350
ing truths of the last message to the precious
souls of this state. There were none.
Could it be true,— a whole state, one of the
original thirteen, with a population of 1,340,-
316,— going unwarned, while the vials of God's
wrath hang heavy over their heads? Would
the strong conferences to the north and west
allow this condition to go on, and meet such
facts in the day of judgment? Would not
the blood of souls be found upon the garments
of some in responsible positions?
The Lord answered prayer, and opened the
way for a few laborers to enter the state. On
closer acquaintance, we found a small church
organization at Spartanburg, another at Brushy
Creek, and a few isolated Sabbath-keepers
scattered here and there throughout the state.
These faithful souls were working in a humble
way to make known the solemn message of
the third angel to those about them. Elder
E. W. Webster and others had labored here
some fourteen years ago, and these had with
joy received the truth.
The Spartanburg church was in sore need of
a place of worship; but real estate and build-
ing material were high priced. We believed
that God would be honored by having a church
building, a memorial for his name and truth,
but we found no way to provide one.
The little company had been lift-
ing its full share of the financial
burdens of the denomination.
Publishing houses in distant lands,
sanitariums and academies, indus-
trial schools and colleges, have not
been forgotten by the Spartanburg
church in their hour of need. Ap-
peal after appeal was sent to them,
and out of the liberality of their
hearts they sent their dollars, ob-
tained through sacrifice, to hasten
the message they loved. The for-
eign work, too, has had their
hearts, and much of the contents
of their pocketbooks. Their tithe
has made a constant tributary flow-
ing into the general treasury.
Thousands of dollars have in these
ways gone out from this little com-
pany to build up and strengthen
the work, not in this state, but
the work in general.
And now shall Spartanburg in
her deep necessity be forgotten?
Let the body now strengthen this
weak member, and the body
itself will be strengthened... .South Caro-
lina is the most neglected of all this long-
neglected Southland. To help Spartanburg
now will do much to help the work onward
throughout the state.
In the Warcaman of May 21 will be found
an article by Elder R. T. Nash, under the head-
ing, “An Opportune Time for Spartanburg,
S. C.” Read it, we pray you, if you have not
already done so; and, if the Lord moves upon
your heart to give toward this worthy and
needy cause, send your remittance, as Brother
Nash directs, to Elizabeth McHugh, Spartan-
burg, S. C, or to Mrs. R. T. Nash, Campo-
bello, S. C. E. W. Carey.
Luray, S. C.
THE WATCHMAN
A SALT SEA
IN the extreme southeastern part of Cali-
fornia, in the middle of the Colorado Desert,
is a field of crystallized salt more than a thou-
sand acres in extent. The following descrip-
tion of the field and the manner of working it
is taken from an article by Arthur Inkersly in
the World's Work. He says of its appear-
ance: “Its surface is as white as snow, and
when the sun is shining, its brilliancy is too
dazzling for the eye.
“The field is constantly supplied by the
many salt springs in the adjacent foot-hills, the
waters from which drain into the basin, and
rapidly evaporating, leave deposits of almost
pure salt. The deposits, varying in thickness
from ten to twenty inches, form a solid crust
over the marsh.”
A SALT SEA
To secure the harvest, the field is plowed
with a salt-plow, “throwing up the crust in
parallel ridges on either side, and bringing to
view a seepage from the salt springs that un-
derlie it. About seven hundred tons are
plowed up in a day. Laborers then work the
salt with hoes to and fro in the water to re-
move the earthy particles, and when this is
done, they stack up the washed salt in conical
mounds to be taken later to the mill.”
“At present only about ten acres of the great
field are worked, as a new crust forms almost
immediately after the plow has passed on.”
After the salt has drained, it is loaded on
trucks and taken to the mills at Salton, where
it is ground, sifted, and packed for shipping.
The salt is of the best quality, but much of it
is sold for commercial purposes in its unre-
fined condition, under the name of “hide-
salt.”
The laborers employed are Indians or Jap-
anese, “because no white man could work long
in the extreme heat. For several weeks to-
gether the thermometer averages 140°, and the
sun, reflected from the dazzling white fields,
produces a glare like that of an electrical
furnace.”
“Under certain atmospheric conditions ap-
pear above the salt field mirages of broad,
flowering fields and towering cities. Moon-
light, too, often produces wierd and singularly
beautiful effects on the great white field of
gleaming salt.”
A native Christian teacher visited a Bur-
mese village, and left some tracts with the man
at whose house he stayed. The man asked for
a New Testament, and received one. Later he
visited a missionary, and said of his Testa-
ment, “I have read it night and day, and
now there are several of us living at Pahyah,
planning to build a chapel-schoolhouse and to
send for a Christian teacher.”
“The seed is the word,” Christ says; and
when it is sown in the human heart, it brings
forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
Plant it in heathen lands, and lo, schools,
chapels, and hospitals spring up. The word is
an active force, and under its influence hearts,
lives, and communities are transformed.