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

ing these subscriptions, Mrs. Emnlons and
i visited every saloon I'm. town. We were
received with the greatest, respect. +, The
barkeaperss nearly Sall proffered. us.Jglasses
Of lemonade. Mr.John Mason, who sub.
scribed literally. offered us vine. The
gamblers would not sign the paper, but
gave their money down. One of them who
had no ,money took from the table before
him number of round pieces of rel and blue
ivory, about the size of the old fashioned
cent, but heavier, which he sold to the bar
keeper for SIS, and gave us the money. MI.
Emmons told us afterwards that they were
''chips" and explained their use.
As may be supposed, we did not appeal
to the religious sentiments of this class of
men, in taking these subscriptions. We
simply referred to their own public spirit,
and spoke of the benefit the church would
be to the own in bringing in the settlers
and the answer invaribly was "Yes, Pm in
for anything that will help the town.
The church was built on it's present To-
cation, and when the first graveyard
had been made. all the bodies were now
taken up and reburled OF a knoll north of
the city, near the present site of the state
house.
John w. Fisher did most of the carpenter
work on the new church." l. W.
Adams also worked on the church build
ing. When it was nearly finished, Rev. 1.
0. Sloan of Philadelphia devoted mis-
sionary, and a man of most gentle and
| EinNlv opir,f uurc oo)lnl 81 xlo o,A.~ok
in which he labored faithfully for many,
years.
The place of meeting of the Sunday
school was then changed. from the Congre-
gationalist to thePresbyterian church, and
the library and other property of the Sun
day school was moved over there. Then
the Catholics organized a Sunday school of
their own. The Congregalionalist mission
was abandoned, aud the building used for
the day school. J. then resigned my office
as superintendent of the "UniU Sunday
School of Bismarck" and the school was
recognized as the presbyterian Sunday
School of Bismarck" 1. G.: Adams was
elected superintendent, but was soon sue
ceeded by.H. F. Douglas, and later by John
w. Fisher.
A ladies' mite society was formed Dec.
18th 1873, with Mrs. R. R. Marsh, one of
the pioneer ladies, as president, who was
in time succeeded by Mrs. w. B. Shaw, a
popular and accomplished lady. In Sept.
1874, the ladies gave a fair in the church, to
raise money to furnish it. There was riv-
airy among the saloon keepers, as to which
of them should purchase the most fancy
articles. The gamblers bought up the
fancy aprons b. wholesale and distributed
them among the girls on Fourth street.
Mrs. Sinhlser, Mrs. w. S. Brown and
Mrs. Hugh Sang had a table for the sale OF
fancy articles, n Jack White eclipsed
all rivals by paying $75 for the whole az.
gregation Of pincushions and penwipers
which he then gave back to the ladies ia
be sold again for the benefit of the church
This unusual generosity on the part of a
class not noted for support of church en-.
terprises, arose from the fact that the
Presbyterians had devoted themselves ex.
clusively to the temporal upbuilding Of
their church. Their policy was to con.
denim sin in the abstract only. They were
careful not to antag0nize the saloon ele.
ment by opposing their business. Thus
the good will and support of the public
houses were retained and the church pros.
pered financially.
In the spring of 187S,two Methodist evan.
gelists visited Bismarck. They held street
meetings. and severely denounced the
saloon keepers and gamblers. They re-
ceived encouragement from the church
people, and the saloon keepers under the
leadership of Jack White, organized and
drove them out of town. After Jack
Whites death in 1876 he was buried in the
Presbyterian c%hurchyard, but the report
that the congregation at that time contem.
plated giving him a memorial window in
the church, probably originated in the
same quarter as the stories relative tc
"The first Sermon"
A Catholic ehurch 81 it. by S8ft. wa
erected in Bismarck In 1873, under the
supervision Of Rev. Father j. B. M. Genin
a member of the French society called the
Estates of st. Mary the immaculate. He
and his reverend confreres, Simonia, La
HAOOh 0Au 1OuldLlu udu Uc6u aI WOrk
among the Indian, half breeds and later i'm
migrants of Northern Dakota since 1867
Father Genin had built churches at all
the principal points along the Northern
Pacific railroad, Duluth, Moorhead ano
Brainerd, before coming to Bismarck, and
other priests afterwards came to his assist
ance. With the sisters of charity from Mon
treal, he resided among the Indians at
Fort Totten. A priests house, and a resi-
dence for Benedictine sisters were after
wards built by the side Of the church in
Bismarck. A Benedictine father from St
Meinrads Abbey, Indiana, who was the1
engaged in e%vangeliEing the Indians a,
Standing Rock, and who visitedthem every
month, the Catholics at Fort Rice and Lin
coln.c collected $500 OF: the amount to build
them, at the military forts on the Missouri.
Father Genin was a learned and accom-.
plished gentleman-speaking fiuently the
modern languages, and was conversant
with all the Indian dialects Of the north.
west. He was greatly beloved by the
II ninnanrS Gan pnnnInc offarunrd e M va,