Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-04-25
FOOT WASHING.
Soldiers of the Cross Washing
Each Others Feet in the South.

"You never saw foot washing 2"
said the Rev. Joseph Bowen,
Baptist minister from Tennessee,
to O reporter. "Then you have
not travelled much in the back
wood sections of the South and West
/ remember seeing one in Randolph,
Tennessee, in June, 1877. Randolph
is in Upton county on the Mississippi
bluffs. 1 had to stay there over Sum-
day, and learning that there was
meeting at Salem church, six miles
away, l borrowed horse and rode to
the place. The church built of logs,
with the cracks daubed, sat about 100
yards from the road in the middle of
grove. Inside the seats were already
well filed, and every head in the church
turned as | entered. | shrank into
corner and took seat as quickly as
possible In front there were a few
benches made of unvarnished popular,
but the supply falling short the demand
had to be met by planks laid on boxes.
On one of these / sat down next to q
portly lady dressed in cotton gown
with broad yellow cheeks. The minis
ter had well earned his reputation of
being powerful exhorter,' as found
when he commenced his sermon. AS
he warmed to his work he walked rap
idly from side to side of the pulpit,
stopping occasionally, as in thunder
ing voice he warned his unconverted
hearers that they were hanging over
hell-fre by single hair to deal re-
sounding blows to the Bible with his
fist by way of emphasis. When he
concluded he took long crash towel
and girded it about his waist At the
side of the pulpit was bucket of water
and 'noggin.' If you don't happen
to know what noggin is l may ex-
plain that it is small tub a size lar
ger than piggin. This one had been
constructed by saving whiskey keg
in half. When the preacher commen-
ced to pour water into it an old gentle
man in the amen corner commenced
pulling off his brogans and rolling up
the bottom of his trousers.
"Will some brother raise q hymn 2"
asked the minister, and the brother,
who now had his shoes off and was en-
gagged with his home knit cotton socks
raised one: Am | q soldier of the
cross and as the congregation joined
he put both feet in the noggin which
had been set before him, rubbed his
hands around over the feet and up and
down his shins half way to the knee.
When the brother thought they were
washed enough, he held them up out
of the water, and the parson wiped
them with the crash towel. Then the
parson sat down, and, having pulled off
his shoes, had his feet washed by the
brother who had just ministered. All
who wished to join in the ceremony
had taken possession of the front seats
the mourner's benches. Among
those who had gone up had been the
portly sister by whom | sat. The nog-
gin came to her next and she washed
the feet of the sister next to her, having
her own washed in turn. When all
the feet in the front seat had been
washed, the water in the noggin was
emptied out the back door and fresh
supply brought in from the well near
the church. The noggin passed around
from brother to brother and from sister
to sister for more than an hour, and in
that time | saw more varieties OF feet
than ! have ever seen before or since"