and above all, that by the gospel of Jesus Christ great strides shall be made in bringing the kingdom of God among men, when the earth shall burst forth in its jubilee song, 'Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.'

It was cheering to hear the prolonged applause that greeted these sentiments by the five thousand people who filled every inch of space in the vast Free Trade Hall.

Four Sabbaths at sea! The ocean preached to us of Him of whom it is said: "The sea is his and he made it," We sang of his power and glory, implored his protection and praised his goodness. One quiet evening we were favored with a highly interesting lecture on the missionary work in the Hudson Bay country, among the Indians in Manitoba and on the McKenzie River, by the venerable Archdeacon Kirkby who has given the vigor of a useful life to those regions.

M

VI

BENJAMIN ADAMS SPAULDING

R. SPAULDING was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, January 20, 1815; he died in Ottumwa, Iowa, March 31, 1867. In the distribution of the members of the "Iowa Band,” who came to the territory in 1843, the "New Purchase" was assigned to him. He reached the "Indian Agency," November 10, 1843, five days after his ordination, and was warmly welcomed by the widow of the late Indian agent, General William B. Street. The "agency" was upon a high prairie seven miles east of Ottumwa. The treaty for the "Purchase" had been made there October 11, 1842. By that treaty the Sacs and Foxes agreed to leave the southern part of the "Purchase,” May 1, 1843, when a wave of immigration immediately set in. Mr. Spaulding thus described the situation and his work:

"The frail dwellings, beaten tracks and newly-made graves of the Indians still remained and they were often seen, passing and repassing, carrying away corn which had been raised on their fields, and sometimes lingering about their old hunting grounds, as if unwilling to leave the land which so long had been their home. Meanwhile the busy hand of civilization is hewing down their forest trees, erecting mills upon their rivers and dividing the country into farms. The beauty and fertility of the country, the abundance of timber and the facilities afforded to the manufacturer by the Des Moines and neighboring streams, are drawing together a population which will soon surpass that of most other portions of the western country. My labors have been much scattered and spent rather in sowing seed than gathering fruit.

The greatest obstacle has been the want of suitable places for meeting. There are as yet no public buildings of any kind in my whole field, except a single small schoolhouse; and private dwellings are often inconvenient and cold. The opening of spring will offer new facilities for holding meetings, and we hope will bring with it richer blessings from above." He wrote that the first year of his labors was the most interesting year of his life. He preached in about thirty different places, some of them one hundred miles apart. Upon the invitation of the United States Indian agent he visited Raccoon River Agency at the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, where is now the capital of the state. It was in that portion of the "Purchase" of which the Sacs and Foxes, under the treaty, had the occupancy until 1846. A garrison of about one hundred soldiers with five commissioned offices was stationed these. Farms had been opened along the banks of the Des Moines for the instruction of the Indians. There were also two blacksmiths, two gunsmiths, and some licensed traders, so that the whole American population was nearly two hundred.

"On the Sabbath," said Mr. Spaulding, "I preached to as many as could be crowded into a single room, officers, soldiers, merchants, mechanics, farmers, gentlemen, ladies, children, and servants, both black and white. There had been a good deal of sickness during the summer (1844), and recently a few deaths and there was considerable seriousness in some families. I should visit this place frequently, if other engagements would permit. It has been visited in one or two instances by a Methodist preacher.

"On the Des Moines, in sight of the agency, is a village containing two or three hundred Indians. Their huge bark buildings present a fine appearance in the distance at twilight, but on a nearer approach by day they seem rather the haunts of beasts than abodes of men. Not a tree or shrub, garden or wall, nor the

slightest mark of comfort to be seen; even the wild grass had been beaten by continued tramping till not a blade or root was left; and as the savages were away on a hunting expedition the stillness of death reigned over their desolate homes. There are several other villages on this and the neighboring rivers, containing in all about twenty-two hundred persons, all that is left of the Sacs and Foxes who filled the frontier with terror during the Black Hawk War. These are to be removed to a region beyond the Missouri River. If by this removal they were placed beyond the reach of whisky smugglers and other vicious white men, it would be a blessing to them instead of a curse."

Mr. Spaulding traveled on an average fifty miles a week or twenty-five hundred miles during the year, chiefly on horseback, and was in perils of waters, in perils in the wilderness, in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, and in cold. But, in all this, with apostolic fervor he wrote, "I joy and rejoice, and even glory." He organized a church at the agency and at its first communion, September 15, 1844, the "Old Council House," where the treaty of cession had been made, was crowded to overflowing. "Here," he wrote, "less than two years ago savages were sitting and lying upon the floor, smoking their pipes and singing their songs; now a congregation of Christians are celebrating the undying love of their Lord and Master." On the 27th of October of the same year he assisted in forming a Congregaional church at Oskaloosa, with six members. In the beginning of the following year, February 3, 1845, he formed a church at Eddyville with six members. His first religious service in that place was held in an Indian wickiup. When he first came to Ottumwa it contained fourteen buildings, all of logs except two. After laboring here at intervals for two years he formed a church with six members, February 15, 1846. In 1847 after his first four years in Iowa, he wrote to the Missionary Society: "In reviewing the time I can say without any qualification, that although I have

suffered more from sickness, severe trial, and many privations, than in all the rest of my life, I have enjoyed more real happiness. I bless God who has permitted me to labor in this new and uncultivated field." In a later report he said: "Your missionary was not invited here. He received no 'call' unless it was from above."

Gradually with the growth and increasing importance of Ottumwa he devoted more of his time to that city. In 1850 after toils and sacrifices on his own part which now seem hardly credible, he had the joy of seeing the first meeting-house for the worship of God erected in Ottumwa. It filled him with delight to hear the church-going bell sounding over the valley which he loved, and to see a spire pointing to the skies. In the commencement of his missionary work the desecration of the Sabbath had filled him with pain. He now saw a gratifying change and the day of the Lord made honorable. In April, 1851, he was installed pastor of the church and for twelve years preached regularly to the same congregation. At the end of that period, 1863, his impaired health indicated the desirableness of a change of climate, and in hopes of regaining the vigor of former days he sought the bracing air of the north and spent nearly a year at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where his ministry was eminently acceptable. But his constitution had been already undermined and he felt compelled to lay down the preacher's work. He returned to Ottumwa and was employed as superintendent of schools for Wapello County. He gave his enfeebled strength to that service as long as possible, and when all work was done, possessed his soul in patience to the final hour.

I had visited him in his sickness. At his funeral I said: "Farewell, a short farewell, brother and friend, classmate in sacred studies, companion in the toils and privations of missionary life in the bright days of youth, fellow laborer in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ! Thou hast borne the heat and burden of the day. Thou hast done a noble work for Jesus and the souls