The Penn's Grove record., 1885-10-17
sam aop.... rug r.n,.

The tent can be seen from afar.
Along the center is a line OF main
poles forty feet high, and around is q
circle of stay poles. The great white
tent held up by these swung gracefully
from the long stay ropes running here
and there like the cables that q spider
weayes. Ali around the outside were
the stakes driven securely into the
ground and holding the ropes fast to
the ground.
As / entered the tent | saw q sea Of
bright planks, arranged for the CON
course that will assemble tomorrow.
An old man with gray, long beard
and aface marked by mountains OF rug
eed wrinkles came heal me and sat
down. His light brown ayes had a
good hunored twinkle, and proud he
was when he impaired the information
that he was the guardian Of the tent.
As a laborer drove home . stake the
wind tapped q loose piece OF canvass.
and 1 turned to the teut keeper with Q
query on my face that he understood.
"Blow do sn2' heKasked. Yes, 1t
will blow down if a cyclone comes or q
hurricane happens along, but not for
any common wind"
GLOW big is the tent2"
'1t covers sixteen Thousand square
feet and 1t will seat six thousand people.
1t Is a hundred feet wide and q hundred
and ninety feet long"
"But that's no Odds" he added, "a
man won't have to be in the tent to hear
Sam Jones, I've seen 'em in this tent
so thick if you threw your hat In it
couldn't fall on the ground, and then
people outside around the tent like q
ring for twenty feet, and everyone
heard every word that Sam Jones said.
You can lay out in them bushes and
hear every bit OF It,"
s03entlemen, " added the tent keeper,
.1'm a man of some years, and I've
Travelled, but sam Jones beats all the
men / ever saw. He has the power
over people that no other man that
ever l saw had. Go to Nashville IL yon
want to get a fight in half a minutei
How? Just cuss Sam Jones in Nash.
vile, and-well, humpi"
r'They like him2"
"He' took that population by STORM
This tent came from Nashville, They
studied the matter over and they deci-
ded TO buy this tent for Sam Jones'"
"What did it cost?"
'There are different tales about that.
Some say 81, IA, and some say $1,000.
Nashville spent $35, 900 to get Sam
Jones and never wanted for q cent %
money while they were doing It,"
"Rave you been with the tent all the
time?"
From the first day it was made I've
been sleeping in it,
Then you've heard q good many of
the evangelist's sermons?"
'Heard n a day OF every sermon IN
this tent"
chow has 1t been?"
1--WE seer ladies crowd into the tent
when the rain was running branches
through it, and / tell you something
else I've seen. I've seen Sam Jones's
eye flash fire."
'tEh9"
Eyes, l saw him at Murfreesboro,
when a man stood up and told Sam
Jones that he could go through the war
and swear and not steal, and drink and
not steal. He was standing over, say
about where that quarter pole is,
and Sam looked at him, and then l
could see the fire fly out OF his eyes
as he said: well, L guess II you did
II was because they kept everything
hid from you" and sir, in less than two
minutes that man just sneaked ont of
the tent, and we came to find out hat
in time of the war he was q regular
hashwhacker."
In a moment the tentkeeper added:
hes a caution. In Nashville Judge
5o-snd-so went to brother Jones before
he eomnt need preaching, and said:
Now, Brother Jones, you know
Nashville Is a big town and we have
some rich people here and some that's
inclined to be kinder s~ristocratic, you
know and now, if 1 was you. I'd be
just a leetle light on 'em at first, even
If I did get a leetle harder after that.
And then sam looked AZ him and said:
Nov, BROTHER So-and-so, l am Just
with you on that exactly, except that
We are Just eros ways on it, II you've
got to cut off a dogs tail you cut of a
little at the end aud let that cure up,
and then you cut off a little more and
let the tail cure up and then you cut
of some mors tail aud SO on. II I've
got to cut off a dogs tail I'm going to
cut it right square of at the root the
first lick.