The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1855-03-10
Pasl Denton, or the Texas campmeesing.
DY CHARLES suxxERFIn.D.

~ CHARLES suAxERFIEID. i
During the last week in September, 1886,
the first successful campmeeting was held in
eastern Texas. l employ the epithet "suc-
cessful," because several previous failures had
apparently rendered efforts of kind perfectly
hopeless. Indeed the meridian at the period
was most uncongenial to the religious and NOR.
al enterprise. The country bordering on the
Sabine had been occupied rather than settled
by class of adventures almost as wild as the
savages whom they had scarcely expelled, and
the beas, of prey, which still disputed their
domains of prlmeval forests. Professional
gamblers, refugees from every land, forgers of
false Coin, thieves, robbers and murderers, in
terspersed among the race of uneducated hun
tiers and herdsmen, made up the strange social
miscellany, without courts or prisons, CT church
e., or schools, or even the shadow of civil au-
thority, or subordnation-a sort of unprinci
pied pandemonium, whcle fierce passion sat en-.
thr, n, d waving its bloody sceptre the bowie
knife Let no one accuse me of exaggeratiOn
for the sake of dramatic effect am speaking
now of Shelby county-the home OF Lynchers
the terrible locale where, ten years later,
forty persons were p ,isened to death at mar
riage supper.
It will be obvious, that in such community,
very |, " would be disposed to pstronize camp
meetings and accordingly, a dozen different
trials at various times had never collected a
hundred hearers on any single occasion. But
even these were not allowed to worship in
peace uniforml the first day or night, band
OK armed desper ADDE'S, headed by the notorious
Watt FOeman, chief judge and executioner Of
the Shelby Iynchers, broke in the altar and
scattered the mOurners, or assembled the pulpit
and threatened the preacher to gratuitous
robe of tar aud feathers. Hence all prudent
evangelists soon learned to shun the lett bank
of the Sabine, as if it had been infested ny c
cohort of demons and two whole years elapsed
without any new attempt to erect tue cross IN
so perilous a field.
At length, however, an advertisement ap'
peared, promising another effort in behalf Of
the gospel. The notice was unique, perfect
backwoods curiosity, both to its tenor and
mode of publication. Let me give it re,6atim
ct iiterQtim
BARBECUE cAMPMEET1NG.
There Will be campmeeting to commence
the last Monday of this month, at the Double
Spring Grove, near Peter Brinson's, in the
county of Shelby.
The exercises will open with splendid bar
becue, better liquor, and the best Of Gospel.
PAUL DENTON,
Sept. l, 1886. Missionary, M. E. c."
This singular document was nailed to the
door of every public house and grocery it was
attached to the largest trees at the intersection
of all cross roads and principal trails and even
the wandering hunters themselves found it III
remote dells of the mountains, miles away from
the smoke of q human habitatiOn.
At first many regarded tie matter Us o hoax
played off by some wicked wag, in ridicule O.
popular credulity. But this hypothesis was
negatived by the statements of Peter Brinson,
proprietor Of the double Spring Grove, who
informed the inquirers, That he had been EN-
ployed and paid by a stranger, calling himself
Methodist missionary, to provide an ample
barbecue at the period and place advertised.
But the liqnOr--tle better liquor-are you
to furnish the liquor. too ?'' was the invariable
question of each visitor.
1.-The missionary said he would atteEd to
that himself" said Brlnson.
He must be q precious original" was the
general rcjonder-a proposition which most OF
then, afterwards had an opportunity to verify
eXperimentaly.
need hardly to add that an intense excite
ment resulted The rumor took wings and
flew on the wind, turned to ST. rm-a storm
Of exaggcration--every echo increased in its
sound, till nothing else could be heard but the
=" arbecue Campmeetng." 1t became the
focus of thought, the staple of dreams. And
thus the unknown preacher had insured ont
thing in advance--a congregation embracing
the entire population of the cOuntry--whlch
was likely the sole purpose of his stratagem.
was travelling In hat part of Texas at
that time, and my Imagination being indamed
by the common curiosity, took some trouble
t. attend. But, although my eyes witnessed
the extraordinary scene, l may we'll despai OF
the undertaking to paint it the pen OF Homer
or the pencil of uoga tn were alone adequate
to the sublimity aud burlesque Of such com
plicated task. may Only sketch the angular
outlines.
A space had been cleared away Immediately
around the magnificent double Spring, (which
boiled up with sufficient force to turn mill
whee in the very centre OF the evergreen grove.
Here pulpit had been raised, and before it.,
was the Inseparable altar for mOurners. Beyond
these, at the distance Of fifty spaces, success
ion OF plank tables extended in the form of u
graf circle, or the primeter Of a polygon, com
p!etely enclosing the area about the spring. -
An Oderiferous stream of the most delicious
SAVIOR dliused itself through the air. This was
from the pits of the adjucent praire,where the
fifty slave, OF Peter BrinsOn were engaged in
cooking the promised barbecue.
The grove itself was literally alive, teeming
swarming, running over with strange figures
in human shape, men, women and children
All Shelby county was there. The hunters
had come, rites in hand, and dogs barking at
their heels; the rogues, refugees and gamblers,
with pistols in their belts, and big knives
peeping from their shirt bosoms, while here
and there might be seen q sprinkling OF we'll
dressed planters with their wives and daugh-
tiers.
The tumult was deafening, tornado of bab-
bling tongues, talking, shouting, quarreling,
haffinn and cnrsirn for amusement Snddon.