San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-10-19
An Iowa Farmer Who Developed into a
B.. .,,,yJ Trance-PreaCher.s.i!ii "

1Correspondence of the Chicago Tribune.l
aDEs Mo1NEs, IOWA, Sept. - Consid-
cradle excitement has recently beene
ated in Washington andJ ohnsonl Coun-
ties by the mysterious dpings of Noah
Troyer, an Amish farmer, living near
the village OF Amish, in the southwest
corner 6f johnson County. acHe Is in
comfortable q, circumstances, !cabOut AS
years old, and has wife and four chill
dren.. q BY birth he is German, and a
member Of the Orthodox Aniish Church.
He is very illiterate, seldom reading a
book. The only paper he has about the
house, or has read for several years, is
the Chicago Evenimg Journal. He has
copy OF the Bible in German, but sell
dom reads it. He has never possessed
an English Bible, and his family do not
know that he ever saw one. He speaks
both English and German. He and his
family are highly respectable, and he is
noted among his neighbors for his fond
ness to trade horses and tell good sto-
ries. He is very strict in his religious
notions, conforms rigidly to the tenets
of the Amish Church, and will not at
tend the service of any other. ,.'i ID |
About four years ago he was troubled
with distension of the stomach, accom-
panied with cramping pains, which was
followed by lethargic condition.
About year ago these attacks were
followed by a condition of unconscious
ness or trance, in which he talked upon
religious matters. These became peri
odical, finally coming on every day. He
would rise about daylight, eat a hearty
breakfast, and 60 about his usual farm
work. About o'clock in the afternoon
the bloating and cramp of the stomach
would come, followed by drowsiness,
which gradually increased. He would
eat a light supper, and, when night
came, he would be nearly unconscious.
He prepared low couch in a large
room, on which he would lie down and
pass into commissions, which, would last
nearly an hour. About, 9 O'Clock he
would rise to his knees, and utter u
short prayer or invocation, followed by
repeating the Lords Prayer after
which he would rise to his feet and de-
liver sermon from an hour. to, two
hours long-speaking with a strong
voice, which could be heard by 300 peo-
pie outside the house. He moves about
the room, gesticulates forcibly, and his
manner is that of d person earnestly
speaking to large audience, His Ian
guage is not elegant, yet his discourse
is always logical and eloquent,
and evinces preparation n He
breaches from the, Bible, but takes
no text. He often Illustrates ideas
with passages identical with Millions
Paradise LOST" yet he never saw that
work, and probably does not know Mil
ton ever lived. His discourses are lib
eral in doctrine, whereas the Amish
Church is exclusive and dogmatic. He
speaks in the German and English Ian
guages. On one occasion, however, he
spoke about twenty minuts in German !;
then for more than an hour in a Ian.
guage unknown to any one present, al
though there were persons OF education
and talent listening; and suddenly closed
in English, in which he said he had de-
clared the word of God in three Ian
guages, and shown how to gain he ark
/ in safety, and avoid the pit. He sets
forth but two churches: Christ, light,
love, charity; and the Devil, darkness,
hate, selfishness. He often gives pas
sages of Scripture, and, being ques-
toned the next morning about them,
can not tell whether they are in the
Bible or not. He knows very little OF
what is in The Old Testament. At the
close of his discourse he gives ashort
benediction and the Lords Prayer, and
falls on his couch, apparently exhausted,
his whole person having the appear
ance OF 4 dead man; and, after > few
moments of convulsive tremor, sudden
" awakes, gets up, and walks out OF
the house. The next morning he gets
up. saws he has lad n good nights rest,
aud goes to his work, only 70 repeat
the experience of the day before; and
so I. has been for months, every night.
The mystery, Of course, soon began
to spread abroad. At first il annoyed
the family very much, as it kept them
from Sieen and rest. but they eould no,