Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1871-01-19
From the Abingdon yirginian.


I
L., From the Abingdon yirginian.
81 Southwestern Virginia.
wJLBURN. WATERS AT cAMPMEETING
Many of our readers have heard of VIII
burn Waters, the half-breed, and great
hermit-hunter of White Top. He is ma
tive of one of those mountain counties o
Western North Carolina, which was for
merly part of the territory inhabited by
the Catawba tribe OF Indians, from which
WiIburn claims to have descended
Being very fond of solitude, as well as OF
trapping >andthe chase, he started out al
about the age of 20, to find a retreat in the
mountain where he could worship the
Great Spirit in his own simple way, and
where hisfew wants, both of food and raj
ment could be supplied by his own trusty
rifle. He settled down in a cove of what
is known as. Pond Mountain, the local
in the immediate vicinity of White top,
where he dwelt four years under rude
| shelter constructed of punciieons reared
upon apole supported by two forks, after
| the faflion of the shelter we sometimes
see at charcoal pit. Here, with his feet
to a huge log fire, he spent many happy
night in his open shed, in communion with
Deity, while wolves and wildcats howled
their lullaby in the surrounding forest.
Once, when. inquiring of the incidents
of his life during his four years. residence
in the shed, he informed us that, bears be-
ing plenty. he rarely wasted ammunition
upon wolves and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS when
he decoyed them to his shanty by scatter
ing the offal of a slaughtered bear a, short
distance from his fire. On such occasions
all he could see of them would be their
eyes, lighted up like two balls of fire in the
darkness. This was mark enough for him
and he rarely ever missedilis aim.
AT the end of four years he put up a
comparatively comfortable log cabin, in
which he had lived several years before
we first sought him out and broke bread
with him. His furniture consisted of two
beds of skins, a pot, a bucket, a dutch
oven, a coffee-pot, two or three mugs and
tin cups, two or three stools and punch
con table; but his larder was well suppli-
ed with sugar and coffee. flour and meal,
and any quantity of bacon, bear meat,
vcnison and wild honey. The few days
spent with him on our first visit, in the 81
lcnce of the deep forest, remote from all
other human habitations, were among the
happiest of our life, and we felt as if we
could have remained for weeks and listen
ed to his truthful stories of wild adventures
thrilling encounters and marvellous es-
capes from maddened animals. Some of
these we will relate in future articles, and
defer them now i'm order to give some
what of an insight into the character Of
the man as simple and humble Christian.
We cannot better illustrate this, than by
giving an incident in his religious expert
ence, as we heard hin relate it to Bishop
Early several years ago.
A Methodist Conference was holding its
session in Abingdon, and Wilburn had
been prevailed upon to leave his solitude
for awhile, to participate in the privileges
and enjoyments of the occasion. He came,
and Bishop Early, who presided over the
deliberations of the body, became very
much interested in him, and talked a great
deal with him about his wild and lonely
life, as well as about his religious joys and
sorrows One evening near the close OF
the term of the Conference, during the en-
tire session of which the devotional exer-
cises had been unusually formal. dull and
i6eless, particularly so to Wilburn. whose
ideas of spirituality consisted in excite
ment, shouting and great noise, the Bish-
op asked him what he thought of the min
istrations and other exercises of the occa-
son. & - Aszl.sr. nSs 80 81 b3 t
+, swell, Bishop" said be, Il will answer
your, question by giving you bit of histo-
ry in my own religious experience. About
three years ago heard of camp meeting
on Horse Creek, in Carolina, some % miles
from my cabin, and ON Friday night L
made up my mind to 60, fixed up my traps,
creased my boots and started towards it
early on Saturday morning. On the way
/ had to pass store, and as the hat l had
on was rather shabby, / concluded to step
in and buy me a new one. as much to hon.
for, the Lord as anything else. i did so
put it on, lift the old one and my gun at
the store till / should return, and was soon
at the encampment. When / arrived. a
minister was in the stand preaching a cold
and inanimate sermon, and | quietly took
seat as near the altar as I could get, put
ting my hat under the, seat for safety
J ust as ]. was about to raise my heart in
prayer, / heard some ones feet shutting
under my seat, and knew my hat vas in
danger. moved it, and sat it on the
ground beside me, but bad scarcely done
50 before man who sat behind me spirited
ambeer close to it, and began to think it
would be ruined in spite of me if / didn't
keep it on my head, which couldn't well
do in the congregation. | moved it to the
other side, where another man seemed to-
have like grudge at nay hat, and took
it into my lap. The minister preached ON
and / tried to pray, but that hat was in
my way and filed my mind, and my
prayers seemed to stick in my throat
The meeting was lifeless and formal, and
when 1 tried to. be devotional, something
would whisper in my ear, "Wilburn, you
had better take care of that hat, or you'll
get it spoiled" At length the sermon
closed, sunset came. and some one propos-
ed, as the Lord had not poured out His
Spirit upon us. perhaps He would, if we
would + xifh : ,Ro ]e1zf 20 &C uj0d