A FIELD COURSE IN 
 MISSIONS 
 
 BY THE BISHOP OF ASHEVILLE 
 
 AND EIGHT THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS 
 
 Published by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York 
 
 No. 1800 
 
District of Asheville 
 
 ' I '*HE Missionary District of Asheville includes that 
 -I- portion of the State' of North Carolina lying west of 
 the eastern boundaries of the counties of Allegheny, 
 Wilkes, Alexander, Catawba, Lincoln and Gaston. It 
 has an area of 11,710 square miles and a population of 
 428,000 people. 
 
 These highlanders are for the most part Scotch-Irish in 
 ancestry, and living here on the highest portion of the 
 Appalachian mountains, have possessed the many noble 
 characteristics of their ance,stors. 
 
 They need most of all, along with religious teaching, 
 some kind of industrial training. This feature of the 
 work in the district is emphasized by the Bishop. More 
 and better equipped schools are greatly needed ; 1,231 
 children were enrolled in the parish and mission day- 
 schools in the year 1906. The Sunday-school scholars 
 numbered 2,841. The contributions within the district 
 amounted to 133,243 82. This is more than 60 per cent, 
 of the annual expenses of the mountain work. The people 
 are liberal with what they have, but they need much train- 
 ing, and help in this way now will bring a rich harvest for 
 the Church in the future. 
 
THE RIGHT REVEREND JUNIUS M. HORNER, D.D., 
 BISHOP OF ASHBVILLB 
 
A TYPICAL MOUNTAIN HOME 
 
 A FIELD COURSE IN MISSIONS 
 
 BY THE BISHOP OF ASHEVILLE 
 AND EIGHT THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS 
 
 SUCfl is the somewhat fanciful 
 title whicli miglit be given to 
 this account of a summer spent 
 by eight students from the Gen- 
 eral Theological Seminary, New York 
 City, in the Missionary District of Ashe- 
 ville. As the plan was a new one, notes 
 by the students, together with the Bishop 
 of Asheville's comment upon it, may be 
 of interest. 
 
 The idea was Bishop Horner's. He 
 visited the seminary in December, 1905, 
 and in an address to the students as- 
 sembled in chapel, proposed that a num- 
 ber of the men, about six, spend their 
 summer in the district of Asheville gain- 
 ing a practical insight into real mis- 
 sionary life, to the end that they might 
 be able to determine more intelligently 
 the question of their own vocation to the 
 mission field. As to financing the proj- 
 ect, that, the bishop said, must be cared 
 for by the students who "elected" the 
 
 course; there was no available fund at 
 his disposal. 
 
 The bishop's proposal was well re- 
 ceived by the student-body, and definite 
 steps toward effecting it were at once 
 taken by two students who had spent the 
 previous summer at work in the district 
 of Asheville, and who knew how valuable 
 an experience this would be. 
 
 During the next four months eight 
 men offered themselves — two more thaa 
 Bishop Horner had specified. Places 
 were easily found for all; indeed, as it 
 was, the requests of three missionaries 
 for assistance could not be supplied. 
 Meanwhile, the necessary funds were be- 
 ing collected. Most of the required 
 amount was subscribed by New York 
 City churches through their rectors, the 
 remainder by individuals and special 
 offerings. 
 
 By the middle of June the eight stu- 
 dents were at work. Three of the men 
 
 (5) 
 
formed wliat we called "The Flying 
 Squadron," moving from point to point 
 through the twenty-seven western coun- 
 ties of North Carolina, holding "mis- 
 sions" under the direction of the priests 
 in charge of the various stations. 
 Twelve of these "missions" were held, 
 each lasting from two to six days, with 
 sometimes three services a day. The 
 "squadron" had also a headquarters at 
 Wilkesboro, where regular services were 
 held throughout the summer by each 
 member of the group as it became his 
 week to take charge there. These three 
 men visited sixteen different stations 
 during the summer, and held 137 ser- 
 vices. 
 
 A second group of three composed the 
 Cherokee-Clay Counties Associate Mis- 
 sion. This group had to care for six 
 mission stations, scattered over two 
 counties. The distances between the 
 points were so great, and the mountain 
 roads were so desperately bad, that the 
 six places could not be covered every 
 Sunday. This fact became apparent at 
 once, and the policy of intensive work 
 at three stations, with visits to the re- 
 maining three as frequently as possible, 
 was adopted. One man was stationed 
 at Murphy, a typical Southern small 
 town; and sixty-five services were held 
 in the beautiful little church there. He 
 also held the first Episcopal service in 
 Andrews, sixteen miles from Murphy. A 
 second man was in charge at Hayes- 
 ville, the sleepy little county seat of 
 Clay County, reached by mail-hack from 
 Murphy. The distance is sixteen miles 
 and it takes six hours to make the trip. 
 
 Here and at two outlying settlements 
 — Elf and Shooting Creek, five and ten 
 miles from Hayesville — fourteen services 
 were held. The third man was in charge 
 at Irena, on Tusquittee Creek, ten miles 
 from Hayesville and twenty-six miles 
 from Murphy. Thirty-four services 
 were held here in the rough little chapel, 
 and the mountaineers walked from one 
 to five miles from their homes back in the 
 coves to attend. Statistics are some- 
 times misleading, and the statement 
 that the three students forming this As- 
 sociate Mission held 114 services and as- 
 sisted at sixteen, with a total attendance 
 of nearly 4,000, gives an incomplete idea 
 of what was done. The pastoral side of 
 the work was emphasized. They tried, 
 by living with and "upon" the people, to 
 disarm their prejudice against the 
 Church, and to break down their suspi- 
 cions of her motives. The controlling 
 idea in this work was that foundations 
 had to be laid among people indiflierent 
 or hostile to the Church, upon which a 
 priest — as yet nnsecured — could most 
 readily build up a strong work. The 
 chief aim was to make real friends for 
 the Church. 
 
 The remaining two men worked sepa- 
 rately, one as assistant to the priest in 
 charge of the Waynesville associate mis- 
 sions, and the other in charge of High- 
 lands, tinder the direction of the rector 
 of the Eranklin associate missions. 
 Highlands is an important point, espe- 
 cially in summer, and it has, in addi- 
 tion, two mountain stations connected 
 with it. 
 
 A TYPICAL WEEK WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON 
 
 I was in Wilkesboro, our headquarters, sible to cross the fords on the river 
 and the others were in Ashe County con- road. This road was none too good, how- 
 ducting a "mission," when word came ever, as every now and then the wheels 
 from the bishop showing an itinerary he on either side would sink to the hubs in 
 wanted us to cover. So early Monday some mudhole, spattering us generous- 
 morning I started through the driving h with sticky red mud. About three 
 rain for Blackstone, twenty miles away, o'clock we reached our destination. Here 
 My driver, a tall colored boy, said we I well-nigh disgraced myself before my 
 would have to take the ridge road— hostess by giving way to an almost irre- 
 which was longer — as it would be impos- sistible desire to shout for glee, as we 
 
 (6) 
 
sat down to the big, round dining-table, 
 whose centre revolved, presenting in 
 turn each dish. I had pictured such a 
 table and longed for it as a boy, and at 
 last here it was! 
 
 That night the service was well at- 
 tended in the little Methodist meeting- 
 house — the only available place — and 
 there was also a good attendance the 
 
 gated-sectarian town, with its 800 peo- 
 ple and nearly a dozen meeting-houses 
 and "preachers," I held serviee in the 
 little church that night, and Friday and 
 Saturday afternoons and evenings, visit- 
 ing among the people and closing with 
 Sunday-school and service Sunday morn- 
 ing. 
 
 As there was no organ in the little 
 
 "SIXTEEN MILES— AND IT TOOK SIX HOURS" 
 
 next morning and evening, though where 
 the people came from was a mystery, as 
 less than half-a-dozen buildings made up 
 the little hamlet. 
 
 Next morning I was on the road 
 again, riding sixteen miles over excruci- 
 ating roads, behind a pair of big, lazy 
 mules, to the pretty mountain town of 
 Lenoir. Here I held service that night 
 and the following morning in the lovely 
 little parish church with its beautiful 
 reredos painting and carved altar, and 
 the exquisite carved lettering and num- 
 bers on the hymn boards — all the work 
 of the artist-priest. Dr. Oertel. 
 
 Thursday afternoon I was on the move 
 again, this time by train to Granite 
 Falls, eleven miles below. In this varie- 
 
 church which had only recently been 
 built, the Sanctified Methodists, whose 
 place of meeting was near by, loaned us 
 theirs, and the men carried it back and 
 forth as it was needed. One of the Sanc- 
 tified Methodist women played for two 
 of the services, and the congregation was 
 composed of many kinds of sectarians. 
 
 Sunday afternoon I drove nine miles 
 again down to Hickory, where another 
 member of our party joined us, and to- 
 gether we held the evening service in 
 the parish church. In eight days I had 
 been in five different places, conducted 
 or taken part in sixteen services, and 
 made fourteen addresses. But it was a 
 glorious week. 
 
 Samuel C. Fish. 
 
 (7) 
 
HERE ONE HUNDRED ATTENDED THE MISSION EACH NIGHT 
 
 A SIX DAYS' MISSION AT BEAVER CREEK 
 
 Under the direction of the priest-in- 
 charge of the Valle Crucis Associate 
 Mission, two members of the "flying 
 squadron" held an interesting six days' 
 mission in this community, in the new 
 chapel, St. Mary's, which was recently 
 built through the untiring efforts of the 
 few Church members there. 
 
 It was in this place, ten years ago, 
 that a bishop of the Church was forcibly 
 prevented from holding service in a 
 schooUiouse which had been leased for 
 that purpose. In spite of the opposition 
 he encountered, the service was con- 
 ducted on the porch of a neighboring 
 house, kindly offered for the occasion 
 through the generosity of a member of 
 the Methodist Church. For several 
 years past, however, and especially dur- 
 ing the mission, the services not only 
 have been held without disturbance, but 
 many of those formerly bitterly opposed 
 to the Church were well represented at 
 the services. 
 
 The services during the mission were 
 
 begun on Sunday — Morning Prayer, Holy 
 Eucharist and sermon, an afternoon 
 service for children, and Evening Prayer 
 and sermon at night. During the re- 
 mainder of the week two services were 
 held daily, the children's service in the 
 afternoon and the night service, which 
 was a shortened form of Evening Prayer, 
 with a sermon of generous proportions; 
 for such congregations are better in- 
 structed by word of mouth than through 
 tracts and religious literature. Every 
 morning was spent by the two seminari- 
 ans going about the community within a 
 radius of three or four miles, making 
 house-to-house visits. The district 
 school, which was in session at the time 
 was visited, and a cordial invitation ex- 
 tended to the children to attend the chil- 
 dren's services which were held immedi- 
 ately after the close of school. As a re- 
 sult, these services were well attended, 
 the children entering heartily into them 
 and learning the simple catechism read- 
 ily and thoroughly. The attendance at 
 
 (8) 
 
night averaged over one hundred for 
 each of the last three nights, a good ma- 
 jority of the congregations being men. 
 
 In many respects this was one of the 
 most encouraging of all the twelve mis- 
 sions held during the summer, not so 
 much for what was actually done at the 
 time, but for the indications of interest 
 shown toward the Church, and an appar- 
 
 ent desire to know more about her on 
 the part of so many who had at one time 
 violently opposed her. 
 
 It is from such places as this, where 
 the Church has won a hearing, that the 
 cry goes out for men to carry the mes- 
 sage to people who want her and what 
 she has to give. 
 
 J. Norton Atkins. 
 
 "A ROUGH LOG CABIN CONSISTING OF ONE ROOM TWELVE FEET SQUARE" 
 
 A PAROCHIAL CALL IN THE xMOUNTAINS 
 
 Near the junction of North Carolina, 
 South Carolina and Georgia, among the 
 mountain peaks which furnish some of 
 the finest scenery this country can pro- 
 duce, I was stationed this summer. The 
 mountaineers with whom I had to deal 
 were, in the main, owing to the summer 
 visitors that have come to that section 
 of the mountains, a more refined and 
 more educated class than one meets or- 
 dinarily. Still, according to our ideas, 
 their lives are decidedly crude, primarily 
 from lack of education. The county 
 schools, open at the most three months 
 in the year, situated many miles apart 
 and poorly taught, produce small results. 
 
 One is particularly struck by the way 
 the poorer mountaineers live. I visited 
 one place where there are eight in the 
 
 family, five grown up, and all living in 
 a rough log cabin, consisting of one 
 room about twelve feet square. They 
 have plenty of land and plenty of lum- 
 ber, but are quite content with their 
 one room. About half a mile away a 
 family of thirteen, comprising three 
 generations, live in a cabin of the same 
 size. 
 
 At another cabin where I called and 
 which had two rooms, I was invited into 
 the larger room and given one of the two 
 chairs the house afforded. The lady of 
 the house had the other, and we sat in 
 a narrow alley between two great beds 
 which filled up the rest of the room. 
 Five children, aged from three to four- 
 teen, sprawled over the beds. Chickens 
 walked around the floor and pecked at 
 
 (9) 
 
my shoes, and an old sow looked in at 
 the door. The woman and all the chil- 
 dren were chewing tobacco; a habit 
 which, together with dipping snuff, the 
 mountaineers — girls included — acquire 
 in their babyhood. 
 
 The conversation developed a fact sig- 
 nificant of their need of the Church's 
 teaching — that the woman had been 
 much attracted by the teachings of a 
 local preacher, who had told her that if 
 she became properly converted, she could 
 not sin afterward. This belief, extraor- 
 
 dinary as it is and subversive of all 
 morality, is very common in the moun- 
 tains. It is the central point in the 
 doctrine of the so-called "holiness" sect, 
 and is implied and often explicitly stated 
 in the teaching of a great many moun- 
 tain preachers. 
 
 The mountaineers are asking for edu- 
 cation. The state cannot, with its mea- 
 gre resources, give it to them. The 
 mountaineers are also seeking the Truth. 
 The Church can give them both. 
 
 A. S. Lawrence. 
 
 ONE OF THE WAYNESVILLE MISSIONS 
 
 THE WAYNESVILLE ASSOCIATE MISSION 
 
 A summer's experience in an associate 
 mission is a thing worth while. It was 
 my good fortune this summer to see 
 something of the life at one of the out- 
 posts of the army of Christ. 
 
 This particular outpost was the 
 Waynesville Associate Mission in the 
 mountains of North Carolina. Our 
 commander was the priest at Waynes- 
 ville, the Eev. T. G. Sutherland, and our 
 force consisted of four schoolteachers 
 and seven lay-readers. Ordinarily there 
 are two priests in this field, one for work 
 
 (io) 
 
 near Waynesville, and the other for the 
 outlying stations. 
 
 The mission includes the following 
 stations: Grace Church in the Moun- 
 tains, the parish church at Waynesville; 
 St. Michael's, Waynesville, for the col- 
 ored population; St. Mary's, Micadale, 
 three miles from Waynesville; St. 
 Peter's, Balsam, twelve miles from 
 Waynesville; St. John's, Sylva, sixteen 
 miles beyond Balsam; St. David's, Cul- 
 lowhee, eleven miles from, the railroad; 
 Cullowhee Mines, eight miles further 
 
into the mountains; Church of the Mes- 
 siah, Murphy. Murphy is only eighty- 
 five miles from Waynesville, a five 
 hours' ride by train. 
 
 The priest goes about celebrating the 
 Eucharist and baptizing, preaching and 
 teaching, from place to place, dividing 
 his time as best he can. Se has general 
 oversight and direction of the entire 
 work. The teachers have schools con- 
 nected with some of the stations. At 
 the present time there are schools at the 
 Micadale and Balsam missions. 
 
 Each mission has a lay-reader, with 
 whom the priest keeps in constant touch. 
 These men are most faithful in conduct- 
 ing the Church's offices and gathering 
 her children into the Sunday-schools. 
 
 Variety is the chief characteristic of 
 this mission field. Each mission has its 
 own distinguishing feature. See how 
 the work differs. At Waynesville a par- 
 ish church and a mission for the colored 
 people; a village church at Sylva; a log- 
 ging community at Balsam; a moun- 
 taineer congregation at Balsam. At 
 Cullowhee there is a farming community 
 and at Cullowhee Mines we carry the 
 Church to those who toil beneath the 
 soil. 
 
 What is the Church accomplishing? 
 
 A MODERN MAN 
 
 I admit that I did not recognize Mm 
 at first, because I looked at him through 
 the eyes of his neighbors, and therefore 
 saw only the farmer, cattleman, trader 
 and ex-runner of blockade liquor, always 
 rough and uncouth, and sometimes pro- 
 fane. A little matter that concerned 
 some fractious calves, the telling of 
 which would unnecessarily lengthen the 
 story, brought us closer together, and I 
 saw that my man was not the ma- 
 terialistic being I had at first imagined. 
 I became convinced that he assumed the 
 character in order the more successfully 
 to win a living from an unwilling world. 
 When he had the time to be himself he 
 was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of 
 visions. This is not said to disparage 
 the man, for his dreams and visions con- 
 
 Let the following case be the answer: 
 The Micadale mission has been in opera- 
 tion for about fifteen years. One of the 
 first scholars was a young m,an, an or- 
 dinary mountain lad with no education. 
 He entered St. Mary's and studied for 
 seven months, when he was forced to 
 give up and return to work. Seven 
 months! Just long enough to learn 
 something of the "three Es." Think 
 of entering life with seven months' 
 education! Nevertheless, in that short 
 time the Church (Jid something for 
 that boy, for to-day he is a section 
 boss for the railroad, owns a general 
 store, has a farm of about one hundred 
 acres on which he supports four other 
 families, has $5,000 laid aside for the 
 education of his children, and is the 
 most respected man on his mountain. 
 That man is a leader in his community, 
 politically and religiously. It was 
 through him that the work on the Bal- 
 sam began, and the Balsam to-day is the 
 most promising field in that district. 
 See what seven months' education and 
 the Christian ideal did for one man! 
 Now, through him, the Church is reach- 
 ing hundreds more. There are some who 
 do not keep their talents wrapped in a 
 napkin. J. C. H. Saderbier. 
 
 FROM MACEDONIA 
 
 cerned the religious and intellectual up- 
 lift of an entire county. Will his dreams 
 ever be realized? That depends very 
 largely upon what the readers of this 
 story think and do about the matter. 
 
 Let me give the substance of a con- 
 versation I had with him one night as 
 we sat before the fire in his rough 
 cabin home. He spoke first of his own 
 pitiful ignorance. He had been able to 
 obtain just one week's schooling in his 
 boyhood, and during that short week had 
 somehow managed to learn the multi- 
 plication table. For this knowledge he 
 felt very thankful, and wondered what 
 he would have done without it. Always 
 there had been a battle against poverty, 
 which he unhesitatingly ascribed to 
 ignorance. By making as much as pos- 
 
 (11) 
 
sible of his natural wit, he had succeeded 
 in acquiring a little money, but the 
 memory of the fight was too bitter to 
 describe. Now he feared for his chil- 
 dren. Must they too go through the 
 world as terribly handicapped as him- 
 self? The district school? Almost use- 
 less. Open only four months of the year, 
 
 Church put a school into the valley? 
 The people would oppose it of course, 
 because they don't understand the 'Pisco- 
 pals, but they would quit as soon as they 
 see that you-all want to help their chil- 
 dren. Can't you-all come down here 
 and help us? There ain't nobody else 
 can." Surely this was a Man from 
 
 A GROUP OF MOUNTAIN BOYS 
 
 and the teachers but poorly trained and 
 unable to impart what they do not 
 possess. There were others to be thought 
 of beside his own children. In the val- 
 ley there were 500 children growing up 
 in ignorance. "Wont the 'Piscopal 
 
 Macedonia. And why not help them? 
 The only obstacle in the way is the lack 
 of men and money. Mere talk about the 
 Catholic Church doesn't help the Cath- 
 olic Church to meet its opportunity. 
 
 J. Arthur Glasier. 
 
 A MOUNTAIN HEROINE 
 
 Going up through a magnificent forest; 
 of poplars, oaks and chestnuts — veritable' 
 woodland giants — in a mountain cove in 
 Clay County, North Carolina, one comes 
 suddenly upon a small cabin on the edge 
 of a stony little pasture. It is one of 
 the poorest of the mountain homes in 
 that remote valley; the home of Mrs. 
 Howard (let us call her), whom the peo- 
 
 ple thereabouts know as "the widow." 
 When I first called there the two boys 
 fled out of sheer bashfulness, leaving 
 their mother and the little girl to do the 
 honors. 
 
 "Have a cheer," said Mrs. Howard, 
 motioning me to one of the three aged 
 chairs, oak-split-bottomed and stubby- 
 legged, which stood near the doorway. 
 
 (12) 
 
"FBTCHIN' FLOUR PROM THE MILL" 
 
 Then, after bidding her daughter "go 
 and fetch Bill and Jim," she seated her- 
 self also, and we had a long talk, al- 
 though very frequently she had to stop 
 and "shoo" the chickens and cats out of 
 the house with great ado — after which 
 they would placidly wander in again. 
 
 After her husband's death Mrs. How- 
 ard came here from "over the gap" to be 
 near her father's home. The children 
 were "not right stout," and she had 
 nearly lost two of them with typhoid 
 fever; indeed, she had only barely saved 
 one from being buried alive by over- 
 zealous neighbors. Here she had had a 
 long struggle in absolute poverty; her 
 children are not big enough nor strong 
 enough to help her do much farm work, 
 so they set out bravely to pick herbs in 
 the woods, for a bare livelihood. Two or 
 three times recently, she said, she had 
 come unpleasantly close to a "rattler," so 
 that now she often stayed at home for 
 weeks rather than have another "lick out 
 its tongue" at her. The Eev. Mr. Deal, 
 our pioneer missionary in these parts, 
 had given her a Prayer Book, and Bill, 
 she said, who had picked up reading all 
 by himself, would spend hours over it. 
 "Sometimes he climbs up tbar' into the 
 loft, and reads it aloud to his-self; but 
 you can't .get him to read it 'fore 
 strangers. No, sir, he wont read it out 
 loud even 'fore me." 
 
 As I looked at Mrs. Howard — thin and 
 frail in her often-patched clothing and 
 poor apologies for shoes — and saw her 
 cheery face and hopeful manner; when 
 she told me that during the winter, a 
 year ago, she had taken her children and 
 small nieces and nephews, and had tried 
 to teach them the Church Catechism, I 
 knew that this woman was not only a 
 heroine, but the truest kind of a mis- 
 sionary as well. I knew that her efforts 
 had been really blessed, for it seemed as 
 if there was something of refinement 
 about the children who had come under 
 this good woman's influence, more than 
 one generally sees in the mountains. 
 
 While we were talking the two boys 
 had approached timidly, and sat outside 
 on the porch ; they could not be prevailed 
 upon to come in, and "Bill" hung his 
 head and wouldn't even look around. 
 Mrs. Howard went over to the fireplace 
 and stirred at a caldron which rested on 
 the smoldering embers. "It's a cholera 
 mixture for the hawgs," she said, 
 "cholera's been powerful bad this year. 
 An old woman over on Shooting Creek 
 taught me to make this. It was right 
 smart o' years ago she died. I remem- 
 ber some people used to say she was a 
 witch, but," turning to me, "I never be- 
 lieved it, 'pears to me like there ain't 
 no such thing, nohow." 
 
 The children had tried hard to go to 
 
 (13) 
 
school that summer, but it was a tramp 
 of over four miles and the rains had 
 been bad that year. Indeed, after some 
 of the. harder rains school children often 
 endanger their lives getting home up 
 the swollen streams, where perhaps 
 "footlogs" are carried away and the trail 
 obliterated. 
 
 "I hope you'uns '11 come again next 
 
 THE WORK 
 
 In the foregoing accounts appear 
 several phases of the work done by the 
 eight embryo missionaries. But the tale 
 would be incomplete without some refer- 
 ence to another phase of work, also 
 typical of the South — the Church in the 
 small town. Such a town is Murphy, 
 the county-seat of Cherokee County, the 
 terminus of two railroad branches, with 
 a population of about YOO. The situa- 
 tion here is briefly told. The Church, 
 in the person of brave Father Prout, of 
 
 year," was Mrs. Howard's message after 
 we had finished our work on the 
 Tusquitee. I hope everyone who reads 
 this will remember her wish, for she is 
 one of many who are asking for the 
 Church's care. She is duplicated to a 
 greater or less degree in the lives of 
 hundreds of mountain women in the 
 South. Theodore Andrews. 
 
 AT MURPHY 
 
 have occurred; three priests have come, 
 only to move away after a brief stay at 
 the call of more primitive work which 
 there was no one else to answer. To- 
 day Murphy is down in the journal of 
 the district as a member of the Waynes- 
 ville group of missions, under the care 
 of their rector, who lives eighty- five miles 
 away, at Waynesville, where alone he has 
 enough to keep two men busy. One of the 
 former priests-in-charge built a beauti- 
 ful little church, and here one of the 
 
 THE ROADS WERE DESPERATELY BAD 
 
 the old Valle Orucis Mission, entered 
 the hamlet fifty years ago. He built a 
 rude chapel, and moved on. Since then 
 intermittent periods of activity, alternat- 
 ing . with stagnation and retrogression, 
 
 (14) 
 
 students conducted services, trying to 
 minister to the little band of brave, 
 faithful soldiers; helping them to hold 
 the fort until from somewhere someone 
 shall come to take permanent charge and 
 
lead them in the positive, aggressive 
 fight which they are longing to make 
 and cannot — just for the lack of a 
 priest-in-charge ! 
 
 The situation does not seem par- 
 ticularly interesting or encouraging, 
 does it? It is neither. Only those who 
 prefer a stern chase to one upon even 
 terms would be attracted to this work. 
 Why speak of it then, since it is neither 
 interesting nor encouraging? For just 
 one reason: in the hope that even to 
 some very slight extent the attention of 
 some few in the Church at large may 
 be drawn to the needs of the Church in 
 the South, to the end that the stern chase 
 be speedily taken up. For the condi- 
 dition at Murphy is typical of hundreds 
 
 THE BISHOP 
 
 Summer is the most satisfactory sea- 
 son of the year for doing Church work, 
 as well as other kinds of work, in the 
 mountains of North Carolina. The 
 climate is cool and bracing, and much 
 exertion, physical and mental, can be 
 made without fatigue. 
 
 Through the generosity of a few 
 Churchmen in New York, eight students 
 from the seminary were enabled to offer 
 me their services last summer for mis- 
 sionary work in the district of Asheville. 
 I gladly accepted the offer. 
 
 Two of the young men were placed 
 under the direction of two of our mis- 
 sionaries, and the other six worked under 
 the direction of the bishop in two 
 groups of three each. 
 
 The most satisfactory relationships, 
 whether commercial, ethical or spiritual, 
 are those that are mutually beneficial. 
 Judged by such a standard, the ministra- 
 tions of these young men were most 
 gratifying. The students, I feel quite 
 sure, were benefited by their experience, 
 and I had voluntary testimony on all 
 sides that they had done excellent and 
 m,ost acceptable work among our moun- 
 tain people. Many wanted assurances 
 that they would be sent again. 
 
 Their youthful enthusiasm was re- 
 freshing in some of the quiet, lonely 
 mountain fastnesses. They showed 
 
 of small towns throughout all the 
 southern dioceses. When the wave of 
 emigration swept westward from the 
 coast a century ago, the body of it struck 
 the mountains, and the foam, in the 
 shape of the Boones, the Houstons and 
 their followers, dashed over into the 
 Mississippi valley and the Southwest. 
 In the wave and in the foam were zeal- 
 ous Methodist and Baptist preachers — 
 our Church sent no one. Sixty years 
 later she started; sixty years behind. 
 Now she is gaining, but her strength in 
 men and money is shamefully inade- 
 quate. She needs the presence and the 
 prayers of men and women who are in 
 earnest; who are eager for the long, 
 stern chase. Malcolm S. Taylor. 
 
 S COMMENT 
 
 themselves wonderfully acceptable, and 
 the people were appreciative and seemed 
 to feel that these young men had come 
 from the city because they wanted to be 
 of them and to help them. 
 
 I made it a special point to visit the 
 missions where they were ministering 
 before the time came for them to re- 
 turn to the seminary, and I am de- 
 lighted with the result of this summer 
 vacation work, and hope to have them 
 return. 
 
 It is interesting to have an ac- 
 count from these young missionaries of 
 their experiences among a people who 
 were not long since strangers and 
 strange to them. They made a deep im- 
 press and their work will be remem- 
 bered, I am sure, until they come again, 
 if they do not tarry too long. 
 
 I am satisfied that as medical students 
 are required to take a course in some 
 hospital, if possible, before they are con- 
 sidered fully equipped for their life 
 work, so should theological students have 
 an experience training in some mission 
 field as part of their preparation for the 
 full ministry of the Church. 
 
 I can offer a field for many of them 
 each year, and I commend the plan to 
 other missionary bishops. 
 
 Junius M. Horner, 
 Bishop of Asheville. 
 
 (15) 
 
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