Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1869-11-26
Pioneer Preaching in the west.


dist Church. 1t was an edifyine
time to ell WHO participated. Faith
er Cartwright was one Of tie earliest
and best known of the pioneer
preachers of the West.
These pioneers did not enjoy the
stated" preaching Of the Gospel.
The early preachers were not e'tcn-
dollar men, who rode in
chariots, who dressed in 'purple and
fine liuen," and who occupied houses
with grapcries and Conservatives at
tached. They preached salvation
without money and without price"
They rode the circuit on horseback,
exposed to rain and sleet, suffering
cold and hunger, swimming rivers
and camping on the open prairie, or
shelter beneath the root f
the humble cabin. When it was
known that the preacher was to ar
rive on the Lords day at an obscure
ham'et, the people throughout the
"settleirent'' gathered in-some OH
horseback, some in farm-waeons, and
some atoot-the men dressed in lin
sey-woolsey hahting-sEir.G dyed with
copperas, their htads covered with
coonskin caps with HE tail dangling
behind, and their flet cncased in
moccaslns Of deerskiD. The women
were dressed in homespnn cotton,
striped and barred. 70 them
the Sabbath was a day of gladncss
"a time of reunion, when neighborS,
so to speak, widely separated, could
come together and exchange greet
ings, and, during the intervals Of
service, talk over the events of the
week. 1t was an era Of good feeling.
The horses are hitched beneath
the trees to some oyerhanging bough.
The preacher mounts a rude stand
in grove and opens the services
with prayer-tclvid and awakening.
lie reads a hymn from his we'll
thunbcd pocket hymn book-not
gilt edged-and lines out tie words;
then starting some SIM lie melody,
the congregation join, and there rises
up the sound of praise which breaks
the solitude of the forest and comes
back from the hills in answering
echoes. Then follows the sermon,
eXtemporancous and abounding in
illustrations of everyday life; and
as the preacher becomes warmed mp,
the passions of. the audience are
aroused and startled, and respond to
his every appeal. What harm, if in
the ecs,acy Of spiritual delight, those
uututored minds shout, "Glory p
"Amen !" 'Halleluiah ~
But the times have changed. Last
Sunday night we strayed into fash
ionable church on Wabash avenue.
A thousand gas-jets lighted up the
intelior-the grained arches and the
canopy Of blue and gold. A large
and fashionable ccngre@ation-the
women, no. Solomon IN all his glory
was arrayed like unto these-occn-
pied the slips. AS we scanned their
faces, we sought in vain for the meek
ard lowly, the weary and heavy-la-
der. Before us stood the surpliced
priest. His linen was of snowy
whiteness, ana each particular hair
Of his head was nicely lald. His
discourse was eminently decorous-
not sentiment to shock the prciu-
dices of single individual, or to
awaken 4 single unpleasant emotion.
A zephyr playing over summer sea
is not more gentle; lutte not more
soothing in its sounds. Then, high
above the tones of the organ, are
heard the notes of the choir-pro-
iessional singers, exorbitan,ly paid,
and who, perhaps, during every night
of the week, lave performed at the
opera, in Fra Diayolo" or "TLe
Barber of Seville.'
AS we issued out of the church
with the seli.sat SIZED throng, We thus
moralized: What would be tie
emotions of one of those backwoods-
men, arrayed in his coonskin cap,
moccasirs and hunting shirt, who
was wont to grow tervid under the
rousing appeals Of Father Cart
wright, if transferred to such scene? !?
Did the fisherman of Galilee preach
to such audiences, and with such ac-
ccssories? Christ came to preach
to the poor, TO proclaim the common
| humanity of our race, and the vani-
ty Of temporal distinctions. We
have made religion an expensive
luxury. 1t is as expensive to the la
boring man to rent slip in fash
ionable church as to rent cottage.
We array our wives and daughters
in purple and fine linen. so that the
wives and daughters of the poor, ar
rayed in calico and gineham, feel out
Of place; and thus the very class for
whom the Saviour died, are repelled
from celebrating lis resurrection.
The quality Of the gospel is not
strained II is the same, whether III
the cottage or in the palace. If it
edify the rich, it will certainly fructi-
sy in the hearts Of the poor and
heavy-laden. "In my Fathers house,
Salu tile SaNiouF, are HiIuv IaH.
sions :" but he did not add that some
were set apart for the rich exclusive
~. and some for the poor-unless We
suppose that the parable of Dives
and Lazarus, and implied impossi-
bili,y of camel passing through the
eve of needle, throw light upon
this point. When we shall see both
classes worshiping side by side, both
partaking Of the same clements, and
both imbued with the same senti-
mcnt that God is no respecter of per-
sons, then We may have hopes of our
common humauiiy-thep believe that
our modern Christianity is working
heneiiccnt results Western 1Konth.
y.
In Bangor, Me-, a few days sinco,
man noticed large and small spi-
der in pursuit of fly. The small
one caught tie fly and was carrying
him off, when the large one attacked
him, took possession Of the fly and
marched of. The little one crept up
behind the large one, bit him en- tho
LEG, and ran away for dear life. ln>
stantly the large spider commenced
swelling, and in five minutes was