Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-05-09
FATHER CARTER.
A Regular Hard Shell" Sermon.

Shell' Baptist preacher, whose
youth had been spent in the noun
tains of Carolina, but who was IA
nous preacher in his persuasion
He was an enthusiast on the subject
of ''immersion," and being strong
in his own convictions, earnest and
decided in expressing them, he in
fluenced others. He gathered
around him as disciples men of high
er culture than himself His preach
ing would astonish any city congre-
CATION, but it was at least stirring
in its character. In the woods and
under the giant trees and in the log
school houses of Carolina, where
he was brought into contact with
minds as rude and uninformod as
his own, it was that his emotional
nature met a response and carried
his audience with him. A favorite
sermon of his he called his "eagle"
sermon, and was from text in
Deuteronomy. Gas an eagle STIR
rcth up her nest, tluttereth over her
young, spreadeth abroad her wings,
takcth them" The writer once
heard it, and its general tenor is in
delibly imprinted on his mind. Af-
ter long-continued preliminary ex-
ercise, he began:
My friends, there is menny kinds
Of eagles. They are singular birds
that is, they is quare birds. Thar
is the gray eagle, with white hars
on his head; thar is the bald eagle
ditto, who goes about like roarin'
lion seeking what he may eat up
Thar is the grand old American
eagle, what tiops his wings and flies
over all creation, and l hcv heern
tell of a double-hedder, an Austrian,
but never seed one, and | don't
believe thar is one-though that
don't signify, for some of you uns
might say you hadn't never seed
God, consequently thar wurnt none.
But there is, nevertheless, notwith-
standing fur which.
Now | onct knowed an eagle
that is, knowed on him-and her,
too, fur thar wa: two on 'em, a big
rooster eagle and hen eagle. 1t
wur in the big mountings OF Caro-
liny; and thar they pitched their
tents in tall and towering pine
right in the top-and it hung over
a deep precipice, whar it war in
danger Of being participated down
the precipice when the cloud winds
did roar on Caroliny's shore. But
it wurn't; tor He calleth his sheep
by name and they foller Him, and
the desert blossoms like rose, and
the barren are better than them that
beareth children-neverthcless, not
withstanding fur which.
Wal, these here eagles pitched
their tent in this waste, bowling
wilderness, whar they wur as lonely
as a solitary snipe in dog days.
Fust, they got what there wur two
cross-limbs; then they brought big
sticks, and laid 'em carefully round
and round until it begun to look
sorter like a big balloon careening
to the sky, only it was on tree,
then they put in littler sticks, and
littler and littler, till bimeby it wur
small and compact like. Then they
got all the wool and down and soft
things and put 'em down INTO the
bottom, and on the sides of its in
sides, and made it smooth and warm
and comfortable like-likc unto the
man that filled his barns, and told
his soul to be easy and take things
material like-and laid their eggs
thar-but fur the terrible voice that
said: "Fool, this night thy soul
shall bc''-that is, he wur to die
that very night, and all his nice
things wouldn't be emmy more use
to him-though they wurn't hurt,
fur THAR eggs were hatchcd and all
their young uns came out with mar
ry single feather on them-never-
theless, Notwithstanding fur which.
Wal, these eagles and THAR young
uns in THAR fine home, and had on
soft clothing like John the INNER
ser wandering in the wilderness,
whar they wur in kings houses
and the big uns fed 'em, as parents
feed their little uns-though thar's
a commandment agin stealing,
which the eagles have to do, but it's
THAR natur-though that don't sig
Nifty, fur a mans natur is to steal
sumtimes, and he's got to tite agin
that natur; fur when ] would do
good, evil is prcsent-and asman
aint an eagle bird by chance
nevertheless, Notwithstanding fur
which.
When the eagles growed up and
had feathers-that is, when they
came to the age of 'countability,
which is expected of boys and girls
like-though eagles natur is differ
cnt-thcn the old eagles wanted
them to fly abroad and mount up on
wings of eagles, and jine the song
that floats around the throne. And
that's whar the text begins; for
that's the way the Father up yonder
wants us to do when we reach the
age Of 'countability-to fly upward
to fly upward and jine the band
in the narrar way, and pass through
the strait gate. But they didn't like
to leave home and THAR kindred and
THAR parients, and seek country
like unto the good old Abraham,
'Whar, oh whar Is the good old AbrahamY
Whar, oh whar is the good old Abraham!
Whar, oh whar is the good old Abraham?
Safe in the promised land!'
The old eagle goes off and "hattcr-
eth over her young," and that brings
lis to the second pint of our dis
course. "She tluttereth," she fops
her wings, like unto as you have
seen a hawk just Citing ready to
pounce down upon poor field
mouse though it amt like that neith-
er, for the hawk flutters in wrath,
but the eagle flutters over her young
uns in love, just like when you see
your dear little ones a-trcading Of
the downward path, and your heart
futters and hutters because you're
afraid-and she goes above the nest
and hollers squawk-which when
you holler You means to tell 'em to
"take kecr," take kecr"-only the