Splendid Sermon to the Red Men of Trough

The following is taken from the 16 February 1909 issue of The Spartanburg Herald.

SPLENDID SERMON
TO THE RED MEN
OF TROUGH

(Special to The Hearld.)

Trough, S.C., Feb. 14.—Catawha Tribe No. 12 of Red Men with visitors from three or four neighboring tribes, 125 strong assembled at Society hall 2:00 p.m. Sunday, February 14th, and marched to the Baptist church where a large crowd had assembled for the special service. As they marched into the church the choir sand, “My Country 'Tis of Thee.” A sufficient space had been reserved for them in center pews and they made quite an imposing picture. Rev. J. W. Guy, who is a member of the order, read twenty verses of the twentieth chapter of Exodus and followed by a beautiful prayer to the Great Spirit for which the Red Men sang their opening ode, “Old Anxious.” Rev. Guy then announced No. 712, “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds,” which was sung by the whole congregation. He then preached from the 24th verse of the eighth chapter of Provers, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” He spoke of the Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. Speaking of some of the results of the order, he said the order encouraged, economy, thriftiness and religion. A religion to break bread to the hungry, a father to the fatherless. The aim and purpose of the order is to perfect the conditions of man, to make them better citizens, to make their pilgrimage happier and brighter while here on earth, to look after each other's welfare to extend help anywhere and everywhere, always looking to the Great Spirit for His divine guidance. Consider all men equal, no kings, virtue not rank; manhood, not money; believe the only degflitimate aristocracy is aristocracy of character. Freedom to do all that is not contrary to God's law, self reliance, self-controll, self-respect, freedom of thought. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Freedom to rise, not pulling others down, but by helping others to rise.

R. E. Lee being asked what he thought of the efficiency of a certain officer of the army, who was Lee's bitter enemy, Lee spoke very complimentary and a friend of Lee interrupted him by saying, “That man is your worse enemy.” Lee replied by saying “I was asked what I thought of him, not what he thought of me.”

Friendship toward each other, higher ideals, all dependent one upon the other. We obligate to be friendly and help each other for it pays to be kind to each other. We don't wait untill our friends are dead to pay our compliments, but show our friendship now by good deeds for it is more blessed to give than to receive. Human friendship is often treacherous and selfish, but the friend that stricketh closer than a brother in the friend that we should value. Smoothing the path of others in charity.

The Red Men distribute $5,000.oo a day to charity. To believe not everything you hear against others is charity. The original Red Man delighted in charity. He told the story of Little Wolf. The meeting was concluded with a prayer by D. C. Wylie and the song, “Nearer My God to Thee.”