Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-10-26

Inc INDIANS also treated johnny
with the greatest kindness. By these
wild and sanguinary savages he was
regarded as '.great medicine man.
on account of his strange appear
ance, eccentric actions, and especial
Ily, the fortitude with which he could
endure pain, in proof of which he
would often thrust pins and needles
into his flesh. His nervous sensi-
bilities really seem to have been less
acute than those of ordinary people,
for his method of treating the cuts
and sores that were the consequen-
ces of his barefooted wanderings
through briars and thorns was to-
scar the wound with, a red hot iron,
and then cure. the burn. :: During
the war of 1912, when the frontier
settlers were tortured and slaught-
cred by the savage allies of Great
Britain. Johnny Appleseed contin-
ned his wanderings, and was never
harmed by the rowing bands of hos.
tile Indians. On many occasions
the impunity with which he ranged
the country enabled him to give the
| settlers warning of approaching
danger in time to allow them to
take refuge y in their block-houses,
before the savages. could attack
them. Our informant refers to. one
| Of these instances. when the news of
Hull's surrender came like thun-
tder;bolt upon the frontier. Large
bands Of Indians and British were
destroying every thing before them
and numbering defenseless women
and children, and even the block
houses were not, always sufficient
protection. At this time Johnny,
travelled day and night, warning the
people Of. the approaching danger.
He visited every cabin and delivered
this message: "The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, and he hath anoin-
ted me to blow the trumpet in the
wilderness, and sound an alarm in
the forest; for, behold, the tribes of
the heather are. round about your
doors, and q ,deyouring flame fol-
Eloweth after them" The aged man
who narrated this incident said that
he could feel even. now the thrill
that was caused by this prophetic
announcement Of the wild looking
herald of danger, who. aroused the
family on a bright moonlight mid
night with his piercing voice. Re-
fusing all offers Of food and deny
ing himself a moments rest, he
ltraversed the border day and night
until he had warned every settler of
approaching peril. 'i'l ''4' -.'' u
b. His diet was as meagre as his
clothing. He believed it to be a sin
to kill any creature for food, and
thought that all that was necessary
for human sustenance was produced
| by the SOIL He was also a strenu-
Gus opponent of the waste of food,
and on one occasion; ON approach
ing q log cabin, he observed some
fragments of bread floating upon the
sur lace of bucket of slops that
was intended for the pigs. He i'm
mediately fshed them out, and when
the housewife expressed her aston
ishment, he told her that it was an
abuse of the gifts of a merciful God
to allow the smallest quantity of
any thing that was designed to sup
ply the wants of mankind to be di-
verted from its purpose. Do adi7sag
| In this instance, as in his whole
life, the peculiar religious IDEAS of
Johnny Appleseed were exemplifed.
He was most earnest disciple of
the faith taught by Emanuel Swed-
enborg, and himself claimed to have
frequent conversations with angels
and spirits; two of the latter, of the
feminine gender, he asserted, had
revealed to him that they were to be
his wives in future state If. he alb
stained from a matrimonial alliance
on earth. He entertained a pro-
found, reverence for the revelations
Of the Swedish seer, and always
carried a few old volumes with him.
These he was very anxious should
be read by every one, and he was
probably not only the first colpor-
teur in the wilderness of Ohio, but
as he had no tract society to furnish
him supplies, 'he certainly devised
an original method of multiplying
one book into number. He divi-
ded his books into several pieces,
leaving a portion at log cabin, and
on a subsequent visit furnishing an
other fragment, and continuing this
process as diligently as though the
work had been published in serial
numbers. By this plan he was en-
abled to furnish reading for several
people at the same time, and out of
one book; but it must have been a
difficult undertaking for some near
ly illiterate backwoodsman to en-
deavor to comprehend Swedenborg
by backward course of reading,
when his first installment happened
to be the last fraction of the volume.
Johnny's faith in Swedenborg's
works was so reverential as almost
to be superstitious. He was once
asked if in travelling barefooted
through forests abounding with
venomous reptiles, he was not afraid
of being bitten. With his peculiar
smile, he drew his book from his
bosom, and said, "This book is an
infallible protection against all dam
ger here and hereafter" @
1t was his custom, when he had
been welcomed to some hospitable
log house after a weary day of jour
neying, to lie down on the puncheon
floor, and, after inquiring if his au-
ditors would hear ''some news right
fresh from heaven" produce his few
tattered books, among which would
be New Testament, and read and
expound until his uncultivated hear
ers would catch the spirit and glow
of his enthusiasm, while they
scarcely comprehended his language.
A lady who knew him in his later
years, writes in the following terms
of one of these domiciliary readings
Of poor, self-sacrificing Johnny Ap-
pleseed:i ''We can hear him read
now, just as he did that summer day,
when we were busy quilting up
stairs, and he lay near the door, his
voice rising denunciatory and thrill
ling-strong and loud as the roar Of
wind and waves, then soft and sooth-
in1r n q tho ha alpnx. airS that nni..nrnl