Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Jun 26, 2008 1:04:39 GMT -5
MISSIONARY WARRIOR - Charles E. Cowman
By Lettie B. Cowman (Mrs. Charles E. Cowman)
Author of "Streams in the Desert"
Copyright @ 1928 By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
~ out-of-print and in the public domain ~
Chapter Four
BEGINNING LIFE IN A NEW SETTING
"The world's wealth is in its original men. By these and their works, it is a world and not a waste.
Their memory and their record are its sacred property forever."
- Carlyle
"Thou camest not to thy place by accident,
It is the very place GOD meant for thee."
We shall have to pause here and penetrate below the surface of his life and surroundings, in
order to understand GOD's workings and some of the details of His purpose, when He is forming
a vessel for His special service.
The following is the story of the ten years of providential preparation for his life-work, and we
shall see that God does not equip us for our work all at once, but trains His workmen in various
ways, often in a very wide school.
These ten years were spent in the telegraph office in Chicago. They worked together for the last
twenty-five which stand apart as the crowning years, "the last of life for which the first was
made." The work then done demanded quality of mind and heart, insight, knowledge of
character, and much besides which could not have been otherwise acquired. They were so
ordinary in appearance, so commonplace, that one would have little dreamed them to be years
which the world pauses to look at. One of the interesting things of the biography will be the
tracing of the matchless hand of GOD, shaping this chosen vessel, and many doubtless will say,
"Who but GOD could have formed it?"
We are fond of the saying that GOD can thresh a mountain with a worm. So He can, when it is
necessary, but there is nothing more certain than that He has always chosen great men for great
work, not always what the world calls great, but those great in character and in Christlikeness.
History reveals the fact that He has not placed pigmies in high places, nor appointed them to the
leadership of great movements.
Moses was a man of majestic mold whose personality, after thousands of years, still towers
among the lordliest leaders of the centuries. Martin Luther, John Knox, John Wesley, and
Lincoln did not belong to the pigmy, but to the giant class.
"The fiat of fate falls on the fittest." GOD lays His hand on those who are best prepared for His
purposes, using every man and woman for just as great a work as their preparation will make
possible. But may we ever keep in mind that this preparation is not always found in colleges or
great universities.
His whole heart was thrown into his work and thoroughness was one of the most prominent
elements of his character. What he did, he did with all his might. The position he occupied as
Chief of the New York Division required a man of steady nerve and more than ordinary selfcontrol.
The first year spent in Chicago proved to be one of great success. His new acquaintances among
fellow-telegraphers numbered into hundreds, from officials to messengers. His genial manner
and happy smile had won for him a place in their hearts. He was admired for his ability and
loved by all. The sterling qualities which he exhibited and his considerate treatment of the men
increased his popularity, and he held a power over them that did not consist of brawn or muscle.
He permitted many of them to share some of the problems which often confronted him.
Life in the city held many attractions and one of the most alluring was the Grand Opera. Charles
Cowman and wife, both lovers of music were often to be found in attendance. The fascinating
entertainments were taking a firm hold upon their hearts and they drifted on with the multitudes
who were walking in the broad way. But what of CHRIST's claim upon their hearts? What of the
vow he had made to GOD when he prayed for the restoration of his loved one?
His pen shall tell the story. Friends had asked him for the story of his life and shortly before the
Home-call an attempt was made to write some of it but it was never completed. There are stray
bits, however, and under the heading, "The Backslider's Return" are these lines:
"It is necessary here to relate first the conversion of my dear wife, who through a quarter of a
century of Christian life has been my closest companion, beloved help-meet, and 'fellow-helper
to the truth.' Our lives were thrown together providentially from early childhood, and when she
was nineteen and I was of age, we were married, beginning life together. I had drifted away from
GOD and from my earliest religious training, and both of us, after our marriage, were thrown
into worldly society and continued therein until 1891, when I was transferred because of her
illness to the Chicago Telegraph office, where I became traffic chief and later wire chief of the
New York Division.
"Life went on much the same until one night shortly before Christmas, in 1893, a Christian
worker called at our home inviting us to a meeting which was to be held for children in one of
the churches of the neighborhood. A converted opera singer was to speak and sing. My wife,
being interested in music, accepted the invitation. She attended the service and heard the noted
lady sing.
"'There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away
Far off from the gates of gold.'
"It was like the singing of Paul and Silas in the jail at midnight and was accompanied by a
spiritual earthquake which rent her heart from its worldly satisfaction. She went to the altar with
a number of children and gave her heart to CHRIST. The change which immediately followed
was a great surprise to me, for she at once separated herself from the world and testified that she
was genuinely converted. She began dealing with me, but I told her that living a Christian life in
a telegraph office was an utter impossibility; however her prayers and continued exhortations
were rewarded by my conversion one month later.
"She became a member of Grace Methodist Church, which had a membership of six hundred, the
majority being people of her own age. A revival meeting was in progress and she begged me to
accompany her there on a Sunday evening. Henry Ostrom was the evangelist. While he
preached, there arose out of the misty past a vision of an old mourner's bench and revival scenes
out in the dear open country, the remembrance of the blessed experience that had come to me,
and of the tender way GOD had comforted my heart when but a lad. I thought of this one and
that one who had gotten up out of his seat and with face aglow with that wonderful light that is
not seen on sea or shore, had given their testimony to some blessed experience, and there came
into my heart a deep, unutterable yearning to make it my own.
"Uppermost in my mind was the time when the life of my loved one had been spared through my
humble prayer, and when I promised the Lord that if He would restore her I would henceforth
serve Him. What of that unfulfilled vow? I could not lift up my head. Wife had invited me to
accompany her to the altar, but I said, 'Not tonight,' and had stoutly refused her. That of itself
almost broke my heart for we were rare lovers, and I could have readily laid down my life for
her; but she left the pew where we were sitting and took her place with the newly converted who
stood in one long line at the front of the pulpit.
"I felt absolutely alone without her as a great gulf seemed forever fixed between us and my heart
was broken. But there arose in my mind the telegraph office with its associations, the place I
occupied, and my future career. A battle raged, but peace tarried. How truly had I reached 'the
place called Calvary.'
"A Voice seemed to say, 'Trust Jesus, surrender to Him, and let go,' but there was no power to do
so. After the service closed, we started home. Being under deep conviction. I could not utter a
word but broke out in sobs. We walked twelve blocks, hastily entered our apartment, and without
taking time to turn on the lights, we knelt by a chair and there I poured out my confession to
GOD, asking Him to take back the prodigal. My dear wife, but a month old Christian, did her
best to point me to the Saviour, and soon the blessed SPIRIT witnessed with my spirit that the
past was all under the blood and that I was His child once more. The wanderer had returned to
His Father's house. What joy was mine! Peace came flooding my heart and I wished to tell the
world that JESUS had saved me. It was like a blissful new wedding day, for now I was able to
walk by the side of my loved one, Homeward together."
And shall the writer ever forget that hour? The room became glorious with the presence of GOD.
Charles Cowman's face was like that of Moses when he came down from the Mount; joy and
gladness too deep for words filled his heart. The Spirit of GOD gave him such a witness, so real,
so abiding, that for thirty-six years, amidst all the testings and buffetings, it held him firm as the
Rock of Ages. In after years when he visited Chicago he wished to go at once to the spot where
JESUS had so wondrously revealed Himself to him, welcoming him home to His fold.
It was a new and wonderful world that dawned with the coming of the morning light, for "old
things [had] passed away; behold, all things [had] become new." He was converted through
and through, and the change in him was marked because it was so radical. His first question to
his newly discovered Lord was that of Paul, "What wilt thou have me to do?" Nay, that was his
constant inquiry from the day of his conversion onward; and the record of his life is the record of
his obedience to the directions which, in response to that inquiry, he was constantly receiving.
He made it the first thing in his life to be a Christian, feeling that if he would fulfil his
discipleship, he must concentrate all of his energy and strength upon it. It was quickly noised
about in the telegraph office that Charles Cowman had become a Christian and there he stood,
quite alone, among the hundreds of men for whom he felt GOD would hold him personally
responsible.
Having now come into a place of victory and blessing in his own life, he was anxious that his
fellow-telegraphers should enter the enjoyment of a similar triumph. Applied Christianity was
the track along which the energy of his nature was driven by the Divine Spirit.
Immediately he began witnessing for CHRIST; conviction seized a number of his men and he
became a soulwinner from the day of his conversion. He knew practically nothing about dealing
with seekers and when they came to him with their questions, some under the deepest conviction
for sin, others filled with doubts, wondering if they were included in "whosoever will," he would
say to them, "Go home and pray," as there was no place for quiet in an office where hundreds of
instruments were clicking continuously. Many came to him with difficult questions regarding the
Scripture, and he found himself in a strange parish which would have troubled many an older
and more experienced Christian.
The questions asked were written down in a notebook and he would go into his small study on
his return from the office and, taking his Bible from the desk, would search for hours, often away
into the early morning, to find a Scriptural answer. Methinks there was rejoicing in Heaven as
the angels bent over that earnest young soul.
He learned from practical experience the value of the Word of GOD, and the following evening
his seekers would find an answer to their questions in a word of Scripture. It was GOD's own
Word and therefore could not fall.
An old fisherman, from long experience, knows just how to bait his hook, but Charles Cowman's
knowledge of the Bible was limited to what he had been taught as a child; and where to begin
and how to lead a soul to Christ appeared to him one of the most difficult of problems.
Did not the Master say, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men"? Difficulties fall
before determined men, and this one, like a Jericho wall, needed to be marched around and
taken, so the first thing he did was to begin reading the Word, ever keeping in mind that if he
was called upon to speak to his men about divine things, he must have a knowledge of it himself.
He had no one to guide him and was quite ignorant of the fact that there were splendid books on
the subject of "Personal Evangelism" which would have been helpful for the time; but he
struggled on alone, praying, reading, looking to the Lord to guide and direct him.
In the after-years when called upon to address assemblies of Christian workers and Bible
students on the subject of "Soul-winning" in response to their earnest inquiry "How shall we do
personal work?" he would invariably say, "Just begin and do it and let the method unfold of
itself."
His first attempt to win a soul is a never-to-be-forgotten one. He went to his office one evening
as usual with the determination to speak to some of his men that night about their souls' welfare.
The operators had been at work at their respective wires for several hours when there came a lull
which he interpreted as his opportunity for dealing with some soul.
In one corner of the long room sat a man at his desk, who apparently had a few spare moments.
Back and forth through the length of the room he walked before he could summon up enough
courage to speak to him. Finally the effort was made and for half an hour he stood beside his
desk, engaged in a one-sided conversation. Doubtless this young man was astonished to find
someone talking to him about his soul, as he never made a reply.
Charles Cowman left his office that night feeling down-hearted over his first attempt at winning
a soul; but the following night when he returned home, almost the first words he said were these:
"Oh, I have something wonderful to tell you!"
"The young man with whom I talked last night, came to me just as soon as I entered the office,
saying, 'I went home last night after our conversation and did just what you told me. It is all
settled and I gave myself to CHRIST.'"
The name of the young man was Ernest A. Kilbourne. The joy over that one soul was as great as
that of an evangelist who has led hundreds to CHRIST during some special campaign.
On that day Charles Cowman and Ernest Kilbourne began a lifelong friendship and Christian
partnership. Their hearts were knit together. He had the unique experience of leading to CHRIST
his colleague and successor before he himself had left his native land for those romantic scenes
amidst which his subsequent years were spent.
His heart was greatly encouraged through finding this one soul, so the next night he waxed bold
and talked to another telegrapher who had once been an earnest Christian, but who, since coming
to the Chicago telegraph office, had drifted away from GOD. Had he known how to deal with
backsliders and how to have given them the right texts of Scripture he would have been happy,
but he was devoid of such knowledge.
Murray McCheyne once said, "It is not so much great talent, or knowledge that GOD blesses, as
likeness to Himself. Therefore love, divine love for GOD and man, and entire dependence upon
the power of the HOLY SPIRIT are the great essentials."
His men were dear to him, he loved them and they knew it. It was love that won Robert Fisher
back to GOD that night. He also had a part to play in the future of the Oriental Missionary
Society. Two souls had been won for the Master in less than a week. What encouragement from
so little effort! His soul took fire from that very week and he became a soul-winner of the rarest
and most original type. When GOD can grip a man, He always makes him a missionary, a
witness, an ambassador, and a winner of souls, and this he made of Charles Cowman.
In his business-like manner he began a systematic effort to win his men, recognizing that men
are not saved in bundles, but one by one. There has never been any improvement on the methods
used in Apostolic times. Philip finds his man and the work spreads in Samaria and elsewhere. A
Christian's best work is personal, and as Henry Drummond has written: "The true worker's world
is the unit. Recognize the personal glory and dignity of the unit as an agent. Work with units,
but, above all, work at units."
But the capacity of acting upon individuals is now almost a lost art. It is hard to learn again. We
have spoiled ourselves by thinking to draw thousands by public work - by what people call
'pulpit eloquence,' by platform speeches, and by convocations and councils, Christian
conferences, and by books of many editions. We have been painting Madonnas and Ecce Homos
and choirs of angels, like Raphael, and it is hard to condescend to the beggar boy or Murillo.
Yet we must begin again and begin far down. Christianity began with One. We have forgotten
the simple way of the Founder of the greatest influence the world has ever seen - how He ran
away from cities, how He shirked mobs, how He lagged behind the rest at Samaria to have a
quiet talk with one woman at a well, how He stole away from crowds and entered into the house
of one humble Syro-Phoenician woman, 'and would have no man know it.' In small groups of
twos and threes, He collected the early church around Him. One by one the disciples were called
- and there were only twelve in all."
Charles Cowman made opportunities to speak to his men about their souls' welfare. He did not
wait for a Convenient season, but prayed and made an advance toward them. He kept a list of
several hundred who were daily remembered in prayer. This was followed by personal effort and
few escaped heart-to-heart talks over the subject that matters most.
Such faithful and systematic work produced results. Each case was so different, so delicate, that
it had to be dealt with by a method all its own; but brave, steady, unremitted work is that which
pays best, both here and hereafter. Spasmodic effort, brief fervor wins no enduring honor either
in this world or in that which is to come.
His enthusiasm was not that of a moment, that blazed and then died, but a steady unabated force
that entered into every part of his being. Like the Master Himself, to lie in wait for men with a
wisdom and skill that is born from above and to catch them in the Gospel net is the highest
calling of the surrendered and consecrated Christian.
Weitbrecht's Memoirs have these lines: "While you aim at great things for the Lord, yet keep in
view the arithmetic of Heaven's exultant joy" (joy over one).
In less than six months he had personally led seventy-five of his fellow-workers to the Lord. All
were handpicked fruit. This personal work was done in odd moments, as he felt that his time
belonged to his Company, and not once was there the slightest bit of criticism that business was
being neglected. His was a mind farthest removed from the dogma that when a man becomes
religious he must close his ledger, put an arrest on the wheels of industry, and bid his neighbor
and his work farewell; but there were odd moments every night when it was not necessary for the
men to be kept steadily at the telegraph key, and he kept an open eye for those moments. He who
hoards and turns into account odd moments, half hours, gaps between times, achieves results
which will astonish those who have not mastered the secret.
He was absolutely faithful at his post of duty. How very little do we know the importance in the
Master's eye of the hidden positions we are set to occupy, or the inconspicuous work we are set
to do. It may be the vital element in some providential movement. To fall in the lowliest place
was to leave a flaw in GOD's great plan for him.
Charles Cowman capitalized every minute, made it count for something and kept on sowing the
seed with the fullest assurance that there was a harvest in a grain of wheat with the power of God
behind it. Oh, the marvelous results which come from faithful sowing! GOD often permits His
children to see much of the fruitage from their sowing, but far beyond the seeing is the indirect
influence. Unknown to us, the seed which we have imagined lost, has been blown hither and
thither by the winds of GOD, planting itself by the way-side and in stony places. It will still be
growing when we are in Heaven for it has taken root in human hearts. When our sickles are laid
aside forever, others may be reaping the golden grain we have sown.
The HOLY SPIRIT carried on His work most successfully in the telegraph office. A real revival
of religion was going on steadily without the aid of a preacher, and without a prayer room. One
humble soul with a passion for winning the souls of his men was quietly praying and working,
and of him it might be truly said, "As a prince hast thou power with God and with men."
The winning of a soul was to him what the winning of a battle is to a soldier;
what the winning of a bride is to a lover;
what the winning of a race is to an athlete.
Charles Cowman lived for just one thing - to win souls for CHRIST. This was his sole passion,
and in a very extraordinary manner GOD set His seal upon it. His resourcefulness was
extraordinary and none felt that he was simply trying to force religion upon him. As love had
made a pathway to the hearts of his fellow-workers, they enjoyed having him speak to them,
knowing that their interests were dear to him. "Sympathy," wrote someone, "is two hearts
tugging at the same load."
What an infinite blessing to have a friend in whom you can confide, one who takes an interest
and understands! Such a friend was Charles Cowman and faithfully did he fulfil the injunction,
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Because of his personal
interest he was very approachable, and many said of him, "We felt drawn to him and could tell
him everything - the good and the bad - and he would understand."
If the river of living water is flowing out from us, depend upon it people will not be in contact
with us without effect. There was a quick sympathy in his manner that spoke to one's heart.
Combined with a warm and tender heart, he had great energy of character and a countenance
beaming with intelligence and love, GOD's own gifts to aid him in winning souls.
What a strange and beautiful thing is heart sympathy! Untransmutable, undefinable, and yet the
greatest thing in human life! Without 'choosing or knowing the reason why,' how our hearts leap
out to some understanding soul who has "let the hungry find his heart." The person who
possesses this subtle gift of sympathy is in possession of the most precious thing on earth. But it
is a rare gift. Happy the worker who possesses it!
He had a remarkable faculty of entering into the perplexities of his fellow-workers. They would
come to him with their heart difficulties and he would seem able, as it were, to place himself in
their particular situation, to enter into their feelings, to see the difficulty from their standpoint
and then together they took it to GOD in prayer.
One of his operators told him of his overpowering temptation to drink. Instead of reprimanding
him, he put his arms about him and with tears pleaded with GOD to destroy his thirst for drink
and to give him deliverance. Long afterward that man testified that it was the tears of loving
sympathy that had won him.
One morning another of his fellow-workers came from the office to his home. He had made a
start heavenward some weeks before, but the enemy had taken advantage of him and his breath
told the sad story of drink. Charles Cowman took him into his study, closed the door, and there
the two remained all day long. Now and again voices could be heard, especially his voice in
pleading, importunate prayer. Following it was a snatch of
"Break down every idol, cast out every foe,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
There was a pause, then some more prayer, and soon voices were heard singing in unison,
"He takes me as I am, He takes me as I am,
He brings His full salvation nigh and takes me as I am."
There was a sound of praise and the two men emerged from the study, arm in arm. Their faces
were wet with tears. Another prodigal had found a welcome home.
He tried to keep his men from drinking and waylaid them when they left the office.
First and foremost he tried to bring them to CHRIST, for he believed that only as they were born
again could they live overcoming lives.
There are no friendships like those made under the shadow of the Cross. His whole affection
went forth to those who were passing through sorrow. One of his workers lost his little tenmonth-
old babe and his heart was fairly crushed. This dear bereaved parent came to his work as
usual throughout the child's brief illness, as money was needed to meet the doctor's bills. Charles
Cowman saw tear stains on the telegraph blanks, and going to the man's side, he quietly slipped
his arm around him saying, "I know all about it, for I, too, lost a sweet baby sister and my heart
was broken until JESUS came with His healing balm." And there beside that desk another soul
was won for the Master through tender understanding sympathy.
Someone has well said that "We need Calvary hearts for a Calvary ministry. We must be
crucified men to proclaim our crucified Lord. We must bleed, to proclaim worthily, the Gospel
of the Blood. The passion of the Saviour needs passion-swept servants to apply its warm grace
and power to the cold, dead hearts of unsaved men and women." To be a man of GOD, what a
sacred thing it is!
Influence is something which distils from every life. It cannot be weighed, photographed, or
measured, yet it is the most real thing about a man. It gathers unto itself all that belongs to the
life. The whole of one's biography is condensed into it.
A noted writer states that the most searching and influential power that issues from a human life
is that of which the person himself is largely unconscious. It flows from him in every form of
occupation, in every relationship, in rest or in work, in silence or in speech, at home or abroad.
There are hosts of men and women who are healers, teachers, helpers, almost without being
conscious of it. Lights shine from them at times when they are utterly unaware that the hem of
their garment is being touched.
A godly life is a popular commentary on the Bible. Men will believe the Scriptures when we live
them. The world's greatest evangelizing force is Christian character and the only sermon that
never wearies us is that of an eloquent life. It is that background of holy personality which gives
such tremendous force and impressiveness to some men's work. The most masterly treatise on
"evidences of Christianity" is a sanctified man or woman.
It was the character of Charles Cowman that counted above all else. It was what he was that
constituted his real greatness for back of his wonderful smile was his wonderful soul. His life
was a great revelation of Christian manhood.
Dr. Jowett has written: "There is a certain compulsory impressiveness of character which
attaches to profound spirituality, and which is commandingly present in those who walk in the
fellowship of the HOLY GHOST. I know not how to define it. It is a certain convincing aroma,
self-witnessing, like the perfume of a flower. It is independent of mental equipment, and it
makes no preference between a plenteous and a penurious estate. It works without the aid of
speech, because it is the effluence of a silent and secret communion. It begins to minister before
you preach; it continues its ministry when the sermon is ended. It is endowed with marvellous
powers of compulsion, and it sways the lives of others when mere words would miserably fail."
No finer tributes have been written than those which came from his old associates of the
telegraph office after his Home-call.
"The most remarkable thing about Mr. Cowman," wrote one, "was the way he managed the men
in his office. He possessed a certain power over us and those with the strongest wills bended to
his way of thinking without one particle of friction. He made us feel, and believe, and desire to
do what he requested. I could never quite analyze this power. As his beaming face looked down
upon us at our tables at the key, as those sparkling eyes met ours, everyone of us felt that he
sought our best, our highest good, and as we sat there before him, we were permanently changed
in habits and character."
"He helped us to feel that we were stronger," wrote another, "and our work better than we had
dared to believe. His sunniness brought hope to everyone about him; and the air of distinction
which he carried was so manifestly an air of purity and not of pride, that it helped us to keep
ourselves separate from that which was base and trivial. We felt that he was interested in us and
his interest, being without officiousness, won our confidence and made us frank with him. We
could tell him the worst about ourselves - the worst just as easily as the best - our ideals and
ambitions, of which men are often as ashamed to speak as they are about their sins. His great,
glorious calmness was the most powerful of all . Things settled themselves in his presence
without as much as a word. He always spoke to us with a soft tone. He never shouted out his
orders, and we breathed another air altogether when we were working for him."
Wrote another, "He caused us to look at religious matters from a new angle."
An official wrote, "We still feel the tingling touch of his personality."
Life in the telegraph office might have seemed commonplace, and to the majority of men it is
given to lead humdrum commonplace lives. It was never commonplace to Charles Cowman for
his daily task was an inspiration. The love of GOD shed abroad in his heart illuminated the
commonplace.
He possessed a quiet compelling personality. He had power to transplant his belief, his
enthusiasm, his courage into others. He created a type that reproduced itself. The converts won
in the telegraph office were infected with his own consuming passion, for they too verily "ached
for souls." The hours of service required of the telegraphers kept many of them from attending
church services and there came to his mind a plan for their spiritual upbuilding. The parlor of a
downtown hotel in close proximity to the office was secured for an hour on Sunday afternoons
and here religious services were begun.
From among the converts and a few other Christians, a band was formed known thereafter as
The Telegraphers' Mission Band.
The services were exceedingly simple. There was prayer, singing, the reading of GOD's Word,
followed by a short exhortation from one of the newly converted; and all returned to the office
with a firmer determination to let their light shine. They strengthened each other's hands and said
one to another, "Be of good courage." "Who hath despised the day of small things?" The busy
world took no notice of this insignificant little company, but it was the mission's Bethlehem.
This "Telegraphers' Mission Band" was destined to be the foundation of a great missionary
society, one of the greatest evangelizing forces in the Far East. They met once each month on
Sunday afternoon and gave their humble offerings amounting to $20.00, for missions. Shall we
call it the wave offering of the several millions which have since been laid on the altar of the
sacred task? Small? Insignificant? "Little is much when GOD is in it."
Great blessing followed these simple services and Charles Cowman said to this company of
young Christians, "Why not reach the telegraphers in other cities and towns?" He had never been
the kind of a man simply to follow in the beaten tracks, but was ever ready for new ventures that
required courage and faith. A plan was formulated. Letters were sent to the Telegraph officers all
over the United States, Great Britain and Australia.
In the letters were Gospel tracts explaining the way of salvation and the results were most
encouraging. Christians were found here and there who were set to work among those of their
own profession and friendships were formed among the fellow-telegraphers which continue until
this day.
It was not possible for a man with a strong nature such as the subject of this memoir, to do things
by halves. Having come boldly out for the Lord, he could not keep from taking up active work in
the harvest fields of the world. Personal work, open-air services, Sunday School and mission
work, - all engaged his energies.
He became deeply interested in the welfare of the men who frequented mission halls, but he had
little faith in any but spiritual methods as a means of helping and elevating them. Indeed, his one
idea in all of his intercourse with his fellow-men was to bring them into personal contact with
the living Saviour.
His first attempt at giving a Gospel message was made some months after his conversion. He
thought it might be well to get in touch with various classes. One Sunday evening he attended a
service in a district in Chicago known as "Little Hell." The leader, mistaking him for a minister,
invited him to preach for them on the following Sunday evening. With the conviction that every
opportunity which presented itself should be "bought up," the invitation was accepted. During
the following week he prepared his first sermon.
Hours were spent in prayer and the study of the Word. Sunday evening came and the walk of a
mile and a half was made in silence. The hall was crowded to its limit with men and women of
the worst class. Some came reeling down the aisle in a drunken stupor; others were soon fast
asleep from the effect of strong drink: the friendless were there, the homeless, the penniless.
What a number of sin-marred faces looked up at the speaker!
The carefully prepared sermon was forgotten and he talked to the hearts of that motley crowd,
begging them with tears to give up their lives of sin and come to JESUS: and they came, a long
altar full-weeping their way to Zion. He was there until midnight praying with them, and thus a
definite work began with a limited amount of knowledge in the divine art of soul-winning.
What a great encouragement he received from his labors in "Little Hell," where he spent every
Sunday evening thereafter. In the after years when he went to Japan as a missionary, many of
these "down-and-outs" whom he had led to CHRIST became his faithful supporters in his new
field of labor.
He had a marvelous influence over abandoned and desperate men, winning some from the
gambling table to the altar of GOD's house. He disarmed men by trusting them. He dealt with
hundreds at the crises of their lives.
Thus when but a young man among men he saw all sides of life, learned the secrets of hundreds
of characters and was trusted and loved. Men felt that he was not a voice merely, but a friend,
and on his arms they were lifted up. He was always hopeful about the most hopeless, picked out
some good points in the worst, and sent a man away feeling he was trusted once more, not only
by a friend, but by CHRIST.
The affection which such treatment aroused was extraordinary. Often his trust was betrayed, but
he mastered the lesson to trust and yet trust again, and many a Lazarus came forth from the grave
of spiritual death and afterward sat at meat with Him, and some of them went forth to preach the
Gospel. He was prophet and priest to a host of individuals. They claimed from him the solution
of their problems, they believed in his prayers for their souls' diseases and came away with fresh
inspiration and hope. "Little Hell" thus became a training college for service in far wider fields
than he had yet been called upon to occupy, thus early in his Christian life he drank deeply of the
Master's spirit, and worked and prayed for the conversion of the most hopeless, the most
degraded of his fellow-men.
In a small diary belonging to this period of his life, interspersed among notes, Gospel addresses,
and illustrations culled from many quarters, we find some graphic accounts of the people with
whom he came in contact and whom he tried to win as trophies for his beloved Master. Carefully
preserved among his papers were some soiled old letters, each one of them the confession of a
soul, or the sob of a broken heart, or the cry of a cold and starving one. His intense and crowded
life of service was his own choice. We are certain that he does not regret it now; nor should we
even in the midst of our keen sense of loss.
Someone placed in his hands, "The life of Charles S. Finney." It made a very deep impression
upon him, especially the chapter that told of Finney passing through a mill and the people falling
under deep conviction as he spoke to them of the Lord. He said, "My men do not do that when I
witness to them," and he prayed, "Lord, show me what is the matter. I wish to become like
Charles Finney." But his Lord said to him, "I wish you to be Charles Cowman, not Charles
Finney."
He was not a reflector of other men's opinions, but was always just himself, a simple,
straightforward, brotherly man, with no pose and no pretense of any kind.
By Lettie B. Cowman (Mrs. Charles E. Cowman)
Author of "Streams in the Desert"
Copyright @ 1928 By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
~ out-of-print and in the public domain ~
Chapter Four
BEGINNING LIFE IN A NEW SETTING
"The world's wealth is in its original men. By these and their works, it is a world and not a waste.
Their memory and their record are its sacred property forever."
- Carlyle
"Thou camest not to thy place by accident,
It is the very place GOD meant for thee."
We shall have to pause here and penetrate below the surface of his life and surroundings, in
order to understand GOD's workings and some of the details of His purpose, when He is forming
a vessel for His special service.
The following is the story of the ten years of providential preparation for his life-work, and we
shall see that God does not equip us for our work all at once, but trains His workmen in various
ways, often in a very wide school.
These ten years were spent in the telegraph office in Chicago. They worked together for the last
twenty-five which stand apart as the crowning years, "the last of life for which the first was
made." The work then done demanded quality of mind and heart, insight, knowledge of
character, and much besides which could not have been otherwise acquired. They were so
ordinary in appearance, so commonplace, that one would have little dreamed them to be years
which the world pauses to look at. One of the interesting things of the biography will be the
tracing of the matchless hand of GOD, shaping this chosen vessel, and many doubtless will say,
"Who but GOD could have formed it?"
We are fond of the saying that GOD can thresh a mountain with a worm. So He can, when it is
necessary, but there is nothing more certain than that He has always chosen great men for great
work, not always what the world calls great, but those great in character and in Christlikeness.
History reveals the fact that He has not placed pigmies in high places, nor appointed them to the
leadership of great movements.
Moses was a man of majestic mold whose personality, after thousands of years, still towers
among the lordliest leaders of the centuries. Martin Luther, John Knox, John Wesley, and
Lincoln did not belong to the pigmy, but to the giant class.
"The fiat of fate falls on the fittest." GOD lays His hand on those who are best prepared for His
purposes, using every man and woman for just as great a work as their preparation will make
possible. But may we ever keep in mind that this preparation is not always found in colleges or
great universities.
His whole heart was thrown into his work and thoroughness was one of the most prominent
elements of his character. What he did, he did with all his might. The position he occupied as
Chief of the New York Division required a man of steady nerve and more than ordinary selfcontrol.
The first year spent in Chicago proved to be one of great success. His new acquaintances among
fellow-telegraphers numbered into hundreds, from officials to messengers. His genial manner
and happy smile had won for him a place in their hearts. He was admired for his ability and
loved by all. The sterling qualities which he exhibited and his considerate treatment of the men
increased his popularity, and he held a power over them that did not consist of brawn or muscle.
He permitted many of them to share some of the problems which often confronted him.
Life in the city held many attractions and one of the most alluring was the Grand Opera. Charles
Cowman and wife, both lovers of music were often to be found in attendance. The fascinating
entertainments were taking a firm hold upon their hearts and they drifted on with the multitudes
who were walking in the broad way. But what of CHRIST's claim upon their hearts? What of the
vow he had made to GOD when he prayed for the restoration of his loved one?
His pen shall tell the story. Friends had asked him for the story of his life and shortly before the
Home-call an attempt was made to write some of it but it was never completed. There are stray
bits, however, and under the heading, "The Backslider's Return" are these lines:
"It is necessary here to relate first the conversion of my dear wife, who through a quarter of a
century of Christian life has been my closest companion, beloved help-meet, and 'fellow-helper
to the truth.' Our lives were thrown together providentially from early childhood, and when she
was nineteen and I was of age, we were married, beginning life together. I had drifted away from
GOD and from my earliest religious training, and both of us, after our marriage, were thrown
into worldly society and continued therein until 1891, when I was transferred because of her
illness to the Chicago Telegraph office, where I became traffic chief and later wire chief of the
New York Division.
"Life went on much the same until one night shortly before Christmas, in 1893, a Christian
worker called at our home inviting us to a meeting which was to be held for children in one of
the churches of the neighborhood. A converted opera singer was to speak and sing. My wife,
being interested in music, accepted the invitation. She attended the service and heard the noted
lady sing.
"'There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away
Far off from the gates of gold.'
"It was like the singing of Paul and Silas in the jail at midnight and was accompanied by a
spiritual earthquake which rent her heart from its worldly satisfaction. She went to the altar with
a number of children and gave her heart to CHRIST. The change which immediately followed
was a great surprise to me, for she at once separated herself from the world and testified that she
was genuinely converted. She began dealing with me, but I told her that living a Christian life in
a telegraph office was an utter impossibility; however her prayers and continued exhortations
were rewarded by my conversion one month later.
"She became a member of Grace Methodist Church, which had a membership of six hundred, the
majority being people of her own age. A revival meeting was in progress and she begged me to
accompany her there on a Sunday evening. Henry Ostrom was the evangelist. While he
preached, there arose out of the misty past a vision of an old mourner's bench and revival scenes
out in the dear open country, the remembrance of the blessed experience that had come to me,
and of the tender way GOD had comforted my heart when but a lad. I thought of this one and
that one who had gotten up out of his seat and with face aglow with that wonderful light that is
not seen on sea or shore, had given their testimony to some blessed experience, and there came
into my heart a deep, unutterable yearning to make it my own.
"Uppermost in my mind was the time when the life of my loved one had been spared through my
humble prayer, and when I promised the Lord that if He would restore her I would henceforth
serve Him. What of that unfulfilled vow? I could not lift up my head. Wife had invited me to
accompany her to the altar, but I said, 'Not tonight,' and had stoutly refused her. That of itself
almost broke my heart for we were rare lovers, and I could have readily laid down my life for
her; but she left the pew where we were sitting and took her place with the newly converted who
stood in one long line at the front of the pulpit.
"I felt absolutely alone without her as a great gulf seemed forever fixed between us and my heart
was broken. But there arose in my mind the telegraph office with its associations, the place I
occupied, and my future career. A battle raged, but peace tarried. How truly had I reached 'the
place called Calvary.'
"A Voice seemed to say, 'Trust Jesus, surrender to Him, and let go,' but there was no power to do
so. After the service closed, we started home. Being under deep conviction. I could not utter a
word but broke out in sobs. We walked twelve blocks, hastily entered our apartment, and without
taking time to turn on the lights, we knelt by a chair and there I poured out my confession to
GOD, asking Him to take back the prodigal. My dear wife, but a month old Christian, did her
best to point me to the Saviour, and soon the blessed SPIRIT witnessed with my spirit that the
past was all under the blood and that I was His child once more. The wanderer had returned to
His Father's house. What joy was mine! Peace came flooding my heart and I wished to tell the
world that JESUS had saved me. It was like a blissful new wedding day, for now I was able to
walk by the side of my loved one, Homeward together."
And shall the writer ever forget that hour? The room became glorious with the presence of GOD.
Charles Cowman's face was like that of Moses when he came down from the Mount; joy and
gladness too deep for words filled his heart. The Spirit of GOD gave him such a witness, so real,
so abiding, that for thirty-six years, amidst all the testings and buffetings, it held him firm as the
Rock of Ages. In after years when he visited Chicago he wished to go at once to the spot where
JESUS had so wondrously revealed Himself to him, welcoming him home to His fold.
It was a new and wonderful world that dawned with the coming of the morning light, for "old
things [had] passed away; behold, all things [had] become new." He was converted through
and through, and the change in him was marked because it was so radical. His first question to
his newly discovered Lord was that of Paul, "What wilt thou have me to do?" Nay, that was his
constant inquiry from the day of his conversion onward; and the record of his life is the record of
his obedience to the directions which, in response to that inquiry, he was constantly receiving.
He made it the first thing in his life to be a Christian, feeling that if he would fulfil his
discipleship, he must concentrate all of his energy and strength upon it. It was quickly noised
about in the telegraph office that Charles Cowman had become a Christian and there he stood,
quite alone, among the hundreds of men for whom he felt GOD would hold him personally
responsible.
Having now come into a place of victory and blessing in his own life, he was anxious that his
fellow-telegraphers should enter the enjoyment of a similar triumph. Applied Christianity was
the track along which the energy of his nature was driven by the Divine Spirit.
Immediately he began witnessing for CHRIST; conviction seized a number of his men and he
became a soulwinner from the day of his conversion. He knew practically nothing about dealing
with seekers and when they came to him with their questions, some under the deepest conviction
for sin, others filled with doubts, wondering if they were included in "whosoever will," he would
say to them, "Go home and pray," as there was no place for quiet in an office where hundreds of
instruments were clicking continuously. Many came to him with difficult questions regarding the
Scripture, and he found himself in a strange parish which would have troubled many an older
and more experienced Christian.
The questions asked were written down in a notebook and he would go into his small study on
his return from the office and, taking his Bible from the desk, would search for hours, often away
into the early morning, to find a Scriptural answer. Methinks there was rejoicing in Heaven as
the angels bent over that earnest young soul.
He learned from practical experience the value of the Word of GOD, and the following evening
his seekers would find an answer to their questions in a word of Scripture. It was GOD's own
Word and therefore could not fall.
An old fisherman, from long experience, knows just how to bait his hook, but Charles Cowman's
knowledge of the Bible was limited to what he had been taught as a child; and where to begin
and how to lead a soul to Christ appeared to him one of the most difficult of problems.
Did not the Master say, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men"? Difficulties fall
before determined men, and this one, like a Jericho wall, needed to be marched around and
taken, so the first thing he did was to begin reading the Word, ever keeping in mind that if he
was called upon to speak to his men about divine things, he must have a knowledge of it himself.
He had no one to guide him and was quite ignorant of the fact that there were splendid books on
the subject of "Personal Evangelism" which would have been helpful for the time; but he
struggled on alone, praying, reading, looking to the Lord to guide and direct him.
In the after-years when called upon to address assemblies of Christian workers and Bible
students on the subject of "Soul-winning" in response to their earnest inquiry "How shall we do
personal work?" he would invariably say, "Just begin and do it and let the method unfold of
itself."
His first attempt to win a soul is a never-to-be-forgotten one. He went to his office one evening
as usual with the determination to speak to some of his men that night about their souls' welfare.
The operators had been at work at their respective wires for several hours when there came a lull
which he interpreted as his opportunity for dealing with some soul.
In one corner of the long room sat a man at his desk, who apparently had a few spare moments.
Back and forth through the length of the room he walked before he could summon up enough
courage to speak to him. Finally the effort was made and for half an hour he stood beside his
desk, engaged in a one-sided conversation. Doubtless this young man was astonished to find
someone talking to him about his soul, as he never made a reply.
Charles Cowman left his office that night feeling down-hearted over his first attempt at winning
a soul; but the following night when he returned home, almost the first words he said were these:
"Oh, I have something wonderful to tell you!"
"The young man with whom I talked last night, came to me just as soon as I entered the office,
saying, 'I went home last night after our conversation and did just what you told me. It is all
settled and I gave myself to CHRIST.'"
The name of the young man was Ernest A. Kilbourne. The joy over that one soul was as great as
that of an evangelist who has led hundreds to CHRIST during some special campaign.
On that day Charles Cowman and Ernest Kilbourne began a lifelong friendship and Christian
partnership. Their hearts were knit together. He had the unique experience of leading to CHRIST
his colleague and successor before he himself had left his native land for those romantic scenes
amidst which his subsequent years were spent.
His heart was greatly encouraged through finding this one soul, so the next night he waxed bold
and talked to another telegrapher who had once been an earnest Christian, but who, since coming
to the Chicago telegraph office, had drifted away from GOD. Had he known how to deal with
backsliders and how to have given them the right texts of Scripture he would have been happy,
but he was devoid of such knowledge.
Murray McCheyne once said, "It is not so much great talent, or knowledge that GOD blesses, as
likeness to Himself. Therefore love, divine love for GOD and man, and entire dependence upon
the power of the HOLY SPIRIT are the great essentials."
His men were dear to him, he loved them and they knew it. It was love that won Robert Fisher
back to GOD that night. He also had a part to play in the future of the Oriental Missionary
Society. Two souls had been won for the Master in less than a week. What encouragement from
so little effort! His soul took fire from that very week and he became a soul-winner of the rarest
and most original type. When GOD can grip a man, He always makes him a missionary, a
witness, an ambassador, and a winner of souls, and this he made of Charles Cowman.
In his business-like manner he began a systematic effort to win his men, recognizing that men
are not saved in bundles, but one by one. There has never been any improvement on the methods
used in Apostolic times. Philip finds his man and the work spreads in Samaria and elsewhere. A
Christian's best work is personal, and as Henry Drummond has written: "The true worker's world
is the unit. Recognize the personal glory and dignity of the unit as an agent. Work with units,
but, above all, work at units."
But the capacity of acting upon individuals is now almost a lost art. It is hard to learn again. We
have spoiled ourselves by thinking to draw thousands by public work - by what people call
'pulpit eloquence,' by platform speeches, and by convocations and councils, Christian
conferences, and by books of many editions. We have been painting Madonnas and Ecce Homos
and choirs of angels, like Raphael, and it is hard to condescend to the beggar boy or Murillo.
Yet we must begin again and begin far down. Christianity began with One. We have forgotten
the simple way of the Founder of the greatest influence the world has ever seen - how He ran
away from cities, how He shirked mobs, how He lagged behind the rest at Samaria to have a
quiet talk with one woman at a well, how He stole away from crowds and entered into the house
of one humble Syro-Phoenician woman, 'and would have no man know it.' In small groups of
twos and threes, He collected the early church around Him. One by one the disciples were called
- and there were only twelve in all."
Charles Cowman made opportunities to speak to his men about their souls' welfare. He did not
wait for a Convenient season, but prayed and made an advance toward them. He kept a list of
several hundred who were daily remembered in prayer. This was followed by personal effort and
few escaped heart-to-heart talks over the subject that matters most.
Such faithful and systematic work produced results. Each case was so different, so delicate, that
it had to be dealt with by a method all its own; but brave, steady, unremitted work is that which
pays best, both here and hereafter. Spasmodic effort, brief fervor wins no enduring honor either
in this world or in that which is to come.
His enthusiasm was not that of a moment, that blazed and then died, but a steady unabated force
that entered into every part of his being. Like the Master Himself, to lie in wait for men with a
wisdom and skill that is born from above and to catch them in the Gospel net is the highest
calling of the surrendered and consecrated Christian.
Weitbrecht's Memoirs have these lines: "While you aim at great things for the Lord, yet keep in
view the arithmetic of Heaven's exultant joy" (joy over one).
In less than six months he had personally led seventy-five of his fellow-workers to the Lord. All
were handpicked fruit. This personal work was done in odd moments, as he felt that his time
belonged to his Company, and not once was there the slightest bit of criticism that business was
being neglected. His was a mind farthest removed from the dogma that when a man becomes
religious he must close his ledger, put an arrest on the wheels of industry, and bid his neighbor
and his work farewell; but there were odd moments every night when it was not necessary for the
men to be kept steadily at the telegraph key, and he kept an open eye for those moments. He who
hoards and turns into account odd moments, half hours, gaps between times, achieves results
which will astonish those who have not mastered the secret.
He was absolutely faithful at his post of duty. How very little do we know the importance in the
Master's eye of the hidden positions we are set to occupy, or the inconspicuous work we are set
to do. It may be the vital element in some providential movement. To fall in the lowliest place
was to leave a flaw in GOD's great plan for him.
Charles Cowman capitalized every minute, made it count for something and kept on sowing the
seed with the fullest assurance that there was a harvest in a grain of wheat with the power of God
behind it. Oh, the marvelous results which come from faithful sowing! GOD often permits His
children to see much of the fruitage from their sowing, but far beyond the seeing is the indirect
influence. Unknown to us, the seed which we have imagined lost, has been blown hither and
thither by the winds of GOD, planting itself by the way-side and in stony places. It will still be
growing when we are in Heaven for it has taken root in human hearts. When our sickles are laid
aside forever, others may be reaping the golden grain we have sown.
The HOLY SPIRIT carried on His work most successfully in the telegraph office. A real revival
of religion was going on steadily without the aid of a preacher, and without a prayer room. One
humble soul with a passion for winning the souls of his men was quietly praying and working,
and of him it might be truly said, "As a prince hast thou power with God and with men."
The winning of a soul was to him what the winning of a battle is to a soldier;
what the winning of a bride is to a lover;
what the winning of a race is to an athlete.
Charles Cowman lived for just one thing - to win souls for CHRIST. This was his sole passion,
and in a very extraordinary manner GOD set His seal upon it. His resourcefulness was
extraordinary and none felt that he was simply trying to force religion upon him. As love had
made a pathway to the hearts of his fellow-workers, they enjoyed having him speak to them,
knowing that their interests were dear to him. "Sympathy," wrote someone, "is two hearts
tugging at the same load."
What an infinite blessing to have a friend in whom you can confide, one who takes an interest
and understands! Such a friend was Charles Cowman and faithfully did he fulfil the injunction,
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Because of his personal
interest he was very approachable, and many said of him, "We felt drawn to him and could tell
him everything - the good and the bad - and he would understand."
If the river of living water is flowing out from us, depend upon it people will not be in contact
with us without effect. There was a quick sympathy in his manner that spoke to one's heart.
Combined with a warm and tender heart, he had great energy of character and a countenance
beaming with intelligence and love, GOD's own gifts to aid him in winning souls.
What a strange and beautiful thing is heart sympathy! Untransmutable, undefinable, and yet the
greatest thing in human life! Without 'choosing or knowing the reason why,' how our hearts leap
out to some understanding soul who has "let the hungry find his heart." The person who
possesses this subtle gift of sympathy is in possession of the most precious thing on earth. But it
is a rare gift. Happy the worker who possesses it!
He had a remarkable faculty of entering into the perplexities of his fellow-workers. They would
come to him with their heart difficulties and he would seem able, as it were, to place himself in
their particular situation, to enter into their feelings, to see the difficulty from their standpoint
and then together they took it to GOD in prayer.
One of his operators told him of his overpowering temptation to drink. Instead of reprimanding
him, he put his arms about him and with tears pleaded with GOD to destroy his thirst for drink
and to give him deliverance. Long afterward that man testified that it was the tears of loving
sympathy that had won him.
One morning another of his fellow-workers came from the office to his home. He had made a
start heavenward some weeks before, but the enemy had taken advantage of him and his breath
told the sad story of drink. Charles Cowman took him into his study, closed the door, and there
the two remained all day long. Now and again voices could be heard, especially his voice in
pleading, importunate prayer. Following it was a snatch of
"Break down every idol, cast out every foe,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
There was a pause, then some more prayer, and soon voices were heard singing in unison,
"He takes me as I am, He takes me as I am,
He brings His full salvation nigh and takes me as I am."
There was a sound of praise and the two men emerged from the study, arm in arm. Their faces
were wet with tears. Another prodigal had found a welcome home.
He tried to keep his men from drinking and waylaid them when they left the office.
First and foremost he tried to bring them to CHRIST, for he believed that only as they were born
again could they live overcoming lives.
There are no friendships like those made under the shadow of the Cross. His whole affection
went forth to those who were passing through sorrow. One of his workers lost his little tenmonth-
old babe and his heart was fairly crushed. This dear bereaved parent came to his work as
usual throughout the child's brief illness, as money was needed to meet the doctor's bills. Charles
Cowman saw tear stains on the telegraph blanks, and going to the man's side, he quietly slipped
his arm around him saying, "I know all about it, for I, too, lost a sweet baby sister and my heart
was broken until JESUS came with His healing balm." And there beside that desk another soul
was won for the Master through tender understanding sympathy.
Someone has well said that "We need Calvary hearts for a Calvary ministry. We must be
crucified men to proclaim our crucified Lord. We must bleed, to proclaim worthily, the Gospel
of the Blood. The passion of the Saviour needs passion-swept servants to apply its warm grace
and power to the cold, dead hearts of unsaved men and women." To be a man of GOD, what a
sacred thing it is!
Influence is something which distils from every life. It cannot be weighed, photographed, or
measured, yet it is the most real thing about a man. It gathers unto itself all that belongs to the
life. The whole of one's biography is condensed into it.
A noted writer states that the most searching and influential power that issues from a human life
is that of which the person himself is largely unconscious. It flows from him in every form of
occupation, in every relationship, in rest or in work, in silence or in speech, at home or abroad.
There are hosts of men and women who are healers, teachers, helpers, almost without being
conscious of it. Lights shine from them at times when they are utterly unaware that the hem of
their garment is being touched.
A godly life is a popular commentary on the Bible. Men will believe the Scriptures when we live
them. The world's greatest evangelizing force is Christian character and the only sermon that
never wearies us is that of an eloquent life. It is that background of holy personality which gives
such tremendous force and impressiveness to some men's work. The most masterly treatise on
"evidences of Christianity" is a sanctified man or woman.
It was the character of Charles Cowman that counted above all else. It was what he was that
constituted his real greatness for back of his wonderful smile was his wonderful soul. His life
was a great revelation of Christian manhood.
Dr. Jowett has written: "There is a certain compulsory impressiveness of character which
attaches to profound spirituality, and which is commandingly present in those who walk in the
fellowship of the HOLY GHOST. I know not how to define it. It is a certain convincing aroma,
self-witnessing, like the perfume of a flower. It is independent of mental equipment, and it
makes no preference between a plenteous and a penurious estate. It works without the aid of
speech, because it is the effluence of a silent and secret communion. It begins to minister before
you preach; it continues its ministry when the sermon is ended. It is endowed with marvellous
powers of compulsion, and it sways the lives of others when mere words would miserably fail."
No finer tributes have been written than those which came from his old associates of the
telegraph office after his Home-call.
"The most remarkable thing about Mr. Cowman," wrote one, "was the way he managed the men
in his office. He possessed a certain power over us and those with the strongest wills bended to
his way of thinking without one particle of friction. He made us feel, and believe, and desire to
do what he requested. I could never quite analyze this power. As his beaming face looked down
upon us at our tables at the key, as those sparkling eyes met ours, everyone of us felt that he
sought our best, our highest good, and as we sat there before him, we were permanently changed
in habits and character."
"He helped us to feel that we were stronger," wrote another, "and our work better than we had
dared to believe. His sunniness brought hope to everyone about him; and the air of distinction
which he carried was so manifestly an air of purity and not of pride, that it helped us to keep
ourselves separate from that which was base and trivial. We felt that he was interested in us and
his interest, being without officiousness, won our confidence and made us frank with him. We
could tell him the worst about ourselves - the worst just as easily as the best - our ideals and
ambitions, of which men are often as ashamed to speak as they are about their sins. His great,
glorious calmness was the most powerful of all . Things settled themselves in his presence
without as much as a word. He always spoke to us with a soft tone. He never shouted out his
orders, and we breathed another air altogether when we were working for him."
Wrote another, "He caused us to look at religious matters from a new angle."
An official wrote, "We still feel the tingling touch of his personality."
Life in the telegraph office might have seemed commonplace, and to the majority of men it is
given to lead humdrum commonplace lives. It was never commonplace to Charles Cowman for
his daily task was an inspiration. The love of GOD shed abroad in his heart illuminated the
commonplace.
He possessed a quiet compelling personality. He had power to transplant his belief, his
enthusiasm, his courage into others. He created a type that reproduced itself. The converts won
in the telegraph office were infected with his own consuming passion, for they too verily "ached
for souls." The hours of service required of the telegraphers kept many of them from attending
church services and there came to his mind a plan for their spiritual upbuilding. The parlor of a
downtown hotel in close proximity to the office was secured for an hour on Sunday afternoons
and here religious services were begun.
From among the converts and a few other Christians, a band was formed known thereafter as
The Telegraphers' Mission Band.
The services were exceedingly simple. There was prayer, singing, the reading of GOD's Word,
followed by a short exhortation from one of the newly converted; and all returned to the office
with a firmer determination to let their light shine. They strengthened each other's hands and said
one to another, "Be of good courage." "Who hath despised the day of small things?" The busy
world took no notice of this insignificant little company, but it was the mission's Bethlehem.
This "Telegraphers' Mission Band" was destined to be the foundation of a great missionary
society, one of the greatest evangelizing forces in the Far East. They met once each month on
Sunday afternoon and gave their humble offerings amounting to $20.00, for missions. Shall we
call it the wave offering of the several millions which have since been laid on the altar of the
sacred task? Small? Insignificant? "Little is much when GOD is in it."
Great blessing followed these simple services and Charles Cowman said to this company of
young Christians, "Why not reach the telegraphers in other cities and towns?" He had never been
the kind of a man simply to follow in the beaten tracks, but was ever ready for new ventures that
required courage and faith. A plan was formulated. Letters were sent to the Telegraph officers all
over the United States, Great Britain and Australia.
In the letters were Gospel tracts explaining the way of salvation and the results were most
encouraging. Christians were found here and there who were set to work among those of their
own profession and friendships were formed among the fellow-telegraphers which continue until
this day.
It was not possible for a man with a strong nature such as the subject of this memoir, to do things
by halves. Having come boldly out for the Lord, he could not keep from taking up active work in
the harvest fields of the world. Personal work, open-air services, Sunday School and mission
work, - all engaged his energies.
He became deeply interested in the welfare of the men who frequented mission halls, but he had
little faith in any but spiritual methods as a means of helping and elevating them. Indeed, his one
idea in all of his intercourse with his fellow-men was to bring them into personal contact with
the living Saviour.
His first attempt at giving a Gospel message was made some months after his conversion. He
thought it might be well to get in touch with various classes. One Sunday evening he attended a
service in a district in Chicago known as "Little Hell." The leader, mistaking him for a minister,
invited him to preach for them on the following Sunday evening. With the conviction that every
opportunity which presented itself should be "bought up," the invitation was accepted. During
the following week he prepared his first sermon.
Hours were spent in prayer and the study of the Word. Sunday evening came and the walk of a
mile and a half was made in silence. The hall was crowded to its limit with men and women of
the worst class. Some came reeling down the aisle in a drunken stupor; others were soon fast
asleep from the effect of strong drink: the friendless were there, the homeless, the penniless.
What a number of sin-marred faces looked up at the speaker!
The carefully prepared sermon was forgotten and he talked to the hearts of that motley crowd,
begging them with tears to give up their lives of sin and come to JESUS: and they came, a long
altar full-weeping their way to Zion. He was there until midnight praying with them, and thus a
definite work began with a limited amount of knowledge in the divine art of soul-winning.
What a great encouragement he received from his labors in "Little Hell," where he spent every
Sunday evening thereafter. In the after years when he went to Japan as a missionary, many of
these "down-and-outs" whom he had led to CHRIST became his faithful supporters in his new
field of labor.
He had a marvelous influence over abandoned and desperate men, winning some from the
gambling table to the altar of GOD's house. He disarmed men by trusting them. He dealt with
hundreds at the crises of their lives.
Thus when but a young man among men he saw all sides of life, learned the secrets of hundreds
of characters and was trusted and loved. Men felt that he was not a voice merely, but a friend,
and on his arms they were lifted up. He was always hopeful about the most hopeless, picked out
some good points in the worst, and sent a man away feeling he was trusted once more, not only
by a friend, but by CHRIST.
The affection which such treatment aroused was extraordinary. Often his trust was betrayed, but
he mastered the lesson to trust and yet trust again, and many a Lazarus came forth from the grave
of spiritual death and afterward sat at meat with Him, and some of them went forth to preach the
Gospel. He was prophet and priest to a host of individuals. They claimed from him the solution
of their problems, they believed in his prayers for their souls' diseases and came away with fresh
inspiration and hope. "Little Hell" thus became a training college for service in far wider fields
than he had yet been called upon to occupy, thus early in his Christian life he drank deeply of the
Master's spirit, and worked and prayed for the conversion of the most hopeless, the most
degraded of his fellow-men.
In a small diary belonging to this period of his life, interspersed among notes, Gospel addresses,
and illustrations culled from many quarters, we find some graphic accounts of the people with
whom he came in contact and whom he tried to win as trophies for his beloved Master. Carefully
preserved among his papers were some soiled old letters, each one of them the confession of a
soul, or the sob of a broken heart, or the cry of a cold and starving one. His intense and crowded
life of service was his own choice. We are certain that he does not regret it now; nor should we
even in the midst of our keen sense of loss.
Someone placed in his hands, "The life of Charles S. Finney." It made a very deep impression
upon him, especially the chapter that told of Finney passing through a mill and the people falling
under deep conviction as he spoke to them of the Lord. He said, "My men do not do that when I
witness to them," and he prayed, "Lord, show me what is the matter. I wish to become like
Charles Finney." But his Lord said to him, "I wish you to be Charles Cowman, not Charles
Finney."
He was not a reflector of other men's opinions, but was always just himself, a simple,
straightforward, brotherly man, with no pose and no pretense of any kind.