en Alderman Fox had entered his guest's room the night before, the
bed was empty. Dressed just as he had arrived, in his unique costume,
Schlatter had disappeared, leaving behind him as sole trace of his
visit this message:--"Mr. Fox--my mission is ended, and the Father
calls me. I salute you. Francis Schlatter. November 13th."

After that he was sought for in vain. He who "intoxicated the weak
soul of the people"--to quote one of the Colorado clergy--and made the
land of sin ring with songs of heavenly triumph, had completely
disappeared. In the words of another of them, "the plant that had
grown up in barren soil was withered away by the wrath of God."

But the grief of those who had believed in him lasted for many years.

Schlatter was born in Alsace in 1855, and after his arrival in America
he followed many avocations, finally adopting that of a "holy man."
With head and feet bare, he traversed the States from one end to
another, and proclaimed himself a messenger of heaven. He preached the
love of God and peace among men. He was imprisoned, and continued to
preach, and though his fellow-prisoners at first mocked at him, they
ended by listening.

He only had to place his hand on the heads of the sick, and they were
cured. After being released from prison, he went to Texas. His
peculiar dress, bare feet, and long hair framing a face which seemed
indeed to be illuminated from within, drew crowds to follow him, and he
was looked upon as Elijah come to life again.

"Hearken and come to me," he said. "I am only a humble messenger sent
by my Heavenly Father."

And thousands came. He cured the incurable, and consoled the
inconsolable. Once he was shut up in a mad-house, but emerged more
popular than ever. Then he went on a pilgrimage through the towns of
Mexico, preaching his "Father's" word among the adulterers of goods and
the Worshippers of the Golden Calf. An object of reverence and
admiration, he blessed the children and rained miracles upon the heads
of the sick, finally arriving at San Francisco in 1894. From there,
still on foot and bare-headed, he crossed the Mohave Desert, spent
several weeks at Flagstaff, and then continued his wanderings among the
Indian tribes. They recognised his saintliness and came out in crowds
to meet him, amazed at the power of the Lord as manifested by him. He
spent five days in the company of the chief of the Navajos, performing
many miracles, and filling with