The church was organized June 23, 1874, the day after I arrived, with
eleven members, only one of whom was an Indian, John F. Palmer, who was
government interpreter. I did not come with the expectation of
remaining, but only for a visit. I had just come from Boise City, Idaho,
and more than half-expected to go to Mexico, but that and some other
plans failed, when the agent said that he thought I might do as much
good here as anywhere, and the sentiment was confirmed by others. Rev.
C. Eells had been here nearly two years, had been with the church
through all its preliminary plans, and it was proper that he should be
its pastor, and he was so chosen at the first church meeting after the
organization. He almost immediately left for a two months’ tour in
Eastern Washington, and wished me to fill his place while I was
visiting. The next summer he spent in the same way, only wintering with
us. His heart was mainly set on work in that region, where he had spent
a good share of his previous life. He felt too old, at the age of
sixty-four, to learn a new Indian language, and so from the first the
work fell into my hands, but he remained as pastor. When it was decided
that I should remain, the American Missionary Association gave me a
commission as its missionary, and I served as assistant pastor for
nearly two years. In the spring of 1876 the pastor left for several
months’ work in the region of Fort Colville, hardly expecting to make
this his residence any longer; hence he resigned, and in April, 1876, I
was chosen as his successor.
During most of this time the congregations continued good, though once
in a while the Indians would get very angry at some actions about the
agency, and almost all would stay away from church, but the average
attendance until the spring of 1876 was ninety. At that time the
disaffection resulting from the trouble with Billy Clams, as spoken of
under the subject of Marriage and Divorce, caused a considerable falling
off, so that the average attendance for the next two years was only
seventy. Although the people got over that disaffection in a measure,
yet one thing or another came up, so that while in 1879 and 1880 the
average attendance was better, the congregation never wholly returned
until the fall of 1883. A Catholic service sprang up in 1881, which
took away a number, and which will hereafter be more fully described
among the Dark Days.
From the first there were a few additions to the church, but more of
them during the first few years were from among the whites, several of
them being children of the employees, than from among the Indians. When
the Indians began to join, all the accessions, with one exception, were
from among the school-children, and others connected with the work at
the agency until 1883. Gambling, horse-racing, betting, and tamahnous
had too strong a hold on them for them to easily give up these
practices.