Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/247



Oregon City, Ore. Ter., June 14, 1853.

Rev. Benjamin M. Hill,

Cor. Sec. A. B. H. M. Soc., N. Y.

Dear Br.:

I shall now only have time to communicate the state of things in connection with my labors in Tualatin Plains the past month. I attended the yearly meetings of the West Tualatin Church on Friday, Saturday and Sabbath, the 22d, 23d and 24th of April. The weather was very rainy on Friday and but four persons, were in attendance. On Saturday and Sabbath our congregation became unusually large, although the weather continued wet and cool, and the house being an open log school house (a thing noways uncommon in Oregon), the congregation were in a very unfavorable condition to be benefited by the gospel; yet the meeting became interesting and, after the public service closed, Christians of various denominations expressed a regret that the meetings had not been continued through the week. So much solicitude was manifested on the part of professors of religion that Br. Weston and myself consented to visit the church in four weeks and labor three days with that people.

On the second Friday, Saturday and Sabbath in May the yearly meeting of the West Union church, ten miles east from the West Tualatin Church, in another [part] of the Tualatin Plains, was held. Br. Weston, their pastor, and myself were the only ministers present till the evening of the last day. Although a political meeting was held in the neighborhood on Saturday and the political excitement preceding the general election was waxing warm, our meetings were solemn. The