^he cBuzeau of STfiiuioru, 
 
 What the Church Can Do 
 in the Western Mining Camp 
 
 By the REV CHARLES A. HORNE 
 
WHAT THE CHURCH HAS DONE IN ONE MINING CAMP 
 Trinity Church, Sutter Creek, California, in the District of Sacramento 
 
 What Can the Church Do in the Western 
 
 Mining Camp? 
 
 TO THE LAYMAN WHO COMES WEST— THE PROBLEM OP THE MAN- 
 TO THE CLERGYMEN THE WEST WANTS — TO THE MAN IN THE EAST 
 
 BY THE REVEREND CHARLES A. HORNE 
 
 LATE one afternoon last summer 
 I rode into a mining camp in 
 Idaho, dismounted, and tied my 
 pony. It was an old camp. 
 Most of the houses were built of logs 
 thirty years ago during a placer excite- 
 ment, when that part of Idaho sent more 
 gold dust to the United States mints 
 than has yet come from the Klondike. 
 More lately, quartz mining has been 
 prosecuted on a more permanent basis. 
 It was, and is, a rich camp. One of the 
 first things I noticed was a man re- 
 moving the dirt from under the founda- 
 tions of an old house and mining it 
 through a sluice. Inquiry brought out 
 the fact that this building had been used 
 since the sixties as a bar and house of 
 prostitution. The gold dust that had 
 sifted through the flooring made the soil 
 
 underneath "pay dirt." The streets of 
 the city were literally "golden streets." 
 But while it had more of the symbol of 
 the city of Revelation, it had rather less 
 of the reality than the town in which 
 you are living. 
 
 It was in a high altitude, and cold af- 
 ter sunset. As it grew dark the only 
 well-lighted buildings appeared to be the 
 half-dozen saloons. I walked down the 
 street looking for a place to go to and 
 talk with the men I knew. The grocery 
 was deserted, and rather chilly. The 
 saloons were bright and warm, and 
 through the windows I could see some of 
 my friends talking and laughing. 
 Farther on was a cabin with drawn cur- 
 tains from which more boisterous merri- 
 ment could be' heard, punctuated with an 
 occasional yell in true cowboy tones. 
 
Finally, I discovered a group of men 
 sitting on logs about a fire. These were 
 the men who didn't care to spend their 
 evening leisure and their day's wages in 
 the saloons. Many and many a time 
 I have seen that group about a log fire, 
 and it is an inspiration — a silent call to 
 you. 
 
 What, then, can we do? The Church 
 is not an abstraction. It is made up of 
 holy and catholic men and women. To 
 answer the question which is the title 
 of this article in a helpful way, it be- 
 comes an individual question. What can 
 you, I, and the other, do ? 
 
 The picture that I have drawn is that 
 of a small camp. There are other min- 
 ing camps that are full grown cities, like 
 Virginia City, in Nevada, and Butte, 
 in Montana, with its 45,000 people, where 
 we have one strong parish and two mis- 
 sions, with three church buildings and 
 three clergymen. But the beginning 
 must be made in the comparatively 
 smaller camps where the need is greater. 
 
 A mining camp is not all bad. It is 
 rough. Half the men in any camp wish 
 the conditions were better. But every 
 man is there to make his pile as quickly 
 as he can, and then to leave. They rare- 
 ly consider it a home. If they can help 
 it, they never bring their wives and 
 families with them. Often I have heard 
 a man say, "A mining camp is no place 
 for a woman." The men have little 
 leisure. The majority work under- 
 ground seven days in the week. Where 
 there is no church they lose track of the 
 days of the week. Where there is one, 
 as the church bell is ringing, the shift 
 goes down the shaft to work underground 
 with a candle. 
 
 The great need of these communities 
 is the need of men who care more for 
 their brothers' welfare than for the 
 speedy making of a pile. The man who 
 falls sick in the camp, or is hurt in an 
 accident, finds as much, yes, more sym- 
 pathy and generous help than he would 
 in New York City — unorganized, in- 
 dividual help, too. But of moral help, 
 very little ; of spiritual help, almost none 
 at all. And so, after all, a mining camp 
 is no place in which to be sick, just as it 
 
 is no place for a woman. I am more and 
 more convinced that what these camps 
 need is not so much more money as men 
 — "men of gold," as Bishop Moreland 
 puts it, "to show by comparison the 
 cheapness of mere material gold." 
 
 To the Layman Who Comes West 
 
 Some one or more who read this will 
 come to this western country. Many 
 are coming. Many Churchmen and 
 women have come. Here ought to be the 
 strength of the Church. Here ought to 
 be the ready answer to the question, 
 What can the Church do in the western 
 mining camp? It is not always so. I 
 wish it were. It sometimes seems to me 
 that the men and women you send us 
 from the eastern parish do not recog- 
 nize religion in its western clothes. Is 
 it that they have so materially associated 
 worship and the Gospel with the stained 
 glass window, the tesselated pavement 
 and the stone altar, that they don't know 
 what to do in a mining camp cabin? 
 These three are in more ways than one 
 "the three foes of missions." 
 
 Often, very often, the minister here 
 finds his truest helpers in men who never 
 went to church before. We must not 
 neglect facts. And the fact is that very 
 often the Churchman from the East 
 gets levelled down to the new conditions 
 and becomes as eager "to make his pile 
 and quit" as his western neighbor. It 
 is not always so. And because I believe 
 it ought not to be so, and some day, 
 please God, will not be so, I want to 
 quote somewhat at length from the re- 
 ports of others in their work of rare in- 
 stances of consecrated purpose and suc- 
 cessful endeavor on the part of Church- 
 men who have come here from the East. 
 
 Bishop Moreland gives- this instance 
 that reads like the answer to the ques- 
 tion we are considering: 
 
 "In one camp a layman^ superintend- 
 ent of a mine, has formed a Miners' 
 Recreation Club, of over 100 members, 
 and we let them use an old rectory ad- 
 joining the church for games, reading 
 and billiards. It is the only rival to the 
 saloons. The men are taking hold with 
 enthusiasm, and the keen, big-hearted 
 
Churchman at the head is a real leader, 
 although religious tests of membership 
 are not allowed. The club recently 
 donated $50 from its initiation fees to 
 the Church. We are watching this 
 movement with great interest. It is at 
 Grass Valley, California." 
 
 From Silver City, New Mexico, the 
 Rev. Mr. Ruffner sends this story of per- 
 sistent service: 
 
 ' "At the mining camp of Mogollon, in 
 Socorro County, N. M., Mr. Ernest Craig 
 
 then he has been following up, as best he 
 could, the gains made at the mission. 
 Now he has in mind the establishment 
 of the Church upon such a basis as will 
 insure a permanent work there. The 
 bishop will go out soon to inaugurate the 
 project." 
 
 Bishop Brewer writes: "For a few 
 years an earnest Christian layman was 
 superintendent of a mine in a mining 
 camp in Montana. He was strict with 
 his men, but showed a constant interest 
 
 SUPPLIES "GOING IN" TO CAMP 
 
 and Mrs. Craig have done a truly great 
 work for their friends and neighbors. 
 Mr. Craig, an Englishman of an old and 
 honored family, is manager of 'The Last 
 Chance Mine.' He had to win the con- 
 fidence of the people of the camp. But 
 fair dealings, simple, consistent good- 
 ness did that in time. Then he had Sun- 
 day services in his mill, stopping work to 
 enable the men to attend. He followed 
 this up, renting a hall, holding week-day 
 services, and forming a class for boys 
 and young men, which he instructs and 
 maintains. He planned and bore the ex- 
 pense of a parochial mission. Since 
 
 in their welfare. He kept up a Sunday- 
 school and served as lay-reader. We 
 never had a resident clergyman, but the 
 nearest rector, sixty miles away, used to 
 visit the camp once or twice a month on 
 week days. I would go twice a year for 
 Sundays. Services were held in a hall. 
 There were a good many baptisms and 
 quite a number of confirmations. Just 
 as we were about ready to build a church, 
 the mine shut down and this man went 
 away. It was uphill work after that." 
 
 And now an illustrative incident. 
 Two other clergymen, when asked for an 
 example of conspicuously useful laymen, 
 
give the example of this same man. Is 
 Christian charity such a rarity? One 
 adds that he was from Massachusetts, 
 and after his departure sent the Bishop 
 $1,000 a year. And yet Bishop Brewer 
 says: "It was uphill work after that." 
 Could anything better illustrate — il- 
 luminate the fact that it is the man more 
 than the money that is needed? 
 
 To the Clergymen the West Wants 
 
 Money is needed for this work, but 
 
 mind on this question. Listen to their 
 answers : 
 
 "Men, not money." 
 
 "The getting of men is the key of the 
 whole situation." 
 
 "We need men more than money." 
 
 "Money is always needful, but the 
 right men to do the work are more neces- 
 sary than money." 
 
 "No amount of money will avail un- 
 less we have men of good common sense." 
 
 "The great need of the work in a min- 
 
 A SHAFT HOUSE AND QUARTZ MILL 
 
 more than money we need the men. 
 Christ did not say, "Send money first 
 unto all nations." Money must be had, 
 and it will be given cheerfully. But the 
 call is "Go ye!" We are apt to think 
 too much of the $100,000 mark in mis- 
 sions, and not enough of the character 
 mark. The Gospel must be carried by 
 men. "Only a person can utter a per- 
 son." Money is secondary. I was and 
 am so convinced that the great need of 
 this work is for more men of the highest 
 character and ability that I have written 
 to others who have had larger experience 
 in mining communities, to ask their 
 
 ing camp is a true man at the head — one 
 with common sense." 
 
 "Men first, money second." 
 
 Two of these answers are from mis- 
 sionary bishops of ripe experience. "Get 
 diamonds of the first water and put them 
 in the rough setting of the mining 
 camp," writes another. And another 
 wisely adds, "None but men of the 
 highest grade, physically, morally, men- 
 tally and spiritually, should ever be sent 
 to this work — men ready to do and die in 
 the service of Almighty God." "The 
 wrong man will do more harm than 
 seven good men can overcome in long 
 
THE MAIN STREET IN A MOUNTAIN CAMP 
 
 years!" "It is the most difficult and deli- 
 cate work the Church has to do." 
 
 Here is a work that will tax your 
 every ability, and try your endurance to 
 the utmost — a life filled with activity, 
 variety and inspiration. You can do 
 more work for the Master in a western 
 mining camp than you can accomplish in 
 the routine of an eastern parish in 
 years. Do it in your own way, too, as 
 God gives you to see it, unhampered by 
 stifling traditions. You will never rust 
 out in this work. 
 
 There are shining examples to follow. 
 Hardly a miner in British Columbia and 
 the Northwest but has heard of "Father 
 Pat." "Many a man has said to me," 
 writes Bishop Wells, "that as long as he 
 had a dollar Father Pat should never 
 want." He rode the trails in rough 
 clothes. When he heard of a sick miner 
 he would pack up a few medicines, clean 
 sheets and comforts, and ride out and 
 take care of him. He went into the 
 saloons, saying wherever his "B'ys" went 
 was good enough for him to go. When 
 Rossland grew from a camp to a city, 
 he left it, saying he had come to min- 
 
 ister to the "B'ys," and not a comfortable 
 congregation. 
 
 When he died they started a subscrip- 
 tion to place a fountain in his memory 
 in the street of Bossland. Twice the 
 amount asked for was given. An 
 ambulance was bought with the balance, 
 and the Canadian Parliament passed an 
 act admitting it free of duty. 
 
 Evident is the fact that given the man 
 the money will not be wanting. 
 
 Sometimes Father Pat's congregation 
 would find a notice posted on the church 
 door, when they came to evening prayer, 
 stating briefly that he had gone over the 
 Divide to visit a sick man. Nearly al- 
 ways, I am told, his little "shack" har- 
 bored one, two or three wrecks — a 
 stranded younger son, or a miner who 
 had "bio wed in" his month's wages in 
 one night and was sobering and repent- 
 ing. It was a work without ostentation, 
 and simple. There were those who 
 couldn't see the diamond for the rough- 
 ness. There may possibly be some so 
 shallow as to expect something essential 
 in the roughness and try to copy it. 
 Mere roughness never wins its way. 
 
 m 
 
 THE iNOOSJHOURi 
 
To the Man in the East 
 
 Some money is needed, and you can 
 give it. The minister will want a build- 
 ing — one that can be put up for $500 
 or $1,000. The lower floor for a reading 
 and club room six days in the week, and 
 for a church on Sunday. Two upper 
 rooms for a study and bedroom. A 
 horse shed, pony and saddle, will com- 
 plete the outfit. 
 
 Then you can send books- — not 
 the ones in the 
 attic for which you 
 have no use, but 
 books that have 
 helped you; papers 
 and magazines — 
 not the ones that 
 are a year old and 
 which you want to 
 get rid of, but 
 hesitate to burn, 
 but current num- 
 bers, sent week by 
 week and month 
 by month; a 
 Christmas box, 
 and comforts for 
 the sick. 
 
 Take the ques- 
 tion, "What can I 
 do in the mining 
 camps of the 
 West ?" to your 
 prayerful thought. 
 Don't wait for the 
 "Appeal," but ask 
 Dr. Lloyd or Mr. 
 Wood whom you 
 can help. Write to 
 
 them. When you come West go and see 
 what is being done in some camp. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 The itinerant priest can do little per- 
 manent good. What is needed is the 
 man to go and live in the camp. Clergy- 
 men living within 100 or 200 miles of a 
 camp can open the way by visits during 
 the summer; but it must be followed up 
 by the resident missionary. I know of 
 three camps — Elk City, Dixie, and 
 Buffalo Hump. They are comparatively 
 
 near together. They are in the centre of 
 a new and promising mining region. I 
 have visited them once each year for 
 three years, and have held the only ser- 
 vices the men have had. Now, we want 
 a man to go and live there. I am 
 sanguine that the greater part of his 
 support would be gladly given by the 
 men there. They would help to put up 
 a building. One man said this summer : 
 "I shall have a saw-mill this win- 
 ter, and when you 
 want to build I 
 will give you a 
 good donation of 
 lumber." And lum- 
 ber costs there $60 
 a thousand now. 
 Another said: 
 "When you want 
 to build, we will 
 all help." 
 
 And I am sure 
 this is but an ex- 
 ample of many 
 such an o p p o r- 
 tunity. "The work 
 is hard,, the pay is 
 poor, the reward is 
 
 sure. 
 
 If 
 
 AMONG THE EVERLASTING HILLS 
 
 FOUR years ago 
 Mr. H o r n e 
 was rector of a 
 comfortable parish 
 in an eastern 
 diocese. He vol- 
 unteered for ser- 
 vice in the District 
 of Spokane, and was 
 placed in charge of Clarkston, Washing- 
 ton, and Lewiston, Idaho. He has 
 worked here with great success, rallying 
 discouraged people and paying off the in- 
 debtedness on the church property, be- 
 sides doing abundant good in other 
 directions. Lewiston now has its own 
 clergyman. Clarkston is not a mining 
 town, but Mr. Home makes a yearly trip 
 into the mountain camps. An article by 
 Mr. Home on "Three Idaho Mining 
 Camps" appeared in the October, 1901, 
 number. — Editor.] 
 
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