Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1885-01-15
A MORMON MIRACLE.
RESUSCITATiON OF AN ILLINOIS
LAZARUS.
Tricks of Joe Smiths Priesthood Re
markably Delusive to Numbers OF
the Ignorant and CredIlous.
BY EDWARD PAYsoN HALL.
: For the Sentinel.


For the Sentinel. =
It was a dark day in November,
1889. / stood in the back door OF the
Male Academy of Pittsfeld, Illinois,
where my father was then teaching.
About thirty or forty yards from this
building was large shed under which
the Mormons were accustomed to hold
their religious services. | saw long
funeral cavalcade Of that infatuated
people following wagon supposed
to contain corpse. They entered the
arbor and formed in solid square
ranks around the dead-man wagon,
which was in the centre. Then the
priests mounted upon the pioneer
hearse and dragged the corpse into a
sitting posture on an old armchair
near the hind gate. The .wagon-bed
served as rostrum for the miraculous
exhibition with which they were now
about to gull the weak and credulous.
And please remember, just here, there
are always more fools in any crowd
than a wise man is aware of. The
multitude shouted and sang-the
priests made powerful hubbub, as If
they were praying. Then they poured
oil on the head of the possum, laid
their hands on the heart Of the possum
and commanded him to "Come to
Life!'' The possum jumped to his
feet, shouting "Glory, hailclujah p
And this, | assure you, my dear
readers, was as fair specimen Of
Mormonism as anything they ever
pretended to-Book of Mormon,
prophet Smith, eternal temple Of
Nauvoo, falling star omens, or any
thing else Simple, foolish, unblush-
ing effrontery-that was and is the
whole history of it in a nutshell.
One night, in travelling across the
country from Alton to Pittshcld, we
were compelled by stress of weather
and for want of better lodging, tc
2 STAY at the house of Mormon. His
talk was mostly about, Joseph = Toe
frequent mention Of the impostor':
name crate. upon my worthy parents
ear till he could stand it no longer.
"Look here," said my father, "why
don't you call him Joe -
"Ah, stranger, that wouldn't do. l
, the elders were to hear me speak s.
disrespectfully Of Smith, they wonl'
excommunicate me and [ would new
, er get my money back. ."
f "Your money? Hey, you don
: mean to say they got your moneG?
5 eyes, sir, they have. When | cam
!. over here a year ago from Englant
k with my wife and children, I had fiy
" hundred dollars in my pocket-har
$ earned savings for the purchase {
$ land. They said l must put it in tn
4 treasury Of the Lord and SO l gave
d up to them
l. "When did they premise to retur
l. it to you ?"
D ooh, just as soon as we enter tt
e, promised land, and all get settle
d down nicely
4. eyes, when you get to heaYcn you
" get that FIVE hundred dollars bae
again-no doubt Of it sir-ne doul
Of Of itr!'
to car never forget mJ childish te
of ror at hearing people all over Pitt
a. field continually talking in the mo
at angry and excited manner about tt
h dreadful Msrmens. Some want'
oil them mobbed out Of the State fort
e- with. But in ten more years Illino
Id patience was exhausted In 1S4
i'd fire, sword and hurricane prostrat
k, Nauvoo, and swept them over to t
fl Utah den.