The American Missionary
=======================
October, 1890.
Vol. XLIV.
No. 10.
New York:
Published By The American Missionary Association,
Bible House, Ninth St. and Fourth Ave., New York.
Price, 50 Cents a Year, in advance.
Entered at the Poet Office at New York, N.Y., as second-class matter.
Contents
========
Contents
Editorial
ANNUAL MEETING.
The Federal Election Bill And The Mississippi Convention.
Notes From The West.
The South
Out To Rockhold, Ky.
Church Work.
Straight University.
Better Class Of Students.
Temperance In Tennessee.
Items.
The Indians.
Mr. Shelton At Northfield Again.
The Widow's Mite.
The Chinese
The Pictures
Lights And Shadows
Bureau Of Woman'S Work.
Christian Endeavor For The Boys And Girls Of The Southern Mountains
Woman's Work In North Carolina
Woman's State Organizations.
Receipts For August, 1890.
Notes
American Missionary Association
===============================
President, Rev. Wm. M. Taylor, D.D., LL.D, N.Y.
Vice-Presidents.
----------------
Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, D.D., N.Y.
Rev. F. A. Noble, D.D., Ill.
Rev. Henry Hopkins, D.D., Mo.
Rev. Alex. Mckenzie, D.D., Mass.
Rev. D.O. Mears, D.D., Mass.
Corresponding Secretaries.
--------------------------
Rev. M.E. Strieby, D.D., _Bible House, N.Y._
Rev. A.F. Beard, D.D., _Bible House, N.Y._
Rev. F.P. Woodbury, D.D., _Bible House. N.Y._
Recording Secretary.
--------------------
Rev. M.E. Strieby, D.D., _Bible House, N.Y._
Treasurer.
----------
H.W. Hubbard, Esq., _Bible House, N.Y._
Auditors.
---------
Peter Mccartee.
Chas. P. Peirce.
Executive Committee,
--------------------
John H. Washburn, Chairman.
Addison P. Foster, Secretary.
_For Three Years._
S.B. Halliday,
Samuel Holmes,
Samuel S. Marples,
Charles L. Mead,
Elbert B. Monroe,
_For Two Years._
J.E. Rankin,
Wm. H. Ward,
J.W. Cooper,
John H. Washburn,
Edmund L. Champlin,
_For One Year._
Lyman Abbott,
Chas. A. Hull,
Clinton B, Fisk,(1)
Addison P. Foster,
Albert J. Lyman.
District Secretaries.
---------------------
Rev, C. J. Ryder, 21 _Cong'l House, Boston, Mass._
Rev. J. E. Roy, D.D., 151 _Washington Street, Chicago, Ill._
Rev. C. W. Hiatt, 64 _Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio._
Financial Secretary for Indian Missions.
----------------------------------------
Rev. Chas. W. Shelton.
Secretary of Woman's Bureau,
----------------------------
Miss D.E. Emerson, _Bible House, N.Y._
Communications
==============
Relating to the work of the Association may be addressed to the
Corresponding Secretaries; letters for "THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY," to the
Editor, at the New York Office; letters relating to the finances, to the
Treasurer.
Donations And Subscriptions
===========================
In drafts, checks, registered letters, or post-office orders, may be sent
to H.W. Hubbard, Treasurer, Bible House, New York, or, when more
convenient, to either of the Branch Offices, 21 Congregational House,
Boston, Mass., 151 Washington Street, Chicago, Ill., or 64 Euclid Ave.,
Cleveland, Ohio. A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a
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NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.--The date on the "address label," indicates the
time to which the subscription is paid. Changes are made in date on label
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Form Of A Bequest.
==================
"I BEQUEATH to my executor (or executors) the sum of ---- dollars, in
trust, to pay the same in ---- days after my decease to the person who,
when the same is payable, shall act as Treasurer of the 'American
Missionary Association,' of New York City, to be applied, under the
direction of the Executive Committee of the Association, to its charitable
uses and purposes." The Will should be attested by three witnesses.
The American Missionary.
========================
Vol. XLIV.
October, 1890.
No. 10.
American Missionary Association.
Editorial
=========
ANNUAL MEETING.
---------------
The next annual meeting of the American Missionary Association will be
held in Northampton, Mass., in the Edwards Church, commencing at three
o'clock Tuesday afternoon, October 21st. Rev. Frank W. Gunsaulus, D.D., of
Chicago, Ill., will preach the sermon. On the last page of the cover will
be found directions as to membership and other items of interest. Fuller
details regarding the reception of delegates and their entertainment,
together with rates at hotels and railroad reductions, will be given in
the religious press. A meeting of unusual interest is expected, and we
hope our friends will be present in full attendance.
For notice of Woman's Meeting, see page 318.
* * * * *
The holding of our Annual Meeting in Northampton will call up some very
remarkable associations. Northampton was the home of Jonathan Edwards,
who was not only the eloquent preacher and profound theologian, but the
missionary to the neighboring Stockbridge Indians. It was also the home
of his son-in-law, David Brainerd, who was the typical self-denying
martyr-missionary to the Indians in New Jersey. It was the home of the
Tappan family, two of whose sons, Arthur and Lewis, were among the early
founders and most valued friends of this Association. In June, 1848, the
Tappan family held a joyous family reunion in Northampton, continuing
for a week.
* * * * *
Frederick Douglass is hopeful. In a recent address he says: "A great
change has taken place among the colored race--vast and wonderful has it
been. It seems as if we had realized the vision of St. John when he saw a
new heaven and a new earth. But the change has come at last. The time has
come when we can look our fellow-citizens in the face and share in the
glory of the country."
No man has a better right to say this than he, for his life has touched
the degraded condition of the slave and the exalted position of an
Embassador of this great Republic. He adds: "Some talk of exterminating
our race, and others say we will soon die out, but I tell you both are
impossible. If slavery could not kill us, liberty won't." Liberty ought
to do more than save them alive. It ought to educate, elevate and
Christianize them.
* * * * *
The _Independent_ quotes from Dr. Mayo's address before the American
Social Science Association on "The Third Estate," in which the Doctor,
refers to the strange population of the great Southern mountain
world--nearly two millions at present--as a body of people that sends
forth a louder cry for the missionary of modern civilization than any
other portion of the Republic, and adds:
"What is also said by the Unitarian, Dr. Mayo, of the need of
missionary work for this class of the Southern whites, calls
for an emphasis even stronger than we could put on any
political conclusion. We pass this patriotic appeal along to
those who have the wealth that is seeking a worthy object on
which to expend itself. There are missionary societies whose
business it is to do this. For the Congregationalista, the
American Missionary Association will for a very moderate
amount establish a church and an academy in any one of a
hundred counties inhabited by these people, and what a man
with a million dollars to expend could do we hardly dare to
say. For the Presbyterians, the Board of Home Missions will do
the same; for the Methodists, their Missionary Society; for
the Episcopalians, their board of Domestic Missions; for the
Baptists, their Home Mission Society; and so on for all the
religious bodies. But will not a goodly company of wealthy men
supplement what the churches are doing in their collections,
by large gifts for this special, most needy, most fruitful,
and we declare most neglected mission work of the nation?"
* * * * *
Agitations on the surface are significant mainly as they are connected
with the larger movements of the deeper waters beneath. The re-election of
Speaker Reed to Congress, and the contest for the re-election of Mr.
Breckinridge in Arkansas; the Federal Election Bill, which proposes to
secure a free ballot for all men irrespective of color, and the Convention
in Mississippi, which aimed avowedly to curtail the voting of the colored
people--all these derive their importance from their relation to the
gravest problem of American statesmanship. That problem will not be
settled by the results of either of these current questions. For at the
bottom the real question is: Shall knowledge and character and property
become the possession of the colored race, and they thus be prepared for
their place in American politics, industry and prosperity, or will they be
allowed for the lack of these things to be crushed back into a condition
of semi-slavery or be goaded to resistance or discouraged in poverty,
pauperism and degradation? That is a fundamental question. For that, men
should read, think, pray and work.
The Federal Election Bill And The Mississippi Convention.
---------------------------------------------------------
The ultimate aim of the Federal Election Bill in Congress, and of the
Constitutional Convention in Mississippi, point in diametrically opposite
directions. They cannot be harmonized, and there is no middle way between
them. The Election Bill contemplates a "free ballot and fair count" for
every voter, including the Negro. The Mississippi Convention aims to
restrict Negro suffrage. In an address delivered by the President of the
Convention, September 11th, he is reported to have said that: "He did not
propose to mince matters and hide behind a subterfuge, but if asked by
anybody if it was the purpose of the Convention to restrict Negro
suffrage, he would frankly say, 'Yes; that is what we are here for.'" This
Convention proposes to secure its object not by the force and fraud of
earlier days, but by constitutional and legal methods--or at least by what
has constitutional and legal _forms_. All this, however, is another
attempt to achieve the impracticable. As the Negro grows in intelligence
and numbers, he will claim his right to vote.
On the other hand, the Congressional Election Bill or any other
legislation intended to secure the privilege of voting to the Negro, if
made practical, means a good deal. If it is intended only to pass laws
that shall be merely "glittering generalities" to vindicate the historic
record of the Republican party, or to sanction its Platform and the
Inaugural of the President--that is easily done and will, of course,
amount to nothing--except as a political manoeuvre. But if the movement
"means business," and is to be pushed to its legitimate result, then two
things must be done: the Negro must be qualified to vote and to be voted
for; to elect officers and to hold office. If the mass of illiterate and
impoverished Negroes are to be represented in State Legislatures and in
Congress by persons as ignorant and poor as they are themselves, these
representatives will, of course, if in the majority, be liable to rule and
ruin; if in a large minority, they will hold a balance of power that may
easily be controlled by demagogues. To educate this mass up to the point
of intelligence and the acquisition of property is America's great duty
and the guaranty of her safety.
There is one thing more about it. We have said that if the Negro is to
have the free exercise of the ballot, he will insist on being voted for as
well as voting. If the Negroes have power to elect, they will wish to
elect some of their own number. They will not, and certainly they ought
not to vote for a man simply because he is black. They should vote for the
best qualified man whether he is black or white. If they have the power
they will certainly elect some of their own number. But this means, if it
means anything good, that there shall be those of their own number who are
qualified to hold office and to hold it honorably to themselves and
usefully to their constituents and the country. But this implies higher
education to a good many colored people. It will not do for them to have a
few men educated as professional politicians. May Heaven save them from
the day when they will encourage the growth of such a class of men. They
will need to have a large number of educated men in the various walks of
life, from whom suitable candidates may be selected, just as white men
have. But if they are to have such a class of men, adequate measures must
be taken for their higher education, and those friends of the Negro who
desire and help to educate him only in primary studies, while they are
doing a great and essential work, are not doing all that is needed. It may
be all well enough to say to the Negro, "Work hard and keep out of
politics." But if he is allowed to enter into politics freely, he will do
it just as other men do. There is enough human nature in him to secure
that. And any view of this matter that accepts the theory of a free ballot
to the Negro, will be short-sighted, if it does not aim at the education
of the mass of the Negroes as the mass of the white people are educated,
and at the higher education of a proportionally large number of the
Negroes. If Congress and Mississippi Conventions should turn their
attention in this direction, their work would be more significant than the
efforts they are now making.
Notes From The West.
--------------------
By District-Secretary C.W. Hiatt.
Sylvan, terraced, lacustrine; cottages by the score, gay in color, unique
of design; people everywhere, chatty, erudite, artistic, processional;
"round tables," "leagues," "societies" and "circles;" lectures, sermons,
concerts and conferences--a school, a church, a university--all this, and
throughout it all a steady pulse of religious heart and heartiness--such
is the Chautauquan Assembly of Bay View, Michigan. One of the important
features of this assembly is its annual missionary conference. All
denominations participate and the field of the world is brought vividly
before the mind by the laborers from here and there.
An interesting testimony by a missionary from Singapore was to the effect
that many of the most cultured and generous people he had ever met were
Chinese. By the aid of influential Mongolians--though they were
heathen--he was once enabled to start a school which grew rapidly till
hundreds were enrolled and a permanent religious center of great
importance was established. The whole account was thrilling.
Specially kind was the hearing given the representative of the American
Missionary Association work, and the eager quest for literature which
followed showed that all words had not been lost. Denominational lines
were not conspicuous. The black cat of statistics scampered across the
rostrum only once or twice. A fitting rebuke to this audacious creature
was couched in the story told by a missionary of a visit he had received
from another worker on the field, and their mutually forgetting to inquire
into each other's church connections, so great was their interest in the
tasks in hand. Afterwards, the Methodist brother learned that he had
entertained a Baptist unawares--Selah.
An interesting disclosure was recently made, when the organ of Vine St.
Congregational Church in Cincinnati was removed from the rear to the front
of the auditorium. Midway between ceiling and floor, on either side of the
recess, were two doors in the wall. These could only be reached by
ladders. What were they for? Ah, they have a history. They open into rooms
which, in ante-bellum days, were used as stations of the "underground
railway." Here fugitives from across the Ohio were secreted until they
could be spirited on, by night, towards the waters of Erie. These doors on
the wall speak volumes for the history of the church. I wonder not that
even now, though in the very commercial center of the city, far from the
residence portion, this church is in full career of evangelistic life.
Churches with such doors as those in their walls need not be expected to
vegetate, nor to die.
I like to visit the smaller churches as opportunity is given. Their zeal
for the causes of humanity is often very intense and intelligent.
Sometimes, too, their contributions are a surprise. I know a little
country church in Ohio that one day raised forty-six dollars when only
forty-five persons were present. It was ten miles by stage from the
railroad. Now another gratifying surprise: out of that little flock
several people are planning to go to the Northampton meeting.
I also know a church of foreigners, ninety-seven in membership, that
raised forty-seven dollars and fifty cents for our work in an evening
collection, or about fifty cents _per capita_. Awhile ago these foreigners
were a part of our _City_ problem. By the grace of God, they are now out
of the equation, and themselves, in turn, become helpers in solving that
other more extensive problem, of the races in the South. Such things as
these encourage us.
* * * * *
The Chicago Theological Seminary is desirous of completing its files of
the AMERICAN MISSIONARY for binding. The numbers missing are: February,
1887, October and November, 1871, January, 1862, November, 1861, the first
six months of 1858, and all the numbers for 1857. If any one has any of
these magazines that he would like to give to the Seminary, he will confer
a favor by sending them direct to L.A. Allesbrooke, 45 Warren Ave.,
Chicago, Ill.
The South
=========
Out To Rockhold, Ky.
--------------------
Prof. R.C. Hitchcock
I wanted to see the people and especially the church and Sunday-school at
this outpost. Now one can go out there by rail, but that is prosaic. It is
not apostolic; those apostles tied on their sandals, girt up their
garments and walked. But I found I couldn't do that way, for there was the
big Cumberland to cross and several creeks, not to speak of "runs,"
"branches" and mud-holes. The circuit riders? Yes, they went on horseback;
that must be my way, so I consulted Brother Tupper and he borrowed Mr.
Perkins's horse, noted as being an easy-going roadster. Easy? Well, I do
suppose the horse was all right, but I must indulge in one groan. It was a
long time since I had been on horseback. I wanted to go to the stable to
get on, but the young man insisted on bringing the steed down to the hotel
as soon as he had his feed, and in due time he came, a tall fellow, and I
doubted my ability to get my foot up to that stirrup, and somewhat whether
I could boost myself over into the saddle if I did; so I quietly and
gently coaxed him up to the piazza and actually succeeded the first time
trying. How many of the gentlemen, sitting in their Sunday best on the
piazza, smiled, I do not know--I didn't dare to look. I know I sat up ever
so stiff and tried to look just as if I had been a circuit rider for forty
years or so.
I must cross the river to begin with. Now they hadn't given me any whip
and I didn't dare ask the owner of the horse--"Colt, gone four"--he said,
for a whip or even a switch, but I wondered what I would do if the animal
should take it into his head to turn around or do something awkward right
in the middle of the river. I didn't want to get off, for I must get on
again. As good luck would have it there was a kind-eyed man sitting on a
stone by the riverside, and I asked him to get me a stick. He gave me one
he had in his hand and I felt better.
"Does the ford go right straight across?" I asked. "No, you must make a
curve up towards the dam or you will get into deep water, and there are
boulders too, you must avoid, or your horse may fall down."
A curve! Now a straight line, two points being given, can be defined. And
if I could steer for some given point on the opposite bank, I could hit it
if the current did not take me down stream; but a curve is awfully
uncertain, and my mind was in a state of perturbation. However, I got
across with nothing worse than a good spattering.
I wish I could paint the pictures constantly opening on the view as I rode
along. Forest clad mountains rose on every side with huge cliffs peering
grimly out. Sometimes these cliffs overhung the road and occasionally a
great slab of slate projected sufficiently to furnish shelter for a
family. In one place a farmer had taken advantage of this and made his
stable under a rock. A great slab of shaly slate projected so that he had
a roof some fifty feet long and ten or fifteen wide. My mind went back
eighteen hundred years and more to another stable in a rock and the
wonderful scene enacted there. It was not easy to believe that the little
cabins, looking like miniature houses which might be built by boys for
play, were actually homes, occupied by families, father, mother and eight
or ten children; but such is the case.
Seven miles of constantly changing pictures, but all beautiful, brought me
to Rockhold, a name I had supposed derived from its physical
characteristics, but which I was informed was given in respect to a family
formerly the most important in the vicinity but now quite gone. I made my
way to the little church. In front was a huge wagon and in a little grove
at the back several horses tied. I had been informed that I might safely
address any man I found prominent, as "Elliott," and as I entered I so
accosted an elderly man whom I found in charge of a large class of young
men. About fifty were present, Mr. Elliott being the only male teacher,
three young ladies, two of whom I learned had been educated at Berea,
having charge of classes. After the lesson I addressed the people. The
characteristic that impresses me more than any other is their solemn
seriousness. They listen intently and with great eagerness. They are
hungry for preaching and feel it a great hardship that they can only have
it occasionally. Their faces were a study. There was hardly a weak one
among them and many bore the impress of great strength. But I would as
soon have told a story or joked at a funeral as under their serious eyes.
The meeting over, several invited me to "go by" and take dinner, and I
accepted the first offer, which was made by a nice looking young lady in
mourning, who urged her claim by saying: "All the preachers go to our
house and father will be so disappointed if he don't see you; he couldn't
come to-day."
This country has not yet got to the point of thinking bridges necessary
and roads are not for those who sit on springs and cushions. I never
wished so much for a "Kodak" that I might carry away a picture which I
shall always have in memory. To the long wagon, which had a high rack all
around it, were yoked a pair of milk-white oxen, round and handsome. In
front was seated Mrs. Elliott, holding her youngest child. At her side a
boy, perhaps twelve, who guided the team by a line attached to a horn.
Seated on chairs were nine young ladies and girls, nearly all in pretty
white dresses.
Two miles of beautiful scenery and we reach the farm house, a commodious
and substantial rural home, of John Elliott, who gave me a cordial welcome
and soon the long table in the kitchen was spread with such a meal as I
had not enjoyed in many a day. The menu did not record many French dishes,
but everything was good, abundant and wholesome.
After dinner, Mr. Elliott told me a story worth recording. It was that of
the heroic Mr. Richardson, who before the war was a teacher in that
district--a Northern man--and, in the excited state of feeling in the
South, was suspected of being an abolitionist. He and his wife were driven
from their home and work, but protected from personal violence by the
prompt and energetic efforts of the Elliotts. But as both Dr. Roy and Mr.
Ryder have given the details to the public, I will not repeat them here. I
will only add that of the fifty persons who had signed the paper pledging
themselves to "_remove_" Richardson, it would be difficult to find one now
in Whittley County. They are scattered or dead. But in the little church
at Rockhold, the name of Richardson is a sacred one, and the stranger
always hears the story.
I took leave of this interesting family with great regret. As I sat in the
little grove in front of the house, with its carpet of myrtle, and looked
off over the peaceful valley, I wished I might remain there and rest.
That horse had it pretty much his own way on the return seven miles, and
when I thought nobody was looking I must confess to finding it a very
pleasant thing to get both legs on the same side of the saddle. But I am
glad I went to Rockhold. I would not lose the pictures I got there for a
small sum and I hope and pray that the time may soon come when in some way
a regular preacher may be provided for the people.
Church Work.
------------
Dedication Of A Church At Byron, Ga.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words fail to express the pleasant time we had at Byron, in dedicating our
new house of worship to the service of God. We had a very large attendance
of people from Bibb, Houston, Taylor and Sumter counties. Nearly two
hundred people came from Andersonville, a large number came from Macon and
quite a company from Rutland. One brother was present from the Savannah
church. Altogether there were five of our Congregational churches
represented by their members and several others were heard from. I should
think that there were nearly, if not quite, four hundred people on the
grounds. Of course the building could not hold them all. Rev. J.R. McLean
preached the sermon, which was pronounced by a leading white man present,
to be the best he ever heard. Altogether the occasion was an inspiring
one. The hundreds of black faces so attentively listening to the words of
truth, so orderly and quietly, could not fail to impress us deeply. The
occasion was one that brought four of our churches into a very close
relationship, closer than they have ever been before; I mean, so many from
each church meeting face to face and forming each other's acquaintance.
It is our wish and prayer to do well the work that is committed to our
hands. We are not afraid of hard work, we want time and means to do all
that we see is needed, and there is so much to be done. I feel like going,
going all the time with the message of God's love to dying men. The
opportunities are constantly increasing for usefulness.
Promising Opening In Georgia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I came to the place where the people wanted a Sunday-school. They were
ready for it, with a rude building erected by the people themselves, and
waiting for me to begin work, and I have promised to organize a
Sunday-school on the second Sunday of next month. A young married woman,
the wife of a well-to-do farmer, and a former student in the Ballard
School, has promised to superintend it. She expects at least fifty
scholars, many of them her day pupils. I have given her singing books
and shall send to Boston for Sunday-school supplies. There is reason to
believe that we can some day organize a church in that place. I preached
in the new building last night and at the close of the service nearly
twenty-five bowed for prayers and asked for mercy. It was really
affecting and I only regretted that I could not remain and continue the
work which begins in so promising a manner. I have not the time to
describe in detail the work done on this trip. All along the road for
nearly forty miles people stopped me and I them to talk about the love
of God for man and the gift of his dear son as their Saviour and
Redeemer. My heart burns with a desire to do them good and I am so happy
in helping them see the truth as it is revealed in the Bible. There are
hundreds of colored people in that county who have no proper religious
instruction. They come from far and near whenever I go into that region,
and seem to be blessed in listening to the word of God. I am constantly,
from a half-dozen different counties, hearing the Macedonian cry: "Come
over and help us." I wish you could go with me and see these golden
opportunities. If our churches saw the needs and the openings for doing
good, they would increase many fold their offerings to this work.
Encouraging Indications.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I can see a manifestation of real earnestness on the part of a larger
proportion of the members of our church than at any time before since I
have been here. While none of our meetings are attended so well as they
should be, at the same time they are spiritual. And now, as we are getting
our minds and hearts ready for some extra meetings, our prayer meetings
are full of tenderness and sweetness. Last Thursday night, though it was
raining at the meeting hour, a goodly number came out and the blessed Lord
was with us. Our subject was "The Christian dignity of labor." It seemed
to be a new truth when they could see from his own word that Jesus was
interested in our daily work, John 21: 3-6. One faithful sister who is
trying to educate and provide for six children was very much helped by the
fact that Jesus would guide her if she was only willing to follow his
direction. The prayer meeting is the life of the church.
I spent two days with Brother S---- at B---- last month, in some extra
meetings. The meetings were quite well attended; a goodly number of white
people were with us at almost every meeting. The Methodist minister of the
town was present and offered prayer. He expressed himself as highly
pleased with the sermon and hoped that we might do much good in the name
of the Lord. I find the very best of feeling towards our church there on
the part of the white people. I hope the church will do well and grow in
numbers and influence.
JACKSON ST. CHURCH, NASHVILLE, TENN.--Yesterday was a red-letter day for
Jackson Street Church. It was communion day. Two were baptized and
admitted to the church. Our congregation numbered more than one hundred,
the largest audience we have yet had. It was also the day for special
collection. We collected thirteen dollars. This was done by means of the
envelope system without any blast of bugle. There were eleven conversions
in the Sunday-school recently.
HOWARD CHAPEL, NASHVILLE, TENN.--Our attendance this month has never
fallen below forty-five. One of the established churches of the city with
a membership five times as large as ours has an average of ten to its
prayer meetings. We have fifteen or twenty. We have also organized a
Y.P.S.C.E. and a Bible class. It is the purpose of this class to study
Biblical biographies. We have studied so far the lives of Joseph, Moses,
Daniel, Esther, Ruth and David. It would do your heart good to see with
what enthusiasm the young people have entered upon this study and how they
master even the minutest details. I have every hope in the world for
Howard Chapel.
SAVANNAH, GA.--Some years ago our flock was the smallest, now we have the
largest Sunday-school and congregation. The history of this church is
wonderful. God has been merciful towards it. Some who were our strongest
enemies years ago are now our best workers. I have a plan for next winter,
to open a night school and draw the young people from sin and Satan to our
blessed Lord. July the 18th, Brother L. and myself went to Porter's and
made a start on our meeting house. The man who gave the land cut down
trees, Brother L. dug holes and we planted the posts. Brother L. went back
and bought five hundred feet of lumber, and with God's help we intend to
take the train some day and finish our humble place of worship.
NORTH ATHENS, TENN.--The church members gather with the children every
Friday afternoon to teach both boys and girls various kinds of work.
Capitalists and speculators are searching among the mountains for coal,
iron and timber. Why should not the Christian church search out the poor
mountaineers and bring them to Christ. Most of them were loyal to the
country. Slavery has for several generations denied them the advantages of
education. God has opened the door and bids us go in with the Bible and
the spelling-book to give to two millions of these people in our own
country a better culture, a purer Gospel. There are vast stores of wealth
in these mountains, but nothing of such value as the souls of this people.
Straight University.
--------------------
We are glad to copy from the Burlington (Vt.) _Daily Free
Press_ the following commendation of two of the appointees of
this Association, both graduates of the University of Vermont.
Mr. Atwood enters our service for the first time; Mr.
Henderson has already shown his efficiency in our work as a
preacher, and will enter upon his duties as a Professor under
favorable auspices.
An eminently satisfactory and well-merited appointment is that of Mr.
Oscar Atwood of Jeffersonville, to be President of Straight University in
New Orleans. We can heartily congratulate the institution that it can
avail itself of the sound scholarship, the long experience, and the tried
executive ability of its president-elect. And no less do we congratulate
Mr. Atwood on his election to a post which will afford ample scope and
stimulus for the best that is in him. Straight University was founded
twenty-one years ago, and was designed especially for the education of the
colored youth. It is under the patronage of the American Missionary
Association, and has several departments in full operation. Mr. Atwood
took his A.B. degree at the University of Vermont in 1864; taught for a
time in various schools, including the academy at Essex, this State; for
two years was principal of the school at Underhill; then for seven years,
1871-78, was master of the High School at Plattsburgh, from which place he
was called to a similar position at Rutland. After nine years successful
labor there, he was forced to resign three years since on account of
continued trouble with his eyes. He has an excellent record both as
instructor and organizer and manager of school work. No better evidence of
his efficiency could be desired than the large number of young men who
have been stimulated by him to obtain a liberal education.
We learn also that the Rev. George W. Henderson, of the class of 1887,
U.V., who for the last two years has been preaching in New Orleans, has
been appointed to a professorship in the same institution. Mr. Henderson
was originally a slave, as some of our readers know. He was prepared for
college by Mr. Atwood, took high rank at the University and at Yale
Theological Seminary, where he was graduated in 1883. He studied for a
time in Germany, and for a few years was principal of an academy in this
State. His work, we understand, is to be in the theological department, a
position for which he is well equipped.
Better Class Of Students.
-------------------------
By Prof. R.C. Hitchcock.
Last year was a "golden year" at Straight University in New Orleans. In
the first place, it is seldom the good fortune of any school to get a
corps of teachers so uniformly capable, and of such earnest Christian
spirit, willing to spend and be spent in the Master's service.
Then every year brings a better class of students; not more sincere,
perhaps, but year by year they learn what "getting an education" means.
A few years ago it was quite impossible to make them realize that
steady, uninterrupted attendance was absolutely necessary to good work,
but as they have opportunity to compare the positions taken and the work
done by those who were regular and who remained at school long enough to
be really fit for good service, with those who thought they could come
in January and leave in April, getting an imperfect knowledge of things,
to their credit be it told, they _learn_--some _cannot_ learn life's
lessons--and there has been lately a gratifying eagerness to be present
at every recitation during the whole year. I do not think one has left
this year who could possibly remain. When the floods came and many of
them learned that their homes were under water, in some cases the
savings of many years in buildings and stock washed away, they came to
us saying they must go as they could no longer pay, but we told them to
wait. White-winged missives flew over Uncle Sam's postal way, and back
from many a church and Sunday-school came the needed aid, and--save in
the case of some young men who had to care for helpless ones at
home--none left. From these last came many an interesting story of the
heroic efforts to save life and property. The skill to wield tools,
acquired in our shop, helped many a one to build a "flat" in which
family, stock and furniture could be floated to dry land. Many had to
work night and day up to the waist, sometimes to the neck, in water to
save what might be. It will be a hard year, the coming one, for many in
the parishes of this State, though no doubt work will be plenty as soon
as the water is down.
Temperance In Tennessee.
------------------------
This is certainly a very interesting field, not going backward but
forward. The temperance reform has made a clean sweep of the whole
village, and in union with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union at the
station is fast pushing the saloons to the wall. The most striking feature
of the case is that they have learned how to work in the absence of their
leader. Two weeks ago last Sabbath night they held their own meeting--a
Bible reading institution among themselves, by the way, at which many were
present--and the old revival spirit broke out afresh to such a degree that
the last of their friends, to the number of eighteen, who still clung to
their cups, made haste to sign the pledge of total abstinence.
Items.
------
Letter From A Graduate Of Straight University.
There was an examination held in this city recently for clerkships at
Washington. The announcement of it in the newspapers and the certainty of
the successful applicants receiving appointments drew a large number of
young men to the examination, among whom were Tulane University graduates
and several principals of high schools. I had the honor of sustaining the
reputation of "Old Straight," by leading the list. The affair created much
local excitement and the name of Straight University is commanding much
respect. I am pleased at the prospect of the increased opportunities a
residence at Washington will afford me for the prosecution of my medical
studies.
* * * * *
Fisk University is well represented in the journalistic world, says the
_Tennessee Star_. The following graduates are pushing the quill: S.A.
McElwee and W.A. Crosthwait, editors of the _Nashville Tribune_; H.C. Gray,
editor of the _Galveston Test_; R.S. Holloway, associate editor of the
_Dallas Tribune_, and Geo. T. Robinson, editor of the _Star_.
* * * * *
We print this letter from a boy who wants to go to school. We
give it just as he wrote it, and hope to have the privilege of
printing a letter from him five years hence with a view to the
contrast.
Augst 25th.
Mr. Proseser D.:
Der ser i hav bin in form of the ---- coldge and is it quite a distant and
i thout i would rite you afew lines i want you to write to me how i can
get Bord and what it will cost me a week or a munth and what is tuisson I
want to noe before i come and i want to start in a short time rite to me
all about it i will ickspeck anser soon, and Adress me.
When I start in I want to goe 2 sesson's before I stop i think can conplet
most of inlesh studys in that time.
Does The Lord Understand His Business?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rev. J.H.H. Sengstacke.
THEN.
All through the early spring I heard complaints as follows: "The season is
against us and we shall not make anything." "Unless a change we must
starve." The season paid no attention to complaints but kept right on.
Now.
To-day God has blessed all with a good crop; plenty to eat and plenty to
sell. What next? The grumbling still continues. "There is so much that we
cannot get a high price for our produce."
* * * * *
If "resemble" means like, as one of the girls found when consulting the
dictionary, why is it not proper to say as she did, "I 'resemble' very
much to be at home?"
* * * * *
Letters From Very Little Pupils.
................................
_My dear teacher_:--I would like to have grace and truth before God, and I
hope I am now his little girl.--LUCY.
_Dear teacher_:--I want religion.--ARTELIA.
_My dear teacher_:--If I had my choice of anything I wanted, I would
choose a Christian life, so when I came to die I would die in Jesus, like
Daisy Holt died.--ROXY.
* * * * *
Pictures In The Pines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prof. Amos W. Farnham.
In the Sunny South, in the Land of Pines,
Is a whitewashed cottage, old and grand;
Its ample grounds of jessamine vines,
Are bright with crystals of sparkling sand.
Broad stairways lead to its airy hall
And cool piazzas, where the sun
His shining arrows ne'er lets fall
Till his daily race is almost run.
Within are walls of panels high,
And great fire-places that laugh at night,
When the blazing splinters of lightwood fry
And wrap the rooms in a flood of light.
'Tis then the cabins in the rear,
Low and little and plain and old,
Are vocal with the Negro'a cheer,
For his heart is light when the day is told.
But there's one who sits from the rest apart,
With folded hands and turbaned head,
With a nameless burden upon her heart,
And the light of youth forever fled.
And she sits a swaying to and fro,
Like the billowy pine with plume and cone,
While a minor strain subdued and slow,
She sings in a plaintive monotone:
("I'm mos' don' a trablin' an' I boun'
To carry my sould to Jesus
I'm mos' don' a trablin' an' I boun'
To carry my sould to de Lord.")
Then 'neath the whitewashed cottage vines,
From its window that looks on the dying day,
I gaze at the pictures in the pines,
Made by their plumes and cones of gray.
'Mong the leafy pictures is a crown,
Bedecked with a brightly shining star,
By angel hands held out and down
From the western gate that stands ajar.
My crown is bright when the year is new,
Nor changes, when its frosts appear:
For the star still shines in its ground of blue,
And the pine tree lives when the rest are sere.
From the pine my thoughts ascend above
To the Tree of LIfe that Heaven adorns;
From the star to the Star of my Saviour's Love,
That grandly shone in a crown of thorns.
Oh, Star of Love, thy beams shall guide
Me through the shadows of earth and sin,
Till Heaven's gate shall open wide
To let thy weary follower in.
I note the onward march of time
By the Negro's songs and the lightwood's glare,
And know I'm nearing the happy clime
And the starry crown that I shall wear.
The Indians.
============
Mr. Shelton At Northfield Again.
--------------------------------
Mr Moody is nothing if not practical, and when he undertakes a
thing he is apt to push it through. We give below another
pleasant illustration of this. Our readers will remember that
Rev. C.W. Shelton two years ago made an address at the great
Missionary Meeting at Northfield, Mass., which touched the
sympathies of the audience and moved Mr. Moody at once to "do
something about it." Under his inspiration three thousand five
hundred dollars were raised to establish several new Indian
mission stations in Dakota.
At Mr. Moody's solicitation, Mr. Shelton attended the
Northfield Missionary Meeting this year, making report of what
had been done with the money given before. The enthusiasm of
the audience was again kindled, with a result which we give
below, condensing the sketch of the meeting as given in the
_Springfield Union_.
The meeting opened with prayer by Major D.W. Whittle, and then Rev C.W.
Shelton of New York City, who is connected with the American Missionary
Association, spoke about the work among the Indians. He said that two
years ago the people of Northfield gave money enough to establish five
mission stations; and he would first report on the work in those missions.
The first one had been established one hundred and fifty miles northwest
of Bismarck, and was called the Moody station. Having found two classes of
people thirty miles apart, both of whom seemed to be equally in need, we
had been in doubt as to where to plant the station; but finally a man was
found whose parentage included both nations, and who was willing and able
to preach to both in their own language. We had, therefore, started two
stations, calling them both by the same name, and with this man managing
them. People had told him that he couldn't do anything in the interior of
the country occupied by the Indians, but he described his meeting with the
Indians at that remote place, and their willingness to receive the gospel,
one of the chiefs finally saying to him: "When you go back I want you to
take that man by the hand that sent that school and thank him, and tell
him that we will try to live like the white man." The speaker accordingly
took Mr. Moody's hand and thanked him in those words, raising a perfect
storm of applause by so doing.
The next mission was called the Frederick Darling Memorial mission, and
was established sixty miles below Bismarck. There was good work going on
there. Sixty miles farther down still there was located the Robert
Remington Memorial mission, and the reservation had since then been opened
up for settlement, as they had prophesied, and, as the Indians came up the
valley, driven out from their homes, there stood a man at the door of the
mission, who invited them in, and so to-day there were gathering round
that mission hundreds of Indians, forsaking their tepees, building their
houses and taking the first steps toward civilization.
On Cherry Creek, the Sankey mission was located, and, although it was not
two years since that work was begun, they had a church of about forty
members.
The funds for the Northfield mission were given by quite a number of
people here and the Indians who could be reached by it from the opening of
the reservation during the last few months had nearly doubled. They had
organized one church only a few weeks ago some distance off, and expected
to organize another there within a few months.
"What do you want now?" said Mr. Moody at this point. Mr. Shelton replied:
"We haven't a dollar for carrying on a single one of these missions after
the first of September. It costs from $300 to $350 to carry each of them
on. But I believe that God has started this work and will carry it on. Let
me add a word with regard to the whole Indian problem. It is not the
problem I presented to you two years ago; it has changed in the two years,
and, thank God, it will change in two years more, if we do the work we
ought to. Do we realize that our Indians are getting beyond the wild life?
Forty thousand Indian people have come out of the tepee life into little
homes that these Indian men have built for themselves, taking their people
forward toward Christ. We talk of the Indian in his paint and blanket,
forgetting that he is coming forth into life. His game is gone, his wild
roving life is gone, his reservation is going. They understand their
position; the old life is back of them forever. What is before them? Old
Gall showed a scar reaching from his shoulder to his hip, and said: 'A
white man gave me that; shall I trust him, dare I trust him, can I trust
him?' The Indian takes a step ahead, and stops and trembles, doesn't know
if he dare take another.
"Do you want to know the solution of the Indian problem to-day? In
Christ's love take the Indians by the hand and lead them out into the same
light, the same love, and to the same Christ that you have. You can talk
about the government and land in severalty. Grand and good as these are,
the first and all-important thing in that problem is the gospel of Christ.
It must do it, it can do it, it is doing it, it will do it. The Women's
Missionary Societies of fifteen Indian churches gave $200 more for home
missionary work outside themselves than the Women's Missionary Societies
in one hundred and forty churches of white people in the same time. They
have Christian Endeavor societies there, and all kinds of Christian work.
I saw one morning delegates from the Christian Endeavor Society going out
to teach a white Sunday-school nine miles off in one direction, and
another similar school four and one-half miles off in another.
"It is said that the young people will go back to the blanket. In ten
years we have had only one case of that in our Santee school, and that was
the case of a young girl who had only been in the school six months; 95
per cent. of all that come to the schools go back consecrated young men
and women.