It Endures Like The Wasatch Mountains

Chapter 8
The First Miracle

By the end of 1875, the school was providing quality education to the children of Mt. Pleasant.  The first payment on the existing mortgage had been paid. There is no record of the exact source of funds that satisfied the obligation.   McMillan himself has stated that he received no salary from the Presbyterian Church during this time.  Perhaps his travels in the Midwest elicited contributions from individuals and churches that supplemented the tuition fees from students.  These are the most likely sources of the money that paid the first installment.

According to the terms of the original agreement, the final payment on the Liberal Hall mortgage would have been due in March or April 1876.  There were probably a few Mt. Pleasant citizens who hoped McMillan would be unable to raise the money and thus they would soon be rid of the intruder and his school. 

The day before the final deadline a considerable portion of the necessary payment was still lacking.  With a heavy heart Duncan McMillan checked at the post office but there was no mail in his box.   As he turned to leave the in total despair he was hailed by the postmaster and handed a letter that had fallen to the floor.  He glanced quickly at the letter but was not much encouraged by the return address of Cedar Rapids, Iowa because he knew no one there.  McMillan returned to his bleak room in Liberal Hall and gave way to grief.  He was penniless, in debt and very much aware that the money already spent to establish the school would be lost.  Even worse than this, his work would have to cease.  Finally he arose and opened the letter from Cedar Rapids.  A check fell from the envelope in an amount that was more than sufficient to pay the mortgage.  The check had come from Mrs. Charles E. Walker, Treasurer of the Women’s Missionary Society of the First Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids.  There was no explanation included with the check, so McMillan had no idea what had prompted the generous gesture.

The answer to the mystery was revealed later.  It seems that a stranger had visited Mt. Pleasant during the time that McMillan was away on a tour of the surrounding area.  The stranger was Mr. H. M. Miller of Salt Lake City who was an agent of the White Sewing Machine Company.  Mr. Miller had never met McMillan but he had heard about his work from acquaintances in Salt Lake City.  While visiting Mt. Pleasant, Mr. Miller found himself with time to kill before he could catch a return stagecoach.  He noticed a light in the Mormon meeting house and although he was not a church member, he decided to attend the meeting in order to help pass the time.  During the meeting Mr. Miller heard bitter words spoken about the missionary and his work.  The people present were encouraged to drive the intruder away and destroy his mission.  The diatribe against McMillan angered Miller who could find no hint of wrong doing in what he heard of McMillan’s work. 

When Mr. Miller journeyed east on business sometime later, he visited in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and related his feelings about Duncan McMillan to friends.  One lady, who heard his story, invited Miller to attend the missionary meeting and share the story with the members.   Although he was not inclined to accept the invitation, Miller finally agreed to speak to the group.  The ladies of the missionary society were so impressed that they voted to send all of the money in their treasury to support the work of Duncan McMillan.