

And State Papers 245 



martyrs; but not of martyrs who could merely suf 

 fer, not of martyrs who could oppose only passive 

 endurance to wrong. The pioneer preachers warred 

 against the forces of spiritual evil with the same 

 fiery zeal and energy that they and their fellows 

 showed in the conquest of the rugged continent. 

 They had in them the heroic spirit, the spirit that 

 scorns ease if it must be purchased by failure to do 

 duty, the spirit that courts risk and a life of hard 

 endeavor if the goal to be reached is really worth 

 attaining. Great is our debt to these men and scant 

 the patience we need show toward their critics. At 

 times they seemed hard and narrow to those whose 

 training and surroundings had saved them from 

 similar temptations; and they have been criticised, 

 as all men, whether missionaries, soldiers, explorers, 

 or frontier settlers, are criticised when they go forth 

 to do the rough work that must inevitably be done 

 by those who act as the first harbingers, the first her 

 alds, of civilization in the world's dark places. It 

 is easy for those who stay at home in comfort, who 

 never have to see humanity in the raw, or to strive 

 against the dreadful naked forces which appear 

 clothed, hidden, and subdued in civilized life it is 

 easy for such to criticise the men who, in rough fash 

 ion, and amid grim surroundings, make ready the 

 way for the higher life that is to come afterward; 

 but let us all remember that the untempted and the 

 effortless should be cautious in passing too heavy 

 judgment upon their brethren who may show hard 

 ness, who may be guilty of shortcomings, but who 



