his work as an evangelist he can find a chance every day to help someone and speak a word for our Society as well.

A great calamity befell this brother some weeks ago in which the American Bible Society shares in the loss, since his home with everything it contained, including a stock of our Bibles, was destroyed by fire. An insurance so small as hardly to be worth mentioning will enable him to buy a few clothes for himself and family, but the rest of his belongings were all destroyed.

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The Rev. E. A. Whitwam, of Springfield, Mo., wrote us last summer as follows: A day or two ago I called at a house and was showing the lady our large-print Testament. She had no Bible and was very anxious to have it, but hardly knew how to pay for it. Her husband was in the back yard tinkering at something and seems to have overheard some of our conversation. He came in, and his wife offered to show him the Bible. He became angry and told her that they could not afford it and that she could not have it, using some profane language in his eagerness to prove at least negatively that they did not need a Bible. The lady made no reply, but in a sweet spirit told her husband that they had no Bible and that she would rather deprive herself of something else in order to get this beautiful and inexpensive book. The man became still more emphatic in his remarks. She did not answer, and finally asked me if she could take it by paying part of it and the balance after the next pay-day, a little over two weeks ahead. My answer was, 'Yes, if you and your husband can agree about it. I won't pay for it,' he shouted; we can get along without it and you can't have it.'

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Of course the Bible agent had to be very careful not to urge the woman to take the book contrary to the wishes of her husband, so I said but little, letting the book speak for itself, but while using great care in this respect I did not intend to be bluffed and took care not to give the man any excuse to order me out of the house. Finally the lady said to me, I have fifty cents that I can pay to-day and I will pay the balance in two weeks.' I told her she could have it on those terms, and she went to her room and returned with the money. This fired the whole magazine of profanity, but I kept perfectly sweet, as did the lady, and he went out the back door with a parting growl as I left by the front door, with the lady the happy possessor of the fine Testament.

This ends the report from Dr. Whitwam, who for past years has been our representative in Springfield, Mo. A postscript to a subsequent letter contained the promise that as soon as he should be well enough to do so, he would send in some most unusual and interesting incidents of his work, but the hoped-for health never came. Gradually his condition grew more and more serious until his removal to Hot Springs, Ark., where on Sunday morning, December 7, 1913, he went in triumph to his heavenly home.

The Rev. L. M. Wagner, of Cascade, Mo., realizing the great

need of Scriptures in his section of Missouri, corresponded with us concerning the same, and we are glad to have been able to agree upon terms which have enabled him to place a few Bibles among his people.

The Rev. Joseph M. Willard, of Rover, Mo., has for a number of years served as colporteur in connection with his duties as pastor of a large circuit, and the attention he has had to give to the farm on which he and his family live. Mr. Willard, like Mr. Nations, has had work among the Ozark Hills, where settlers are separated by large distances, and where the only means of travel is by horse and buggy. While visiting at his home last spring he related this unusual transaction: A man wanted a Bible, and not being able to pay and not wishing to receive it as a gift, offered to give Mr. Willard a half day's fishing for the book. The offer was accepted and the Bible delivered. When I left the results of the venture with the hook and line had not been ascertained. In another place a Bible was exchanged for a duck. The family greatly wishing the book, but having no money, the wife remarked they would give a duck which chanced to pass at that moment. The offer was accepted, and a little girl was agile enough to capture the fowl which was later taken to town by Mr. Willard and sold for the price of the Bible given.

Montana

The Rev. E. A. Bradley, who a few years ago served us in the capacity of colporteur, has during this year been filling a pastorate in Belt, Mont., but has with him a small stock of our books. He knows how to sell Bibles and also knows how much it helps the pastor and people to have the Word of God in every home.

The Rev. C. D. Bradley, a brother of E. A. Bradley, has a charge in Garneil, Mont., and carries some of our Scriptures, disposing of them as occasion requires. Montana being so sparsely settled, it is a constant perplexity to us to know how to place the Bible within reach of its scattered settlers. While making a trip through the state last year the Secretary was told that towns of five hundred and one thousand population frequently did not have a single Bible for sale in any store. The need of colportage work in these western states is truly great.

The Rev. John Chirguin, of Helena, Mont., whose name you find mentioned in the previous reports of this Agency, continues to handle our stock on the sale and distribution plan. His sales are not large, but we believe he is doing good work with these Scriptures among his people.

Mrs. Herman Seil, of Union, Mont., is the wife of a minister whose tasks are numerous, but we are glad to know that this good woman finds a little time in which to spread the Word of God in their locality.

New Mexico

The Rev. J. H. Heald, of Albuquerque, N. M., who is a mis

sionary for the Congregational churches of that state, has continued to co-operate with us during the year. Dr. Heald reports the following interesting incident of the great good which develops from our work:

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A supply of Bibles was donated by the Bible Society for the use of the mission schools of the Congregational Education Society among the Mexicans of New Mexico. These have been used with good effect in the schools. It has also been the custom to present Bibles to pupils as a reward of attainment in cases where it was apparent that the good book would be used and appreciated. In some cases the Bible has been God's messenger to the family as well as to the pupil.

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A young girl in the village of S

had received a Bible as a present from her teacher and took great pleasure in reading it. After a time her father became interested in reading the book. One day he said, 'How is it that I don't find anything about mass or purgatory or any of the things the priest talks about in the Bible?' A relative who was present replied, 'Oh, that is the Protestant Bible, and that is the reason there is nothing in it about the Catholic faith.' But the little girl was equal to the occasion. She said,Why, there's the old Catholic Bible of grandpa's; you might see what that says. So they hunted up the old Bible. The old man had torn out a good many of its leaves to use for cigarette papers, but there was enough of it left to make the test. They compared it verse for verse with the so-called Protestant Bible and found that, except for slight differences in phraseology, it said identically the same things. Thus were they started on a line of thought that can lead only to him of whom the Scripture testifies."

We are very glad indeed to have had the services of Mr. J. Z. Molina again this year. His headquarters are at Deming, N. M., and during the year he has covered much territory in the southern part of the state. We plan during next year that he may continue this good work, extending his visits to the northern part of the state. Mr. Molina, we find, has the Catholic problem to fight. He writes as follows:

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Wherever I go to give out tracts and Bibles I try to get an entrance into any home I can to speak a word for our Lord and Master. In one case the owner of the house met me at the door, and when he saw what I was there for he told me he didn't care to talk with me as he didn't believe in the Bible and didn't want to know about it. However, I managed to gain entrance. I tried to show him some of the precious verses in the book and thus point him to Christ; but just then his little infant son came into the room, and taking him in his arms he told me that the child was the only Christ he believed in or he would ever want. When I saw that he was determined not to listen to me I left with a heavy heart, and went on my way to find others who would welcome me and give heed to the words of Life in the Sacred Book. And so I go on, from day to day

doing all I can for my Master, listened to by some and rejected by many.

The Rev. John Mordy, with headquarters in Albuquerque, proves by his monthly sales and his work in general that an English-speaking colporteur may by earnest effort and acquired knowledge of other languages, carry on a most successful work among the foreigners. For some time this brother has devoted himself principally to the work among the Mexicans in and about Albuquerque. We quote him in the following:

"I think you could get women who would sell more Bibles for the money than men. Men want to sell without taking time to read the Book to the people. Last week I went into a house where there An old man objected to the Prot

were quite a number of persons. estant Bible because it did not contain any account of the Virgin Mary. I sat there and read the whole story. He bought a Bible and a Testament at once. They have been told all sorts of lies. Another man who had a Bible asked me to find the story of Mary, evidently to satisfy his neighbors that it was in his Bible. The testimony of the Book itself is the only evidence which convinces, and an army of Bible readers would work a revolution among the people. "At Chilili the Board of Roman Catholic School directors allowed me the use of the school-house, which they had refused to do on all former trips. I am now getting into nearly all the public-school buildings. All denominations are taking more interest in the Mexicans. They are coming from Old Mexico by the hundreds."

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The Rev. J. M. Moya, of San Mateo, N. M., has distributed a considerable stock of our books in his section of the state, but at this time states his field is pretty well supplied with Bibles, but that he wants to keep a few on hand to use when he goes out into his field again. He writes: "I have just returned from a missionary trip through some of the towns within my district. I took some Bibles and New Testaments with me, but did not sell any. I will go out again next month to visit other points, then I may be able to sell

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The Rev. M. O. Stockland continues faithfully at his work in Silver City, N. M., even though it is a very difficult field of labor. He writes: I can sell very few Bibles, mainly because this class of people are too poor to buy even the cheapest kind of a book. Many of them are here sick with tuberculosis, hardly able to provide the necessities of life, others are attempting dry farming, and perhaps you know what that means. I have organized several Sunday schools out among them, but in practically every case they are too poor to buy the needed literature, and so are supplied by our Board of Sunday Schools. Most of them are eager for the Word of God, and I could use hundreds of copies were the Society able to donate them, but I know this is impossible, and yet it is very hard to refuse such people."

I am pleased to add that the Western Agency has been able to

send a package of Bibles and portions in various bindings to be used in free distribution among these people.

Utah

The following named pastors have served as our correspondents in Utah during the past year, disposing of what Bibles they could in connection with their pastoral duties: the Rev. Henry Fryer, of Junction, Utah; the Rev. Ira S. Haverfired, of Richfield, Utah; the Rev. T. M. Kenseff, of Panguitch, Utah; the Rev. Theodore Lee, of Spanish Forks, Utah.

With pleasure we announce that we have had the co-operation again this year of the workers of the Utah Gospel Mission, under the supervision of the Rev. J. D. Nutting. Mr. Nutting is able in his work to go from town to town, having several Gospel wagons supplied with workers and literature. The towns are often far from the railroads and could not be reached by us. He says that within another year he will have completed the canvass of the entire state of Utah. We quote the following from Mr. Nutting:

"Every Christian and friend of humanity ought to help against the evil Mormon system and in behalf of its deluded people. One might write a volume on this subject without exhausting it. The writer has been immersed, so to speak, in the Mormon work for over sixteen years, and is personally acquainted with most of the towns from near the Yellowstone Park on the north to below the center of Utah, as well as with the proselyting efforts of the evil system outside of the Utah region. And every year he realizes more and more that there are features in Mormonism which so fit in with crude, lax, materialistic, unspiritual, and unbiblical thinking and living that it can get a hold upon some people everywhere; while the present great lack of clear, doctrinal conceptions on the part of most persons lays many open to such attacks who would otherwise be invulnerable.

"It is our feeling that we have never had a better average of work and spirit than our faithful men have exhibited this year. Our work is threefold. First, the colporteur work, in which we aim to visit every home with half an hour or so of personal religious conversation, explaining and awakening interest in the special printed matter which we then give them, and seeking to meet the spiritual needs of all as best we can. Second, the Bible work, in which, during these same calls, we endeavor to supply every home with the Word of God and to awaken a fixed purpose for its daily, devotional, rational use. Third, the evangelistic work, in which we seek to hold one or more meetings in every settlement, at which the great fundamentals of religious truth, life, and duty are emphasized and personal decisions for eternity are urged. All our workers are unsalaried, to avoid Mormon prejudice.

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Our house-to-house gospel visitation has reached over twelve thousand homes during the year, having probably over seventy-two