Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-19

women and children using the hoo,
while he guides the plowshare, inter.
rupting ever and anon his tuu1ful ley
to explode n volley Of wrath at his
lazy mule n biting a tender shoot Of
corn. whoa dar! Bi.in' dat corn
dis lack yer sin't had nufi l ter eat in
err munt! Keep on foolin' wild me l
bust yer opin!'
When in midsummer, to use n ia.
milliar expression on southern pianta.
tions, "the crap is laid by" and tho
"big nSetlns' are III foil blast, the
colored brethren leave off work for tho
full exercise Of their religion, and so
enthusiastic are their temperaments
that this worship might be called
fanaticism. No INT can properly IN
derstsnd their queer aud superstitious
ideas of religion until he has wit.
messed The proceedings of a country
cimpmeeting. Last summer, while
spending d seaeon In the country, |
attended regularly an unusually inter.
estipg revival. The darkey poured In
from the surrounding country in mul.
titudes to the camp ground, which was
located around II country church con-
~venient to a cold spring, and to
the church house was attached
a bush arbor shading half an acre
Under this temporary tabernacle
were congregated a dense MACS of
dark forms, old and young, Of both
sexes, with every hue of complexion,
from the ccal black African to the
light mulatto. The favorite dress of
of the adult male Is a pair Of dark
pantaloons draped over by a long linen
duster and q calico shirt front, around
the collar of which Is loosely tied a
red or colored handkerchief. Services
begun, the minister, whose education
usually consists in knowing how to
Tread, write and figurs," announces
his text and directs his words of
warning upon his ''dyia' congregs-
shun, ah!' the other brethren and Sis.
ters sitting with closed eyes and up.
turned faces, ~leisurely tanning away
at the gnats with their broad
"Permeter" fans (Which they never
use save on Sunday, and waiting
patiently for that portion Of the dis.
course at which the ''speret" begins
to move them. Warming both bodily
and mentally into his work, the Afri.
can evangelist gives full play to the
Imagination as he lifts the cover off
the burning pit Of birthstone expos
ing the w~rithing forms of the lost,
with CHASTITY and iendish forms dane.
ing around, armed with forks of red.
hot iron and giving other such fea-
lures of the Piutonian dominiops,
which he declares he has seen vivid
his own eyes," until the calm, clear
night becomes awful with the mourn.
full groans that arc draw n from the
congregation.
A FLIGHT OF FANCY.
Suddenly his descriptive fancy scars
aloft to the regions of the blest, turns
It's flight from the lake of despair to
the golden street, where ode cullud
mans crown Ia bright as de white
mans, No more work, no more tri-
ais and tribulations."
Just at this period I witnessed q
scene that BIZ fiji 30 description, heads
bobbing, hands olapping, feet patting
to the music of a glad hosannah, one
passage of which I caught, as follows:
Way up in de hebins, whar my soul gwine
to shine,
Datin' NV de milk and de honey and de
wine.
The songs of triumph give way to
q frantic motion of the legs which to
the sacrilegious eyes of the writer
looked very much like dancing q jig;
the influence spread from one to an.
other, until the whole mass was shout.
ing: "Bless de Lord, 1 got religion
I'm floatin' In de air! Farewell, I'm
on my way to glory" Some exerted
themselves 80 violently that 1t was
deemed necessary for two or three to
hold them, and sf;er plunging and
rearing for several minutes would
apparently faint away. They
were carried out and laid out
to cool. This is what they
cali "fallin' in a trance" and II Is a.
ways followed by a narrative from the
victim after recovering of his descent
into hell or his ascent above, exhort.
ing his companions to follow his ex-
ample and shun The devil and his
angels.
1t was a strange and impressive
sight. Their naturally exciteable
temperments were worked up to such
q pitch as to make them lose all con.
| troll of muscle and reason. and as
looked at the wild stare in their facesI
wondered If it was religion, Evidently
| they think 80,