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As the Indians have become citizens they have been required to work road taxes among their other duties. The road supervisor said to me: "I obtained more satisfactory work out of the Indians than I did out of the white men." The Indians had often said that the roads were theirs, and they wanted to use them, so that they were not losing anything, even if they worked a little over their time, and several of them who were over fifty years of age voluntarily gave a day's work or two. While the Indians by no means always do as I wish to have them, yet these facts are encouraging.

THE TRIALS OF MISSIONARY LIFE.--The hardships and dangers to which our Indian missionaries are exposed are illustrated in the sad experience of Rev. T. L. Riggs, the superintendent of the missions of the Association at Oahe, S. D.

The exposure to the blazing sun and cutting winds and excessive cold of the Dakota winters has produced acute inflammation of the eyes, so that Mr. Riggs is entirely blind. We trust this is only temporary, but the pain and confinement in a dark room, and necessary retirement from the active work which Supt. Riggs so energetically carries on, are a painful trial, and will awaken the sympathy of all our readers.

A sad affliction has also befallen our honored missionary, Dr. A. L. Riggs, and his family, of Santee, Neb. Their little grandson, the child of the missionary daughter in China, has recently died of small-pox under very painful circumstances. The entire family in China had this disease, but at last accounts all but the little child were recovering.

GRAND VIEW, TENN.

BY SECRETARY RYDER.

I reached Pleasant Hill last Saturday, driving from Grand View. It is of Grand View that I want to report first.

They are in the best condition that I have ever seen. The teachers are doing well, and the new pastor has taken hold most earnestly and successfully.

No one can question the bringing in of the mountain people, both in church and school. More than two-thirds of the pupils are of native families, and the native people are filling the church. Mr. Dorman, the new pastor, has put the second service into the evening again, so as to get more of the mountain folk, and he succeeds. It was a grand thing to get him, coming with so good an education and devoted spirit. The people are feeling happier than for years, and co?perating cordially.

The institute is full. They cannot get on without more room. In the primary grade they enroll sixty-nine, and have seats for twenty-eight. The attendance is fairly well up to the enrollment and they absolutely cannot get on long this way. It is a splendid work. The American Missionary Association has reason to be proud of it, but it seems imperative to have more room.

The work all over this portion of the mountains is thoroughly encouraging.

GOSPEL TRANSFORMATIONS.

BY A MOUNTAIN PREACHER.

This autumn has been for me a season of hard labor, and, at the same time, one of great rejoicing. For more than a month I have been laboring night and day almost incessantly striving to lead souls to Jesus, and the dear Lord has blessed me to see more than thirty happy conversions. Tired, almost exhausted, still I must press on, for there is yet much to be done.

In the meetings held this fall I have realized more fully than ever before in my life the mighty power of the Spirit, and the blessedness of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

At a place in Scott County, Tenn., where I held a ten days' meeting, this fact of the Holy Spirit's power and the blessedness of the Christian religion was most beautifully illustrated, as the following incident will show.

When I began preaching there the neighborhood was in a universal state of ferment. Fussings, fightings, hard feelings between neighbors were everywhere; and between denominations most bitter prejudice and cruel jealousies. There were men there, close neighbors and kinsfolk, who had not spoken to each other for three years. Some were so angry with each other that they were fighting occasionally and trying to kill each other. They came to church with their pistols in their pockets to shoot each other, and I expected that we might have war in the church yard at any time and men killed. But while they held their thumbs on their pistol hammers I wielded the hammer of God's word with unrelenting force. While they were getting ready to fire revolvers I was firing red hot gospel shot into them with deadly effect. Their hard hearts softened, they weakened, they fell before the sword of the Spirit. Strong men broke down and wept like children. Grasping each other by the hand, embracing each other in their arms amidst a flood of tears, they confessed to each other their faults, and begged pardon and prayed and shouted as I never saw men do before in my life. Hostile enemies were made happy friends, would-be murderers were converted to God, hard feelings among neighbors were swept away, denominational prejudice was forgotten, and brotherly love and Christian peace reigned supreme. And besides this some twenty-five precious souls were saved; among them an old grandmother was brought to Jesus. And still the good work goes on.

Praise the Lord for His wonderful love and for His mighty power which He has manifested in the salvation of precious souls.

THE POOR HELPING THE POOREST.

PROFESSOR F. T. WATERS.

The extreme poverty among many of the colored people of Wilmington, N. C., led me to think that there would be many families that would have no Christmas gifts unless given by those who could spare, even from their scant living, a portion to be given to those wholly destitute. Accordingly I invited the children in all the rooms in Gregory Institute to bring such offerings as they were willing to make, to be afterward distributed to those who otherwise would have no Christmas and were without the necessities of life even. The idea seemed to meet with general approval among teachers and pupils. Friday, the last day before the Christmas vacation, was appointed to bring in the gifts, and the amount contributed wholly exceeded our most extravagant hopes. Shortly after 8 o'clock the school children began to arrive laden with gifts, consisting of almost every imaginable article that could be used. Some brought a sweet potato--always the largest they could find--others a pound of sugar, rice, flour, bacon, pork, beans, peas, corn meal, cabbages, turnips, tea, coffee, matches, apples, oranges, grits, and if there are any other things to be found among eatables I think I can produce them from the packages now deposited in the sewing room.

On Christmas morning a dozen homes will be made happy by these humble gifts. One old lady in our visits we found so destitute that she had tasted nothing from Saturday night till Tuesday, when one of the girls of Gregory school took her in her breakfast. The old lady telling about it said she knew the Lord would not let her starve. The teachers have voluntarily taxed themselves ten cents a month, which provides for her food at least. I need not multiply these cases. Many sacrifices in kind, if not in degree, could be mentioned equal to that of little Mary, and many cases of need as extreme as that of "Aunt Maggie." The scanty purses of the A. M. A. teachers, many of whom, as in my own case, are obliged to economize in every way to keep our own families from actual want, are inadequate to meet the demand, and why should we multiply their cases on our minds when we are powerless to help?

CHILDREN'S CAUSES FOR THANKFULNESS.

MISS LILLIAN L. GOAR, BLOWING ROCK, N. C.

And this same little boy, who comes from a home anything but attractive, had this sentence in his prayer, "thankful for home." Another dear Junior was thankful for good times and "for my little sister an' father an' mother." "The privilege to go to school" was another cause of thankfulness, while many times, both in prayer and speaking, was "the dear teacher" mentioned.

As the hoped-for advancement lies with the children, I feel that the work is very encouraging.

TO HELP HER OWN PEOPLE.--A minister in a Northern State sends to us a check for 0, which he says is the gift of a colored lady of over seventy years of age, to aid in the education of her people in the South. She has 0 more, which she retained for the present in view of emergencies, but which she intends ultimately to give to the Association for the same purpose. The minister says she is intelligent, a diligent reader, and an interesting person to meet. She has been a tailoress and probably has earned most of her money with her needle. Such a person is an honor to her race and to the church of Christ.

CONTRASTS OF MISSION CHURCH WORK.

BY SEC. F. P. WOODBURY.

Our mission churches of the South reach different classes of people. Some are in the large cities, others in populous towns, others in smaller country villages, and still others in entirely rural districts among the plantations. The methods of these churches vary as widely as their location. Some of them take advantage of institutional methods of church work in all their various forms of Christian service. Many churches which do not undertake so large a distribution of effort still have their circles of King's Sons and Daughters, missionary societies, and, almost everywhere, their Christian Endeavor Societies. Many of the smaller churches have day schools closely associated with the congregation, sometimes under the conduct of the pastor or his wife, or both.

Among our more prominent churches is the Howard Chapel, of Nashville, Tenn., a picture of which, with the new parsonage, is found on this page. This church is located on the original site of Fisk University, and was formerly the chapel of the University. The building is a commodious brick structure. The church has had many fluctuations in its membership and condition, but under its present pastor, Rev. J. E. Moorland, formerly Y. M. C. A. secretary at Washington, D. C., it has taken on new life and vigor. The membership has rapidly grown. All the various forms of Christian activity are thoroughly organized, and the pastor has commended himself not only to the members of the church and congregation, but to the residents of all that portion of the city. Lately the congregation took up the question of affording their pastor a parsonage, and have built a neat and comfortable structure at the side of the church, which they are now making payment for from their own means.

In strong contrast with this city church work is the McElderry Mission, formed and carried on by Rev. J. M. Roan, of Ironaton, Ala. Mr. Roan, like many other pastors, was anxious that his church should take hold of aggressive Christian work, and formed a mission at some distance from the church, out among the plantations. His young men took hold vigorously with him in the new work and put up the log cabin chapel, which is shown in the accompanying illustration. It is an interesting indication of their Christian consecration that the members of this mission church were so desirous to take hold themselves of mission work among those of their people still less favored than they. Mr. Roan says that they are proud of their little log cabin mission, and that its congregation has steadily increased. There are now nine Congregational members living near the mission. Of late there has been quite a desire on the part of many to build a church in place of the mission cabin, and the people are already beginning to raise means for this purpose. A flourishing Sunday-school is carried on in connection with this mission work.

GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE.

The new year of our Chinese Mission opened cloudily. We had passed through three months of close and anxious questioning about ways and means; most of the teachers and helpers had received no salary for from one to three months. Hard times had been crowding our Chinese out of employment. Families in which they had served felt compelled to do without them. They were moving to and fro with less inclination to study, or, possibly, to listen to the word of life, than in the days when plenty of hard work left them weary in frame, but not heartsore.

At any rate--for these reasons or for others--the reports for September were, on the whole, less cheering, I think, than any I had ever received; but now, with the October reports all at hand, we find the clouds breaking away and have "sunshine in our souls."

The membership of the schools was larger by 33 and the average attendance by 17, but the gleams that bring best cheer are such as these:

From Chin Foy, in Sacramento: "Eight names have been signed to pledge cards for the Christian Endeavor members. Hope this society will be established before long. Four new members have united with our Association , and three brethren expect to be baptized by Dr. Hoyt and to unite with the church next communion. Thank God for His blessing. The work is encouraging lately." This brother, whose name may be familiar to the constant and attentive readers of THE MISSIONARY, and who has been for ten years or more one of our most useful helpers, instructs me to reduce his scanty salary two-thirds , and will try to make up what is lacking by other work, so that with our reduced resources our work may not be hindered.

Loo Quong writes from Fresno concerning a sick brother who was converted in China, and has never been identified with any of our missions: "Miss Beaton found him sick on the street and asked him to come and live in the mission, in God's name. No one dared to speak for him to help him in any way whatever, outside our mission. I asked him, at length, after he had been with us many months, if he would like to go back home. He says it would be the best way. Thus far I succeeded in taking up subscriptions for his passage. The Christian Endeavor of the Congregational Church, through Rev. J. H. Collins, their pastor, gave him passage from here to San Francisco. It was a kind act of them all. I think God has blessed us all by enabling us to have this thing done so well in His name, because Mr. Lai Fat is not a member of the Association, nor have any of us known him before. May God send him to his family all right, and may his family be blessed through his return to them, and may the Lord spare him many days with his family in order to lead them to Christ!" Surely there is a gleam of sunshine in this act of Christian love. All, or nearly all, our missions joined in it. It is really no unusual thing with us.

In like manner from Santa Cruz comes this word: "I am most happy to write that the Chinese I asked you to pray for has joined the Association and is very happy in our Christian work. Let us continue to pray for two others who are holding back, but are 'almost persuaded,'" and from Joe Dun, in our new mission at Watsonville, this: "We do thank the Lord for His choosing and saving souls. Tuesday evening of last week one of the associate members became active. Last night we have meeting, and he rose and gave testimony. Said he: 'I am glad to-night, for I believed in Jesus Christ, and He will save my soul.'"

But my space is more than filled. We rejoice and take courage.

TRIBUTE TO OUR MISSIONARIES.

Apropos of the roll of our missionaries and teachers we quote an eloquent tribute from one of the children of the American Missionary Association who is now the strong pastor of a strong church in the South. He alludes to a teacher who had devoted many years of her life to our missionary work and had brought to it a sweetness of spirit and devotion that had won the confidence and inspired the zeal of those for whom she labored. We quote:

"The work which these teachers did was the result of no small sacrifice. For a woman to leave her Northern home of comfort and refinement to come South to engage in such a work and all that it implies was not a popular thing even at the North, but in spite of unpopularity at the North and unworthy treatment at the South, these self-exiled men and women wrought wonderfully. They proved the best friends that the black man has ever had. In the school they showed us the light of letters, which had never before dawned upon us. In the church they showed us the Light of the world, which was strangely dim in our souls. In the shop they showed us the light of life about us, of which we were densely ignorant. Thoughtful minds, skillful hands, enlightened hearts--this is the heritage they brought us.

"Throughout the length and breadth of the Southland there are such women among us working in a humble way. The work done by these moral heroes and heroines is work in the shade, but one day, when the sunlight of God's justice shall shine upon it, as it surely will, men will see it and admire it. For these friends we are devoutly grateful. Deep down in our hearts, too deep in many cases for tears, lies the feeling of whole-souled gratitude for these moral heroes and heroines. The half has never been told. We thank God for those who left home and went to the war to die, if need be, that the slave might be free. But we thank God equally for those brave men and braver women who, before the smoke of battle cleared away, came South, and, with the spelling book in one hand and God's holy word in the other, set the millions of freedmen on the way toward reading, reasoning and righteousness. Around God's throne may their crowns of life eternal glitter with the penitential tears of a grateful people redeemed unto a common Father by their prayers, their tears, their lives!"

Our last Annual Report is printed, and will be sent to those making application for it to this office.

THE FIELD.

The following list gives the names of those who are in the work of the Churches, Institutions and Schools of the American Missionary Association.

THE SOUTH.

Rev. G. S. Dickerman, Field Superintendent. " George W. Moore, Field Missionary. Mr. E. E. McKibban, Builder. " Gilbert Walton, General Mountain Missionary.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, HOWARD UNIVERSITY.

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