Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/317



CORRESPONDENCE 291

at the sound of the gospel even here ; but we feel strongly assured that the time is not far distant when all the discourage- ments peculiar to a new country and an extremely fluctuating population will give place to the order and efficiency which the gospel of Christ so forcibly inculcates. At present I am teaching school, as I have intimated, in Tuality Plains, 25 or 26 miles N.W. from this place, but greatly fear that my lungs will not long allow me to continue in that employment. I preach and superintend a Sabbath school on the Sabbath, or preach and visit abroad Saturdays and 'Sabbaths. Two weeks today and tomorrow I assisted in organizing a small church near the mouth of the Yam Hill River, 109 and on Sabbath presented to the public the peculiarities of our de- nomination, in a sermon of about an hour, and at the close baptized a brother of some talent who wished to prepare for the ministry. The three churches now organized are most favorably located, being organized so that their future place of worship must unavoidably be at the county seats of three important counties on the Willamette river. But our brethren are in a new country and have everything to do to render their families comfortable, and have not been formerly trained to the principles so happily carried out by our Pilgrim fathers in the settlements of Plymouth and Boston. I preach every Sabbath. We have a Sabbath school, in connection with other denominations, and Bible class consisting in all of about 25 scholars and 5 teachers ; ten of the children are of Baptist families, and three teachers. I superintend the school when at home. Four days in June I attended a camp-meeting of the Congregational Church in the upper plain ten miles from my present residence and participated as much as my strength would admit. Our labors were blessed, and it is hoped that some ten or twelve souls were truly converted. . ..

Tell our brethren that tracts and Sunday school books are greatly needed, and we feel that we cannot be denied this

1 09 This was the church at South Yamhill, twelve miles or so from the mouth of the river. Mattoon fails to mention the author's part in this organization, giving only the names of Snelling and Johnson. Mattoon, Bap. An. of Ore. I:s.