Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-11-06
NO. 263
CAPTAIN HURRICANE JONES.

one trip the captain had clergyman on
board, but did not know he was a clergy
man, since the passenger list did not be-
tray the fact. He took great liking to
this Rev. Mr.. Peters, and talked to him a
great deal told him yarns, gave him some
toothsome scraps OF inimitable personal
history, and wove glittering streak of
profanity through his garrulous fabric that
was refreshing to spirit weary of the
dull neutralities OF undecorated speech.
One day the captain said,
Peters, do you ever read the Bible Pr
| "Well, ll,-yes."
| II Judge 1t amt often. by the way you
say 1t. Now, you tackle it in dead earnest
once, and you II fiud it'll pay. Don't you
get discouraged. but hang right on. FIRST,
you won't understand it; but by and
oy things Will begin to clear up, aLd then
you wouldn't lay It down to eat.
"1es, l have heard that said"
"And it's so, too. There Amt book
that begins with 1t. 1t lays over 'em all,
Peters. There's some pretty tough things
IN h,-there amt any getting around that,
but you stick to them and think them
out, and when once you get ON the inside
everything's plain as day."
| 1.-The miracles, too. captain ?''
| es, sir the miracles, too. Every one
OF them. Now, there's that business with
the prophets OF Baal; like enough that
stumped youP"
| "Well, don't know but
| "Own up, now ; it stunned you. Well.
| don't wonder. You hadn't had any ex-
perience in raveling such things out, and
naturally it was too many for you. Would
you like to have me explain that thing to
you. and show you how to get at the meat
Of these mattersp"
"Jndeed, l would, captain, if you don't
mind"
Then the captain proceeded as follows:
"Fll do it with pleasure. First. you see,
read and read, and thought and thought,
till got to understand what sort of people
they were in the old Bible times, and then
alter that it was all clear and easy. Now,
this was the way put it up concerning
Isaac this was the captains own mistake1
and the prophets OF Baal There was
some mighty sharp men amongst the pub
lie characters OF that old ancient day, aud
Isaac was one OF them. Isaac had fall
} ings,-penty of them. too it ainl for me
to apologize for Isaac, he played it on the
prophets OF Baal, and like enough he was
ljustifable, considering the odds that was
against him. No, all say is,'t want any
miracle, and that I'll show you so'sr YOU
can see it yourself.
"Well, times had been getting rougher
and rougher for prophets,- is, proph-
cts OF lsaac's denomination. There we've
four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in
the community and only one Presbyterian
that is, if Isaac was Presbyterian; which
l reckon he was. but it don't say. Nat
urally, the prophets of Baal took all The
trade. Isaac was pretty low-spirited,
reckon, but he was good deal Of man,
and no doubt he went a-prophesying
around, letting on to be doing land
office business, but it twan't any use /; he
| couldn't run any opposition to amount to
anything. BY and by things got desperate
with HIM; he set his head to work TO
think it all out, and then what does he
doP Why, he begins to throw out hints
that the other parties are this and that and
'other,-nothing very definite. may be,
but just kind o. undermining their reputa-
tion in quiet way. This made talk of
course, and finally got to the king. The
king asked Isaac what he meant by his
talk. Says lssac, oh, nothing particu-
larly; oaly can they pray down fire from
heaven on the altarp II amt much, may
be, your majesty, only can they do il?
That's the idea. So the king was good
deal disturbed, and he went to the
prophets OF Baal. and they said, pretty
airy, that it he bad an altar ready, they
were ready; and they intimated thai he
better get it insured, too.
| $50 next morning all the children of
Israel and their parents and the other peu-
pie gathered themselves together. Well,
here, was that great crowd OF prophets
of Baal picked together on one side,
and Isaac walking up and down all alone
on the other, putting up his job. When
time was called. Isaac let on to be COM
Portable and Indifferent; told the other
team to take the first innings. So they
| went at it, the whole four hundred and
fifty, praying around the altar, very hope
ful and doing their level best. They
prayed all ur,--two hours.-three hours,
and SO on, plumb till noon. 1t wasn't
any use; they hadn't took trick Or
course they felt kind of ashamed before
those people, and well they might. Now.
what would magnanimous man do
Keep still, wouldn't he ? OF course. What
did Isaac doP He graveled the prophets
of Baal every way he could think OF.
Says he, You don't speak up loud or may
be your Gods taking walk; you want
to holler, you know,'-or words to that
effect; l don't recollect the exact lan-
guage.
"Well, the prophets of Baal prayed
along the best they knew how all the af-
ternoon, and never raised a spark. At
last, about sundown, they were all tuck
cred out, and they owned up and quit.
"What does Isaac do, nowp He steps
up to some friends OF his, there, Pour
four barrels OF water on the altar = Every
body was astonished. They poured it on
Says he, 'Heave on four more.' The
water ran all over the altar, and all down
the sides. and filled up trench around it
that would hold couple of hogshesds,
measures it says; l reckon it means
about hogshead. Some of the people
were going TO put on their things and 70,
they allowed he was crazy. They didn't
know Isaac. Isaac knelt down and began
to pray; he strung along, and strung
along, about the heather In distant lands
and about the sister churches, about those
that's in authority in the government.