Home and Foreign Journal, February 1856

GLUME V, RICHMOND, FEBRUARY, 185G. NUMBER 8 PUBLISHED BY TIIE BOARD OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. 10 OF DOMESTIC Ш1. iURlOX. ALABAMA. I'KBBUARY, 185ft. Rev. J. И. Duvotie. Tliij brother, Ions so well known in the lhi hat been aj*|Jointc»l Financial Sec- , ’ |,y the Board of Domestic Missions. •,L this office Ш that of President, bich office lie has so ably tilled from the f- r„al,iwlion of the Southern Wap. Con- S ° „on, to the present time, he will осей- f y tlj time chiefly in travelling ami frolic- r,mJs for Domestic and Indian Mis- Ian,. The next year may find him in ,e states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ala- да and Mississippi. With the cxccp- on of Alabama, the Hoard has no agents , these States, and it is absolutely neces- Mv that funds from those quarters he jrth-coming. Our brother has already tea announced through several of the VtfUics, but wc cannot forbear to remark •ain, that he holds a high po-ition ill the «arts of Southern Baptists, loves the ;au>e of Christ most ardently, and is wor- ay, alierever lie may go, of a cordial iclioine and a large hcailed patronage hr the interests he shall advocate. Board have been informed that Mrs. Mo- fatt, wife of Rev. A. G. Mofatt, mission¬ ary to the Choctaw Indians, has departed this life. In every instance, these were sad tidings and heavy discouragements, yet they call for conlidcndc in God and resignation to Ills will. " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do light ?" If it be true that all things work to¬ gether, and that no event can happen without exerting its influence cither for good or evil in some direction, the discour¬ aging consequences of death in the min¬ istry ought to he counteracted, if possible, by supplying the vacancies. The same power that removes has power to replace, and the churches should pray earnestly the Lord of the harvest, that he will send laborers into his harvest. The year 1S3G is yet in its infancy, but it is rapidly passing on and will soon have followed its predc- ces-ors. Let it be distinguished, then, by fervent prayer, enlarged liberality, and an evcr-watchful and energetic religious ac tivity. Appointments. The Board at the October meeting made uurappointir.cnts ; at the Xovcnib’r moct- :’jke; at the December meeting right, ml at the last meeting in January seven: s* mtyfm in ail. The quarter that ended the 31st of December, 1355, has re¬ eved the treasury of most of its funds, -% that as vet, it is difficult to see how the pajte.r to_fnd_on the 31st of next month is to be mc(. This is always the most dif- cult requisition to meet from the fact that io associations are held between the Ы January and the 1st of April. But we iuld not set aside the various applications, ucked as they were by such respectable ecommendations. We have spread the ails of our Domestic ship, and rely on liberal souls “ to raise the wind" for them. ‘'Death Loves A Shiiiinir Mark.” О , S° says the nation when a man of dis- jtiaclion whether as a warrior, statesman, ir scholar is suddenly cut down in the liilst of his days, and removed to the Spirit Land." But if the baling were I jtbo legitimate representative of an un¬ questionable truth, namely: that men of I great promise or brilliant talents are more ! oble to an early death, than persons less I fortunately gifted ; it would be as applica¬ ble to Ministers of the Gospel as to any 'ther class of professional men. What :.ln bo more embarrassing to the deci-j dons of human reason or judgment, than ; tosee a good, influential and useful min-: Ner of Christ fall at his post in the midst ; r hU usefulness ! We instinctively in- j jhrrogile for the cause of such in act of, Г;» 1,fovidence. Was he not called of i | id to the work ? Was he not beloved |У those f°r whom and among whom he L1 °rei^ 33 he not eminently success- | c • 'Vhy then was he removed so soon, 1n at very time, when, to all human i'Ppcirances, his demise cannot be regar- ,fe . in anJ otber light than as a sore ca- № bQlh to his surviving relations and ' , cause °f which lie was the able advo- «to and defender? v "erc Pawful to indulge such specula- )r' n’' *Ь'е Domestic Mission Board has re- ДЬееп supplied with sufficient cause . Something over a year ago, i .Л J' S- Reynoldson, their general ; lt^Sll'an|Ion<; amongst their best agents! e denomination have ever had, was ! at Jea. But a few weeks since, Teasdale, their missionary at . ,u'3' J brother who succeeded finely Bibl °Cnl. American and Foreign e Society ; subsequently as Agent for ‘ W 'b" College, and for the past two as PW‘or of Fso 3rd. Baptist Church a p’ b°u'3i lost his life on the cars on lc'fio Rail Road. And still later, the Donth of tlio Rov. John Teasdulo. It was announced in our last that this .Missionary of the Board had lost his life by the Pacific Rail R lad disaster. On receiving definite intelligence on the sub¬ ject, the Board at their regular meeting in December passed unanimously the follow¬ ing resolutions: Resolved, That by the death of the Rev. John Teasdale, the Board of Do¬ mestic Missions have been deprived of an efficient and excellent missionary, the 3rd. Baptist Church at St. Louis of a zealous and useful pastor, and Christian¬ ity of an amiable, pious, industrious, and talented Minister. Resolved, That this sad event calls loudly on the churches " to pray the Lord of the harvest, that he will send labor¬ ers into his harvest.” Resolved, That the Domestic Mission Board hereby tender their unfeigned and profound sympathies to the bereaved fam¬ ily that have thus suddenly been whelmed beneath the Hoods of heartrending grief, and to the devoted flock of which their missionary was the undershepherd. Resolved, That a copy. of these resolu¬ tions be forwarded to the surviving part tier of the deceased and her orphan cliil dren, and to the 3rd. Baptist Church at St. Louis, Mo. while wo wero building; but I only charge them this year — of this I have to pay 330 for house rent. Then with duty I must feed and clothe and educate a fam¬ ily of six children, &c.,&c. — which accor¬ ding to present prices will not support my family. Rt. Louis is a hard place to work in. It j requires so much labor to accomplish littlx- . good apparently. But still the field must I ho cultivated and whoever docs it must I make many saciifices. I believe, if I can he sustained and I with the blessing of God, I shall succeed ! in building up a good interest, but it is ; not to be done in a year— it will require years and perhaps a life lime. You can | excite the people of St. Louis upon any | subject except upon religion, i I hope, if we cannot possibly get along ! without your Board will help us yet another year, and though, 1 have to spend some time in aiding your treasury. I am very sorry I did not sec you when here— if you had only staid a few hours longer, f should have seen you. , _ Let me know what are your impres- j sions about St. Louis and what you think ' about any further aid— my remaining or leaving &c., See. I think I feel willing to go or stay as Providence may direct, i think Г am u-irig my utmost endeavors, to builjl up the cause held here on a good foundation I mu-t have good material to work! into the spiritual building. • Fraternally yours, I J. Teasdale. clearly made out: God never intended that the Indians should continue to occupy this country. But the same kind of logic will sweep them from the face of the earth into her bosom, out of which, their tradi¬ tions aiiirm, they were taken. This rea¬ soning will soon make an end of their the Sheriff with $S10 owing to him for missionary services. Also §400 owing to Rev. Peter Fulsom. The money was promptly sent on by the Board to them both, and since then the §200 of which mention is made in the subjoined letter. tribes, so that in a-few years more they «... ~„,i к ,.i, • . r will not be in the way of any more fondly °“f “ 616 *h" °Ut °f ,he chcii.-hed mission enterprises. Suupo- Sheriff s pbwer: Last Letter of the lamented Teas¬ dale. The following extract of a letter from Rev. J. Teasdale was written tdrthe cor- rcaponding Secretary the day before his death, and is probably the last he ever wrote. We have erased a few sentences referring to matters merely private, and give the balance to show that ho died at his post, with his armor on : ■'■The members of the 2nd Church promised to aid in my support if I would come, but as wc have been building and they have had to aid in that matter, not much has been done towards my support. Our additions, while they have greatly added to our moral power, have not added much to our pecuniary strength. I cannot consent to remain and preach for the Church unless they can keep out of debt. I was in hopes that some of the brethren from the Second Church would have come in ere this, and thus have relieved us. K. has promised and if ho come, will he great assistance. I shall be greatly mortified ff our Church has to ask aid of your Board yet another year, yet I fear they will be com- polled to do it. If our burden hearing brethren had not been doing so much to¬ wards our meeting house 1 would say to them, now you support me, and I will la¬ bor to build up the cause. I hardly know what is best. If I were to spend a por- lion of my time as Agent for your Board, il would be a loss to the cause, and yd, perhaps, I could be gone for a few weeks, especially in the summer, when but little can be done in the city, without material detriment. What had I belter do ’ Shall I resign and let them try to get some one with a less family ? As every thing is so dear I used at 'cast $ - i* * have any thing left with which to get books &c. This wad to be the price, I deducting Token* of Remembrance. Benton, Dec. lOlh, 1853. My Dear Brother Ilornbuckle: Having had a small sore* on my con- science for some little time back, 1 1 have I thought it be.-t to apply the panacea, I therefore enclose Ten Dollars, for the New Orleans Church, viz: for brother (Low. Hoping it may roach you safe and quickly find its way to the worthy brother who so nobly threw himself on the side of tenev^ olcnce, and as wc hope and trust ha'sdonc so much for our cause in that city of Sfidom. May God's blessing attend and accompany the small offering, is my most sincere prayer. very respectfully, Daniel Gordon. MVo hope the Lori will trouble soino more conscience*, and Ые the liberal hearted, so that our sinking treasury may lint !.o ex- boasted. Decemdcr 3d, 1835. Dear Brother Walker : I have forgotten the name of (lie Treasurer of the J). M. Board, so I send j this §10 to you again. God has Mca-cd; me this year with a mote abundant yield of the earth's fruits, and I can double my contribution. If I remember correctly, the Board wishes each one to state the particular purpose for which he wishes his contribution used. I think the Board de¬ cidedly the better judge in my case. May- God's blessings rest upon all your labors, is my prayer for Christ's sake. Pardon me, if I still subscribe myself A Stranger. INDIAN DEPARTMENT. The Indians — Ought they to have the Gospel. It is not denied by any one, that the ( whole of this fair domain of the South on which wc live, was once the rightful pro- ! perty of various Indian tribes. This is a fact conceded. How, in the course of hu- 1 man events, their properly became ours, it is not my purpose, at present, to inquire, j And if it were, liie results of such an in- : vestigation might, perhaps, show, that the > "pale faced” intruder does not, in every | case, occupy the lands ol the " red man" ; by the most liouorablc tenure. But let that pass. The human mind has great powers of invention, especially when seeking to jus¬ tify itself in matters of personal interest, and hence, it is not uncommon to hear the remark: “God never intended that the wild Indian should have this beautiful country for hunting grounds.” Now, what God intended touching the Aborigines of America, it is, as I suppose, quite impos¬ sible to know. He has not, that I have heard, made any specific revelation oil the subject. If His intention concerning the Indians may be inferred from the rude trespasses of white men on the rights aqil property of Indian families and tribes— from the introduction among them of " fire water"— from the compulsory means or measures adopted to force them from their homes into the wild and unfamiliar regions of the far West, why, I think, the case is enterprises. Suppo¬ sing, however, that their forcible removal was just— that it is legally and morally right to occupy their lands for an inade¬ quate remuneration— that the settlement of the white race on the very places where their lodges were built anil their camp fires burned, was anil is in accordance with the Divine will; do these fads ab¬ solve the whites from the obligation of sending them the gospel ? I presume not. They strengthen the obligation and increase our responsibility. No, brethren, do not permit yourselves to he deceived, as to your duty, by a selfish sophistry which often appeals but too successfully to the hesitation of human avarice. You owe the Indians a debt which you will never be able to pay. . Your cotton fields were their fields: your corn fields were their fields ; your homos were their homes. Fort Smith, Nov. lGth. 1855. Rev. Joseph Walker : Dear Brother I mailed you a let¬ ter yesterday acknowledging the receipt of your three favors, dated Oct. 2, 4, 6, and sent you also a receipt for 840 dollars. To-day I received the two letters for Bro. Folsom. J!e_ will not return from the Gen'l Council till the close of this month, and I feel too weak to ride for a week or so, any farther than, near the lino where I have several appointments. Perhaps I shall hear again from you before 1 start further West. You speak very kindly of keeping me out of the hands of the Sher¬ iff. At present I am under his sceptre, which, all things considered, is pretty mild. I was with him yesterday— §200 more, (which would pay for this quarter. Thpv '„I ' , ' r v r ' lluc -1'1 Doc.) would make me invulncra- the ’ „Td "I ' !! Weit| а?У ГТ I ble to Sheriffs. I do feel greatly obliged the burial mounds of their anceslors, be. I for „,0 , allpnl!on to my-i.ecuniarv cau-c wc wou.d no allow them ю remain ■ ш[[т\ At‘0„e lime , couid ,"e lrusle'j here. He were the stronger parly, and | , . lifc t|l0 IlMlU of lhe ilI(HviduaN said to the "red man, ought gives nght: . w|l„ ,lavc s,t t|ie Sheriff to Ids work. I remove thou beyond the Father of "•>- j have let mv friend and creditor, Mitchell ers. He went— not willingly— hut only ! Spar|i4( hjvc your draft. He trades a because he dared not s ay In a sorrow- , ш „ Netf 0rlcans. ful mood ho dre w I, и blanket about him qqiat ,;ml may bn glorilieal and his cause and turned his face towards the setting ai]va,lccd ia lllc praycr of- sun. there ho sits, pen'ive and sail, on Yours in Christ the broad bleak prairies, wondering what Josceir Smcdlct. calamity may next betide him. The „ 0 Great Spirit whom he admires in the sun, ; 1 ' S' lM> 1101,1 aclies’ and «case brevity, sees in the. flying cloud, or hears In the howling tempest, may avenge him for the wrongs he has suffered ; but to save his soul, lie mu-t have the gospel. We, now in possession of lii.s lands, must send it to him, If we do not, who will? I call on the churches in the South, to think of the " red man,” and urge them to do quickly, what they propose doing. JOS. WALKER, Cor. Sec,' Letter from Brother Buckner. The following letter was the la«t re¬ ceived up to this date, (Dec. 25lh, IS35.) from this excellent missionary. We heard of his being at the Miss. Con't, where he met with a cordial reception and good suc¬ cess. Before this shall have reached the readers of the Journal, he will have reached the field of his labors, and hearts of the natives: Hernando, Miss., Oct. 2.0th, 1855. Dear Brother Walker : I left my Father’s house in Ken¬ tucky for the Indian Country the 5th of the present month, lint was detained, as you know, for some lime in Nashville, When we got to Memphis, learning that the yellow fever was very fatal in all the Itev. Peter Folsom. We give the subjoined letter to show what the Grace of God can do for a Choc¬ taw Chief. Tho impression had been created that our visit to the Kansas In¬ dians would be extended to the Choctaws but this was impossible at that time Hence our brother's disappointed hopes. Our brother copied the appended letter of' his appointment as evidence of this Board. At the Memphis Convention or soon after his salary we raised to $100, at which it now stands and this sum is guaranteed for the next year hy the Jligby Associa¬ tion of Ala. We give his letter just as he wrote it, and though it has the phraseol¬ ogy which was to have been expected from a native Choctaw writing English, il ex- laddened the hibits good sense and much Christian, hu¬ mility : "Choctaw Agency, ) Skui.lynh.le Co., > 13th Sep. 1853." ^ Rev. Jos. Walker. Dear Brother, I have received your kind letter dated 4th of July last, and with much delight and pleasure read your let¬ ter. It was very much in hope among us to sec you here in person, as I had re¬ ceived a letter from brother W. Horn- buckle, containing a draft of one hundred dollars. For wc should have been happy and much gratified to sec you in person, so that you could sec all things to your own satisfaction with regard to our labour, and how extensive wc have to labor in. I am truly sorry that you have not found a true record, recorded in Louis- river towns, and that the Arkansas river was loo low for boils to ascend, we con¬ cluded at once that wc had better turn aside into Mississippi, until the river would rise and tho yellow fever abate, "'c arc now in Hernando, Mi«sis-ippi, under the hospitable roof of our excellent brother, W. C. Craync. I preached for the church yesterday, and collected for Indian Mis¬ sions $105.00. I would have succeeded _ _ . much better, hut it was the very, time set vj|]c Board of mission, with regard to my- apart by the church to pay tho incidental sc[g debts o’f the church. j Only answer I can give is, sending you I was too Into to attend the meeting of, a ^rllu copy 0f letter I received from the Association, with which this Church I brother S. Dyer. Being the first letter to is connected. Next Sunday I have an ' me af(er | |,a,| connected myself to Louis- S ointment at Cold Water Church, 23 j v;||e poarj 0f Mission. !* from here, and on Monday ftll.nv- j .flMnw rn,,. , ing, I start with brother Craync lor the; ,s,!' ... j ,g3a ( Slate Convention at Clinton. Immediately „ „ » ««£• .Kr', Ib' Jan’ 5 after that Convention, we will return I ^^"/ou wili find a draft on our the Creek па ю., the best way we j Tr a. re f„r one hundred doHars, for your but m, ess Arkansas rises, we will have to 'rcl 'r , , We ar0 much graft, go up White river to Rock Row and then , J™ У ble„in„ your bOours take stage for more than 300 miles to tort ilM U11' . . ,n,i Smith, and then wc will havo f>6 miles by private hack, or horse-back. When you conclude to visit us, write to me at Mieco Creek nation, west of Arkan¬ sas, ami I will meet you with a convey¬ ance at Fort Smith. After the Conven¬ tion at Clinton I will send you my com¬ plete report. Affectionately and truly, &c., II. F. Buckner. • - _ _ Rev. Joseph Smcdley. This brother has been laboring in the Indian Country ever since 183G. The Domestic Board found him in the hands of among your people and hope these indi¬ cations of the divine approbation may long continue to cheer you. Our Board are deeply interested for the conversion of the Indians and we shall do our best to advance this great work until all the tribes enjoy the blessing of the gospel. We shall be happy to hear from you' often. Very truly yours, in Christ, • - S. Dter. ' Now you will be able to sec that . I hare been in the services of the Board of Misg sion 4 years and over cemmcncing.JaiiU; ary 1851 at one hundred dollars a year.1'* Third payment was paid to me at Mem-