The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-08-27
Dancing Dervishes.


which those who conduct what are
called the religious" newspapers OF
the more respectable class must re-
gard the mixture of blasphemy and
butfoonery whereby, in the pages OF
the War Cry and in the performances
OF public meetings, Mr.. Booths accus-
: toned to push the business of the great
and lucrative organization of which he
is the chief The disgust which all de-
cent, selirespecting peoplemust feel at
this shameless alliance between quack-
cry and Mysteries, is no doubt con-
siderably complicated in the case OF
the persons referred to with indigna-
ton against the noisy band of noun
tebanks who are thus disgraclng the
methods of popular religious appeal.
From the defensive, or, so to speak,
self-protectiveantagonism which their
eXtravasauces have aroused in this
quarter, the public may perhaps ex
pect some useful results. 1t has al
ready, it seems, inspired an enterpris-
iEg writer on the staff Of the Record
to achieve, it is said for the first time,
the feat OF obtaining admission to an
all-nlght meeting OF the Salvation
Army, and OF reporting the same
truthfully, it may be hoped, though
for this we cannot vouch. t'
This function began at 1920 o'clock
at night at the Congress Hall, Clapton,
and for some three or four hours ap-
pears to have been conducted in a
comparatively sane fashion. But at
2:1 O'Clock it became evident to the
observer OF the proceedings that the
"crisis" was at hand. The General"
said it was ''time'' for the personal.
application OF what had been set
forth" The neighborhood OF the
"altar"-as he called some trestled ta.
bles in front OF the platform-was
cleared, and all who felt need OF con-
version were invited to come
and kneel at the altar, and,
with some slight mixing OF metaphor,
to Jump into the cleansing
river" The scene'that followed, says
the writer, dehes DESCRIPTION. Words
fail to picture the extraordinary and
terrible proceedings" that lasted for
about on hour and ahalf. "The vast
throng more resembled horde OF lu-
natics than a band Of professedly
Christian people. If the inmates of
bedlam We're to be let loose, / can
hardly imagine their conduct would
be more extraordinary than that OF
! the Salvationists. The tables were
in afew moments surrounded by kneel-
ers, at least eighty persons f1ocking to
| them at the first rush. The "Gener-
al and his two sons, Bramwell and
| Herbert, walked on top OF the tables,
| calling for prayer, giving out hymns
and generally working up the excite
| ment. In a few minutes the whole the
| vast audience was in an inconceivable
uproar-singing, shouting,> swaying,
waving hands and handkercheifs.
zone poor fellow was ravine on the
| floor, Others thumped on the table
with their fists i'll a kind OF wild fren-
| zy, with various explanatory denun-
Citations or aspirations, while Others
hngged each other" One OF the mass
in the course af his prayer kept bawl-
ing: "Auswer by fire! It's coming!
Here's another wave rolling this way"
Another besought God over and over
again to crock this place" The re-
! volting scene here described having
lasted for some time, one OF the Booths
| called for ''the next batch, and the
next batch accordingly came to the
tables in, as is usually the case a
more dehumanized condition than the
first. The general encouraglngly cried,
"Take hold OF God" and called for
more prayer. The hugging and rolling
on the floor were continued, and
| Jumping had now commenced in some
/ parts Of the hall, Calling a young
/ officer out to speak to penitent, the
general runlpled the young mans hair
and affectionately kissing him, sent
him about his task" The shrieks
OF some of those who were
praying were perfectly dreadful to
listen to. One man kept shouting
Here's a great big wave coming over
us-a wave! q waYe wave Thank
God! we shall be in the food direct
i ly.' But whether the wave ever came
did not appear, AS a short pause was
made to enable the Scotch contingent
to catch their train" This little
touch OF sane and canny human
nature-the picture of the Scotch con-
tingent "energumenizlngi with one eye
on The clocks a positive refresh
ment in the narrative ofthese diseased
ravings.) More prayer followed, Mr..
II. Booth deliberately setting himself
to increase the uproar. The jumping
which had been going on here and
there now became almost universal,
young Booth himself jumping to the
tune" Some OF the dervishes then
"began hitting one another, symbol.
cal doubtless OF their tight with
the devil" Then with an appro-
pirate transition from frenzy to
oily, three negresses were brought in
o sing Il want to hear tEe flip.
ping OF the angels wings" the people
shaking their hands in an idiotic
fashion" at each repetition OF the Choir
us to represent the Tipping; and, it
then being past 4 O'Clock, II made
haste" the writer says, ''to get into
the fresh morning air, only too thank.
full to be released from the most shock.
ing and painful religious meeting that
have ever attended"
His feeling OF relief is intelligible
but something more than fresh air is
required, in our opinion, for the effect.
i've treatment OF the distressing cases
which he had been watching all night
The person who kept shouting "a
wave! a wave! thank .1od we shall be
in the flood Directly" appears to us
to have unconsciously indicated the
proper remedy. In ain older and
rougher age ofmedicine these demoral
izing reyolts OF the lower animal in
stinets against the reason were re