Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-02-23
CHAPTER Kill.

Kill.
CHuRCH BUILDING ON THE FRONTIER.
H.F. Douglas was a nephew of Hon. VIM.
Window Of Minnesota, and then deputy
collector of customs, and with the esti-
mabIe lady, whom he afterward married,
he was q credit to the church and to the
new city.
Col. G. A. Lounsberry is too we'll known
as the founder of the Bismarck TRIBUNE +,
to need an introduction. This influential
newspaper is now one of the leading jour
nails of North Dakota, and to have been its
founder and controlling spirit during the
early formative period of this country, is
an honorable fame.
A third service was held by Rev. Lyon
afterwards in the express Office, now a
laundry on the corner of Meigs and Third
street. In his sermon he bitterly attacked
the COngregatiOnlists for attempting to
build a church in Bismarck, claiming that
it was a breach OF an agreement, made be-
tween the two missionary societies, that
each should take an alternate, town on the
line of the Northern Pacific railroad. as a
field for their respective missionaries, and
claiming that there was not room enough
in Bismarck for two churches. A brother
of General o. O.. Howard was present with
us that day, and after the sermon he arose
and spoke gently of the beauty of harmony
among the Lords people, and of the great
need of laborers in these new western
fields. He also addressed the Sunday
school at the same place in the afternoon.
Among the passengers who arrived on
tile early construction trains, was H. N.
Gates, accompanied by his wife. They
brought with them from Duluth the new
Congregational church, already framed
and ready to be set up. The $40 I had
guaranteed was collected in one day, mer-
chants, saloon keepers and gamblers all
contributed, and the building was erected
ION the southwest corner of the present
court house square. The work was done
by the carpenter Arm of Hackett & Dut-
ton. and the lumber for finishing was
bought of J. R. Jackson, agent for the Ed
winton Lumber company, that was then
kept gu the place where the Weaver Lum-
Der company was afterwards located. Mr..
OdGCS lc1O SCltlCCS Lie ouuudy lOllO"luS
his arrival, in the unfinished store SOON Of
Mr.. j.. W. Raymond. where Beal's hard
ware store now is.
When the church building was COM
p)eted Mr.. j. A. Emmons brought to me,
as his offering to the new church, a bell
that had long done duty on a Missouri
river steamboat that had been wrecked in
the tide, by the going out of the ice, and !
had the wOrkmen hang it in position late
n Saturday night, so as to pleasantly
surprise the people on the next morning at
church time.
!, Oh! the sound of that Sabbath bell! You
who dwell in the luxury of cities, where
musical bells and tuneful chimes ring out
each Sabbath morn the joyous notes Of
praise! You can never know the swelling
JOY OF heart, with which we heard for the
first time in our desert isolation the sound
of,the 'church-going bellw Heaven seemed
nearer to us then, and through that homely
church and battered bell we seemed to
have established communion with a higher
sphere!
Again was the effort made to organize
a congregation OF the Congregationalist
faith, but again it failed. A sufficient
number of that denomination could not be
found to act as trustees for the church
property, Deacon Mann and his wife who
were members of that church having
Joined the Presbyterians. Mr.. Gates
preached in that house regularly for a
time, and the Sunday school held it's ses-
sions there. Mr.. William Ayllner pre-
scented us with some handsome and appro.
PIRATE. mottos for the school, with which
we adorned the walls of the church build
ing. DR.. j. P. Dunn gave US a handsome
chandelier which was utilized at night
meetings. DR.. Slaughter had previously
purchased for us a little library of 100
volumes. Although these little books were
OF the slightest Juvenile literature, aid in
tended only for the children, etthey were
muchssOught after by the older people
during the long winter when there was
little else to read, and several gamblers
were regular patrons Of the library.
One Sunday in June, after the regular
church services, those present resolved
themselves into a Sunday school meeting
and the following officers and teachers
were elected: Superintendent, Mrs. Linda
NJ. Slaughter; secretary, Col. C. A. Louns-
berry; librarian, Mrs. II. NJ. White; teacher
OF Bib class, Mir. John w. Fisher; inter.
mediate class. MI. Charles F. Hobart:
primary class, Miss Alder Warfeld. At q
subsequent meeting, Mr.. James A. En-
mons was elected treasurer. The school
still retained its ,lon.sectarian character,
despite a strong effort made on this and
other occasions to give it over to the Pres
byterians. Our library now received wei.
come donations OF books, suitable for
grown folks, from the Congregational Mis-
sionary society, through Rev. Fl. IN. Gates.
and from the Third Presbyterian Sabbath
school of Philadelphia, through Rev. D.
z. Lyon. We had an efficient choir, under
the leadership OF Mrs. N, E. Smith, wife Of
First Sergeant Smith OF Co. D, that met
weekly at my house for rehearsal, and the
Sunday school was now the most flourish
ing institution OF the place.