Diary of a Prairie Missionary       Part 2

25^th  July.I now found my bills of fare becoming considerably larger for a night's lodging while in a pikeeoon log tavern the fuss of ringing a bell was last evening employed to avoid the vulgarity of announcing that my supper was ready. I breakfasted at the Desplaines about ten miles from Chicago, where the river is but a few feet elevated above Lake Michigan. I then proceeded across the dismal swamp, or Low Prairie, of eight and a half miles. Sometimes the water lies here to the depth of three or four feet. It now was passable by creeping along on the grass, but it was a most unpleasant journey. Excepting a small skirt of woods. it is all Prairie from the River DesPlaines (which runs South in to the Illinois) to the Lake at Chicago. It is too low for pleasant cultivation. It Is probably only elevated from two to four feet above the Lake and is often flooded in the wet season. Whenever the Des Plaines River rises but a few feet its surplus water is received by the South branch of the Chicago Creek which rises in the vicinity of the River and carried into Lake Mich. Instead of the Gulf of Mexico.  A canal is projected from the Lake by the South Branch of the Chicago via Joliet to Ottawa, and lands are reserved to the State for its construction. The scenery is that of common low Prairie.  I reached Chicago by noon. It presented a considerable appearance of commercial activity. It is now supposed to contain nearly 400 houses, and from three to four thousand inhabitants.  It is divided by the two branches of the Chicago Creek and united by three bridges. It is built upon a light prairie soil, on a general elevation of four feet above the waters of the Lake. A harbour is partially constructed and several Schooners were at this time riding at anchor. The houses are almost wholly of wood. Every good thing is dear here excepting the light of heaven and a few others.  The scenery here before the erection of houses must have been handsome. On the one hand a Prairie for eight or nine miles, and on the other the surface of the limpid Michigan while to the North and South as well as in the distance to the West there are groves and small forests standing. But the town is so level that nothing can be seen in the interior. Calling at the P. Office I recd. a letter from the Rev. A. Bower who had visited Chicago in June. I then called on two Scotchmen, by one of whom I was directed to Mr.  Philo Carpenter, one of the deacons of the Aminian Independent, Presbyterian Congregation of the place, who kindly invited me to lodge with him, and gave me permission to preach for them tomorrow, and granted me the indulgence of singing the inspired psalms, as one or two of their other deacons could not be found that evening. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter I found very hospitable and kind and spent a pleasant season at their house although they are led by Eastern custom into the froth of New School divinity. They had swallowed the poison of some pernicious errors from Beman of Troy, N.  York. I this evening also became acquainted with a Mr. Brown from Aberdeen & Henry Mitchell from Fife. Three or four Scotch families I am told reside here.

26^th. July Sabbath. An we were at worship in the morning a Mr. Russel, said to be a deacon, called upon me, to let me know that they could not permit the inspired psalm to be sung in their meeting house, although I had obtained permission as I supposed from Mr. Carpenter last evening. As this was a privilege I could not forego, a considerable of argument and debate ensued.  Aware of the duplicity of such apparent friendship, I with difficulty could overcome my temper, until my feelings became unsuitable to the sacred Sabbath, and purely to leave off contention before it was meddled with, I yielded to this wise man from the East.  I desired to know his reasons, as I told him we made it a matter of conscience while so far as I know it was with them a matter of indifference.  Oh no says he, "it is a matter of conscience with us too.”  I then requested to know in what way he regarded it, if he thought the Inspired psalms were wrong or could do any harm. He could not condemn them on any of these charges, but advanced for reasons that he was afraid of offending their Chief Singer. I then inquired if he were a Church Member, and to what denomination he belonged? and received for answer that he did not belong to any church and was not a professor, yet it would offend him to read the lines of the psalms, two at a time.  Another great reason why the Sword of the Spirit must be supplanted by the weapons of men was, that he said they were desirous of producing uniformity in their way of worship, and instead of