T The Way of the Evangelist in the REV. FRANCIS E. HIGGINS. Mr. Higgins is thoroughly identified with the lumber camp work. He has tramped the forests of the northwest for years and has presented the appeal of the neglected lumber-jack in a countless number of churches, East and West. HOUGH evangelistic work in the logging camps cannot be classed with other evangelistic effort, yet there is the same need of Christ as everywhere else. Human nature is much the same everywhere. Sin is the same no matter where it is found, whether it be in the great forest or in the centers of civilization. I know of no place where a missionary, or evangelist, whichever you prefer to call him, needs to be blessed with good practical sense more than in this work. It would be hard to formulate any concrete rules for the conduct of this work, for every locality has its own peculiar needs. In one place the camps are operated by companies; the companies may or may not encourage the work, though with only one exception in seventeen years I have always been welcomed to the camps. It may be the camps are operated by contractors, and, in a few cases, while the contractors have no faith in such work yet they will give the missionary plenty to eat and a place to sleep, at the same time making him feel that the loggers are not up there for evangelistic work. I am thankful, however, to say these cases are the exceptions and not the rule. I have found it desirable that the missionary should have twelve or fifteen camps, as may be conveniently located, and that he remain but one night in a camp, tramping to another for the next night, and so on all through the season. If a missionary should stay too long in one camp he would soon wear out his welcome both with the men and the operators. Besides, the men should not be deprived of much needed rest after the day's work is over. The one thing the missionary must do is to convince the men that he really loves them that he is willing to be their servant. I have been severely criticized more than once for doing things out of the ordinary line of a minister's work, such as going into saloons, gambling halls, and other places of sin. I have often been misunderstood as I have pulled men out of such places and took what money they had left, if any, put them to bed, nursed them through sickness: all that they might know I would be their friend and do anything for them. The missionary should have but one message in the camps: Sin with its awful consequences; conviction of sin by God's Holy Spirit, and the great remedy, Jesus Christ. Experience has shown that these men always love the man who will come to them with a strong, straightforward message. The Lumber-Jack of the North and JACK MCCALL. F I could take you with me through the great pine forests of Northern Minnesota it would surprise you to see the vast amount of timber yet standing in this great territory. St. Louis county alone, as large as the state of Maine, has timber enough to keep its many mills in operation for many years to come, and it is not without labor and expense that this timber is brought down to the mills by rail and river. Preparing for the Harvest. In the fall of the year the big companies prepare for the winter's work by building HOME MISSIONS camps, railroads, and cutting roads through the timber to make ready for the great harvest after snowfall. With the building of the camps comes the lumber-jack, and with the coming of the lumber-jack the saloon in nearby towns, where the keeper prepares to reap the harvest for which he has not sown. He knows it will not be long before some of the boys will have stake enough for his first spree. But the saloon-keeper does not count on the missionary who gets into the camps as soon as they are built to warn the men by the gospel of Christ and urge them against the pitfalls that are laid for them. And the appeal is not always in vain, for some stop to think, and at least make an effort to lead a better life. This great work among the boys in the forest was first organized by Rev. Frank E. Higgins, the "Sky Pilot," the lumber-jack's friend, who is loved by them all for his consideration and love. I may say in passing that I count it a great privilege 373 why they had not more light and reading. "Read," said one man, "why I have just finished this story printed on this package." And he showed me an empty package which had contained tobacco. A broad hint. And it was not long before there was some good reading matter in this camp and all the others. Mr. McCall coming into camp after nine miles walk through woods. to be associated in this great work for Christ with such a consecrated man as Frank Higgins. Letting in Light. Three years ago next fall I was called to this work in the district in which I am now located. When I first went into the camps I found conditions very bad in a spiritual way. The camps were dark and cheerless, no reading to uplift the mind, only the old stories to tell one another to pass away the time, some of them not very uplifting. When I went into the camps I spoke to the boys and asked them It would surprise many to come into one of the camp meetings and hear these great rough fellows sing, a little out of tune, perhaps, but from the heart. And when you tell them of the power of Jesus to save and keep from sin, and watch their faces, you see that many of them have to let the lumber-jack and his hard-earned money go if he can help it. He will try all kinds of schemes to get Jack or Tom started by sending whiskey into the camps and in other ways, for once he gets Jack started he is sure of his stake that he worked for so hard all winter. One year ago I went on St. Louis drive to speak to the boys along the river. I spoke to about thirty men at one point and as I got through speaking a Frenchman told his story. He said, "Boys, the whiskey is no good. And the fellow that sells it is worse. I worked hard all winter, had a pretty good stake this spring. Now I have nothing." "How was that, Two Bits?" (The name the boys called him.) "Well, I come down this spring and made up my mind not to drink. I went into Joe's place. He says, 'Hello, Two Bits. Have a drink of whiskey.' I said, 'No, not this time.' He asked two or three times but I said, 'No.' Next morning I went into Joe's place again. He said, 'Hello, Two Bits, have a drink of whiskey,' I said 'No.' He said, 'I went up to touched by the missionary. We have only touched it in spots so far. Last year, that is the year of 1911, there were 30,000 men in the camps of Minnesota alone; not over one-third heard the gospel. This year not so many. Still a greater number never heard of Jesus. I made sixteen camps, covering a great deal of territory. My work covered three counties. The camps averaged 110 men each. I preached in each camp once every twenty days and visited the hospitals, prayed with the the church last night and the priest gave me some holy water to put in the whiskey to keep the boys from getting drunk. Come along, it won't hurt you.' Well," said Two Bits, "I drank the whiskey, got drunk and lost my money. That's all." I remember Two Bits taking my hand before he came down and promising not to drink, and I believe he meant it, too, but this vile wretch who sells the stuff that steals away man's manhood lied to this simple-minded Catholic to get a chance to rob him. There are many men of Joe's stamp in the towns of the forest who are preying on such men as Two Bits. Touched Only in Spots. after supper. Men sitting on edge of bunks. sick, buried the dead, wrote letters to the friends of sick and dying; gave first aid to the boys injured in camps that I was in when the accident happened; and many other duties that fall to the missionary to do. Still there is so much undone. We are looking forward to the time when consecrated men who are not afraid of danger and hardship will be raised up to go into this great work for Christ, which has been so well supported by the Presbyterian Church through its Board of Home Missions. The Home Board has helped the work by its prayers and counsel and we are entering the coming year with more confidence than ever before to strive to win these big-hearted men |