On the Way to Trinidad, West Indies
The following is a portion of a personal letter written by Elder N. H. Pool on his way to Trinidad, West Indies. The envelope containing the letter bears the postmark: “Posted on the high seas, Feb. 21, 1912”:— “We left Hillsdale, Mich., February 14, and went to Fort Wayne, where we took the ill-fated train which was wrecked at Warriors’ Ridge. We were in next to the last car, and did not go down the embankment. All ahead of us did. The only person on our car who was seriously injured was the porter. After some delay another train came and took us to Harrisburg. We reached Washington about three hours late. “Surely God is good, and we have much to praise him for. Eight cars ahead of ours went down the embankment. The car in which we rode left the track and stood on the side of the grade, tipped at an angle of about forty-five degrees. It seemed fully five minutes before any one dared to stir for fear the car would go on down. The car back of us was in about the same position, and many were the expressions of surprise and wonder that we did not all go down. Upon examination it was found that near the rear end of the last car there was a telegraph-pole that appeared to hold them; but it was much easier for me to believe Ps. 34:17 than to think a telegraph-pole could stop such a shock as that. “It was a terrible experience, and volumes could not tell it all. Although Mrs. Pool was nervous, she seemed to stand it all better than most of us. “Since leaving New York, we have had about twenty-four hours of stormy weather. The night of the eighteenth it was terrible. The waves dashed over the ship and broke in the skylight on the top deck. We were very sick. So far, this trip has certainly been the experience of our lives. “When word came to us in Indiana that we were to go to Trinidad, it seemed that one of my fondest hopes was to be realized. Then began a series of trials that exceeded anything we ever before experienced. And yet in all we are happy, for we have seen the power of God manifested; and although we can not always understand the desert way he leads and the trials we have to undergo, yet we will be content as long as we feel we are where God would have us be.”