The Press., 1898-02-17
LETTER FROM COLORADO.

The following extract is from letter from a missionary at Flagler. Col, sent in acknowledgment of missionary bar rel sent by the Congregational churches of West Stafford and Staffordville:
 Flagler, Col, Jan. %, 1898. need not say that your love and sacri- flee in behalf of unknown and distant fel- low-workers in the Masters vineyard is , deeply appreciated. Everything sent finds it's place of usefulness in the missionary's house, and the goods, both new and sec- ond- d-hand, are of so much better quality than we can purchase in the small towns of our western frontier. It will appear l more fully how helpful our missionary barrel is when tell you that we have a family of nine (including wife's father, who now lives with us, ) and salary Of | $400 without a parsonage, and our own
 horses and vehicles to keep for travelling field forty miles long, and in a climate l requiring fires for warming most of eight | months each year. But, while the ma l terial comfort we get from your timely | help is very great, we appreciate 1t most | highly from the encouragement it brings. Our field is isolated. We seldom see an- tnther Congregational Cor other) minister | "xcept once or twice a year at assocfa- tions, wh oh we must travel hundred to O AItJ AAAtOo Io LC0Sus
 F. We have our work in the Great Plains region of Colorado, in the eastern part of the state. It is peopled mostly by cattle | ranchmen. The plains are treeless one could travel far more than across the longest extent of your state and never see a tree or shrub, or what could be i5nstly named a hill. The plains would Seem barren to one from the Mississippi valley or Atlantic slope, but myriads of cattle feed and grow fat on the short but rich buffalo grass, and often live through severe winters with little other feed. Except along the railroad the population Is sparse; in fact, an eastern man would have difficulty in finding any. If you were here 1 could pilot you through a hundred miles of grazing land, and let you use your eyes all you could and you would never see 8 house, or possibly a human being. Our work, of course, is confined to the villages along the lail- road. My field occupies territory around which could draw limits including twice as many square miles as your state, and, excepting one Congregational church of 20 members, served by preacher ranchman, and one monthly appointment by a Methodist preacher, our four small churches are th- only churches, and fur nish all the gospel privileges and do all the gospel work of this vast field. We have room, at least, to grow, you see. We have, as said, four churches, with an az gregate membership of S6 or 87, with our Sunday schools and prayer services. I preach semi-monthly at each church, but only once each Sabbath at each place. except Flagler. But this makes much travel necessary, Let me outline my next ten days work :: I will attend Sun day school at. .Fiagler at 10 a. m. to- mor- row, preach at II, drive 12 miles, with only cold lunch for dinner as ride, preach at ,Aniba at 9 30 p. m., and return the 12 miles, catching supper as I can, and preach again at Flagler at 7.30.
 About Thursday | will go to Claremont, I protracted revival meeting. Then
 mean to work from house pastorally, probably preach at night two or three | times, help to organize Y. P. S. 0. E.,
 preach Sunday at II, drive back toward
 home IA miles, preach at Seibert at 3 D.
 m., and very probably return to FIagler,
 II miles further, to preach, beginning a
 protracted meeting here. This, if you
 will add an occasional spice of blizzard.
 with snow driving in the eyes with blind
 ing fury, through which one must try to
 find his way, will give an idea of our
 work.
 We want to thank you again for your
 part in cheering this sometimes very dis
 couraging work. We are growing some
 in our work, notwithstanding the difficult
 ties of our sparsaly settled region.
 | CHARLES W. SMITH, Missionary.