The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-11-08
THR PIONEER PREACHER.
Interesting "reminiscences of Peter
'heiv- 2 Cartwright "a

4
We shall not be likely to see in
the church again another Cart
wright. The railway has changed
the conditions of the growth of
society in the far West. In the
former days the pioneer settlers of
the wilderness were a people apart
from the rest of the world. They
had very few of the implements of
civilization, aud grew up with their
own habits of thought and speech.
Many of them spun their own wool,
Wove their own cloth, cut out and
made their own garments, built
their own houses with axe and saw,
and were indebted to q far-off re-
gion for very scant supply of ma
terials. Such race of men could
not be otherwise than hardy and
self-reliant. Both in their virtues
and vices, they were without dis
guise. 60 "-' -
Among such people Cartwright
was born and reared, and among
them spent the earlier years of his
ministry. He bad the characteris-
tic traits of the Western man of his
period, but he had, besides these, a
most intense desire to bring his fell
lowsiEto snbjection to the gospel of
Christ. His Drawn and courage
were held in strict subseFvicnee.t to
"a zeal tor human. welfare that never
Jagged until the day of his death.
ia We first encountered Cartwright
IN $780, Tie was q trustee of col
lege in Illinois, then struggling for
life, and sustained by the persistent
efforts of the impoverished preach
ers, with such aid as they could
draw from their people. The first
meeting was characteristic of the
ole pioneer Business was over and
no was telling anscdotes of lAXley,
the eccentric Tennessee preacher,
whom Cartwright had known well.
The auditors were in commissions of
laughter, for the stories were full of
humor' and told admirably well.
The merry twinkle of Cartwright's
eyes was irresistiblyr contagious.
1t required no effort en- his part.to
be humorous the fun flowed out
spontaneously; mingled with
shgewd observations of human life.
He HAD traye.ed so much, had seen
so much, that he could always illus
trate his point by some Incident
which had come under his notice.
Men were the books he had most
read; besides the Bible aud Wes-
leyan standards, he had read very
little else.
Ouranext meeting was atihis own
homie, in 'Sansamon county. Here,
on their way to Conference, a COM
pany of preachers had stopped to
"a
brick house, unusually good for
those days witha spacious hall run
ming through the center from front
TO rear. It was q most hOspitable
mansion; just then a. Methodist
Preachers Hotel, where every one
was at his ease and felt perfectly
welcome. The hall was lined with
boxes of Methodist books, enough
to.Tset ups quite a storo.y 80 ncle
Peter, as he was Familiarity cslled,
lheiieved IN Mr.. Wesley inj junction
| to circulate the books" e. u nletter-
ed he may in some respects have
been, but he felt that Christian
knowledge was the great need of
men, and most theoretically spread
il everywhere. He was Off at camp
meeting when we arrived, and did
not make his appearance till late
Sunday. afternoon. He had not
been at home ten minutes before he
had the company all about him,
listening to some fresh incidents of
preacher life,i in which; the grave.
and humorous were so intermiBgled
that even 3 sickly hermit could not
have helped being delighted list
ensHr This man loved his work,
exuited I'm II, carried all through
fsach exhhberAnt spirit that labor
was . pleasure to him, ..u
b. 1t was worth q long journey to
see the cavalcaffe starting for the
I seat of the Conferences at Spring
4 Held on Monday morning. The
! preachers filed down the road in
\ long procession, some ON horseback,
some in carriages, and sUncle
Peter" In an old chaise that looked
as if il had seen years and years of
service! His face was radiant with
Content and high animal spirits. In
the Conference he was s king, yet
with an associate in sway over the
body, There were, two Peters who
lowered aboFe,nshe rest of their
brethren-Petcr Cartwright and
1 Peter Akers. Both were from Ken
tucky.s Akers was = man OF much
Fculture for that eaFly-day, for he
thadsbee1 bred sp7rhe iaFi Polish.
ed in. manner, somewhat reticent
during the progress of ting Confer
4 ence Business, the inhnence of his
commanding character was felt. a
everyI point gBeforeI ehsl people
especially in the great open-aii
meetings, &c exhiDited an oratoriea
, lpower, the tradi lions of which still
Finger through the State, Cart
wright was much in the basiAess o