The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-12-04
A SOUTHWEST SERMON.
A Unique Description of DaYid's
Encounter with Goliah.

hearing these illiterate preachers
both white and oolored, consissen
with my other duties. II was new
and Interesting study to me. Some
times | got rare kernels OF wheat il
the midst OF q great deal of chat,
rich nuggets of gold among q greal
deal Of sand and rubbish; and al,
ways felt more than repaid for the
time thus expended. 1t Was inter.
esting to observe ell the workings Of
minds. often of superior natural DOW.
ere, In their attempts to elucidate the
scriptures. It was especially strange
to hear them render any scripture
narrative. entirely in their own British
vernacular. I have often regretted
that l did not take down many oil
their narratives of Bible facts at the
time / heard them. But the unusual
sight of a person thus employed in
congregation would attract more
attention than the preacher himself,
and WAS therefore unwilling to do it.
But l can give my readers q very
correct idea of these narratives. In
riding through very rough, wild
region. fell ia company with a gen.
tleman on horseback, and rode some
distance with him. He told me that
q preacher, who was so illiterate that
it was with the greatest difficulty
that he could study out chapter 10
the Bible, sometimes preached in a
log. house in his neighborhood. and
he had heard him the Sabbath before.
Il was in region where q rough-and.
tumble fight would attract more at
tention than anything else. The
preacher had
A THEME OF THE DEEPEST INTEREST.
To himself and most of his congrega-
ton. The gentleman gave me quite
full outline of the discourse, and /
write it out from his description, and
all it up as my extended acquaintance
with these people, and knowledge OF
their vernacular, derived from years
of constant mingling with them en-
abled me to do.
Lest week, my breethrin, as l was
q readin' my Bible, l found story
of a big fight Samuel, xvii). 1t was
powerful interestin', and / studied it
all the week. There was two armies
campin' on two mountains right for
nenst each other, and a boiler, and
recon, some good bottom land and q
medder lot lying between 'em. In
one of the armies there was big Teller
and every day be went down into the
medder lot and looked up the hill to
t'other camp, and jest dared 'em!
He told them to pick their best man
and send him down, and he'd fight
him. And he jest strutted around
there in his soger close, and waited
for 'em to send on their man. And
such soger close | never heard tell
on sfore, He had brass cap and
brass trouses, and 8 coat made like
mail bags where they are all ironed
and riveted together. But the tellers
in t'other camp jest clean bunked.
They dsrn't fight the big :ellers
nary one 'em. They jest all sneaked
away, and the big Teller he went back
to camp. But he didn't quit thar,
the big Teller didn't. He was spilin'
for fight. and he Was bound to have
it. He Jest went down into the bot
tom land, into the medder lot, every
day, mornin' and evenin' and dared
'em and dared EN-. tell you be did
peste 'em nightly. The old Teller,
Saul, the Glnersl, he felt more
chsW I'd up and meaner than the
sogers, and, when he couldn't stan it
no Il niger, be told the boys if any of
'em would 60 down an
LICK THAT BIG TELLER
He'd give him his gal, and q right
smait chance of plumber. But they
was all 30 skeer'd that even that
didn't start one Of 'em. The big
TELLER went down and dared 'em and
pestered 'em moTe'n a month-iorty
days, the Bible ssys. I don't
know what they'd done if it hadn't
q BEN that peart little Teller bad
come down to camp one day to fetch
some extra rations to his three big
brothers that their old dad had sent
to 'em from home. Kind old pap he
was, and sharp, too, for he sent along
a big present to the boys cap'en.
Well, Jest az little brother drove up,
they was all gwine out to fight, and
the little Teller LETT bis traps with the
driver, legged it after the sogeIs. and
toli his big brothers howd'y. Right
thar the old big Teller come out and
dared 'em sgin, and they was all go
skeer'd that they jest run like mad.
The little Teller heard him, and then
went back to camp and heerd all the
sogers talking about him, and what
Che old Gineral would give to have
him licked. He asked 'em heap OF
questions about it all, and big brother
he got mad at him. and twitted him
about keeping sheep, and give him a
right smart of sass, He was plucky,
bat you see he had to STAN it, cause
twas big brother. Big brothers are
mighty mean sometimes. But the
little Teller talked q heap with the
other sogers, and they told the old
Gineral about him. and be told them
to tell the little Teller to come and see
him. The little TELLER was mighty
plucky, and he jest up and told the
Gineral Saul that he'd fight the big