The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-01-06
A Hardshell Baptist Member OF Con-
gress.-.Graphic Picture.

The New York Times has correspond.
ent at Washington who gives running
sketches of the members who rise daily to
speak. The following is highly embel-
lished picture of MIR. Cobb, of Alabama,
who has been seven consecutive terms in the
House:
On Mr.. Davidson's resuming his seat,
William r. w. Cobb of Alabama, seized
the floor, and delivered an extraordinary
hardshell Baptist sermon, of that original
and amusing kind for which he long ago Oh.
tained a patent. The Rev. Mr.. Cobb has
been for thirteen years a member of the
House, and pillar of the crustacious Bap.
tist faith. He is model man of the type
halfhorse halfalligator, standing six feet
four inches in his broad-toe boots, and so
thin as to call to mind the story of that
Western debtor who, when pursued by the
sheriff, crept into his rifle and looked out at
his pursuers through the touchhole. In
dress he is all over the Baptist parson-
black dress coat, black satin wastcoat, and
heavy gold seal; yard and halt of thin
black trousers, and stiff black satin cravat,
surmounted by sharp pointed white shirt
collars. His face resembles that of deaths
head moth-the forehead narrow and prom.
inent, the dark eyes sunk away out of sight,
the cheekbones hardly covered by the tight
drawn and sallow skin, the cheeks hollow,
the nose short, and the head thickly thatched
with shortish but strong growth of iron
grey hair, divided in the middle of the fore
head. Swaying backward and forward on
his legs like the long pendulum in the tower
of Notre Dame, suspended there to prove
the rotation of the earth,-this gaunt and
grisly orator swings his arms through the
air with sweep as wide and desoating in
gesture as welding the scylhe of Time.
His voice has the wild sinking and falling,
shouting and whispering, shrieking and
muttering of the western Baptist pulpit
His grammar is little more uncouth than
his appearance, and his pronunciation keeps
unison with all the fantastic surroundings of
his nature. Now and then he darts forward,
thrusting out long, skinny arm and ex-
tended foreinger at the Republicans, while
ne asks question; then crouching back on
his haunches, while he feigns to be shocked
with the answer which he has put into their
mouths =" Have you no other man." he
screams to the Republicans you no
other man but Sherman to fix in that cheer /?
If you hev, and doan't 60 to do it, then
you're the meanest kind of white men that
crawls this airth for if you do put him
thahr, in that cheer, our people IL lick us
out of our boots when they get us hoam !"
AS another reason for organizing, he very
frankly confessed that he "wanted little
money himself, and thahr was no sight for a
gettin' it until the cheer was filed" Never
did provincial tragedian, obtaining his first
chance for fame in Metropolitan theater,
SO tear passion to rags and out Herod
Herod in the way of stormy gesticulation
and wild attitudes as did this orator of the
day. His legs were bendable as length of
hose pipe; his arms extensive and prehensile
as if a couple of rattlesnakes had been
Jolnted on at his shoulders; and the hard
bones Of his fingers ratified together as he
snapped them in the faces of the Republi-
cans-carrying out the idea which the
curvlng and writhing of his talon. ended
arms suggested.