Father Eells; or, The results of fifty-five years of missionary labors in Washington and Oregon

Preface

The writer was once at a church meetiug where some things were said, and perhaps justly, against a minister who had preached for the church. His son, who was present, defended his father. There were those at the meeting who by no means agreed with the father but who honored the son for what he said. We, the sons of Gushing and Myra Eells, would at least honor our parents. True, they were not what many call great. "Neither were they perfect. None knew this better than themselves. We believe, however, that they have done a great, good work for Oregon and AVashiugton, and we desire to record this and perpetuate the memory of what they have done. From what was said at the funeral services of Dr. Eells, from the number of memorial services held since his death in large cities in eastern and western Washington, from the contents of letters of condolence received from distinguished Christian men and women from Massachusetts to Washington, from the number and character of those who have expressed a wish that this biography be written, we believe that there are others who have thought very highly of them for their work's sake.

Favors in preparing this work have been received from many friends, more especially from L. H. Hallock, d.d.. Rev. J. Edwards, Wallace Nutting, D.D., and Rev. F. P. Noble, of Chicago, the last of whom has rendered great assistance by his criticisms of the whole work.

M. E.

Union City, Washington, January, 1894.

Introduction

The romance of the Oregon Territory, which includes the great States of Washington and Idaho, is unsurpassed in fiction and has the higher charm of absolute truth.

Encamped on the eastern border, the early New England colonists little dreamed of the vastness of this Western empire or the magnitude of its economic future. By purchase they obtained the vague domain of Louisiana, and afterward became conscious of the existence of an indefinite tract of country stretching ofi" into the far-distant and almost inaccessible Northwest. From Indians and from Pacific navigators came hints and from the Hudson's Bay Company reliable tidings of a fur-producing wilderness away toward the sunset,

Where rolls the Oregou, and hears no sound save its own dashing.

It was not the conquest of territory that first stirred the interest of Americans in this direction; the earliest movement was for evangelization of the native population. It was really a foreign country, and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions made the first advances. When they sent out such men as Whitman and Eells they sought for souls, not soil. Little thought those bold, indomitable missionaries, who journeyed weary weeks from St. Louis toward the blue waters of

6 INTRODUCTION,

Puget Sound, that they would live to see there three great states, the pride of the Union, rich in wheat waving on a million fertile fields, bearing a priceless beard of lofty fir and cedar forests, having choice orchards on the banks of rivers which run salmon enough for a nation, and shipping its products to the Atlantic seaboard over four transcontinental railroad lines, and to the far Orient by oceanic steamships from Tacoma to China and the New Japan. But Dr. Cushing Eells, after his rigorous bridal tour of three thousand miles, after a patient service of fifty-five fruitful years, resulting in the evangelization of Indian tribes, the founding of two colleges and many churches, and the ripe accumulations of fourscore years, did see all that; and if his unbounded modesty had not forbidden could have honestly said, concerning the religious and moral transformations at least, '•'' Magna pars fui.''^

The story of Dr. Eells which is now given to the public by one well worthy to be his faithful and loving chronicler is not the history of a man but of a movement, and a movement of great significance to our whole American nation. The vast wealth borne on the surface and buried in the mold and mines of the Northwest our children will estimate more accurately than we can ; but whatever its uncounted value shall prove to be, it basks beneath the glorious folds of the Stars and Stripes because such men as Eells and Whitman were here, statesmen as well as Christians, and because they traversed the wild mountains and taught the wild tribes with an intelligent and far-seeing patriotism, wisely coupled with Christian sweetness and light, married also to an indomitable will and undying determination.

Such tales as those which follow can have no duplicate. If the men are born, the opportunity cannot recur. Unknown empires

INTBODUGTION. 7

within our indeterminate borders exist no longer; the age is late, the titles have been disputed, the domain explored, the lines drawn. We shall send no more foreign missionaries to distant fields and waken to find the land still our own and the title won by a caravan of settlers led over the mountain passes by a consecrated missionary of the cross, an appointee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

It is best to read this well, for between the lines of personal biography runs the cipher tale of a new nation, still under the old flag, but destined to play a signal part in the future of American life and national power through its limitless resources. The Indians will pass away, but the Indians of the Northwest will wear in the heavenly fields the white robes, because Father Eells pointed them tenderly to the faithful shepherd, the Christ. The front rank of settlers, the pioneer missionaries, has even now vanished— Dr. Eells was the last of them; but the institutions they founded, the churches they builded, the works they finished, abide. They molded the infant civilization, and the print of their faith will not be transient.

Verily it was an honor to know Father Eells, and a rare privilege to sit and listen to his thrilling tales of early struggles and later conquest for his Master. The little penknife given him in Hosmer's store in Hartford, before he started for the frontier, he showed me the Friday before his death, his companion for fifty years ; and many a deft bit of surgery it performed in the hand of its skillful owner. It wasn't much like a case of modern surgeon's tools, but that difference illustrates the fine contrast between this modest, old-fashioned servant of God and some of his luxurious suooessors. As simple in his faith and in his rigor-

8 INTB OD UCTION.

ous economy of living and in his transparent worth as the true blade he carried unchanged for half a century, he was a benediction to all who knew him. And with all that simplicity he had only charity for his brethren and fine appreciation of every mark of respect and deed of kindness that any brother might pay him.

I saw his life go out like stars at the coming of the dawn. On Friday he mounted his famous horse, Le Blond, at my door and rode ofl". On Sunday he listened reverently as I preached. On "Wednesday in the early morning, with the old trait of doing promptly what was to be done, he left us for the last journey. The longed-for eighty years were completed, and our Father's House was richer by the entrance of faithful Father Eells.

As you read, remember the rigors of his early years, the mellowness of his final harmonies, and the rare unselfishness of his whole eventful career. " Whose faith follow."

With deep and tender respect I sign myself, in gratitude for the honor, his last pastor,

L. H. HALLOCK.

Tacoma, Washington, OctQber, 1896.

Chapter I. Birth, Ancestry, And Early Life

AGE

Birth. — Major Samuel Eells. — Other ancestors. — Characteristics of the family. —Justice to the Indians. — Ministry.— Patriotism. — Education. — Lonj? life. — Blandf ord. — Incident.

— Conversion. —Education at Blandford. — East Granville. — Dr. Coe. — Monson Academy. — Williams College. — East Windsor. — The Zulus. — Ordination. — Marriage. — Mrs. Eells 15

Chapter II. Crossing The Continent

Change of life work. — Early Oregon missions. — Bridal tour. — To New York.- Julia Brace. — Instructions. — Sabbath incident. — To Cincinnati. — Pack saddles. — Slavery. — Missouri. —Packing. — First day. — American Fur Company.

— Mode of travel. — Nicking a horse. — Buffalo meat. — Fort Laramie. — North Fork of Platte. — Rain. —Mrs. Walker. — Crossing Sweetwater. — American rendezvous. —Fourth of July. —Fort Hall. — Bois6. —Arrival at Dr. Whitman's . . 33

10 CONTENTS,

Chapter III. Oregon In 1838

PAGE

Government. — Population. — Hudson's Bay Company. — Settlements.— Passports. —United States in 1838. — Large cities.

— "Wagons. — Houses. — Furniture. — Hotels. — Sacks. — Clothes. — Beef. — Matches. — Post offices. — Mail. — Stores. — Money. — Mrs. Eells' impressions. — Indians. — Their number. 63

Chapter IV. The Mission Established

1838-48.

Arrangements. — Messrs. Smith, Rogers, Gray, Spalding, Walker, Whitman. — To Colville. — Selecting station. — At Dr. Whitman's, 1838-39. — To Tshimukain. — Gardens. —Frost.

— The Spokane language. — School. — Packing. — Religious instruction. — General work. — 1840. — Habits of Indians. — Religious instruction. — School. — Indian * character. — Prospects. — Fire. — Progress. — School. — Music. — Travels. — School. — Dr. Whitman's journey east in 1842-43. — Whitman controversy. — 1844. — Progress. — Maternal association. — Severe winter of 1846-47. — Shoes. — Shawls. — Cheese. — Death of Mrs. Eells' father. — Prospect 82

Chapter V. The Mission Broken Up

Massacre of Dr. Whitman. — Providences which saved Mr. Eells. — Incident about Mr. Walker. — Fidelity of the Spokanes. — False rumors. — Cayuse war. —^ Removal to Fort Colville. — War whoop. — Councils. — In dangers oft. — Travels.

— Good-by to Tshimakaiu. — To the Willamette. — Spokane

CONTENTS. 11

PAGE

Indians. — Dr. Dart. — "W. H. Bennett. — Yakima war. — Colonel Wright. — Big Star. — Major Lugeubeel. — Spokanes at "Walla Walla. — Chronological chart. — Revival of 1874. — Journey of 1874; of 1875; of 1876. — Results. — Colonies. — William Three Mountains. — Present condition 125

Chapter VI. In The Willamette Valley

1848-60.

The Willamette in 1848. — Government. — Population. — Towns. — Money. — Congregational ministers and churches. — Congregationalism then and now west of the Mississippi. — West of New England. — Teaching at Salem. — Hard times. — At Forest Grove. — Prices at Hillsborough. — Dismission from the Board. — Return to Forest Grove. — Building of the Congregational church. — Endowmentof a Professorship in Pacific University 158

Chapter VII. Whitman Seminary

1860-82.

Trip to Walla Walla in 1859. —Determination to found a school. — Summer of 1860 at the Whitman mission. — Walla Walla in I860. — Fourth of July. — First trustees' meeting, 1861. —Winter of 1861-62.— Final removal in 1862. — Congregational church at Walla Walla. — Horse stealing. — Vigilance committee. — Location and building of Whitman Seminary, — Dedication. — Teaching in Whitman Seminary. — School superintendent of Walla Walla County. — Paying the debt on the seminary. — Burned out. — Removal to Skokoraish. — Teachers in Whitman Seminary from 1869 to 1882 172

12 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER YIII.

WHITMAN COLLEGE.

1882-93.

PAGE

Dr. A. J. Anderson. — Going east. — National Council.— Disappointment. — Feelings. — Extracts from letters and journal. —Will.— Incidental pleasures. —Relatives. — Blandford. Return to Washington. —New college buildings. — Fiftieth anniversary.- Denominational relations of the college.— President Eaton 199

Chapter IX. 1872-81

Who is a home missionary?- Puget Sound in 1872. — Sko komish and vicinity. — To Col ville, 1874. — 1875. — Le Blond.— Seventieth birthday of Mrs. Eells. — At Colville in 1876.— Mrs. Eells to Forest Grove. — Magnetic drawing east of the Cascade Mountains. — Northeastern Washington in 1874.— Colfax. — Organization of church. — Letters to the church. — To Dr. D. S. Baker. — Fortieth anniversary of marriage. — Death of Mrs. Eells. — Building of the church at Colfax.— Prayers. — School superintendent. — Resignation as pastor . 219

Chapter X. Home Missionary Work, Continued

1875-88.

Out-stations. — Dayton. — Chewelah and Colville. — First and last work in Washington. — Cheney. — Charge and right hand of fellowship to Rev. F. T. Clark, Spokane. — Tribute

CONTENTS. 13

PAGE

of Dr. Atkinson. — Removal to Medical Lake. — To Cheney. — Sprague. — Medical Lake. — Return there. — Pleasant Prairie. —Denominational zeal. —Resignation. — Prayers .... 248

Chapter XI. Last Days

1888-93.

Retired, yet preaching. — Fiftieth Anniversary. — Fourscore. — Last trip to Skokomish. — Baptism of grandchildren and death of one. — Ministerial Alliance. — Eighty-one. — Death of his brother Charles. — La grippe. — Injury. — Thoughts of death. — Death of fellow workers.— Death.— Funeral. — Memorial Services. — Tributes 272

Chapter XII. Characteristics

Pioneer. — Memory. — Precision. — Economy. — Prayer. — Benevolence. — Consistency. — Love for Christian education. — For the ministry. — For the missionary work. — Consecration. — Trial and faith. — An answer to skeptics. — An ordinary man. — Changes. — In due time ye shall reap if ye faint not. — Conclusion 310

OR

The Results of Fifty-five Years of Missionary Labors in Washington and Oregon.

Chapter I. Birth, Ancestry, And Early Life

GUSHING EELLS was born at Blandford, in western Massachusetts, February 16, 1810, and was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Warner) Eells. He was the third child and oldest son of a family of ten, all of whom lived to be of age.

The first of the Eells family to come to America was John, who arrived in Massachusetts probably in 1630. He lived at Dorchester until 1640, when he returned to Barnstable, England. He never came back to America. He took with him his infant son Samuel, who was born at Dorchester, Mass., June 23, 1639, and baptized by Rev. Richard Mather. Samuel remained in England until 1661. While there he was a major in Cromwell's army, among those "Ironsides" whose motto was to "trust in God and keep their powder dry." When he was twenty-two years old he returned to this continent and became the progenitor of all of the name in America. He went to Connecticut and was one of the' first settlers of Milford. He was a man of wealth, a lawyer, and commanded a garrison in King Philip's War. He died April 21, 1709.

The following is the direct line of descent from him to Gushing : the youngest son of Major Samuel was Rev. Nathaniel, born November 26, 1677, at Milford, who graduated at Harvard University in 1699 and settled at Scituate, Mass., in 1704, where he lived until his death, August 25, 1750.

His second son was Rev. Nathaniel, who was born February 4, 1710, graduated at Harvard in 1728, and settled in Stonington, Conn., where he remained until his death in 1786, at the age of seventy-six years, fifty-three of which he spent in the ministry. ^ He married Mercy Cushing, a daughter of Hon. John Gushing, from whence came the name for the subject of this sketch.

His third son was Deacon Nathaniel, who was born

1 He Is mentioned in the centennial papers of the General Conference of Connecticut, gathered in 1876, and an election sermon of his, preached before the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut at Hartford, May 12, 1748, and printed by the printer to the Governor and Company, is in the possession of the writer.

BIBTH, ANCESTBY, AND EABLY LIFE. 17

July 16, 1749. He lived at North Coventry, Conn., and died at Bolton, in the same state, December 20, 1799.

His fifth child was Joseph, the father of Cashing, who was born at Coventry, May 12, 1781 ; married, first, Elizabeth Warner, of Windham, Conn., by whom he had nine children, and who died at Blandford, April 27, 1822 ; and second, Abigail Green, by whom he had one daughter. He died at Norwalk, Ohio, January 1, 1861.

It is proper here to note a few items in regard to the family in general. Love of justice to the Indian was one strong trait in the character of Major Samuel Eells. The historian of King Philip's AVar says Captain Eells immortalized his name by his opposition to the diabolical act of government (the Plymouth Colony) in selling Indian captives as slaves. "Indeed," says Rev. W. W. Eells, a distant relative of Cushing, "had not his plans been overruled by mere force, there would have been no such war." Brownell says in his Indian Races of America : ^ " Not far from this time (July, 1675), the town of Dartmouth, having been in a great measure destroyed by the enemy, a large number of Indians, not less than one liundred and sixty, who had dwelt in the country thereabout, and who were not active partakers in the 1 Page 242.

destruction of the town, delivered themselves up to one Captain Eells, upon promises of good treatment. They were nevertheless taken to Pkmouth, sold by the colonial authorities as slaves, and transported to foreign ports. Captains Church and Eells made upon this occasion the most vehement remonstrances, expressed by Church with his characteristic energy and spirit ; but all to no purpose, as it only secured him the ill-will of the government. The act was grossly impolitic, as well as perfidious and cruel." With such an ancestor it has not been strange that the same idea of justice to the Indian remains in the family.

An inclination toward the ministry has also been prominent in the family. Major Samuel Eells was not a minister, but he married the daughter of Robert Linthal, the first minister of Weymouth, Mass., who, although she died when her son Nathaniel was only twelve years old, seems to have left such an impress on him that he entered the ministry. So did his son.

In speaking of Edward Eells, Jr., then recently licensed to preach, The Presbyterian Banner of October 7, 1885, says : " He is the twentieth of the same name and family in the ministry of the gospel since 1703. All but one of these have been in Congregational or Presbyterian churches, graduates of Harvard, Yale, Williams, Hamilton, Pacific University, or the

BIBTH, ANCESTBY, AND EABLY LIFE, 19

University of Virginia, and all sound in the faith of the Westminster standards. Besides these, the multitude who as deacons and elders have served the Church is unnumbered. And not by any means less are the many daughters of the family, who, as the wives and mothers of clergymen of other names, have served or are serving the cause of Christ in stations no less responsible."

Among the children of Rev. Edward Eells, a son of the first Rev. Nathaniel, of Scituate, were three clergymen. In 1836 James Henry Eells, who was the fifth educated clergyman in direct ancestral line, was drowned.

Patriotism too has been noticeable. Rev. Samuel Eells (son of Edward just mentioned) was pastor at North Branford, Conn., during the Revolutionary War. He raised a volunteer company from his own congregation, of which he was chosen captain, but fortunately there was no occasion for his services.

Captain Robert L. Eells, grandson of the first Rev. Nathaniel, is said, in the History of Hanover, to have been eminently patriotic and an able officer in the Revolutionary War. He was on the committee of correspondence and safety from 1775 to 1780. The same book names Samuel, Samuel, Jr., Robert, and William W., as soldiers in the same war, from the same town as Captain Robert L. Eells.

Rev. Nathaniel Eells, of Slonington, Codd. (greatgrandfather of Gushing Eells), preached a Thanksgiving sermon in 1777, immediately after the defeat of Burgoyne. He said: " God has blessed the arms of the country with victory and success beyond our most sanguine expectations. And what a damp must this prove to the European troops, when they hear that the Lord is with us to fight our battles, and to pull down our enemies ! And when the news does cross the Atlantic and pierce the ears of the king and ministry and parliament of Great Britain, how they will gnash their teeth and melt away, to hear that their boasted general and so great a part of their chosen troops are become a prey to the poor Americans ! " ^

The preacher was appointed chaplain of a regiment to be raised and stationed at New London, Conn.

His son, Rev. John Eells, whose ministry also spanned the Revolution, was so patriotic that when the news of the battle of Lexington reached Glastonbury, Conn., during divine service, it was announced from the pulpit.^

Deacon E. S. Tanner and Dr. Cushing Eells were

both in the Walla Walla valley more or less during the

Civil War. A considerable number of its settlers

» Centennial papers of the General Conference of Connecticut, 1876, p. 77.

Ubid.p.50.

BIRTH, ANCESTBY, AND E ABLY LIFE. 21

sympathized strongly with the South — so strongly that they elected a man as sheriff . who, when he learned that he was elected, publicly said that he would give five hundred dollars to know that Abraham Lincoln was killed, and another five hundred to know that Jefferson Davis was President of the United States. Hence it was not strange that much fault was found with those who favored the Union. Deacon Tanner once said that it made Dr. Eells feel quite badly when he could not at a Sabbath service pray for the President and country without being found fault with severely.

One nephew of Dr. Eells lost his life in the Civil "War at the early age of sixteen, and the only nephew of Mrs. Eells able to bear arms was a lieutenant in the same war.

In the item about ministers it was said that twenty ministers, all but one college bred, had come from the family. Higher education has been an objective among many of the family. Rev. Edward Eells was for some years a tutor in Yale College, and also for several years a trustee of the same institution. John Eells, a brother of Dr. Gushing Eells, was one of the founders and trustees of the Western Female Seminary, at Oxford, Ohio. Rev. James Eells, d.d., was also for some years before his death a professor in the Lane Theological Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio.

22 FATHEB BELLS.

Long life is another characteristic of the family. Major Samuel Eells died at seventy, his son at seventy-three, and his son was seventy-six. Dr. Eells' grandfather lived to be fifty, his grandmother to be eighty-four. The seven children of this grandfather averaged sixty-nine years. The average age of the nine brothers and sisters of Dr. Eells was fifty-eight, their father having been over seventy-nine years and seven months.

It is not strange that Rev. W. W. Eells, of Pittsburg, Penn., wrote to the author thus in 1872: "I do not know what interest you may take in the genealogy of our family, but there is certainly no harm in knowing that we came of honorable and pious ancestry. Ours is eminently such. Wherever I have met any of the name (and I have met very many) they are almost invariably sound in the faith of the old-fashioned gospel. The God of our fathers has kept his covenant with the children."

Gushing Eells spent his early years in his native place, Blandford, on a spur of the Green Mountains. To the writer, in 1870, on account of its rocky nature, it looked as if it would make those who lived there energetic or shiftless — energetic if they should conquer the obstacles of nature enough to obtain a living from the soil, but shiftless if they should succumb to nature, as then they wguld receive no return. The

BIRTH, ANCESTBY, AND EARLY LIFE. 23

writer bad evidence that it had acted in both ways, making the inhabitants in 1810 energetic, while having an opposite effect on the man who lived in the Eells homestead in 1870, as he was barefoot, and looked decidedly discouraged.

Dorus Clarke, d.d., the early pastor of Gushing, tells the following story of him : —

At one time there was considerable religious interest in the community, and Dr. Clarke visited the family to converse on the subject. Cushing, seeing him coming, and fearing that the pastor wished to talk with him, slipped out the back door as the pastor came in the front one, and ran away. And yet this runaway afterwards became a missionary.

His own account of his conversion is as follows, dictated by himself a year before death : —

*'In 1825, when past fifteen years of age, there was special religious interest in our place. I was working alone in a field when I believe the Spirit of God came upon me. My sins were set in order before me. I was alone, hoeing potatoes. I rested, leaned upon my hoe, and wept. I wept so freely that I was ashamed to appear at home without apply mg water to my face. I went to a spring and washed my face. For several weeks I was under conviction of sin. One morning I awoke with increased conviction, and did not arise until after breakfast. I walked to the barn. I said to myself : ' I have heard people speak of the burden of sin ; I now feel that burden.' I returned to my chamber ; an experience that I cannot well define was had. I realized that the burden was gone. I was fearful that I had grieved away the Spirit, and if I had done so I was apprehensive that my condition was sealed asainst me. I was in o;reater distress than before, and yet the burden had left me. I wanted to get back my feelings, and knowing that a certain young man was working in a field not far distant, I went to see him. My object in doing so was that I hoped he would say something that would bring back my former feelings. He, however, perceived the evidence of a change, and said so. I could not readily accept the correctness of his ideas. I returned home. My oldest sister was a professing Christian. She met me as I reached home. She asked me if I felt differently ; I made no replv. I had heard others say that the Bible seemed different to them after they had experienced a change. I went to the Bible and opened it ; it looked as it had previously done. Not many days after I called on this young man again — King Hastings was his name. I said : ' Can it be that my heart has been changed when I have so many wicked thoughts?' His reply was, in substance: 'That is the very evidence that it has been changed.

BIRTH, ANCESTBY, AND EABLY LIFE. 25

Heretofore your wicked thoughts did not trouble you ; they do now.' Rev. Dorus Clarke, my pastor, had said that when his heart was changed it was in the night, but it was the lightest day he ever saw. I then thought: 'If my heart shall be changed, I shall know it ; it will be as plain as passing from a dark room to a light one.' I will not dwell on that, only the Scripture saith : 'The path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.' That was my experience — like the dim light of the early morning ; but it continued to grow brighter, and since 1825 to the present time that Scripture has been expressive of my experience."

While the evidence to himself and friends was at that time satisfactory that he was a Christian, while his friends of like experience united with the church, while by word and deed he confessed Christ openly — yet, to use his own expression fifty-five years later, he ' ' foolishly and wickedly deferred becoming a member of the church till the spring of 1827."

Simeon Shurtleff, the sou of a neighbor, about that time determined to get a college education. His father, Mr. Eells' father, and their minister consulted and thought that Cushing should do likewise. At first the idea was not acceptable, as he did not think himself a bright enough scholar, but afterwards, a's he thought more, he determined to do as they thought best. The minister, Dr. Clarke, opened a select school, where four or five scholars went and studied grammar only during the winter of 1825-26. The next spring Gushing borrowed a Latin grammar, which he studied at home. A short time after arrangements were made for him to go to East Granville, a town seven miles distant. There he studied the greater part of the next summer under Dr. Timothy M. Cooley, the pastor, walking there on Monday mornings and returning on Saturday afternoons. Near that road lived Deacon Coe. His son David was then at work on his father's farm. As he saw Gushing walking to and from school he thought that he too might do something besides working on a farm. His thoughts took such a turn that he went through Williams Gollege and entered the ministry. For many years, as D. B. Goe, d.d., he was one of the secretaries of the American Home Missionary Society. About forty-five years afterwards, when he commissioned a son of Dr. Gushing Eells as a home missionary to the Pacific coast, he told him how those walks of the father had had quite an influence in leading himself into his great life-work.

Through the influence of Dr. Glarke, after a time it was thought best that young Eells should change his place of study, and he went to Monson Academy,

BIBTH, ANCESTBY, AND EABLY LIFE. 27

where he prepared for college under Rev. Simeon Colton. The idea of receiving help from the Education Society was suggested. He walked from Monson to Amherst, where he met Dr. Heman Humphrey and President Edward Hitchcock. They recommended him to the society, and from that time he received twelve dollars a quarter during his academy course, with the exception of one quarter, when he taught school. After he entered college this aid was increased to seventy-five dollars a year. To obtain this he signed notes without interest ; but when he entered missionary work he was released from all these notes, that being the custom of the Education Society. He always felt grateful to the society, however, and occasionally made donations to it. After he sold his farm, — the Whitman Mission, — in 1872, he gave the society one thousand dollars, thus fully repaying it.