Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1884-11-19
a NEGRO cAmpME c TING.


MARY A. Denison's Florida Ietterl
After dinner |, was arranged by a few
among the crowd to 90 10 a camp-meet.
ing. which was held about mile from
the house. Accordingly vehicles were
made ready and away We started. Long
before We arrived upon the grounds We
were aware of the vicinity by stcntorian
shouts. and presently We came In sight Of
the sheds, log huts and cottages built for
the accommodation of the campers The
Florida darkv knows his value and does
not look up or bow down 10 the white
population as rule, like his black broth.
ers Of other southern states. Not he; he
rather patronizcs them. except in the
cases of old family slaves who have not
outlived their good manners. II must
have been one Of these. AN aged man with
STOPPING shoulders and Il patriarchal face.
who invited us 10 witness lie exercises >
We had already Witnessed" some OF the
exercises of few outsiders who were
very full of whisky. but they Were prob.
ably moi of the brothers.
There wcr no seats: the people were
standing, reclining ON the ground, and in
some instances kneeling. An African
preacher with peculiar counienance and
immense ear was holding forth ON DE
Day oh Icdgmcni. "loll bc dar,
Brodcr John; n you. Sister sally Nudge.
n you'll hcf 10 par bcfo' dc great j,sigc oh
all de yeih. n what'll yo' say fo' yo self when
he axes yo' fo' yo' record. Whatll yO'
say. IN tolr yo' what. yo'll call ON de
san of floridy 10 jes scoop n swallow yo'
all up. bar amt no hills, nor rocks. nor
mountains her. hut dc san is mighty
shifiy n de- ,un mighty hot hut ,lars place
hotter n Floridy. Terrible groans burst
forth Mt this. and rs the daring preacher
pictured the tormenis of that opposite
condition To paradise the yells and shouts
and even shricks became deafcning tine
big black woman. Whose vucifcraiions
We're louder than the rest. managed 10
Keep one eye on W. and one on the
preacher during the entire sermon.
The preachers description Of heaven
was amusing, the principal delights Of
thai region seeming 10 consist in having
no work 10 do, no corn to shuck. no In.
iers 10 hoe. no cotton TO pick, and the
hallclujahs were correspondingly inicnsi-
fed. Then The singing. The most graphic
pen could moi do justice 10 thai. One
song, in which even the children par,ici
paicd, swinging and rolling their small
black bodies. nas something like ihi,:
flo. No. Come into dis meetin,
Come. pore souls:
Come, gil W sins all larloiied.
Come. pore souls;
conie'n carry de big cross onward.
oh. pore ~,lls.
iii on Dosrd de t;,~,el train. oh.
Tome. pore sui.
And ~ TN. ioa wailing dircc.like tune.
] did not har any very cheerful music.
lui all snolr the ear with sadness, no mat.
ter what The words were
Presently the sexes separated. the men
standing of In circle the women mass
ing together, led by tall cronc Of most
uncarihly cotnicnancc. her hair carried
up from her temples to a point Two long
tnsks falling over her lower lip. and grow.
ing longer every time she opened her
mouth. This strange woman began the
exercises. lifting one hand after the other,
wagging her head. stamping right and left.
with curious mOnotony, and soon every
woman and child in the meeting cnga gcd
in the holy dance, the men looking on and
appearing TO he affected by the rlapsodic'
OF their wives sisters. swecihearts and
children. could hardly persuade myself
that Was not thousands of miles of in
some heather country. only the name of
the Savior sounded now and then on my
car,. Can any one explain iiy | cannot.
These services made me hcari-sick, and
YET ] cannot doubt tina, many soul there
MAS genuinely dcvoui We left the dance
in full swing and rode hack by moonlight
10 the mansion Of our host where We
heard music OF another Kind aud saw
dancing thai was Of another character.