The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1906-12-25

in what the Germans term Bruder-
krieg-a war against brothers; wh9l
Lincoln called for volunteers with the
statement, "In your hands, my dissat-
sG ISL countrymen, and not in mine, isl
the momentous question of civil war
The Government will not assail you.
We are not enemies, but frieEds. II
was the same month in which ,saaN
our civil war by the firing on Fort SUM
Ter that an exploring agent . Of the ~
70 Nevada to establish in this State
an organization that has meant as much
70 the perpetuity of our land as the
Civil war meant to its union. While
our brave generals were leading their
armies over the battle fields of the
for volunteers in Nevada to lead in the
forces of righteousness and the scat
tered workers were thus gathered to-
oether. 1t was on the nineteenth day
Of Nav, 1861, that a public meeting
was called in little stone school-house
in Carson City to organize a society.
Presbyterianism in Nevada. Churches
were then organized shortly afterward
In Virginia CiCty and ASST.
It was not until nine sx,ss later,
however, that the Presbyterian church
reached out to the eastern part of the
State by locating its work first al Eiko.
doubt will be Of interest. The writer
has cleaned from the writings 70 Colo
mel Henry G. Shaw the following:
''It was in 1870 that Rev. John
Brown, then a graduate fresh from the
to take charge Of an organization of
Presbyterians just forming there. He
arrived late one Saturday night.
''On stepping into the railroad depot
and making inquiries for certain gen
tleman, whom he had been told, before
to be a strong pillar of his church, he
was directed to a faro bank. There,
amid the gambling crowd he. found the
"strong pillar gambling with the
boys and evidently one of them. From
the gambling table this young minister
was led by this brother to Sister r..
whom he was Informed he would find
to be true mother in Israel. Sister R.
was a queer mixture, physically, NOR
ally and spiritually-half French and
half Indian. She had some good points,
but they were terribly compounded with
points that were not quite so good. But
for foundation, the young Scotch di
could get in those days. It was pretty
crooked and knotty, but he could get
no better. Next morning he preached
IN the court house to as manly a set of
fellows as could be found anywhere be-
tween the Atlantic and the Pacific.
stumbled over dead Chinaman who
had been shot by one of his fellow
countrymen, and as that was regarded
as matter of small consequence the
body was left where it fell till hole
could be dug somewhere for its recep-
ton. During his first. week in Elko,
Mr. Brown spent his time prospecting,
not for silver, but for proper material
to build a Presbyterian church. He
was convinced that it was there, if he
could only get it mined and separated
from its surroundings. The railroad
company gave him four nice lots, so,
when wiz 3 he stood up to preach on the sec
were going to build a church, and that
hight away. He invited his congrega
t1on to meet him next morning to clear
away the sagabrush. They obeyed the
summons, though there was not a dol
a sn,o nth h. which to begin operations, and
ne crowd was a character known as
Nparson Cook He could drink his
whlskey straight, could hunt Indians,
make brick, build houses, or exhort the
6oys on the street from the top of
a:dry gods box. This rough and shaggy
pioneer rose and declared the church
had to be built; and if he was pied ged
benefit night-that is night to exort
ana take up. a collection when the
church was b,filt-he would give the
orlck and build the foundation. 1t was
unanimously agreed to accept his offer,
ana ana to proclaim the "parson' the
pest fellow in the town. He was as
good as his word, and when the church
vice.
The accompanying cut represents this
same church, the corner stone of which
n was laid aid April A. 2e. 1870. The long
W. the church building In later years.
Several years after John Browns
pastorate, came Rev. J. II. rers, who
mad also some interesting experiences
which have become matters of history.
Of them Colonel Shaw also says:
Elko was a hard place for min
Byers, who preached there long after
Mr.. Brown had left, testifes that the
people, there are. generally kind, but,
asa class, very wicked. Mr.. Byers also
tells good funeral story of Elko. The
Of the Legislature, was buried on june
3, 1876. This was the day the people
OF Elko were expecting the passage
through the town of the famous light
ming train from New York to San Fran
c'S"' The funeral was set for clock
IT, about 4 clock. The bell was tolled
and the church was about half filled
With people, with more coming in sight.
Ihe corpse rested on chairs before the
pulpit. thS pall-bearers and friends of
1he deceased were present and Mr.
byers was in the pulpit selecting hymns
appropriate to the solemn occasion. He
was just rising in the pulpit to begin
d dne services when someone near the
ran, ram is coming To the minister's
utter astonishment there was general
Stampede. Everybody left the church,
oauzens, pall-bearers, friends Of the de-
leased, and the sexton, the minister
dd;;one remaining. As the last mourner