they have their own festivities, or Mass as
they call it. I have attended two of these. One
was where there are three crosses on the summit
of a rocky hill which rises like on isolated pyramid
on the bank of the river. There was a brass band,
a display of banners, and the people sitting about
eating fruit, drinking pulque so that I saw boys in
their teens so drunk they came near falling off the

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 209
rocks and being dashed to pieces. I saw no other
service there at all. The other was at a chapel only
a few squares from my room and I suppose was a
festivity of St. Isidore — the farmer. Front of the
chapel was an arbor covered with reeds closely
matted together, and also protected on the west
side in the same way. The posts sustaining this
arbor each had a banana plant branch and all tied
to it as a decoration. The interior of the chapel
being decorated with green branches and with ban
ners of red, white and green. Several tallow can
dles about a yard long, two inches thick at the
lower end were placed in front of a bronze image of
Christ now blackened by age and obscured by
strings of bottle green brass beads around the
head and neck so that from the door it looked more
like an image of a gorilla than of a man. There
was a brass band playing, many other candles,
perhaps fifty smaller and all adorned with artific
ial flowers but none of them lighted except a small
one on the floor to burn incense or aromatic herbs.
The festivity however, was not at the chapel, but
at a house nearby where a reed arbor was con
structed enclosed by reeds except at the south
(the sun being now in our zenith) and there was a
brass band playing and a native dance going on
with much feasting and drinking of polque, until
the men became so drunk that they could not keep
time with the music and simply jumped up and
down before their partners making horid grimaces
until oftentimes the maidens left the dance in dis
gust. I saw one man drop on his knees and con-

210 LIFE AND LETTERS
tinue dancing in that position, until it became a
drunken row and the police had to interfere. Thus
passed the feast of Isidore, patron of farmers, the
river was in a flood and abundant rains seem com
ing on so that I suppose they thought this feast a
marvelous success. There was no priest and no
prayer at this festivity as at that of the Holy
Cross. This is a city of 10,000 people with 10,000
more in its jurisdiction. The Zapoteca language is
the one almost universally spoken, though the
marketing women understand enough Spanish to
sell their goods. Contrary to the Spanish usage
all the markets both buying and selling is done by
women and they walk alone on the streets selling
fruits, etc. The market building is a beautiful
structure and to see 200 native women in their gay
attire, squatted by their stock or seated by their
ta-pestles (a table made of palm stems which can be
rolled up) gesticulating earnestly as they chat
loudly in their native tongue presents a group
which would make me think myself in Ceylon or
some Isle of the Indian Ocean if I did not know by
my diary that I am at Tehuantepec. To be among
such evident idolatry, in such a near approach to
the savage state, unable to teach them a better way
has been an unpleasant feature of my detention.
It would require some months to open a mission
here and would require patient perseverance, leav
ing results with God. I have been more ethno
graphic in my letter than usual because I am
studying the condition and needs of this people at

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 211
he request of Bro. Dillon, the Arthington Explor
er. It may be the only time in my life when thrown
so closely in contact with a race in so primeval a
condition, difficult to define between Egyptian and
Polynesian characteristics.
"The 'Costa Rica' has gone past for Acapulco
and will return about June 4th when I hope to go
forward to Acajutla in Salvador. This line by
Tehuantepec has not been regulated there being
no regularity in the steamers on the Gulf side, ard
only one steamer touches each month on the west
ern side. I trust you will continue to write to me
directing your letters to San Salvador.
Love to all. Your cousin S. A. Purdie."
In writing to his wife and Joseph he frequently
made comments on these interesting people; often
in much the same words he uses above, but per
haps some brief extracts may add variety and full
ness to the description. In writing to his wife he
said: " I wish I could describe to you the head gear of
the Zapotecas. Today being Sunday many wear
them in a different way to which they do on work
days; yesterday most had their heads near the
front end, and today many have them in the
middle, pulling the hole perpendicular for the face
sets off the central coUar like piece and makes
a cap before and dehind. I have seen pictures of
them but even then I could form no idea of the re
ality. They have no buttons, hooks, eyes or pins
in use, in holding on their clothing. The lower

212 LIFE AND LETTERS
wrap goes one and a fourth to one and three- fourths
times round the body and is held in place by mere
ly tucking it in at the top where it laps. There are
a few people who dress in Spanish style, mostly
the wealthy. The owners of my room are one of
this class and seem to be very nice people. The
man's name is ThomasEGracia, I am on one of the
main squares but it has no trees. I think you
would like to live here, but I trust San Salvador
will be a much more agreeable place as there will
be more education'and culture there. Here there
is much that wouldjhinder missionary work though
they seem to be a very industrious people, and
generally remarkably cheerful and kind. While
there is no doubt'much wickedness, yet there are
some things which look favorable. The Zapoteca
girls do not have sweethearts so young as the peo
ple do in Tamavlipas, and at fourteen seem to be
very childlike and innocent and while drunkeness
and imorality seems rife among men, yet childhood
seems less perverted among this people than in
Tamavlipas. Women of all ages and girls as well
walk alone on the streets to any distance and even
come in from the country or across the river from
Santa Cruz alone. This could hardly be the case
if vice were as prevalent as it might seem to be. It
may be because there are so few Spanish people
here. Whilst they bathe with little or no clothing
on yet they never have any riotuous or noisy times
like those at our country house all being quiet and
with no disturbance.
"While there is a more primitive condition in

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 213
youth, the religious festivities of the Zapotecas are
very drunken and riotuous. As yesterday was St.
John's day I saw one at a chapel west of the house
where I live when they went around among the
crowd with bottles of mezcal and glasses trying to
get every one to drink and there were very few
sober men. The women and young ladies tried to
keep order among the men but without much
success. The Zapoteca women are fond of orna
ments of gold and not a few of them may be seen
in the plaza making purchases with $150 or $200 of
gold coins forming a necklace and hanging down
as a pendant in front, some of the larger ones are
$40 gold pieces and all have holes in them to fasten
them together."
Thus he describes this'interesting race, with so
much to remind us of the'past, they still have traits
that would readily respond to Christian teaching
and education and culture.
We do not wonder that he almost longed to stay
with them andjlabor for their elevation and ad
vancement.

214 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE LONG DELAY.
"Patience makes light the wrongs,
We may not right."
In a previous chapter there is frequent refer
ence to his continued detention on the isthmus ow
ing to the delay of the steamship upon the Pacific
by severe storms.
On his first arrival he wrote of the extremely hot
dry weather they were experiencing; but in June
they had an abundance of rain, which cooled the
air making it much more comfortable; he speaks
of this as their winter season it being the rainy
one made it probably the coolest of the years.
On June 2d. he wrote to his son, "There are some
20 passengers here waiting, some are trying to
buy mules and go on to Guatemala — their destina
tion. If I did not have such heavy baggage I
might try to go, but flooded streams would make
land travel tedious. I left many things, but have
400 lbs. of baggage with me now, so there is no
chance for me to do any thing but wait for the
steamer." Again on the 7th. he wrote to his wife: "It has
been one of the severest trials of my life to be de
tained so long here with no arrangements for active
missionary service. Why the Lord has permitted
it and to what extent I am responsible for follow
ing Pressly's advice, the Lord alone can judge. My

OF S&MUEL A. PURDIE 2tf5
delay wiU enable me to translate "The Bible in Pic-
ture and Story" and so far as missionary work is
concerned it will 'be about -all I cajado."
Writing to Joseph the next day he said: "We have
never been separated so far or under circumstances
of so proving a character as at present I -still feel
like going forward trusting in the unslumbering
shepherd of Israel, who keepeth his guard round
about us. We have to trust each other to the Lord
more fully and to dwell closely before Him in pray
er, commending one another to His watchful over
sight. Try to avoid all evil company and all evil
habits. If not in school do f uU work on the farm
and help your uncle George make something for
you to live on while you are detained there."
On the 10th. he again wrote his wife; " I finished
translating the Old Testament part of the Bible in
Picture and Story to-day. Perhaps after all the
best month's work of my life may be the one done
here at Tehuantepec. It never has been possible
for me to do this work when surrounded by so
many attentions and visitors. Here I practically
have no visitors. I have not been invited into a
house in this town by either a native or a foreign
resident. I suppose so many people attempting to
cross here, spend all their money and beg to get
enough to leave on, that peeple have decided not to
open social relations with people in transit across
this isthmus."
Writing to Joseph on the 13th of June he des
cribes to him his first visit to the Pacific: "Yester
day — Friday, it was known that the Barraconta

216 LIFE AND LETTERS
was anchored off Selina Cruz, and that as she had
165 passengers a special train had been ordered to
connect it with the steamer for Vera Cruz. After
waiting at the station some hours I left Tehuante
pec at 5 P. M., and the next day I had the novel ex
perience of seeing the landing of passengers where
there is no port. — The men of Selina Cruz were
nearly aU employed in bringing them on their
shoulders from the boats (where they were obliged
to stop) through the water to the beach, and the
boys in bringing bird cages, carpet sacks and small
packages on shore. Three large boats were em
ployed, one making two trips so about forty were
in each boat and full half a day employed in get
ting them and their trunks on shore.
"The sea water was at a good temperature and I
could have bathed by clinging to a rope or to the
section of the iron pier, but near the rocky bluff
was a section where the water flowed sidewise
from the regular wave and broke out on a nearly
level plaza of small extent. From the hill to the
rocky bluff, perhaps a mile is all the beach which is
visible. I did not find a single shell worth picking
up." With the above he sent a few lines to his wife say
ing: "How I long to hear from you and also to see
and talk with you. We have been farther separat
ed than ever before and three long months have now
passed away. I know not how you are physically,
— but I know that you love and serve God faith
fully. There are many thus returning home from
Central America, all young people who went

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 217
out to work on railroads or on sugar plantations."
On June 28th, he wrote to his wife "I hope that
this may be my last letter dated at Tehuantepec.
When I look at my long delay here, without one day
of ill health and how I have been able to sustain the
trial, I can find much for which to thank my
Heavenly Father, I have had to trust you both to
His care and it is now almost a month since I had a
letter from you and will be about two weeks longer
ere I reach one in Salvador."

216 LIFE 'AND LEFFI-ERS

CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE NEW FIELD.
"Truth, -forever on the Scaffold
Wrong forever on the Throne
Yet that scaffold sways the future
And behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above his own." — Lowell.
The long delay was ended on July 1st, when he
left Selina Cruz on the steamer Barreconta bound
toward Salvador. Had he reached Coatzocoalcos
ten days earlier he could have left this port on May
2nd, and reached his field of work two months
sooner, and yet the time spent on the isthmus was
far from lost, his study of the people was of much
interest to him aside from the work of translation
which occupied most of his time. The voyage
down the Pacific passed without noticable incident
until the 9th, when off Champerico one of the pas
sengers suffering with dysentery suddenly died.
He was an Englishman, a carpenter bound for
Acajutla. The body was sewed up in blankets,
iron weights attached to it, and shd from the gang
way into the sea.
The machinery of the vesssl was stopped while
the captain offered a brief prayer to "Our Heavenly
Father" as they consigned the body to the deep.
Just after the ceremony on deck Samuel was
called to interpret the words of the captain to the
Spanish passengers. He also mentioned to Joseph,

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 210
"Just a. few -minutes before we caught a shark
•about six feet long, a thresher shark, with eight
rows of teeht."
So after eleven days on the Pacific he landed
at Acajutla in Salvador on the 12th and proceeded
to bis destination at :{3an Salvador.
The special record of his "first days in Salvador
is not at hand. But having secured a temporary
stopping place, his first point of interest must have
been the Post Office where there was awaiting him
the letters his family and friends had been writ
ing to him for nearly two months past; a comfort
and satisfaction next to that of meeting them per
sonally. Then followed his initiation to the work among
the people, a study of the situation, its opportuni
ties and possibilities.
On the 28th he wrote to his son beginning by
answering some question he had asked regarding
surnames, giving him quite a sketch of their origin
and derivation. He requests him while in New
York to try and get acquainted with their relatives
and hopes he may visit his aunt Deborah and her
family in western New York and when there, go
and see Niagara Falls.
After speaking of their long separation he adds,
"If mamma thinks she is not strong enough to un
dertake a journey here she must say so and then I
will come back and we will settle in North Carolina.
She has as good a right to say where we shall live
as I have, and can best judge whether she has the
strength to attempt it, and if not then we must

220"- '~- LIFE AND LETTERS
settlewhere she-can be with us and we with her.
You -will have to be nine days on the Atlantic and
five days on the Pacific. Quite likely she can tell
better after trying the trip to New York. While
this country is in great need of missionaries the
Lord can raise up other laborers. If in the time
of your visit the Lord shows us clearly that this is
the place for us all to work for him he will give her
strength for the journey. We must take it to the
Lord in prayer and watch all the outward evidences
in either direction. I trust he wiU at length show
us very clearly what to do."
It took considerable time to study up the situa
tion, and find a place to locate where he could hold
meetings as soon as he could interest the people
sufficiently to get their attendance.
The country was under the sway of Catholicism,
and the adherents of the latter, secretly if not open
ly opposed the introduction of Protestantism
among them, it therefore required much wisdom
and descretion to open the way for his advances
among this people.
His intimate acquaintance with men acquired by
long contact with all classes of society, and his in
herent tact in the judgement of human character
enabled him to secure a foothold where many would
have faUed. On July 31st. 9 P. M. he addressed the
writer as follows:
"I write) these lines impelled the fact that we
both have astronomi cal proclivities. This is a star
ry night, a rare thing at this season. My eyes
caught sight of Scoryio high in air and I at once re-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 221
curred to Burritt's Geography of the Heavens for
tracing what I had never seen of the southern
circumpolar map. Below Scorpio past the meridian
I at once recognized the Southern Triangle, a very
bright group of stars. The polar star lies very low
in my northern horizon, and the big dipper now
visible entirely disappears as do some of the body
of the Little Dipper. In the looking at the southern
stars I had to move my position as a lofty cocoanut
palm loaded with two bunches of twenty-five each
is just south of my door and near it a Cypress tree.
This calls my attention to the vegetable kingdom.
In the main Plaza are two Bread fruit trees now
loaded with flowers and fruits just set. The leaves
are about half a yard in length by fourteen inches
wide and very deeply notched making it a very
striking tree.
The neighboring volanco of Izalco in eruption is a
scene of rare grandeur. The volcano of smoke sent
out every few minutes is tremendous and was very
clearly visible at Guatemala 100 miles away, as is the
fire by night. As I spent a night at Sonsonate six
miles from the volcano the streams of lava were
clearly visible as also the changes of position on the
surface of the molten mass which rolls sluggishly
down as each new mouthful (several tons to each
mouthful) is vomited forth from the crater at inter
vales of about twenty minutes.
I went nearly to the foot of the cone, and could
see the convolutions of the mass change though by
day lava is livid in color. , I have also visited lake
Ilopango scene of the submarine erruption of 1880.

222 LIFE AND LETTERS
but the two craters are seven miles from shore and
quiescent and to visit then requires a whole day on
the lake so I only saw them in the dim distance,
one a sandy cone (not truncated) the other looking
like a ruined fortress of dark rock 500 ft. in diam
eter and 159 ft. high.
The lake is about 15 miles in diameter its shores
were not peopled until since the eruption of 1880,
as tradition had surrounded it with horrors which
make it more dreaded than the Dismal Swamp of
North Corolina.
The annual festivities are now in progress and
the city is full of pecple from elsewhere. One new
car of living pictures every day to-day was 'Maceo
liberating Cuba', the procession of one ward oc
cupied all four sides of the great square which was
full of people, as were the surrounding porches
and balconies. Here the priests and sisters of
Charity manage all charitable institutions at the ex
pense of the National Treasury; but religious liber
ty is allowed by law and I find some opportunity to
spread the Gospel.
A letter he wrote to the American Friend: "I
trust that Friends wiU continue to pray for Salva :
dor, and for means to carry forward the struggle
against the stronghold of Satan in Central America.
Never did I see a task so apparently superhuman
as the mission in this land, and we must dwell con
tinually at the feet of Jesus for ability to go for
ward from day to day in the work. Can we now
move forward with a faith like that of Cabel and
Joshua against these walled cities."

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 223
This was a rich * productive country, the land
nearly all under cultivation, or in grass for pasture,
money was plenty prices very high for all kinds of
produce and of course the cost of living correspond
ingly high. He hired a room and lived much as he
had at Tehuantepec buying in the market and eat
ing a cold dinner at home and getting his breakfast
and supper mostly at an eating stand, the whole
cost for food being about 75 cents per day. Wood
being scarce was very high as was also kerosene
oil, so the use of fire for cooking was expensive.
In a letter a little later he said the feast of San
Salvador was ended and he describes several of the
cars which were the chief attraction of the succeed
ing days, and after describing the ninth car he
says: "The special feature of the last day was the car
rying of an image of Christ from Calvary Church
to the Plaza, where it was raised in a car in imita
tion of two towers placed one above the other, so
when the car was carried about by men the top of
the image of Christ surrounded by four small
angels was fully twenty-seven feet from the ground.
There were probably 60,000 people here to wit
ness this scene. Some curious performers were
at work on a trapeze near the center of the Plaza,
and fireworks were constantly discharged. The
f gure was life size of wood and instead of looking
like trying to teach the audience, it appeared f rght-
ened out of its wits.
After passing around the square to the front of
one of the churches the image was lowered in the

224 LIFE AND LETTERS
tower and taken in the arms of the priest to the
catherdral. I never saw a countenance beaming forth idola
try so manifestly as did that of this venerable
priest. A young man bearing his sweetheart across
a flooded stream could not have looked so captivat
ed by his burden.
From Calvary Church to the Plaza twelve priests
headed the procession before the image among
whom was the bishop of Sam Salvador. If it was
not idolatry then there is no such a thing as idola
try." Desirous of studying the ways and customs of
the people and making the acquaitance of the sur
rounding towns, on the 15th, he visited the Aztec
village of Mexicanos which was founded by the
Aztec warriors who accompanied Cortex and Al
varado in conquest of this land in 1525 and who re
mained here, marrying wives from the descendents
of a previous Aztec colony, and many of their traits
have been handed down to the present generation.
Speaking of the work in general he says: "I have
distributed a large number of tracts which with
conversational mission work are all the avenues yet
open though I hope ere long to secure a meeting
room. There is more union between church and state
than I had expected to find, the students of all pub
lic institutions attend mass regularly by public au
thority. This will doubtless hinder evangelical
work, though religious lioerty is guarnteed by the
constitution of 1886. It is too early as yet to give a

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 225
very definite idea as to how the work will open
up, but I tiust that the Lord will fulfill his prom
ise, "Lo I am with you alway even unto the ends of
the cycles. '' The people are very kind and sociable
and I enjoy my stay in this land. The scenery
around the city is mountainous and romantic.
Quezaltepec, now quiescent, is the nearest volcano,
and my residence is upon its side.
In 1659 this volcano was in violent eruption. The
people of Wejapa hastily ran from the village bear
ing with them an image of St. Jerome. The site
being ruined they built a new village and chapel,
in which for several years they placed the image in
penance, facing the wall, for not having protected
the other site. The city is at an elevation of 2115
feet above the sea and is surrounded by mountains
much higher. Quezaltepec being 7370 feet high
and its crater 1100 feet deep."
During all his long delay his family were stopping
with her relatives in North Carolina, but about this
time they went north to visit their friends in New
York State, previous to their intended departure
from New York City to join him in Salvador.
Samuel, uncertain about their exact where
abouts, addressed some letters to his brother-in-
law, George W. Hoover, of North Carolina, for, as
he said in one of them, "he wished them to know
how and where he was, and what he was doing."
One dated August 18, 1896, reads as follows :
Dear Brother :—
Since writing my last letter I have been over to
Mejicanos to the feast, or fair. They had an Aztec

226 LIFE AND LETTERS
war dance. The pleople all wore masks and curi
ous clothing. On one side they had on their hel
mets, monkeys, lizards, dolphins, etc., made of
something imitating life very correctly. The
other side wore nearer Spanish clothing of 400
years ago. The scene was the surrender of Gra
nada in 1492, and the discourses were in Spanish
poetry, probably taught them by Alvarado at the
time of the conquest, 370 years ago. There was
mock fighting with swords, the whole ending with
the conversion and surrender of Boabdil, the Moor
ish king. This last was not historically true, for
Boabdil died a Mohammedan. The fight, however,
was very interesting and worth looking at. I re
turned home and retired to bed. Doubtless what
I had seen made me dream that I was conversing
with some one about Mohamet, and I finally said,
"Mohamet believed himself to be as truly inspired
as Moses did. " The expression of surprise on the
countenance of my friend awakened me, when I
noticed that my bed was shaking and the windows,
doors and picture frames were rattling, and I was
in the midst of an earthquake. There were five
movements in an up and down direction, and two
or three in a sidewise style, like a horse's skin
twitching to dislodge a horse fly. It was of con
siderable duration, but was remarkably gentle.
There has not been a destructive earthquake since
March 19, 1880, though the one the 12th of July
cracked off the plastering on many houses in this
city. The movement resembled the breathing of
some huge animal.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 227
I deposited $175 in the London Bank of Central
America, and they gave me credit for $388.50 Sal
vador money. This discrepancy in currency makes
prices seem much more exorbitant.
I have kept quite busy distributing tracts in vaii-
ous parts of the city and in the adjoining villages.
1 have had good health all the time, and consider
ing that I am so far from my family I have been
getting on quite comfortably.
I hope you are all enjoying good health, and that
your crops will enable you to look hopefully into
the future. I have news from Gulielma and Joseph
to July 18th, just one month ago. I am desirous of
knowing how they look upon the journey to this
South Land. Whilst the hindrances to mission
work and the cost of eatables and the necessaries
of life make it unfavorable, yet the Mission has
funds enough from month to month, and it is quite
probable that things will open out quite favorable
in a few weeks. The people are very kind to me,
and I am getting quite a circle of acquaintances.
Kind regards to you all."
To the writer he wrote on Sept. 15, 1896 : "I
have been studying antiquties in the National Li
brary and find that the theory promulgated last
year by Le Plongeon is not new; for Brasseur de
Bourbourg, nearly a century ago, declared his be
lief that the civilization of Copan and Uxmal are
the oldest in the world, and that this reached to
Atlantas, and passed from there to Egypt and
Phoenicia. I am using every possible effort to open
a meeting room this week."

228 LIFE AND LETTERS
For some months he worked single handed and
alone distributing tracts and bibles, and getting
acquainted with the people, their ways and cus
toms and conversing where opportunity afforded
on religious subjects. As soon as it was practic
able to get a few together for worship, he began to
break to them the bread of life. To scatter seeds
of Protestantism in that Roman soil, some of which
took root and began to grow. He had heard of one
Penzotti, who was born in Switzerland, but born
again in Uruguay, begining his labors in charge of
a church in a colony of Waldenses. Some years
later he accompanied Andrew M. Milne, then Bible
agent for South America, in a journey to Bolivia.
He was then a Methodist Missionary, but on the
journey asked to be allowed to try to sell Bibles.
His unprecendented success led him to enter the
Bible work, in which he had traveled all the Span
ish-American republics except Paraguay and Mex
ico. He was imprisoned eight months in Peru a
few years before for preaching. After his release
he was appointed Bible agent for Central America,
and had twice spent a few weeks in this republic,
only visiting four cities.
So after three months of solitary work, he was
cheered on the morning of October 17th by the un
expected but joyful entrance to his room of Bro.
Penzotti. He makes mention of him in a contribu
tion to the Central American Bulletin for Jan. 15,
1897, as follows : "I had looked upon the coming
of Penzotti as the golden nail when the mission
work from Mexico moving southward and that of

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 229
South America moving northward should unite in
Salvador, the chain of missions from both ends of
this vast continent.
We succeeded in opening meetings at a hall in
the central part of the city, and also at my resi
dence, so I now have two congregations, about a
mile apart. Altogether the past few days have been
the most interesting of my life, and never did I
have a more cultivated or attentive audience, about
120 persons have listened to the gospel message.
The attendance has been from 30 to 40 at each place
each time. The Catholic paper devoted almost an
entire page to quoting and answering our dis
courses. I have met with more opposition, and in
one sense more disappointment than in my previ
ous work in Mexico, but there has been a glorious
opening, where a few weeks ago the door seemed
hermetically sealed. "
He wrote the "American Friend" about this time
as follows : "The priests are giving their whole
sermons to attacks on Protestantism, in general and
us in particular. Never have I seen such a stirring
up of the people as here. It has required both
strong nerves and divine grace, not only to with
stand this opposition but previously to stay here
amid a desolating epidemic of yellow fever. I have
been asked by Cathohcs to pray by the bedside of
one dying in the most horrid throes of the agony
of black vomit, and by Americans to direct funeral
services of one whose body had been taken to the
cemetery some hours previous for burial to avoid
contagion."

230 LIFE AND LETTERS
Thus with heroic courage he pushed on against
all obstacles, while widely separated from his fam
ily, who came north in the autumn to visit his rela
tives; a brother and sister, were living at the old
homestead in Columbus, N. Y. ; also many who were
more distant relatives in that vicinity. Her poor
health delayed them, but by the end of the year
she improved so that they decided to join him in
Salvador. On Jan. 10, 1897, they saUed from New
York for Panama, crossing the isthumas and sail
ing up the Pacific coast on the 28th, they landed on
the soil of San Salvador to receive a warm greeting
and a loving meeting between them after ten
months separation under such trying circumstan
ces. The Central American Bulletin for April 15th
contained the following from Samuel's pen :
"A large part of our first listeners were free
thinkers, and free drinkers, and they now take the
other side of the street. They are enemies of
Romanism, but the preaching of regeneration and
a change of life does not suit their mode of life.
They soon tire of coming merely to spite Roman
ism. There is another element which enjoyed the
meetings, but their employers forbade their at
tending, and refused to pay their wages if they at
tended these meetings."
"It would seem as viewed from a human stand
point, that Romanism has been strengthened by
our presence, and has probably received more than
it would otherwise, from the public treasury. Yet
some hundreds of people have listened to the Gos-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 231
pel, and some thousands have read tracts. The
papers have commented, favorably and unfavor
ably, about protestantism, and thousands have read
their comments. Yet my experience here has no
counterpart in my 24 years work in Mexico, where
I never announced a meeting without an audience
of hungry souls would gather. It would seem as
though Satan was loosed for a little season here.
Personally the Saviour's loving presence has
been with me, and I have felt joy in His nearness
and keeping power. Yet as I have tried to present
Christ to the people and meet such persistant in-
fidelty and unbelief, and hear so many lawyers
after listening, speak of the sublimity of the dis
course, but presently state that they do not be
Ueve in miraclas because they are opposed to reas
on, that Christ was a eood but mistaken philoso
pher, that christian morality is all right, but found
ed on imposture and falsehood that I feel like a
flatiron on an iceberg, and long for the loving as
sociation of kindred hearts to help strengthen and
warm my soul.
A telegram has just announced the safe anchor
age of my wife and son at La Libertad and I meet
them at Acajutla to-morrow."
Under the date of March 8th, he wrote: "We
were forced to move again early this month. Our
present location is near my former residence. Mrs.
Purdie has found more interest in learning about
the protestant religion among our neighbors, than
at our previous location, and more persons have
gathered at our conferences. These look like rays

232 LIFE AND LETTERS
of hope amid the dense darkness and unconcern
which surrounds us. Pray that a door of utterance
may be opened before us and many souls be gath
ered into the fold. The health of Mrs. Purdie
seems improved by coming to this warm region.
On the 6th of April, R. H. Bender arrived from
Santa Rosa, Honduras, having made the journey on
foot in 9 nights; he joined with them in the work
there, he and Joseph spending much of the time in
the adjacent villages seUing Bibles and portions of
scripture distributing tracts and expaining the
gospel as best they could, in some places seUing
$10 or $12 worth of Bibles in a day. They were
kindly received by the people, some of whom were
glad to learn about the gospel. At one village, he
sold a New Testament to a priest, who seemed to
be very ignorant of the Bible.
On May 3d Samuel wrote to the C. A. Bulletin as
follows : "Our press will soon be here and we hope
ere long to be using it in the service of the Master
against the strongholds of darkness. Every Sab
bath the Catholic paper foams with wrath against
protestants in general and us in particular. Dur
ing this month conferences have been held every
Sabbath. The active canvas of the the suburban
viUages with Bible has been fruitful. Aside from
those attending conferences many persons caU in
asking for tracts and inquiring about the protestant
religion. During the month I was called to attend
the funeral services of the daughter of an American
resident and was thus privileged to addiess over
one hundred of the foreign population on the most

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 233
momentous of all themes, under the trees in the
cemetry and at the resident. Taking all into con
sideration, this would seem to have been much
more fruitful than the preceding months and is
cause for thankfulness and encouragement. The
company and cordial co-operation of Bro. Bender
has been quite cheering to us.
The cost of living here is out of proportion to
what I have seen elsewhere. The family next door
consisting of six persons, ate $5.00 worth of fish in
one day, besides other eatables. Other things are
nearly in proportion and it requires extreme self-
denial to make support possible. There is, how
ever, very little danger of indigestion at such
prices." The press arrived and they soon began its use in
the printing of a newspaper, for the spread of the
gospel. The first number being issued early in
July under the title "La Lus dela Verdad" which
met with tremendous wrath from the clergy, and
he wrote, "for this reason we came out with an
extra number on the 15th. Have been forced to
more controversy than we like but hope to be able
to make it better as we go on."
A brief note on the 14th, the last from his pen
for the Bulletin closes by saying " I have news of
the sudden death of my sister at Columbus, N. Y.
a month ago. May God bless you aU."

234 LIFE AND LETTERS

CHAPTER XXIX.
CLOSING SCENES.
Sunrise and morning star
And a clear call for thee
With a glad welcome from afar
When thou hast crossed the sea.
He was busy with his office work looking forward
to the rapid development of the products of his
press, to scatter as seed in this new ground with
the hope of an abundant harvest.
The outlook was good for an awakening of the
people and the introduction of a new order of things
which should lead them from their blind idolaty.
Thus the tide of his life was sweeping steadily
along until the 21st when there came an eddy in
the current, wnich is discribed in the last letter
from his pen, addressed to his friend and former
fellow laborer, Wm. A. Walls, still in Mexico, on
August 1st, 1897.
"Your letter of July 1st came to hand yesterday.
We have been having pretty open controversy
through the papers, but it senms now to have ceas
ed entirely. Whilst we had no press they attacked
us in every paper, and when our first paper came
out they banged away at a fearful rate as though
they would eat us alive. My 'Librito en el Que los
Erroses de los Romanis tas son refutados por
Santos papas g Concilios' came out and aU contro-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 235
versy stopped. If they have anything to say it is
in very general terms against protestants in the
time of Luther.
Gulielma had a very sick time, was taken at 5 P.
M. of Wednesday, July 21st, with very severe
spasm and pain followed by a chill and intense fev
er lasting over a week. She is now up about the
house. The same day she was taken, I cut the
forefinger of my left hand through the corner of
the nail. I fastened it back the best I could and it
seemed nearly healed until yesterday indications
of lock-jaw set in and gave us some alarm, from
which I am still suffering, though without any
alarming increase. I was otherwise ready to start
for Guatemala to-morrow on Steamship Minneola,
but as it is shall probably wait to see what God dis
poses, into whose hands I fully resign myself,
knowing that he doeth all things well, and that
when he calls like Samuel of old I will say 'Speak
for thy servant heareth.'
I heard of the death of dear Isaac Sharp, whom
we so dearly loved. My sister, Lucinda, was taken
with pleurisy on May 10th. After 10 days in bed
she was again about the house doing housework,
until 7 P. M. of June 10th, when she was attacked
by a violent spell of coughing, lasting four hours
and terminating in death. One by one the Lord
calls us from works to rewards, the crown of right
eousness. This afternoon four men besides Bro. Burnett
and Bro. Bender and ourselves at meeting, I at
tempted to read a selection from 2d Timothy 2

236 LIFE AND LETTERS
Chap, and part of 4th, but Joseph had to read, some
hymn singing and I briefly attempted to speak fo
Paul's feeling in the expectation of a near approach
of death and his firm assurance of life especiaUy in
2d Chap. 11th verse. Stiffness of the jaw prevent
ed my speaking much and under the circumstances
great solemnity prevailed.
The letter ends without signature, the pen which
had been in such constant use, through all these
years of service was laid down forever; reminding
us of Hogarth the great painter, who in his last
moments dashed off the similitude of a painter's
pallete broken and then threw down his brush to
be used no more.
It seems that in that torrid region lock-jaw is
quite prevalent and any one with merely a slight
wound coming in any way in contact with the soil
is liable to inoculation with this fatal disease. By
the next day the disease had progressed so far as
to cause intense suffering which he bore with pati
ent resignation for four days and nights until on
the morning of August 6th, 1897, the freed spirit
took its flight, leaving the poor worn body at rest.
But few particulars of these last days are re
corded, but on the 7th they wrote this note which
was sent to the Central A. Bulletin and also printed
to send to their friends in the North and elsewhere.
Beloved friends:
"Grace be to you and peace from God our Fath
er, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed be God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Fath
er of mercy, and the God of aU comfort, who com-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 237
forteth us in all our tribulations;" our Father in
His all wise providence has seen fit to take from
our midst our beloved husband and father, and
promoted him to a higher service. After four days
of intense suffering from lock-jaw he quietly fell
asleep in the arms of Jesus. August 6th, at 5:20
A. M., His last words were: "this is very hard suf
fering, but Paradise will pay for it; my sickness is
more serious than you think, there is no remedy
but to have faith in God; — God's will be done;" then
he said to one of the natives standing by: "I have
had much pleasure in commencing the work of the
Lord in Salvador, and I wish the eminent Salva-
dorians to continue the work I have commenced;"
then passed away repeating "Jesus." Last Lord's
day he preached for the last time.
Thus having fought a good fight, finished his
course, and kept the faith. He has gone to receive
a crown of righteousness which the Lord the right
eous judge shall give him in that day. We laid his
body away to await the resurrection morn, when
the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
To this day we looked forward.
We wish to extend our sincere thanks to the
American citizens of this city, for their kind assist
ance and liberality during our late bereavement
through which we were called to pass and we pray
heavens richest blessing may rest upon them.
Yours till He comes,
Gulielma Purdie — Joseph M. Purdie.
This beautiful expression of Christian resignation

238 LIFE AND LETTERS
and peaceful submission to the Lord's will, in its
sweetness and tenderness, is seldom equaled, never
excelled. On the 12th she wrote to the C. A. Bulletin pub
lished in the October number as was also the above
card as follows:
Dear Brother: —
With much sorrow and sadness of heart, 1 will
try to write you a few lines to let you know what
we are expecting to do if it is the Lord 's will. Two
days before the departure of my dear husband, he
told me to have Joseph finish the paper, which is
only one side, and a book which he had commenced,
which will take all of September, then he said sell
the press and take Joseph back to North Carolina
for I don't want him to stay here without I could
stay with him. One day we set him up on the bed
and he felt some better and said "weU I thought I
was going to see Brother Dillon, but if it is the
Lord's will that I get well, I am willing, and if noti
I am ready, the Lord's will be done." He was help
less four days.
Pray for us in this great affliction, and pray that
this dark land will not be left without missionaries.
We pray that the Lord will send others soon; that
this place will not be left in darkness where there
are so many souls to be saved. We feel that the
time is near when this people will be willing to
listen to the gospel of Christ. I am feeling sad
and not very well, so will close. May the blessings
of the Lord rest upon you all."
And there in the midst of strangers with only

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 239
Brother Bender to help them, they remained for a
few months completing as far as possible the
work on hand before leaving for the homeland.
Heroic as their lives had been in the past, they
were not less so now that their leader had fallen.
Finally bidding farewell to the sorrowing ones
who had come to love them and who mourned their
departure, and a last sad look at the sacred spot
where rested all that was mortal of the beloved hus
band and father, they once more turned their faces
toward the fatherland. Taking steamer to New
York and then by rail to North Carolina they soon
joined her people there, and in a humble home near
them she has since lived, still interested in active
efforts for those around her in the Sunday School,
and in social work.
Joseph took a course in Guilford College,
graduating in June 1906 and soon after married
Una Bulla of North Carolina and on August 25th.
started for Cuba and accepting work in Friends
Missions there is now Dec. 1907 conducting the
mission at Holquin province of Santiago, and re
joicing in a daughter added to their household.

240 LIFE AND LETTERS
CHAPTER XXX.
In Memoriam.
"Build thee more stately mansions, O, my soul
As the swift seasons roll !
Leave thy bow-vaulted past;
Let each new temple nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine out-grown shell by life's unresting sea."
Holmes.
Thus in the prime of his life in the meridian of
his usefulness, when hopes were high and the
promise good for a great work, the developement
of the publishing house, as very few could do it,
his sudden death was a heavy blow not only to his
family and Friends but to his co-workers of the as
sociation and its leaders.
Few persons are so richly endowed by inherit
ance as a historian, as a linquist, as a speaker, a
fine mechanic and a student of nature, with a mem
ory in all these lines which never failed him; with
the gifts of a statesman and the tact of a diplomat
his varied contact with all classes of people had de
veloped such an insight of character, that he was
ready for any emergency and succeeded in run
ning all branches of the business with very little
friction never having any quarrels or misunder
standings in his business affairs.
With this versatility of resources he was able at
any time to throw his undivided energy into the
work before him.

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 241
With these gifts, led by the Spirit of the Master
to whom he ever looked for guidance he was pre
pared to use them all for His glory. Frequently
going to the Lord in prayer, he was able to break
the bread of life to the hungry souls around him
so that many were fed.
Thus we find him faithful unto death and pre
pared to receive a crown of righteousness.
Promoted from a blessed life here to one of glory
beyond; a field perhaps of greater usefulness at
least of wider knowledge and deeper enjoyment,
we may well rejoice with him and bid him God
speed. Thus ended this life, ever faithful to duty,
strong, brave, heroic it was tuned into a sweet
echo of the life of God.
In that tropic land far away from the home of his
youth and the main fields of his labors, where so
many had learned to admire and love him, they
were not permitted to stand with sad hearts around
his bier, or drop a tear into his lonely grave. But
we may imagine that members of the heavenly
host in that last hour of suffering were gathered
around the clay tenement ready to accompany the
freed spirit in the glad procession up the palm
strewn pathway to the courts above. While from
heaven's battlements came-
Sweet songs of the angels just drifting afar,
O'er the air of that beautiful morn;
Hosannas of joy from the glorified throng
Who sang peace when the Savior was born
While the sky-breezes swept the Eolian strains
From the windows of Heaven as He passed;

242 LIFE AND LETTERS
And glad seraphs stood waiting to welcome him in
At the beautiful portals at last.
His friend W. A. Walls soon after his death
wrote to the American Friend a brief sketch of his
work, published in the issue for Sept. 30th, which
is full of interest throughout but some of it has al
ready been fully given to the reader, and need not
be repeated, so we quote as follows:
"In 1871 some friends in Indiana Yearly Meet
ing felt the condition of Mexico laid upon their
hearts, and met to confer upon the subject. One
of them remarked 'Well, we can't do anything, we
have no one in view who would go out as a mission
ary.' Murray Shipley interposed, 'There is a
young man outside who wants to talk to us,' and
introduced Samuel Purdie to the company. He
told them in simple language of his conviction that
the Lord had called him to work in Mexico, and
that he had studied Spanish. About the end of
the year, he and his wife reached Matamoras to be
gin this new work.
One clause in the letter of instruction reads,
'We send you to Mexico, not to teach peculiarities,
but to preach Jesus Christ.' This seemed to be
the central thought and motive power of his work.
Our brother's work was great and more varied
than that of any other missionary I have ever met.
When, in 1880, I saw him translating, setting copy
with his own hand, and running the press with his
own foot, I was not especially surprised: was he
not a missionary? And were not all missionaries
thoroughly consecrated, hands and feet, tongue and

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 243
pen? I know better now, I have seen a good many
missionaries since then, but not another Samuel
Purdie. Some of our brethren are active in preach
ing, and perhaps even more so in pastoral visiting
than he. Possibly some may have written as
much, though I only know of one, but no one has
invented as he did his own stereotyping machines,
nor worked hour after hour, and day after day run
ning a heavy press, printing sometimes a million
pages a year, with no help but such as was entirely
hired by himself. Then when he came to build the
meeting house in Gomez Farias, he had to make
the sash and put in the glass, for none of the Mex
ican carpenters there had ever seen a sash, much
less made one. His manual labor saved the Soci
ety at least two men's salaries, and made the
rather scant mission fund do wonders. Ours was
for a long time the only evangelical press in Mexi
co. He made it a rule to print some good work
each year besides the paper and tracts and pamph
lets. Every work begun was finished, with one
notable exception, and as in most of them Samuel
Purdie had to translate the whole, to read and
correct the proofs, set up a good deal of it, and then
to bind the finished work, it will be seen that it was
no sinecure. Lives of Penn, Elizabeth Fry, George
Fox, Grellet, Manual of Holiness, and other books
were published this way.
He had an unusual knowledge of Spanish, and
besides translating one work each year wrote a
good deal of original matter. He also had to write
a good deal in English for Friends who wished

244 LIFE AND LETTERS
news of the work. Owing to a limitation in funds
he had not a very large library, but he had mas
tered every book in it. One of the secrets of his
being able to do so much was to have no idle mo
ments, another was to do things by a plan, and the
chief was to ask the Lord's direction before begin
ning, and His help for carrying through a work.
So fell a Prince in Israel, one who had been tried
in many ways, — perils by sea, by war, (the city
having been besieged five months while he was at
work). He stuck to his post through two small
pox epidemics, and one visit of yellow fever so
deadly that there was hardly a house where there
was not one dead.
If the name of Quaker is held in honor all through
Mexico and Southwest Texas, we owe it chiefly to
the faithful and consecrated life of Samuel Purdie.
For when I was working near Victoria, Texas,
two years ago, I enquired of a man who employs a
good many Mexicans, if there are any Protestants
among them. 'Yes' said he, 'I have some Qua
kers from Matamoras, and if there ever were gen
uine Christians there they are. ' Samuel Purdie's
life was not spent in vain."
Rev. Luther Rees, Chairman of theC. A. Associ
ation wrote under date of Dec. 20, 1907:
"I believe he did a splendid work in Salvador.
It was my privilege to visit Salvador last year and
while there I learned that he is still remembered
by many. He obtained access to several of the
government officials and his public services were
well attended. Mr. R. H. Bender our present mis-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 245
sionary in Salvador was Bro. Purdie's associate
when he passed away. The work in that Republic
has been greatly blessed."
The following translation from the Spanish by
Joseph M. Purdie is furnished us from a co-worker
in Mexico, Andres Campillo.
"I would have much to say concerning the hon
orable and humanitarian virtues which adorned that
man, true apostle of Jesus Christ. I am deeply
sorry not to have the capacity for such a task, nor
is my language sufficient to express my thoughts.
Nevertheless I feel in my heart something that
makes me speak and you know that out of its
abundance the mouth speaketh. Perhaps on this
account it makes me say that that man whom I
love and to whom I owe so much, was in this
world the perfect model of meekness and evangel
ical charity.
He, in all his acts upon earth, obtained all the
blessings which his divine Master taught him and
whom he faithfully served. He was poor among
the poor yet had no need, neither did he ever lack
goods in order to impart them to his fellow men.
He did not make over much of material goods be
cause he saw others that were better in the spir
itual life. Every being in human creation he con
sidered as himself because they were created by
the same God, his Creator, he never lost an oppor
tunity to teach the way which man must follow to
attain true happiness. I who for a long time
walked far and estranged from that way owe it to
him that I found it, and I began to walk in it al-

246 LIFE AND LETTERS
though with difficulties on account of my weakness.
I distinguished that precious path and this not only
by the preaching and the reading of the Holy
Scriptures because it seems that I had ears and
could not hear, but by the living example which in
the practice of my daily life was always seen.
Therefore his ministry as an apostle of the truth
he faithfully f ulfiUed. The obstacles and the evils
which daily present themselves in the Christian
way he conquered, and to-day in the celestial home
he joyfully awaits the happy day in which the Lord
shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shaU see
him as he is."
Aug. 15, 1906. Quintero, Mex.
Also the following, translated by the same:
"In the years 1883 84 I became acquainted with
brother Purdie. I was living in San Fernando and
had recently married the second time. I was 30
years of age and he was about 45. At that time he
was visiting the southern part of the State of Ta
maulipas where they had already established Gos
pel labors and had congregations in Jicotencatl,
Gomez Farias, Ocampo and Antigus Morelos. I
was not then a Protestant, neither was I a Catholic,
although all in my town considered me as such.
Samuel was introduced to me by JuUo Gonzalez
Gea who was living in San Fernando, and had a
boys school supported by the parents of the pupils.
It was not long before I became intimately ac
quainted with Mr. Purdie and in the year 1885, in
the month of April I left San Fernando to go to St.
Matamoras to make my home there. Here Sam-

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 247
uel had been living since the year 1872 and had or
ganized a church andinstituted twoprimary schools;
one for boys and one for girls. In the former of
these schools I was employed as a teacher in Span
ish and morals; I also directed the same classes in
the girls school at that time under the care of
Miss Julia Ballinger.
The conduct which Samuel observed toward me
was not only that of a friend but also of a tender
and loving father. He was always mindful of me
and in a decided manner helped me to lead a life
which in every sense was entirely new to me, since
in the first place it was the first time that I had
left for a new town with my family. The inter
course with the people that forned the church and
the society of that city in general, which at other
times I had visited prompted by another motive,
was also new. So that, had it not been for the
amiableness of Mr. Purdie I would have found my
self almost isolated even in the midst of a large
city. In the year 1886 the church in Matamoras pro
posed my name as a candidate for the ministry
and brother Purdie as a minister of the church and
Superintendent of the Friends Mission in Mexico,
on the appointed day gave me the hand of fellow
ship in the work of Christ. I never shall forget
that solemn act which so forcibly moved my being
and which I felt in the depths of my soul! From
that time Mr. Purdie and I became inseparable al
ways working one by the side of the other and I
receiving his friendly counsel and taking advan-

248 LIFE AND LETTERS
tage of his example. He was sincere, lovable, dili
gent, active and constant in the work of the Lord.
I always found him working intellectually or me
chanically. In 1887 for reasons unknown to me, the head of
the mission was changed to C. Victoria and after
two months I went to work with Samuel in that
city continuing in evangelical labors. In the same
year in the month of September, a mixed school
was organized with about thirteen students which
we directed. The following year we were obliged
to divide the school, my sister Gertrudis taking
charge of the girls and I the boys. These schools
have more than sixty pupils each on roll.
Early in the year '88 Samuel and I visited the
towns in the southern part of the State on horse
back beginning with Llera, Jicotencatl, Gomez Fa
rias, Ocampo, Nuevo Morelos, Antiaguo Morelos
and Quintero where we had gospel services and
where we were comforted by revivals in those
places. On our return to Victoria brother Purdie began
publishing a paper called "ElClarin," an evangeli
cal and liberal periodical which somewhat troubled
the Catholics to such a degree that even after stop
ping its publication I was arrested in the pohce
headquarters for fifteen days on account of an ar
ticle which I published in another paper caUed
"Tamaulipas" in which I called attention to the
authorities to certain disorders that were being
committed in the center of the city. At this time
brother Purdie was very much troubled because

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 249
of my arrest but God provided good friends and
they arranged matters in a satisfactory way so
that I was set at liberty continuing in my labors.
In the same year '88 we organized our church at
C. Victoria and we held our services in the school
house situated in the street Matamoras and No.
10 which now is occupied by Penn Institute for
girls and young ladies.
In the year '93, 94 Samuel began building a Rest
Cottage for ministers in the summer, where I am
at present.
Brother Purdie worked personally on this aided
by some carpenters. It is a two-story frame
house. He made many trips to Victoria to bring
tools and other things necessary for the work.
Some of these trips he made on horsback accom
panied by some brother who wished to go with
him. In one of these journeys there occurred, so sim
ple and candid an incident that I wish to relate it.
Among the workmen who were helping him in Go
mez Farias there was a boy whom I raised and
recognized as a son (his name is Elias). On one of
this boy's expeditions to the Sierra he caught a
squirrel and it occurred to him to send it to Vic
toria as a present to my wife. As there was not a
safer way to send it than by Samuel he asked him
to take the squirrel. Samuel had no difficulty in
granting the desire of the boy. He tied a string
around the animal's neck; and put it in his coat
pocket and tied the string to a button hole, as if he
carried a watch there. The idea was curious in-

250 LIFE AND LETTERS
deed as many who saw him thought that he carried
a watch there but instead the squirrel would peep
out of his pocket. Two days were necessary to
get to Victoria and during that time it was neces
sary to feed the squirrel, a thing which Samuel did
with all diligence, feeding the little animal some
bananas. As soon as I found out that he had ar
rived at his destination I went to see him. It was
about six in the afternoon. He was sitting at the
table with his wife and son Joseph, I saluted him
and we talked awhile then he said 'Elias sends Pau-
chita a little present,' and on saying this he pulled
the string that he had through the button-hole and
took out the squirrel which he handed to me. We
all celebrated this act worthy of him as it was
from a magnanimous heart. Many of his actions
such as I have just told manifested the candidness
of a child.
He always showed himself affectionate and pleas
ing to all, large and small. His sincere love was
felt everywhere that he went. And his decision
in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ was so confi
dent that as I have said before, his example has
caused me to be firm in the same work and to be in
this town where he left so many signs of love to
humanity and his decision to serve the Divine Mas
ter. Several trees which he imported from other
parts of the world are here giving fruit; cinnamon,
rose apple, currant and others whose names I do
not remember. But the most pleasant thing to
me and to the servants of Christ is that he was a

OF SAMUEL A. PURDIE 251
powerful instrument in the hands of God to sow
the good seed of the word of God in the hearts of
the inhabitants of this town and of this State.
The last time that we saw each other was in C.
Victoria in my home. We were both leaving; he,
for the Republic of Salvador and I, for Mata
moras. We had a lunch at home and there we bade
each other farewell. I never saw him again but
his correspondence from that Republic was con
stant telling me of his Gospel labors. His faithful
wife and loving son accompanied him there also.
After some years of struggling in Salvador against
at fanaticism and ignorance he fell asleep in the
Lord; but his works follow him as the Scripture
says, and if God permit I hope that we shall see
each other some day before the presence of our
God never more to part again.
Santiago G. Gonzalez."
Gomez Farias, Aug. 16, 1906.
One more of God's faithful children gone from
service here to broader fields beyond.
Hail and fareweU. THE END.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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