The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-10
DIR. TAlMAGE'S SERMON.
BY THE REV. FRANK DE WITT TALmAeE. D. D.

cross the American continent because from the far off Willamette valley came the story of the bitter need there was for the gospel of peace to be preached to the Indian war chiefs, with scalping knives and tomahawks at belt, who by their actions said We need the white mans book of heaven. We need the white mans Christ"
 A Strange Quest.
 To describe how that Macedonian cry of helplessness came to Marcus Whitman let me transplant you in imagination back to the little frontier town of St. Louis, Mo, and, like the shadow on the dial of Ahaz, turn back time until the year 1882. We will suppose, in order to make the wild wierd scene we are about to des- cribe more vivid. that the old Indian fighter and territorial governor up to 1921 and the United States superintendent of the Indians from 1921 to 1885, General William Clark, is spending a social eve ming with two of his old friends, who followed Lewis and himself on their fa- nous journey of the far northwest. Sud- denly a messenger raps at the door In answer to the gruff call, Come In, there enter four Flathead Indians. Two of them are aged warriors, two young stalwart braves. .Where are you from my men?" asked the general, cycling them from head to foot. From the murmuring waters of the Columbia? Impossible. From the Pacific shores? Nay, nay that cannot be. For what did you come? For the white mans book of heaven? What. didst thou have to travel 5000 miles to hunt up the white mans book of heaven when the representatives of the Hudson Bay company have for years been buy ing your furs? Yes answered the Neg Perces Indians. we have come 3,O00 miles for the white mans book of heav- en. Will you give 1t us?" But, though the three wise men coming to seek the new born king in the Jerusalem capital never made more stir than did the four Flathead Indians coming to find the white mans Christ in the Missouri from tier town of 1882, yet even there in that St. Louis frontier town they could not lind the white mans book of heaven. These Flathead Indians found there the white mans sins, but not the white mans God.
 Let me now lead to you the strangest valedictory ever given at any place. The two older Indians who came on this mis- sion of seeking the white mans God nad cied When the two younger braves were about to depart for their own faraway wigwa.ns one of them in Indian elo- ouence spake these words. which were published in the l'ttle frontier paper of that time: q came to you over the trail of many moons from the setting sum- You were the friends of my fathers, who have all gone the long way. came with an eye partly opened for more light for my people, who sit in darkness. go back with both eyes closed. How can l go back blind to my blind people who sit in dark ness? I made my way to you with strong arms thr ough many enemies and strange lands that I might carry back much to them. I go back with both arms broken and empty. My people sent me to get the white mans book of heaven. You took me where you allow your wo- men to dance as we do not ours. and the book was not there. You took me where they worship the great spirit with candles. and the book was not there. You showed me the images of -ie good spirit and the rictures of the good land beyond. but the book was not among them to tell us the way. am going back othe long sad trail to my people of the dark land. You make my feet heavy with gifts, and my moccasins will grow cid in carrying them. yet the book Is not among them. When tell my poor blind people after one more moon in the big council that I did not bring the book To word will be spoken by our old men or