REV. W. H. GOODE.

The first man appointed to an official position in

relation to Nebraska Methodism.

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HISTORY OF NEBRASKA METHODISM.

CHAPTER 1.

FIRST PERIOD. (1854-1861.)

THE FIRST WORKERS IN THE FIELD.

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states that in 1851 a Rev. William Simpson, who had at the Iowa Conference been appointed to the Council Bluffs Mission, learning that there were a few settlers across the river, went over and preached to them.
   In a letter from J. W. Barns, he states that his wife, a daughter of Rev. W. D. Gage, had a very distinct recollection that in January or February, 1853, her father preached to a few settlers at old Ft. Kearney (now Nebraska City).
   While it is to the credit of these men of God that they seized these first opportunities to preach the Gospel within the bounds of what is now the State of Nebraska, the congregations to which they preached were merely passing emigrants, or transient settlers, and therefore these sermons can hardly be regarded as the beginnings of Methodism in Nebraska, or to sustain any practical relation to the permanent work in the State.
   The real beginning of Nebraska Methodism is found in the following communication, which on the third of June, 1854, Bishop E. R. Ames addressed to the Rev. W. H. Goode, D. D.:

"Rev. W. H. Goode:
   "Dear Brother,--It is understood that emigration is tending largely to Nebraska (a name then embracing both territories, Kansas and Nebraska). It seems probable that the Church ought soon to send some devoted missionaries to that country. But there is not such a knowledge of details respecting the topography and population of these regions as to enable the Church authorities to act understandingly in the premises. You are therefore appointed to visit and explore the country as thor-

oughly as practicable, for the purpose of collecting information on these points. In performing this work you will be governed by your own judgment, and make full reports, in writing, of your labor and its results, so that it may be known how many ministers, if any, should be sent, and at what particular points they should be located.
   Yours truly,

E. R. AMES,    
"Bishop Methodist Episcopal Church."

   This communication from the bishop summoning Dr. Goode from a pleasant and prosperous and honorable career in Indiana, where Methodism had already become strong and respected, to a career of hardship on the frontier, illustrates the three principal features of the Methodist economy, which perhaps more than anything else, gave her not only her pre-eminent place as a pioneer Church, but also gave her the unparalleled success as revealed in the history of Christianity in this country. The first of these features is the general superintendency, by which her bishops in the regular course of their work visit personally all parts of the field and come in close touch with all her working forces, and soon become cognizant of the needs of each field, and also come to know each of the preachers and their peculiarities, and which of them are equipped for any special service. In the quasi-military power with which the Church has clothed them, by which they can command the service of any man, anywhere, for any work, whatever its character and wherever it may be, may be found the second feature giving efficiency to the Church. While technically this power is absolute, and might be wielded arbitrarily, this is rarely the case. Dr. Goode himself, than whom few have

been summoned to harder fields by this same episcopal authority, bears witness to the spirit in which this vast power is wielded, in these words, used in connection with his appointment in 1843 to the superintendency of an Indian school in Arkansas: "I was consulted; for authoritatively as our bishops are empowered to speak and implicitly as our ministry are wont to obey, for the Gospel's sake, I have yet to learn the first instance in which an arbitrary or unreasonable requirement has been made, by which any brother has been transferred to a distant field, irrespective of private considerations and wishes. No man ever takes a foreign field or even a remote field except as a volunteer; a policy at once wise and humane."
   The third feature consists in what the military general would call the esprit du corps, or what in its spiritual aspect would be termed a spirit of devotion to the cause that makes men willing to go anywhere for Christ's sake. It is this last feature which is moral and spiritual in its nature that gives efficiency to the other two which relate to the polity of the Church. With this spirit all exercise of arbitrary power on the part of the bishops is rendered unnecessary. They only need to convince a man that the Master needs him in a certain field, and he responds, "Here am I, send me." Without this spirit, all exercise of arbitrary authority would be in vain, for success in moral and spiritual fields is impossible unless the workman's heart is in the work.
   Happy for Methodism and the cause of Christ and the interests of our country, whenever our general superintendents. have faced some emergency requiring some strong, wise man to meet it, they nearly always knew

where to find the man, and they usually found the man ready for and equal to the emergency.
   The selection of Dr. Goode emphasizes another fact of immense importance in the development of the work in the Western States, and that was the selection of the very best men for leadership on the frontier. In nothing has the farseeing wisdom of our bishops been more manifest than in this feature of their policy. As such men as Paul had been chosen as the foundation builders at the beginning of the Christian movement, so in that great movement of population from east to west that has within a little over a century spread over an entire continent, and built up a strong, free republic, Methodism has always picked some of its strongest men and sent them and kept them at the front. It is greatly to the credit of these strong men that they have been willing to go. And the bishops have found them all the more ready to go because they themselves have always been ready to make the greatest sacrifices for Christ's sake.
   It is difficult to conceive how they could have made a better selection than Dr. Goode. He was a recognized leader in Indiana Methodism at a time when such men as E. R. Ames, Matthew Simpson, and Thomas Bowman were at the forefront of the Church in that State. That he ranked along with these is evident from the fact that it is said that when Ames was elected bishop, Dr. Goode himself had a vote large enough to give promise of ultimate success had he remained in the field, being only one less than that received by Ames; but desiring, above every thing the election of a Western man, which seemed very important at that time, he magnanimously withdrew in favor of Ames, and secured his election. At the time
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he was appointed to his mission to Nebraska and Kansas, he was serving as presiding elder of the South Bend District, comfortably situated, and greatly honored among his brethren, many of whom earnestly advised him to remain, both for his own sake and theirs. The work he was doing was congenial, and having already spent several years on the frontier as superintendent of our Indian school at Ft. Coffee, in the southwestern portion of Arkansas, he well knew the hardships involved in such a mission. At first he was tempted to refuse the appointment, and went so far as to prepare a letter to that affect, informing the bishops that he could not see that it was his duty to go. But retaining the letter some time, and praying over it, it began to assume another aspect, that of duty. Perhaps, after all, the bishops knew what was required, and his fitness for the work to be done, better than he himself did. To Dr. Goode duty was imperative, and in every case took precedence over all considerations of ease and comfort. If they with their superior opportunity of knowing what was needed to advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, deemed him to be the man best equipped for that work, then it was plainly his duty to go. He tore up the first letter, and addressed another to the bishops, placing himself at their disposal.
   His first commission, it will be seen, was that of a "scout," and was preliminary to the main movement. It was in anticipation of what was yet to be, rather than providing for what was. For this service his previous experience on the frontier among the Indians fitted him, and doubtless this fact, together with his good judgement, in which they reposed implicit confidence, influenced the

bishops in making choice of him for this difficult and important service.
   Thus, four days after the Kansas-Nebraska bill, providing for the organization of these territories, became a law, and twenty-three days prior to the proclamation of the President declaring the Indian title extinguished and the country open for settlement, and four months before the organization of the Territorial government, the Methodist Church had made provision for the religious needs of the people yet to come, by the appointment of one of her best equipped men to go in person to the field and ascertain by actual observation what was needed.
   It is difficult for us in these days of through railroad lines and palace Pullman cars, that would have brought him to Nebraska in twenty-four hours, with scarcely any discomfort or fatigue, to conceive what it meant for Dr. Goode, at the age of fifty or more, when most men are thinking how they can make life more comfortable, to make the journey of 600 miles to Kansas, and then 200 more to Nebraska by private conveyance or stage. On the 8th day of June, five days after receiving his commission, he started from Richmond, Ind., where he had purchased the necessary outfit of team and wagon, and after a long and tedious journey, requiring four weeks, reached his destination in Kansas, which, having more settlers, was to be his first headquarters. It was not till late in July that he reached Nebraska.
   The details of that journey possess thrilling interest, and may best be told by extracts from his own account, as given in his "Outposts of Zion."
   His work in Kansas had already brought on severe illness, but he felt that he must also visit the Nebraska

portion of the field, and it is to his trip to this field the following extracts refer:
   "Still feeble, suffering, and apprehensive of results, I urged on my course, and about three in the afternoon reached the house of Rev. Thomas B. Markham, then residing upon the bank of the Missouri, nearly opposite to where the town of Kickapoo, in Kansas, now stands. Here I found a brother in Christ and a kind Christian family, who, though then afflicted themselves, received me cordially, sympathized in my condition, and ministered to my necessities.
   "According to expectation, the ensuing day brought on another paroxysm, by which I was completely prostrated, and for a period of about nine days I was confined by illness. For a time, uncertain as to the result, it was natural that my thoughts should turn, as they had more than once done before under similar circumstances, to the idea of dying from home, far from family and friends. The trial was severe; but, through the grace of God, I think I have, at such times, always felt resignation to the Divine will. Once I well remember having my pocket-book and pencil brought, and feebly tracing what I supposed might by a last brief line to the companion of my life, who has since preceded me to glory. But God had other designs for me.
   "By the 22d I began to feel as though I should summon up my little strength and again address myself to the journey. Finding myself unable to manage my team I determined to dispose of them and commit myself to the stage-route up through northwestern Missouri, stopping at different points, and making excursions into the Territories as health and circumstances allowed. I ac-

cordingly sold, at low rates, my carriage and horses, with such part of my equipage as I could, gave away the remainder, and prepared for another mode of travel.
   "Returning to St. Joseph, I took my passage in the stage for Council Bluffs on the 29th, with the privilege of stopping at such points as I might think proper. Feeble as I was, I found that I must start in the evening and travel all night. Detained at one time on the bank of the Nodaway, waiting for the ferryman, and worn down by fatigue and debility, I lay down upon the ground and slept an hour; awoke and found myself chilled; was alarmed for the probable results, but traveled on and experienced no bad effects. I stopped a little after daylight at Oregon, the county seat of Holt County, some ten mile's back from the river. Here I left the stage, and obtaining a horse, for twenty miles I followed the stage road along the bluffs, and then leaving them turned in the direction of the river, arriving in the afternoon at the cabin of Colonel Archer, where I found a kind home among Tennessee Methodists, recently settled in Missouri Bottom. On the day following my kind host volunteered his services to take me across the river in a canoe, ran up the great Nehama a little way, and landed for the first time upon the soil of Nebraska Territory. (July 29, 1854.) Finding no settlers here, I spent some time in meditating, prospecting, writing, etc.; recrossed the river and returned to the cabin of my pioneer friend."
   Again taking the stage, he went to a point opposite to Old Fort Kearney, there left the stage and again crossed the Missouri. Resuming his narrative, he says:
   "Old Fort Kearney was an evacuated military post, the name and the troops having been transferred to a new

post about two hundred miles up the Platte River. A substantial block-house, one old log dwelling, and the remains of a set of rude, temporary barracks, were all that was there to be seen of the old fort. Squatters had taken possession of the lands, and the two rivals, Nebraska City and Kearney City, had been laid off, the one above and the other below the mouth of South Table Creek. The site of the old fort, now of Nebraska City, is bold and fine. I found a single frame shanty erected, in which were a few goods, and a single settler in the old fort cabin in the person of Major Downs. I found him to be a frank, generous-hearted soldier, possessing some noble traits of character, with some unfortunate remains of army habits. He took me to his house, treated me kindly and generously, exhibited quite an interest in my mission, took down his city plat, and, in my presence, marked off certain lots, since risen to a value equal to five times the outlay and expenses of my whole trip, which he then and there donated to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
   "Having taken all the steps practicable toward the introduction of our work here, I took leave of the Major and his kind family, recrossed the Missouri, returned to Sidney, and about one hour after midnight again took the stage."
   The next day Dr. Goode reached Council Bluffs, and after a brief rest of a day he at once crossed the Missouri to the village of Omaha, which at that time was being laid out. After surveying the field at that point he went on down the river and spent the Sabbath, August 6th, with Rev. Wm. Hamilton, of the Presbyterian Church, at his mission at Bellevue, preaching his first sermon in

Nebraska on that occasion. The next week he returned to Council Bluffs and from thence started on his return trip to his home, going by stage across the State of Iowa to Rock Island, thence by railroad to his home in Indiana. Thus ended this memorable journey that as subsequent events reveal, meant so much to the future of both Kansas and Nebraska.
   This record of his journey of over 800 miles from his home to Omaha, by private conveyance, or by stage, consuming two months of time, exposed to the dreaded Asiatic cholera then prevalent along portions of the Missouri traversed, and under conditions of physical disabilities which at times became so serious as to threaten his life, and threatened by the excited pro-slavery people of Kansas and Missouri with tar and feathers, or even worse, is one rarely paralleled in the history of the Church. Little wonder that after this veritable hero, who so courageously and efficiently performed this preliminary survey of the great field and reported its needs to the authorities, should immediately be re-commissioned to the same field to take charge of its development as superintendent of missions in Kansas and Nebraska. That he cheerfully did so reveals the true greatness and nobility of his nature and the completeness of his consecration to the Master's service more fully than any words can do. This will become even more apparent as the story of those early days is told.