The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-03-04
TAE "INPIDELSn AND REV. H. C.
BUHLESON.

The "infdels of Houston, as Rev.
r. C. Burleson calls them, are now
catching Hail Columbia from this gen.
tlemsu, through the columns of the
Waco papers. ii j1r Evangelist Penn
was asked by certain liberal thinkers
why the prophet Elisha at one time
was kind enough to bring back to life
the son of the Shum2mite mother, and
why, at another time, he pronounced
the curse of God on forty-.wo children
because they did not show the prophet
that respect which he felt should have
been extended him. The Evangelist
having become too full of ire to ans
wer as reason demanded, the worthy
Waco divine proceeds to settle the
hash of these so-cslled ''intidels" as
effectuslly as the two she bears chewed
up these forty-two small chaps of anti
Christian days. These boys were no
doubt very bad ones, and it appears
that they made an exceedingly good
man unusually malone who, through
pity, could bring back to life the
son of even the Shumamite moth
err, but whose passion at another
time, as was intimated by these
Houston ''infidels," so far sub
dued his goodness as to make him
cause two monster brutes to STAY and
eat up forty-two children at a single
meal. Elisha had told it that he saw
Elijah go up to Heaven in chariot of
fire, and these boys, no doubt liberal
thinkers themselves, being taken to
task by Elisha for making too much
noise while excited over a closely
matched game of base bali, told
him to Ego up old baldhead."
Said once, probably, it would have
resulted in no such serious tragedy as
followed; but the boys repeated it once
too often, and we all know how provok-
ing boy may be, especially when he is
contracting change of voice. Some of
them no doubt were passing through
this interesting period, and when they
called out "go up, old baldhead a." in
basso, and then repeated "go up, old
bsldhead," in alto, it naturally enough
aroused evil passion in Elisha's bosom.
1t is probable, too, that batted ball
may have struck Elisha at a tender
point, and in the heat of passion he
went right out into the thicket near by,
where the bears were and set them on
the boys while he was yet enraged.
At least we would prefer to take this
view of the case than to put it as
does Mr.. Burleson when he so far for
gets himself in his defense of the good
ness of God as to say: ''But what
can free schools and policemen do with
such Arabs ? Nothing, but she bears
can meet the case. And it would be q
mercy if some Elisha could send two
she bears for Galveston, two for Hous.
ton, two for Austin, two for San An
tonis, and, at least, one for Waco
We do not know what the ''infidels'
of Houston think of this alleged
wholesale slaughter of thoughtless
boys to vindicate the goodness of God,
which, Mr.. Burleson accepts as stern re.
atty. He holds that the boys were made
food for she bears in the literal sense oil
the written word. One or two of them
were not eaten up to appease an ordi.
nary bears appetite, but forty-two
"went up" and then went down into ca.
pacious maws. Mr.. Burleson takes nc
account of the quite certain fact, too,
that out of forty-two boys assembled
by chance on the outskirts of city that
some of them were not we'll disposed,
that their mothers didn't even know
they were out, and that at least half OF
them, may be more, did not Join
in the cry against Elisha, and that con.
sequently they did not deserve death,
when it came, as held by Mr..
Burleson, of God. The recognized
goodness of God, the same now as in
the past, leads US, on the other hand,
to believe this all fable, bereft in re-
atty of the terrible rage of prophet
of God, and with the fearful carnage
of thoughtless set of boys, who were
having a little fun. The story is full
of good teaching, as intended-a fig
ure to teach obedience and respect
to our betters = but not a fact,
as is claimed by Mr.. Burleson, and
repetition of which he prays for
Galveston, Houston, Austin and San
Antonio. We are glad Mr.. Burleson
stands no showing for becoming a pro-
phet, for while he would with such
cruelty teach the boys of Austin re-
spect for his gray hairs, we have the
slightest sort of an idea that he might
exercise similsr vengeance towards
even adults, and then somebody about
the STATESMAN Office might be ''chaw-
ed up"