The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-09-04
come far over the hills and through the
valleys to meet them.


valleys to meet them.
One. of these preachers related to me
a very ludicrous- although to himself
at the time annoying-incident which
happened him once on his circuit. He
started to preach at his regular stop
ping place, the cabin of devoted
brother; and, after he was fairly into
his discourse and was beginning to "let
out, he found himself confronted by
an old hen, who, in possession of a
ioist as a roosting place overhead, would
commence cachli1ag every time he be-
gan to raise his voice, to spread HIM
self on his text. He was almost an
novice at the time; and, at last, he be-
gan to get nervous and in profuse
perspiration. He had mo freedom" in
fact, and was plagued ;dreadfully to find
| the brakes put down on him in such
way, while he was ashamed to let it be
known. Finally, as Biddy, with her
head inquisitively cooked on one
side, took him down for the third or
fourth time, the old lady Of the house,
wondering at his unaccustomed manner.
happened to divine the trouble, and,
wrathfully Selling a broom and putting
the plague to fight out of the open
cabin door, she wound up by telling
her she'd ''learn her better than to stop
the preacher tT't s-.,<"A 5a
By the way, there is tradition all
over the South and West that The fowls
can recognize preacher as soon as he
| h0ouQs in c1rhf q for.~,
that, thereupon, all begin to take legs
and wings for the nearest hiding place.
Whether this is so or not, I have moth.
ing to aver, except to repeat that such
is the tradition; but once when I asked
after the theological accomplishments
and progress and promise of a
new preacher, who had been noted not
long before in his own vicinage for the
way he could yell at and "whack" a
pair of working oxen, the answer given
by the neighbor, and with broad grin,
was, 80, I reckon he'll make his
chicken +" @t-3 r.
Again, while on this subject, I would
remark that one of the severest things
ever said by one very hard political op-
ponent of another had point Of this
kind in it. The brother complained of,
although a distinguished success in poll
tics-it was the late Senator Brownlow
had allowed himself to be pretty
much Switched off from his early call
ing as preacher, and his enemy SOL
EMMY declared of him, therefore, that
"the very chickens whose bones his
lantern jaws had cracked, as a circuit
rider, to no good purpose, would at the
last day fly up to the Judgment seat to
witness against him!"
The breaking up Of camp-meeting
seemed always to be done reluctantly,
and even sorrowfully, no matter wheth-
er it had proved successful as an agency
in winning souls Or not. A week in
camp together, under such circum-
stances, seems to endear neighbors
greatly to each other; and as they pack
up slowly to go home and resume their
everyday occupations, and with moth
ing whatever of the spirit, elasticity,
and pleasant anticipation with which
they started there, the long perspective
to another such meeting seemed to
stretch forward into dim indefniteness,
too far remote even to venture light
and happy antieipations upon. Break
ing away into groups, as they once more
take to the homeward roads, one would
| think, to look at their dull movements,
that the journey was to the antipodes,
instead OF to pleasant dwellings within
a radius of twenty or thirty miles.
Leaving with the rest at the close of
this camp-meeting, as on horseback I
approached Red river, an afauent of
the Cumberland, that rises, I believe, in
Kentucky, I was busy watching the
crowd of people on the bank Of the
stream, when heard funny colloquy.
On the sandy shore sat a man too in
toxlcated to get up, and who had fallen
from his diminutive pony, which some
body had afterward caught and hitched
to a bush OIL the other side of the ford.
recognized him as a notorious topper
of the neighborhood, and, just as rode
up, he was pleading with a pious old
black woman who was trudging home
from camp-meeting, and at such time
more than usually indignant at such a
sight. He wanted her to help him
up" Her reply was felicitous, although
it called forth from the miserable scamp
volley of profane abuse. She said:
Get up yourself!-nobody sot you
down dar-get up yourself" @
[ saw that he could not do it; and, as
sunset was approaching, and I remem-
bered he had a family, although hated
| his drunkenness as thoroughly as did
the old colored woman, concluded to
go to the rescue. There was canoe
near by, so I hired couple of stout
young colored men who were present,
by giving them quarter" to put him
in the craft, shove him across the
stream, and mount him on his pony,
they ferrying the old colered woman at
the same time. He kicked and swore
furiously at the indignity" of being
thus handled by them; but they only
laughed heartily along with myself at
it, and the poor pony at last, loaded
with the greater beast of the two, slow