THE KING’S BUSINESS
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the miner’s shack were honored with its folds. Even among the foreigners in the factory ; towns and mining sections you could see “Old Glory” displayed in the win dows. We would travel some days sixty miles, without seeing a house in the desert or in the mountains, but when we did see one it was graced with “Old Glory.” What â rich country' God has given us Americans. For days we traveled through corn fields and grain fields. Then through ranges of "cattle, horses, mules, and hogs, to say.nothing of the thousands of sheep and goats. Here would be a section rich in coal. Then the derricks standing like sen tinels would tell us that we were in the oil region. At Joplin, Mo., we passed through one of the richest zinc outputs in the world, while at other places we were going through a region of soft coal, cop per, silver, and gold. We also passed through the radium belt where they were mining that mysterious mineral, and drank from the radium waters at Waunita Springs, Colo., its life-giving, health restoring ' waters. After passing a wilder ness of mesas and desert waste, where nothing grows but sage’brush, greasewood and cactus', we came out into the beautiful orange groves of Southern California. Here we .drove through 500,000 acres of these oranges and lemon orchards, deco rated along the roadside for miles with hedges of palms and geraniufns and roses ini full bloom. Every American ought to thank God three times a day that he has thé privilege of living in such a country. Time and space do not permit me to mention the pleasant conversations with all classes, from statesmen and professional men to the toiler in mine and soil, pros pectors, wealthy land-owners, merchants, tradesmen, wanderers. The latter, people who have no home—much like our gypsies —a covered wagon and two or three don keys their only possessions. Their only fortune, an income of “hard knocks.” They no doubt are largely responsible for this kind of a life, for they nave chosen this path. They know nothing of the gos pel; many of them have never been in a church. They are always hopeful ; looking for something better and never finding it because they have not found- Christ in whom are hid all the spiritual and tem poral blessings one needs in this life. To all these we tried to bring the message, either in spoken or written word. We appreciate greatly the prayers of our friends who daily followed us in interces sion.”
during our dinner hour five other touring cars came to the summit. So many pleasant- incidents occurred along the way that cannot be described. One was a. meeting in a little Home Mis sionary church in the Ozarks, in southern Missouri. We came upon this little Bap tist chapel in the woods.' A mountaineer riding up on horseback gave us an invita tion to attend. The young mountaineer preacher was holding a series of revival services he said. What a scene met our eyes as we drove into the chapel yard. Here, tethered to almost every tree, was a saddle horse. Within, the men were seated on one side and the women on the other side of the little white chapel. A more solemn, serious crowd you never saw. We sang, played our horns, and helped in the meeting in every possible way. God blessed and there were results. What a weird sight at the close, to see the young men and women dash up the trail through the woods, sometimes Indian file and some times abreast, and_often two-or three on one horse. It was a picture never to be forgotten in the bright glare of our auto lights. Our friends will be glad to know of the' splendid work of Prof. F. A. Mills, who traveled so long with evangelist J- A. Davis. He is pastor of two Presbyterian Mission ary churches in the Ozark „mountains—in the very region made famous by the story of “The Shepherd of the Hills,” by Harold Bell Wright. Here we held meetings, every evening for a week, preaching in the courthouse yard. The fence about the yard was lined with saddle horses on which the mountaineers had come for five to ten miles to listen to the gospel. It was inspir ing to see those stalwart fellows take their stand for Jesus Christ. They came with a determination that is born and bred in the bone. Their very nature seems to have taken in the rugged strength of the rocks and hills about them. When once they decide to come out .for Christ they mean business. How we came to loye them and their simple ways of living. Mr. and Mrs. Mills are doing a noble, self-sacrificing work there. One of the encouraging things, nation ally, was the way the “Stars and Stripes” are honored among all classes in every State. You could see the flag we all love so much waving from the domes of Capi tols and courthouses; institutions of learn ing, from the university to the country schoolhouse. It decorated the homes of the wealthy and shadowed the windows of the poor man’s hut. The log cabin and
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