The Long Road To Battle Creek

Now the decision must be made on the route to Battle Creek. To make the journey directly to Chicago and then Battle Creek would take them over the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies. It would be a journey she had often taken and one she dreaded, for even when her health was seemingly good she was ill-equipped to stand the high altitude.WV 377.4

The alternative was to take a more extended journey via Los Angeles, New Orleans, and then to Chicago and Battle Creek. This route carried attractive features for both Ellen White and her son Willie. Since returning from Australia they had not traveled 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the Elmshaven home. The southern route would give them an opportunity to spend a few days in Los Angeles surveying the work that was beginning to develop nicely in southern California. Then there was Edson White and his work in Mississippi and Tennessee. They could go to Vicksburg, see the Morning Star, inspect the development of the work in Mississippi, then travel to Nashville. There Edson had his headquarters, engaged in publishing and managing the work of the Southern Missionary Society.WV 377.5

So, weighing the high mountains on the more direct and quick journey against the longer trip traveling at normal elevations; weighing the advantage of seeing James Edson White in his work, all of which had been developed since she had gone to Australia, Ellen White decided in favor of travel by the southern route. Tentative appointments were made for services she might hold with Adventist churches in Los Angeles, Vicksburg, and Chicago, even though it was a question from day to day as to whether she would even be well enough to make the journey.WV 378.1

The trip began Thursday afternoon, March 7, with her farm manager, Iram James, driving the party to the Southern Pacific Railroad station in St. Helena. The train would connect at Port Costa with the Owl on its nightly run from Oakland. In the party were Ellen White, Sara McEnterfer, Maggie Hare, and Willie White.WV 378.2

Willie White had made arrangements for them to stay at the sanitarium in Los Angeles, where they could have pleasant rooms and good food. On Sabbath morning Ellen White spoke at the Los Angeles church to an audience of more than 400 people, some of whom had come from as far away as 60 miles (96 kilometers). While standing before large congregations, not infrequently she had visions that opened up to her both general situations and the experiences of individuals in her audience.WV 378.3

In this case she saw, like a flash of lightning, the vast possibilities of the people before her. Her response to the challenge was almost too much for her sensitive nature, and the experience resulted in days of prostration in which serious misgivings were entertained as to whether she would be able to continue her journey.WV 378.4

By Tuesday she had rallied a bit, and they felt that they could go on. They boarded the Sunset Limited at 8:00, found the train not crowded and a first-class compartment ready for Mrs. White and her two women helpers. They also found two bushels of large, luscious oranges at the station waiting for them. The train pulled out on time for its 60-hour trip to New Orleans.WV 378.5

They arrived there Thursday evening in time to catch the train for Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Edson White had pioneered the work among the Blacks.WV 378.6