Evening star., 1901-06-29
Methodist Minister Drives 280 Miles
to Attend Conference.
HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE JOURNEY
Encounters Obstacles and is Dis
turbed by Lions and Coyotes.
IN TIL E IDAHO ILLS

copal conference which met at Boise City,
Idaho, not long ago Bishop John H Vim
cent noticed on the street a wagon and
horse and family which attracted his at
tention and greatly interested him. Upon
inquiry he learned that a pastor a MEM
Der of the Idaho conference, his wife and
their five children had come $50 miles with
that team to conference The lady he
found to be very bright and interesting,
and the minister was one of the strongest
and most successful men In the conference.
Bishop Vincent insisted before the confer
ence closed that letter be written him by
the lady herself or her husband, the pas
tor. giving an account of the journey they
had made, which was from Salmon City
to Boise City In response to this request
the pastor sent the letter. a copy of which
has been received in Washington and is
as follows:
Seventy Miles From Railroad.
Salmon City, Idaho, is seventy miles
from railroad. 1t is busy little town,
almost isolated from the great throbbing
world Of society. We have no ministerial
neighbor nearer than sixty miles on the
east, the same distance on the south,
eighty miles on the north and 200 miles on
the west These brethren, with one excep-
tion. are unknown by us. The presiding
elders semi-annual visits are the only min
isterial ones that we may expect during
the year. The periodicals that weekly
reach our desk keep us informed of dates
OF associations and assemblies, but time,
distance and lack Of means forbid the at
tendance Of the lonely, isolated pastor. So
we look forward to the annual conference
with more than ordinary anticipations.
The wife usually feels the deprivation and
longs for some Christian gathering where
her husband will not have to do all the
talking. We are this year 600 miles from
the seat Of the conference by rail and $50
by wagon road. After due deliberation 1t
was decided that the whole family should
attend.
"a wagon and safe team are soon secur-
ed, SO we will make the trip kind Of sum-
mers outing, with all the enjoyment posi-
BILE. The wagon road passes through and
over the mountains, and it is known as
dangerous one for team and wagon; but
1t Is a drive through scenery said by some
to be unequaled outside of the Yellowstone
Park We provide ourselves with tent and
camping outfit, including all needed eat
ables. Six miles from home we enter the
Salmon River canyon, with its perpendicu-
lar walls of solid rock. It's beautiful streams
and its roadway cut out by the rivers
side, now rising fifty feet above the stream,
with only few inches of margin between
the wheel track and the edge Of the cliff
that overhangs the water, again descending
to the rivers level and in all places re-
quiring careful driving.
Tons of Rock in the Way.
AT one place we encountered a mass
Of rock. several tons, that had fallen
from the mountain side to our
roadway, and there was no way to
avoid it, for the road is not more than
six feet wide The mountain horse will
without concern Chamber over that mass
while it slips and slides beneath his feet,
but the tilting of the wagon toward the
cliff, where below flowed a river deep
enough to swallow up team. wagon and ALL
gave a moment Of anxiety rather than of
pleasure
"At one point the canyon made a magnif-
cent picture, its rocky walls towering hun
dreds Of feet high. and because Of the
narrowness and an abrupt turn in the
stream, they seem to come together in one
solid bank. The stranger must here travel
by faith rather than sight as there Is no
visible way out Of this rock-bound prison.
Each mile reveals new scenes. Now we
have left the canyon and climbed to a point
hundreds Of feet above the river, without
tree or shrub to break a fall should
one be reckless enough to meet with an
accident that would precipitate him toward
the stream.
when sixty miles from home we reach
Challis. a small mining supply town.
daily mail route is established from here to
Blackfoot, station on the railroad 10y
miles away. From Challis our road still
follows the Salmon river, and again and
again we find it leading up and down rocky
heights that would make the uninitiated nerv-
Gus to even walk over. Sometimes. through
fear Of accident, the family were unloaded
to walk over the most dangerous part, and
at others, because Of the steepnesS OF the
hill. we again walk while the horses strain
with all their strength to move the almost
empty wagon ten feet at pull.
Snow-CIad Peaks.
while at a high altitude we encoun-
tered three days of disagreeable weather
o{n nd but almost forgot
our discomfort in the beauty Of the pic
lures made by the pines green boughs
shining through the spotless white snow as
it rested on trees and bushes.
"At Clayton another mining camp, we
reach the limit of the stage line; a little
further on we enter upon a strip OF road
of 100 miles without a settlement. I shall
always remembered this road with pleasure.
for lived four days Of my ministerial life
without spending even mill, thing
that seldom occurs in the history of any
preacher There are few proSpectors and
hunters struggling through the mountains,
and an occasional traveller. We are now
passing through one Of the most scenic
parts Of 1daho,mountains covered with
pine timber, sparkling streams, deep gorges
and open plateaus with placid lakes. 1t
was up here, seventy-five miles from
blacksmith shop, that an accident hap
made us think that possibly we would have
to convert the wagon into cart for the
use of wife, babies and baggage This
would have so limited the carrying capac-
ity as to make 1t necessary for the re-
mainder Of the party to walk out Of the
woods. But in true western style we
bound that wheel from rim to rim with
poles, placing them over the hubs end and
fastening them to the rim with wire that
we had brought for emergencies Thus
logged up we ran the wagon seventy-flvs
miles.
"One morning. when wife and children
were walking they came upon a herd Of
range cattle. In an instant 100 heads were
raised, and 400 feet began a quick march
toward our travellers who in turn scam
pered toward the wagon which hastened on
to meet them. When inside the wagon all
danger was over. The range cattle have
all respect for man seated on horse
with a rope at the saddle horn and re-
volver strapped to his waist, but the foot
man is a thing to be ignored or trampled
to death at will.
Heard the Coyotes.
1.-THE first part of one night we were kept
awake by the bark of coyotes. One unused
to their ways and capacity for noise would
be deceived into thinking that dozen were
barking at once. when really two half