Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-05-28
FREAKS OF FANATIgIsM.
Remarkable Case of Religious
Alteration I'm North bail
Dseiiq hpr Carolina, usal s4Hj
I've Women Claim Themselves
10 be Almighty God, and 1.
Each Contests The Il mol
,,s .s others Claim. 1ps
One Woman Shot and her
Body Burned, the Other rla'
81 aon Clicked 10 Deathgst 500

i OMOhN0 W DN0NnS
| / oi5slH J4-1z3 dual uAo 100 55lo,ftis
| 1po ani{Ehs y,--- ni3 broe sJol
| The New York World $correspon7
/ dent, writing from Lenoir, NJ c.,
under date Of May II, gives a'high-
| ~ sensationalaceount of the freaks
/ Of fanaticism exhibited by family
Of squatters in that vicinity, The
facts came out on the trial of Eli
Land, father, and Nimrod 70 and
James, his sons, for the murder of
Sarah Land, daughter of Eli and
sister of the others. 77TsF0d q
| The Land family consisted of
James, man apparently oof fifty
years of age, his wife, Jane, his
sons Eli and Nimrod, aged sixteen
and seventeen, his daughters Sarah
and Polly, older than the boys, and
| two children of tender years. They
were very poor, living on rented
land in a log cabin at the base of
Cox's Knob of the Brushy Noun
tains, Alexander county, North
Carolina They were remarkably
quiet, peaceable, honest and indus
trious people, and were noted for
their kindly affection to one another.
The wife and mother, Jane, woman
of very limited education, but of
strong will and fervent passions,
had acquired a controlling influence
over her husband and children, and
was in every way The ruler of her
family. Their religious feelings,
always marked, had become intensi-
fed by the exercises and manifesto
tons at a "protracted meeting"
held at Dover Church, in their
neighborhooG, last August, where
for nine days and nights, from "a.
II. to 10P. NJ, preaching was kept
up by three ministers, with brief in
terruption for meals. From attend
ing these meetings this family, who
were with the exception of the two
little children, all church members,
went home more than ever inter-
ested in devotional subjects. Their
daily work in field and house was
little by little neglected and laid
aside; they began series of home
meetings, in which Jane and Sally
were the exhorters, and which ev-
cry member of the family took part
in. During the progress of these
meetings the mother and Sallie be-
gan to see visions, and the mother
to prophesy. Sally claimed to be
the true God, the mother often saw
Polly on the cross, and sometimes
herself felt on her head the thOrny
crown, and felt in her side the spear,
as her Saviour had done before her
/ Lney WUtIu Iaot,' srIi5; r. OO-~---AA-s-
pray. In these exercises Jane and
| Sally led of, Polly following, while
| the father and his two sons would
either sit silently listening, or fol
| lowing the lead of the women, and
when their local manifestations gave
place to such physical ones as
dancing, would march in procession
and chase away the devil. Two or
| three weeks before Sally's death
they began to see evidences of the
devils peculiar malignity toward
themselves; they believed, or pre-
, tended to believe, that he was try
ing to destroy them, and that he
must be driven away by physical
| prowess; they were seen, at the
| command of Jane, to rush out o.
their cabin like swarm of bees
| shouting, "Here he goes! 1t is The
! | devil! kill him. and to run Vlo'
4 lently about the yard, garden ant
! house, beating the air with theil
t fists, and shouting loud enough t.
5 he heard mile off. On Saturday
D February 20, 1869, the whole family
l excepting Sally, were seen in iona
than Lands field, some half mil
from their house, preaching, pray
ing and singing, exhorting bystand
r ers to repent, threatening damna
r ton on all who denied obedienc
9 to their commands, and were oh
g served, with their sleeves rolled u
9 above their elbows, knocking drie
chestnut burrs about from one t
= another until their naked hands an
= arms were covered with blooC
!; While this was going on, Sally wa
i noticed sitting apart, her eyes IKE
n on the sun, which, although nea
e the west, was still brilliant an
n cIoudless when she was asked whd
% was going on up yonder, poiutin
y to the family she began, with vii
: gestures, to reply, "Preaching, 81
: from Heavens King"-keeping tn
!, up rapidly for some minutes, an
Ie then changing into some unintell
re gible jargon. Shortly after thi
rs the same evening, they were M
n in a narrow path, by a broth
Is Of James, marching by twos t
- wards their home, the mothe
=, clasping her husbands arm Wi
+. both her hands, in front-ne
r. came Sally and Polly, then t
he bows, and last, the children; thu
ry heads were bare, their hair foatil
a and dishevelled, their dress d
en- ordered, their eyes fixed and ST.
Jus inc, their faces set steadily to t
front. and their whole look wild a
Et strange. The witness spoke. No
ion answered. He moved a little
ion one side, still keeping close TO thu
an and addressing them, but the VIII
me procession filed past him withe
ter word or sign of recognition. I
md witness believed them crazy, q
on- went several miles away for Jan
, ore father, an old man named Murpl
AZ Az who testified that the next q
hat Sunday he went to their hou
rty met Eli and Nimrod close by, "
run were entirely averse to his enter
,els until he prayed-for, said they,
heir is Gods house, and we are 90
God people.'' Gaining an entrance
ther last. he found that the whole ian
'Of had tasted for three days, eating
o. thew claimed, hidden mann
His visit was profitless, and he "
8 TO away. That evening a neigh
, the and four young women called
ally them. Sally was standing on
u raE w