The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-28
w I'll E1N
HE REFUSED TO BE CONVERTED.
A Methodist Negress Uses Meat-Ax to Con-
vince Her Pagan Spouse.

ERIE, Pa, April 27.-The newly-elected mayor
of Erie, F. F, Adams, having built him court
house for the purpose of holding municipal court
daily, has had for his maiden judicial effort a
case that might have puzzled Solomon himself.
The prisoner is colored sister named Ola Ster-
rington, and her offense consisted in disturbing
the public peace by attempting to convert her
husband to Christianity through the mediums
Of a meatax and dish of scalding water. Mrs.
Sterrington, in extenuation of her crime, urges
that she is Methodist, and that having mar
ried a Hindu of the Brahmin sect, it was
her duty to convert him, regardless of
the means required to attain that end.
When she married him she was not aware that
he was pagan not having inquired into his re-
iigion, but the first meal of their honeymoon
opened her eyes to his lost condition. She want
ed him to sip out of her cup of coffee, but he de-
clined with disgust: nor would he let her take a
bite of his bread lest his caste should be broken,
and he be claimed after death by Siya, the de-
stroyer.
She found that the preservation of his East
Indian soul neceSsitated tho use OF a double set
of kitchen utensils and crockery, for food
could be cooked for him in a utenSil used in the
preparation of her food. Not being Brahmin,
he considered her unclean, although the prisoner
swore she was as tidy and clean as any of her
her sealskin sacqiie, which he utilized as a mat
to kneel upon when he said his prayers. He was
such an inveterate devotee that the nap of the
sacoue was worn off by his knees
She first tried to convert him from paganiSm
TO Methodism by relating the miracles of the
gospel and by singing Moody and Sankey songs
but he met these arguments by bowling Vedic
hymns in scurrous Sanskirt and by telling her
the miracles of Krshna. When she thought she
had him on the Jonah and the whale miracle he
blasphemously snapped his fingers and taunted
her with the alleged feat of Krishna, who, when
he saw gang of cowherds attacked with thun-
der and lightning sent by silva, the destroyer,
plucked up a mountain by the base and held it
for ten days as an umbrella over the heads Of the
cowboys.
Beat that the impious spouse would exclaim.
After that she declined to contend against him
on miracles.
The next serious matter was the religious be-
lief of an expected offspring She had tried to
convince her husband that it was her duty to
nave it baptized Christian. He maintained that
Vishnu, the Preserver. should be the god of
the infant and the result of the argument was
three incised wounds. one scald burn, and an
assortment of confused bruises scattered over
her husbands entire area.
She wanted the. mayor to make an order
directing the child to be made Christian and
to instruct the chief of police to sever the head
of Sivas image, break all the Rrahmas. and
crush every Vishnu in her husbands collection
of gods The mayor thought ten days in Jail
would give the woman time to work out scheme
Of conversion less liable to conflict with the city
ordinances than bruising her Brahmin and scald-
ing her pagan.