Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-01-30
For the Advertiser.

Dear. Advertiser, After my return
with my family from Arkansas, I wrote
you on the 18th November. last, an ac-
count Of my trip, which 7 suppose did
not reach you. .a.sa:.tii,as g. H9%i!n..
Since then I have. been highly favored
of the Lord in my work in Miami. Our
Church has been revived and much en-
couraged, ina series of meetings which
continued for three weeks, twice each
day. At its close we baptized nineteen
happy converts, which added to the
number, seventeen, which had been
baptized during the summer, make
thirty.six since became pastor of the
Church. ''''l-' - -. " '-''..
The Lord laid his hand upon me In
your State about year ago, and put me
down in this place and my life has been
attended with remarkable displays Of
his mercy from that time to this. OF
these, have not time now, nor you
space for an enumeration. ~ -
Since November 10th; we have had
winter indeed, at least in this part of
Missouri. Our Thermometer has stood
as low as twenty-five degrees below zero.
During the last four weeks our weather
has been generally somewhat milder,
yet freezing cold, and the fall of snow
twenty-five inches, twelve inches Of
which fell in one day, Jan. &.
In places it is drifted in beds to depth
of six feet; and now the clouds and all
aspects of the weather indicate more
snow. The Holdest inhabitant' remem-
bers only two SHOWS in our State as deep
as this now is; one about seventeen, and
the other about thirty.five years ago.
About month ago our River became
gorged with thin floating ice. Within
forty hours from that time, men were
walking across the River on the ice, and
within about three days men were dri-
wing two-horse teams across, and droves
of hogs were crossing; and the Miami
pastor, to enjoy the novelty of crossing
River on ice, felt impelled to lead his
wife and babe across and back. They
did not need to be led however; ice un-
der their feet seemed so much like
rock, that they began at once to move
with perfect sang:troid.
Now, the ice is safe for any common
team, and much hauling is done on it.
Walking or riding over it1yon would
.imagine that tthgz RIvefis a solid nruse-es
ice; but no, You might see squads OF
men in various directions cutting ice, Let
US turn aside and see. Some men are
scraping and piling up snowi some are
running cross-cut saws, one end down
in the River, and some with ice-hooks
arc pulling the great blocks from the
water as they are fioated down by the
rapid current to the end of q long gap
which has been made by taking out the
ice. These blocks are about two and a
half feet long and sixteen inches square.
We ask, is 1t possible that this ice is
only sixteen inches in thickness, and
one of the men replies "Ycs, here in the
current, near the edge it is not more
than two feet thick" Where men are
thus cutting, the water of the River is
within half an inch of the top of the ice.
The men stand, and even the wagons
pass near its edge. We express surprise
that such loads do not break off the ice,
and our attention is called to six loads of
ice gotten up and laid near the edge, and
we are told that if we were to. pile six
loads more there, it would not crack the |
solid sheet of ice on the water.
What trip the waters of that old Riv-
or are making now, from Montana to ST.
Louis-further than from me to you,-I
under that great sheet of ice!
An old Confederate would call this
"going into winter quarters" thing |
which many of US. as soldiers desired
long, but did not live to zee.
and Mrs. n. and Lula are quite we'll.
Very truly yours,
> E. W. HORNE.