The Dickinson press., 1908-11-21
G. co|dstein

the Northern Pacific building parallel
lines north and south of their main road,
these branches will traverse all four of
the counties.
A year and a half ago, there was not
a school house in the four counties I have
mentioned, and now there are over sixty
buildings with school in every one.
For months at a time, within the last
three years, a hundred car loads of i'm
migrant goods per month were unloaded
at Dickinson, Richardton and Glen Ullin,
while other stations between the Mis-
souri, river and Montana were the GATE
ways for hundreds of car loads more. l
have known a whole township. thirty
six square miles of territory, to be set
tied within two weeks. Ten or fifteen
years ago Congregational services were
established at Sentinel Butte. Today
they are %dedicating a church building.
1t is no reflection on the interest or
generosity of the Sentinel Butte people
that it has been so long before a church
ediice has been erected. Until within
the last two or three years there has not
been sufficient development to warrant
such an undertaking. On May 18th,
last l organized a church at Reeder, and
now. in less than five months, they have
a church building almost ready to dedi-
cate. The contrast between Reeder and
Sentinel Butte is not a contrast of inter-
est, activity or ability, but the contrast
shows that l am trying to bring to your
attention the present rapidity of develop
ment and settlement on the Missouri
Slope, as compared with only three or
four years ago.
1t has been my privilege in the last
year and a half to follow into these new
settlements and establish Sunday schools
and churches Or preaching services.
Josiah Strong in his book Our Country
said that a western nan could tell a
story so big that it would take two or
three eastern men to believe it. The
history of the development of the Mis-
souri, Slope, and even of our Congreea-
tional missions on the Missouri Slope
would make such a story.
One and a half years ago we had
English services established at Ellis,
Glen Ullin, Richardton, Dickinson,
Sentinel Butte, Beach and occasionally
a service at Medora, and possibly in
one or two other places. Now, in ad-
dition to the above, we have servsces
established at Brush Creek. Ronda, Bail
ey, Kniferiver, Rocky Butte, New Eng
land, Prairie Chapel, Horswill, Twin
Buttes, Howser, Hoosier, Rosevale,
Eastman, Frey, Showers. Rogers, Flash
er, Leigh, eipzie. Petrol, or Gilstrap,
Haynes, Hettinger, Bucyrus. Reeder,
Gascoyne, Bowman. Rhame. Marmarth
and several other places. Rev. G. j..
Powell. our state superintendent of
Home Missions, said recently in a pub
lie address, that in the whole history
of Congregationalism in America, he
doubted if there had ever been such an
expansion of missionary work in the
same length of time and in the same
extent of territory, as the missionary
work on the Missouri Slope in the last
year and a half. This expansion has
been made possible because of the
with which the country has
been settled. ..,.
We are far enough away from the
beginning of our work to note some of
the developments. I have been think
ing of the results of one weeks work.
A year ADO last spring l organized a
church at Gilstrap and a Sunday school.
The work there has 1ourished from the
beginning. The same week we started
Sunday school al what is now Haynes
In four months it developed into a
church organization. They now have a
Aid and Christian Endeavor
The same week we organized
a church and Sunday school at Hettinger.
There were at the time only two tents
and two or three small shacks to make
the town. We held services in the bank
building, which was not yet finished.
| purchased the first article of merchan-
disc ever sold in Hettinger. 1t was from
Bookman, a merchant from Dickin-
son. We now have a church building
in process of erection at Hettinger. And
as you all know the town has become a
county seat and has a court house, about
fifty business places. ten lawyers, and a
of fine residences. The next
week we organized a church at Bowman.
The townsite was not yet located. There
was no railroad and only two or three
buildings. 1t is now a county seat town
on the railroad. It. has forty or fifty
business places. A cement block court
house and cement school building. 1t
has grown 20 rapidly that a new lot sale
was necessary and they sold $14, 600
worth of lots to accommodate the expan-
sion. We have a fine church site paid