Trail-Tales of Western CanadaRobinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Religion
Trail-Tales of Western Canada
Robinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Canadian fiction -- 20th century; Missions -- Canada, Western -- Fiction; Short stories, Canadian
In the summer of 1912, after a lapse of ten years, the missionary stood
once more in The Valley. As is true of most Western communities,
everything was changed. A little city had arisen--the old schoolhouse
was no more, and the once well-known places could no longer be located.
But there stands a beautiful little church not far from where the old
schoolhouse once stood, and one of the honoured elders bears the name
of William Sanders. Two of his daughters teach in the Sabbath School,
and of the five children, a well-known business man said, "Why, you'd
just be proud of every one of them, if they were your own."
In the churchyard a marble slab bears the name, "Mary Perry Sanders,"
and near the base, "She hath done what she could." As was her desire
in the days of struggle and isolation, the patient, faithful mother had
left the precious legacy of a good character to her children.
Thus had the seed sown brought forth its fruit after many days. Among
hallowed memories, few are so precious to the missionary as that of the
day when his now old friend "Queenie" took the wrong road. And
whenever on lonely prairie, in quiet hamlet, or noisy city, he hears a
congregation sing Cowper's hymn, "God moves in a mysterious way, His
wonders to perform," he thinks of that distant, stormy winter day when
a barking dog led him to a home that is now transformed, and to a
darkened life that was in God's goodness guided into that light "that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
THE SNAKE-ROOM
The hotels in the town on the "boundary"[*] were crowded. For several
days the men had been returning from the bush after the winter's cut,
until over a thousand "lumber-jacks" from the various camps in the
immediate vicinity had taken possession of the place. For most of
these men the bar-room was the only social centre, and the arrival of
each gang meant the recognition of old friends and the celebration
thereof in a call for "drinks all round."
[*] Boundary line between U.S. and Canada.
In a hallway adjoining a popular bar-room the missioner stood sadly
watching the procession of hard toilers losing at the one time their
winter's earnings and the control of their faculties. It seemed
useless to plead with the men either collectively or individually.
"It's the only way we've got to let off steam, boss--it's a fool way,
you bet, but here goes." The speaker was a man of not over thirty
years of age. With unsteady step he entered the bar-room again, and
pushed his way to the double line that kept the bar-tenders perspiring
as they sought to respond to the sometimes cursing demands for more
rapid service.
[Illustration:
1. A Western Lumber Camp. 2. Lumber Camp Group in Sunday Attire.
3. The Day's Work Ended. 4. A Typical Bar-room
"In some districts fully 75% of shanty men's earnings
goes over the bar. One bank paid out 38,000 dollars
in wages. Within a week a near-by bar-room deposited
22,000 dollars."]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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