The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1868-10-15
PETER CARTWRIGHT.
Adventures of a Pioneer Meth
OdiSt Preacher.

lecture on Tuesday evening in the
Park Avenue Methodist Episcopal
Church. He spoke as follows
have but a poor command IF
my voice, and since coming to
your city | have taken a very
deep seated cold. / would rather
preach three times than lecture
once. The state of the country
and of the church in my early days
are necessarily connected with my.
self, therefore, yOn will excuse any
egotism which may appear l lam
a Virgihian by birth and the son
revolutionary soldier. IL my
sixth year my parents emigratcd
TO Kentucky, and ! IspcDt the great.
er part of my life in that State
when.it was in a wilderness.
Young America has ou,strippcd
me; cannot possibly ident!fy-my
self with tho present generation;
the young people Of to day seem TO
pass me with an air that l do not
undertake. | have been a citizen
Of the West seventy.seven years.
| did not see a newspaper, religious
or secular, for twelve years Ct my
lie. We never heard of a steam
boat or a railroad car, and if | had
seen a locomotive on the prairie l
would have thought the devil vas
after me. Our little cabin, about
fourteen by sixteen. was in the
wilderness. Bishop Asbury, bear.
ing that my mother was a profes.
sor, called and preached there. and
IL was from that time that | date
my conversion.
Just about that time a gentleman
from Georgia called at our cabin,
who possessed a deck Of cards, a
fiddle and a racehorso. / was an
apt scholar, and soon won the
cards, the fiddle and the racehorse
There was a good deal Of whisky
about the country at that time, and
one evening took too much, and
that was the first and the last time
| was drunk. We had an old
Scotch doctor in the settlement, who
was an infdel.. He heard from my
friends that was much troubled
in mind, so he called, examined my
tongue, felt my pulse, etc = and
finally determined that had a
rush of blood to my head, and ad,
viscd that my head be shaved and
a blister applied. q. .
Shortly after this l became so
impressed with the truth Of religion
that | used TO go from house 10
house, cxhorting all to turn from
the errors of their way and embrace
the Gospel. One evening | invited
the old docter to attend. That
evening a young lady swooned
away. She happened 10 sit near
the old doctor, who attempted tc
revive berby tho usual means, when
she, coming to. threw her arms
about his neck and cried: "Glory
to God, " which very much discom
posed the old doctor. r4
1t is a question 10 me 10 this day
how managed my first sermon
but at the close of it there came ar
old gentleman to me ard handed
me six dollars -quarterage. There
was a young scapegrace in the vii
lage whom | frequently enticed in
TO the woods to pray; usually pray
with my eyes shut, ard when
opened them he was generally ab
sent, which mode Of procedure was
very annoying 10 my religion:
flesh.
My experience at this time wa'
very varied, and soon found tht
avocatiOn | had selected was NJ
siuecure. | have rode eleven Of
twelve circuits, and presume
am the oldest travelling preacher il
the United States. Ifthere is al
older preacher in the United State
| | should like TO see aud know VIII,
he is. When ] joined the Melho
dist church, sixty-seven years ago
there was only one conference ives
of the Aileghanics; there were onl, ,
twenty five ministers to cover tn
whole Northwest and Southwest
and / am the only survivor OF them
| have no father, mother, sister no
brother, and sometimes feel lone
ly. But although l have Travelled
thousands of miles, brought hun
dreds into the Methodist church
and suffered many hardships. yet
say to you that il | had my life t
live over again, l should choose t.
be d Methodist travelling preacher
AS politician, | am u Jacksol
man, and not ashamed oft. One
when preaching at Nashville, Gen
Jackson came in and there wa
no room for him. Some one pull
cd my coat and said, "Genera
Jackson has come" General Jack
son, said; /, who is General Jack
sUn? If he is not converted Go
will damn him as soon as be woulc
a mailer" Next morning Wake
down street and met General Jack
son. He shook hands with mt
and did not seem to be in the leas
angry with my freedom of the da.
before. He said that MeMaho
. had called on him and apologize
for, me, and that he never felt s
inclined to kick anybody in hi
life. "Why." said the General, :"
had thousand men such as yo'
with so much moral courage,
could easilv conquer all England,
When told Mcmahon the resu
of this conversation, he was th
, most ashamed man | ever saw.