This present work is an epitome of the diary of Scottish Covenanter minister James Cuthbertson, which he compiled during his missionary travels throughout the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. The work contains a complete list of marriages, giving the names of the bride and groom and date of marriage; a complete list of baptisms, giving the name of the child, the name of the parent, and the date of baptism; and a selection of quotations pertaining to the weddings and baptisms he performed during his long ministry.

In 1889, Rev. William Work Carithers went to the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache Reservation with two goals in mind. He wanted to bring Christianity to the Indians, and at the same time help them gain skills necessary to survive in the white culture that was about to engulf them. But he had only twelve years before white settlers arrived on the reservation, 30,000 in a single day. The effect on the Indian way of life was devastating. The narrative follows Carithers to the end of his life, when his once successful mission begins to falter, and he assesses just what has been accomplished.