The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-07-27

! Sdyc.
3 / love the Methodist church in En-.
| poria the more, perhaps, because to he
! | was given some of the best years of mn
1 life-years full of labor, care and sacri
0 fee. Il covered a period of drouth, o
l grasshoppers, of war, of Q1antrell raid
and of Indian scares-a day of darkness.
and thick clouds. Aiy first visit to En-
poria was made twenty three years ago
last spring 1t was a time of great rair
and flood. / left the eastern part OF tht
then territory and travelled on horse
back, crossing swollen streams by swim
ming them, till arrived at Forest Hill,
then a city in prospect. l hunted the
, few Methodists l could fluid and left an
!, appointment for the following Sabbath
The NeOShO river was bank full and
i running over. / followed up on the
north side and crossed the old townsite
of Fremont, then an ambitious rival o!
Emporia for the county.seat, till got
to Thomas Shockley's, on Allen creek
Brother Shockley was pioneer Meth
odist of Kansas, and his house was q
"preaching place" as we'll as Il home
for the preacher. As we could not reach
Emporia that day we were entreated &C.
stop over night, and brother 5. INVITED
his neighbors to come to his house that
evening for religious services, where We
| ho0 al OASASAeJ " s--A0 w MIN va
the better way and life
The next morning we mounted our
faithful horse and started for Emporia,
as we supposed that, by that time, we
might be able to cross the river, for il
had ceased raining. We got to the
stream early in the day at what was
then known as the clicks ford" north
from Emporia The river was full, but
was falling fast. l stopped all day on
its banks without anything to eat, hoping
that by night could cross over TO EN-
poria without swimming. Many times
during the day l went to measure the
bank to the water to sec how fast il was
falling. BY shutdown 1t had fallen six
feet, but then as the water covered the
entire channel OF the stream from bank
to bank l thought there must be still
from twelve to fifteen feet of wafer,
which was running rapidly, and TO me
il seemed angry and threatening. AS ]
had been SO greatly hindered by rain
and high water my time to return home
was drawing very near, and if / visited
| Emporia-my work. must cross the
river that night. l was in this matter
| like Paul ain a strait between two"
| What to do, was matter of great doubt
as well as anxiety. On the one hand the
rapid stream seemed so threatening; on
the other the idea of returning home
without even visiting my work when
was near, after having travelled so far, l
| could not think of. | could not swim
but depended on my horse to take me
over. 1t would soon be dark. What l
| did must be done at once. A glance at
| the dark waters would cause u shudder
TO come over INC rs | thought of the pos
| sible contingency of horse and rider
sinking beneath the dark waters and no
one lett to bear any tidings TO an anxious,
loving wife, expecting soon 10 be glad
dened by my return. My success in
swimming the smaller streams on the
way gave me courage, and feeling Il
high, holy purpose to zealously prose
cute the work which the church, under
God, gave me to do, and the glorious re-
ward OF the faithful workers on the eter-
nal shore beyond the dark waters so
| filed my earnest nature that deter
mined not 10 let so Insignificant stream
as the Neosho lay between me and my
work. Committing myself and my vile,
| in distant part of the territory, TO His
| care in whose work | was engaged, l
began to adjust my things for crossing
over. put my gum coat on my saddle
beneath me so as not tn have it TO en-
cumber me If / got off my horse in the
| water. A large carpet-sack containing
Bible and hymnbook, and some wearing
apparel, / hardly knew what 10 do with.
| first thought I would fasien il 10 my
neck, and then it occurred to me that il
| might prove to be, in the water, mill
stone about my neck" of which we read
In the Bible. Finally / disposed Of it
by clenching the handles of it in my
| teeth, So as TO give me the use of both
hands to guide my horse So arranged
urged my horse, very much against
his will, into the river. No sooner in
than we were carried rapidly down
| stream by the swift current till We land
| ed against some young sycamores that
| had grown upon bar in the river My
| horse struggled a long time for what
seemed to me long, to disentangle him.
self from them. After Kidding himself
| of the sycamores he swan for the shore
| but was carried downward by the current
| till he landed against the bank some dis
lance below the road, hanging to the
bank by his fore feet 10 rest. l sprang
| from the saddle to the bank with the
halter rein and placed my heels well in
the ground for strong pull so soon as
| my horse got sufficiently rested to make
! an effort The final effort was made,
and horse and rider were safely ON the
Emporia side of the river, minus the
gum coat, which was carried off some
| where in crossing, the writer being too
much engaged IN greater concerns To
notice such small matters.
| mounted my horse and started for
town; but being a stranger, and not hay-
| ing the name of single member of the
church residing there. and but $1.25 in
money, concluded to turn my course
| southwest on the Cottonwood in the
Lockerman neighbOrhood, TO where
brother Hadley lived, who was reported
as steward, for il was then getting dark
and | could not take the risk and suffer
the modification of not having money
enough TO pay my hotel bill. Ii is true
/ had the name of a man by the name of
/ Cox, blacksmith, who was reported to
me as a "friendn to the church, and
whom afierward found To be so, whose
| wife was an earnest, faithful member of
| the church. He was a devoted member
/ of the Democratic party, but good
| brother law of the church as well.
| Long after dark-and such darkness as
/ il was! 1t could be felt as we'll as seen
| / CROPPED my way from place 10 place in
| search of a Methodist family 10 stop
with. Wet and hungry, came to the
house of q man by the name of Odell.
/ Here learned that the Methodist stew
| ard had gone to Kansas City. | stopped
with friend 0dell, whose good wife got
/ up flor she had gone to bed and got me
some supper. ] found him TO be very
| intelligent North Carolinian and great
talker. Some time afterwards he was
converted and Joined The church. He
died some fifteen years since, ana hope
and believe lie is in the land Of The i'm
mortal.
The next day reached Emporia and
/ found four members ofthc ciiurch-thTee
| women. two of whom were widows, and
one man, an old bachelor. These
| Methodists seemed as glad 20 see me as
| though I had been an old friend re-
turned to them after many years of alb
sence. Even my good Democratic
| brother-in-l law, friend Cox, united with
| his good wife TO make my stay at their
house as pleasant as possible. This was
nv first year in the cnnference at EN-
/ poria. With this small beginning we
laid the foundation of the old stone
church; and rs every body was poor ia
i those DAYS and had nothing to give, il
| was a large undertaking for thai day.
Some said it would never be finished.
Others said that if it should be finished
there would never be people enough in
| Emporia to fill It. Soon after the foun-
datiOn was laid the terrible drouth Of
1860 followed and nearly depopuIaled
town and county for 3 time. This was
followed by the war and hard times, but
/ in those dark hours God sent us
some heroic men and women. Among
the heroic faithful band ] nov recall
brother and sister GilIetf from the West
Iern reserve the new England of Ohio.
These were faithful, devoted MEM
bers of the church IN the dark
days. But these with Father
and Mother Bryant and Father Weaver
with other faithful ones have long since
entered the s'church triumphant -
Father Viewers remains rest on the