CORRESPONDENCE 327
half of my time and the station at Milwaukie one Sabbath a month. Milwaukie is a rising village on the east bank of the Willamette near the head of ship navigation and six miles be- low this place. 222 I preached the remainder of the time in this place and vicinity. I have labored thirteen weeks in this quar- ter, preached 21 sermons, delivered no lectures except to my school and Sabbath school. Baptized none, obtained no signa- tures to the temperance pledge, have not organized any church, aided in no ordination. We established a weekly prayer meeting in this place about five weeks since; have at- tended all its meetings. Visited religiously twenty families and individuals, visited no common schools, traveled to and from my appointments 40 miles. No persons have been re- ceived by letter or by experience and I know of no person who has experienced a hope in Christ. No young men in our churches to whom I preach preparing for the ministry. Our sisters in this place have established a monthly concert of prayer for the cause of missions. My people have paid me during the quarter $25 for my salary, but nothing for any missionary society. I have the superintendence of the Sab- bath school in this church and conduct the Bible class ex- cept when absent. We have four teachers and about 25 children; library, about 150 volumes. My Bible class varies from four to eight or ten, mostly members of my day school. My day school embraces about fifty in an average attend- ance, but I have had 70 different scholars since the present quarter commenced, which has now been in progress three weeks. My daughter devotes most of her time as an assist- ant. Our prospects as a whole are far better for building up a permanent interest in this place and the whole Territory than at any period since we have been in Oregon.
Churches are beginning to feel the importance of liberat- ing the ministry from secular labor and care.
I have secured a deed for four town lots in Portland for a
222 Ocean-going ships stopped coming to Milwaukie about 1852. George H. Himes.
