Except for occasional visits by priests and ministers from Canada to the Pembina settlement, there was little further religious activity in North Dakota until 1871, when the Presbyterians again sent a minister into the Red River Valley. Oscar H. Elmer, who received the appointment, drove up and down the valley in a homemade cutter, and was the first to conduct church services in many of the pioneer towns, including Fargo and Grand Forks. When the Episcopal Church decided to send a missionary into the newly settled territory, the board, guided by the stories it had heard of Dakota winters, recalled Rev. Robert Wainright from his mission in Labrador, feeling that his experience there should have qualified him to serve in Dakota. Mr. Wainright took over the northern half of Dakota Territory, and raised funds to carry on his work by appearing in Labrador costume and giving exhibitions of his skill with a 40-foot whip, with which it is said he could flick water out of a glass. As settlement increased, other church groups sent missionaries and ministers. At first, services were held in homes, schools, or tents, and often a building used during the week as a saloon or gambling hall would become a place of worship on Sunday. The ministerial duties frequently included janitor work, and since the remuneration usually consisted of donations from the parishioners, many of the ministers supplemented this income by operating small farms. The hardships of pioneer days led to much resourcefulness on the part of early churchgoers. Gopher tails were saved and placed on the collection plate by those who had no cash to give, for the church could then claim the three-cent bounty on gophers offered by the State. As communities grew, new church buildings were erected, until now some of the most notable structures in the State are churches. Religious colonies came to North Dakota to settle, and Mennonite, Dunkard, Moravian, and Mohammedan are among the approximately 25 creeds represented in the State. Most influential are the Lutheran (due to the large number of Scandinavian settlers) and the Roman Catholic. The actual number of churches is decreasing as parishes are enlarged, and in smaller towns and rural sections the consolidation of churches has been found practical. SOCIAL CONDITIONS A movement in 1915 for increased social legislation resulted in the passage of mothers' pension, juvenile court, and old age pension acts, and in the abolition of capital punishment except in the case of a convict already serving a life sentence for murder.