| Show AMONG THE ARKANSANS GG arkansas march aoth 1897 it november 1896 elder E tf brim and myself laboring in conference of the indian nusi ion received notice from knight that we were to take and go into arkansas we met our new com at illinois station indian ter elder frank L copeti ig i was to lAor with elder B brim rim and elder joseph J larkin in with me oa december ath we took train for caaway faulkner county arkansas at p m over to an artt hotel hole and lodged tor for the night morning we took no breakfast breakfasts as we 4 wished to flast fast and pray for we were in a strange land we had 04 boja a friend to go to and we were tau ves of an unpopular religion briore leaving our room WO we knelt in in a prayer loessi to implore our fathers and blessing in the labor we wore before us and which we felt so in of performing Z yae 0 went up to the post office to send 1 what money we had left to the secretary of at the mission that we might conscientiously ask god to provide for our raaf and open up the way for us we then began our work by looking for a pit ibm gee to hold bold meeting in conway el sr larkin kin and I 1 called upon the editor ot at fhe t conway democrat who treated US u kindly olly and gave us the names named of the and other leading men of the whom horn we called upon and gave t iam they all treated us with respect in minister introduced us to fh be quiny judge whom wa we vil permission ddn to ue the county court courthouse house for meeting but he told us he never allowed it tobe to be used for such purposes he accepted a tract some someone one told us about the pythian hall so we called upon the manager mr ludwig who was also editor of the daily log cabin he gave us permission to use the hall on sunday and gave me the privilege of writing a notice of our appointments which he printed in his paper the remainder of the day was spent in visiting families and distributing tracts next morning was sunday and at io 10 a m we all met at the ball for our first meeting but only a few boys came we waited until 2 p in when we got a few nore more hearers and so held a short meeting we gave out another appointment for 7 p mand when the hour arrived we had thirty listeners after meeting a gentleman came us fifty cents and invited us home with him another gentleman invited the other two next morning we all met at an appointed place and then separated each pair going by a different route toward heber cleburne county elder larkin and I 1 were unsuccessful in getting opportunities port unities to preach between the two places but made a few friends and so naces did some good anyway we arrived at heber about p m on thursday afternoon and called at the post office for mail but there was none for us A gentleman asked us if we were not strangers in town and we said we were dont you want to stay in town over night ight we shall be pleased to if we can find a place to stay ff just got the place but we have no money we travel without purse or scrip he laughed but told us to go down to his hotel and look around we did so and were hardly seated when a gentleman who had bad overheard us stepped in and asked us if we were not mormons cormons Mor mons we told him we w were ere he said he be was the mayor of the town t own and asked if we would not preach for the people as he thought they would like to near a mormon having never heard one before it was getting rather late but if we could 9 get et a house and have the people notified noti fied of course we would he told us to remain at the get our suppers and he would get the court house tor for us in less than two hours he had the news spread all over town so that when meeting time arrived we bad over sixty people to talk to and they paid us very respect respectful lul attention the sheriff told us we had 1 nothing to fear as he would insure us protection we gave out another meeting for next evening and then went back to the hotel where mr moore the he t mayor introduced us to some of the leading ladies and gentlemen of the town some young people were slug sing ing and playing in an ado adjoining inin g r room oon and we were taken in to hear bear them em it was now bedtime bed time and we were taken to our room the best in the hotel before retiring two grateful hearts knelt in humble bumble prayer to thank the giver of all good for this manifestation of his goodness and to ask him to bless the man who had befriended us and assisted us in getting to preach to so many people the following evening we had over aoe hundred listeners upon whom we madea made a good impression with our remarks we lodged at the hotel that also the other elders did not come so we proceeded on our journey next day on coming to the red river we found a young man on the other side who came over and rowed us across in a skiff we walked on a few miles when we saw a young man working in a little shop and were impressed to go and speak to him helas he was an intelligent young man who had religious ideas that were strikingly similar to ours we gave him some tracts and a voice of warning upon his kind invitation we accompanied him home his mother and brothers treated us the best they could and after supper we had a pleasant gospel conversation next was and the invited us to sunday school I 1 went the attendance was very verv small it being a rather out odthe of the way place the superintendent perin asked me to read a chapter and open school chool with prayer I 1 did so and at the close of the exercises offered the benediction also the superintend ent then invited me to preach for them in the evening and of course accepted we had a good meeting and the people appeared much interested we had several invitations home but went with the Chro users where we stayed the night previous in the morning they could hardly let us go they asked us to come back if we could or send some one else the road from there to batesville Bates ville was rather lonesome there being no partick parti cn cu lar settlements along the way when we came to white river the ferryman took us across without any hesitation Bate we brim and copening staying at the arlington hotel they had a meeting appointed for that evening in the court houst house there we had bad another good meeting and gave ave them the law and the testimony it wile while walking along the street one of the leading merchants mr G W mint mini ken met us and requested us to call on him elder copening Co penin and I 1 did so he 11 was very pleased to talk to us he saia faiq he had bad been to utah iu in 1878 and was somewhat amused when I 1 told him that was before my day he had been well treated while there and wished to return the compliment after meeting be gave elder larkin and I 1 each a quarter with which to go to a hotel next day we separated to meet again at black rock elder larkin and I 1 had three well attended meetings in sharp county and one in Uw lawrence rence on christmas eve we met the other elders at black rock and once more found them at a hotel we could hold no meetings there because of the holidays so we all went on we had gone but a short distance when the hotel pro krietor caught up to us and gave us each a dime with which to get across blaek black river as he feared the ferryman would not take us across free we had to follow the railroad track the rest of the way because of the swamps we were making our way to piggott clay county for confer conference etim we arrived there december byh and stopped two days with dr rouse ott 0 of our friends and one who had sean se an the prophet joseph and other brethren at nauvoo when it was iii a beald and prosperous p rous pity oty my M letter b getting too t f ah wal desist there are so many interesting things thi in missionary mi life to write about it ais is mede m id e up of all kinds of experiences eu ces both th pleasant and unpleasant it is a school in which our father teaches us some of the best lessons of life J H PETERSON |
