Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-09-25
pATHos IN THE WILDERNESS.
have Williams Terrible Temper
Drives Him 20 Mad House.


and Geneya--not between the famous
oities of Mexico and Switzerland, but be-
tveen two small towns in Southwest
cao~yia. whose names are unsuggestive
of ANYTHING except the ambitious hopes of
+hotr founders. 1t Is twenty miles from
vera Cruz to Geneva, and fourteen of these
ora the drearist ever counted by weary
traveller. The sandy road winds through
Grass sparse and stiff, and among pines
tall and shadeless. There is no water,
cave That in stagnant pools, and the only
animate creatures the traveller meets are
sbe nlodding gophers and gaunt, hollow
zoo cattle. The products of the field are
,;nknown to the soil of the wilderness.
Tho only articles that find their way to
Tho markets are the resiuous fruits OF the
one morning early in October Of the
year 1870. Tom Larribee rode into Vera
iruz IN unusual haste. He was mounted
unOn a white mule, as familiar TO me
towpspeople as the rider himself. Inc
mules Only gait was an exasperating
trof. which effectually prevented Toms
neighhors from borrowing the ''critter."
folks monght look through ev'Y dees-
tric, in the county," the postmaster once
said. '.an' thar'd not be man foun' tnatd
ride hat oP white mule fiVe minutes. Ell
Tom Larribee wasn't tougher m light
,ood knot, he couldn't do it hissef"
Bat. notwithstanding the mules unen~
yiable reputation, the townspeopie were
ALWAYS glad to see 1t trot up to the 'tching
most in front of the post office. They were
always glad, because the mule brought
Tom. and Tom brought the news. What
he didn't know about the affairs of the
county was not worth the telling. Upon
that October morning, the news he had to
fell made him tremble with excitement.
You won't b'lieve it., gentlemen" he
said as he threw his lank form upon the
counter in the post office, 'but pave w IL
iams is gwine to move inter the wiper-
nessn'
Although a dissemination OF the news,
Tom was known to be reliable; but his
statement was so astounding That MS
hearers could not believe 1t.
"Whatp exclaimed the postmaster,
"yo' mean ter tell us that Dave Williams
los his five nat'ral born senses? Dave
Williams curious bout some things, but
he never seed the day when be was ius
cousin ter fool. Yo' hear me, gentle
men, thar's-"
"Gen'lemen," interrupted Tom, "thar
amt no use 'sputin' my word. Dave VIII
iiams' gwime ter move inter the wiPer-
ness"
"How do yo' know ?" asked several In a
chorus.
sRe top me so hisse'f. He Flowed he
owned 1000 acres o. lam thar, an he was
gwine to take his family thar an go inter
the tu'pentine business"
Toms hearers still doubling, he be-
came offended and went away in search OF
others less incredulOus.
The Verifcation of Toms news was not
long delayed; fer before the month ended
Dave Williams and his family moved into
the wilderness.
There is but one thing that makes men
Of the same race stand apart from each
other. Oh course, men differ in physical
characteristics, mental traits and moral
phases: but this does not destroy homo
Reneity. Religlon-that is, religious be-
Iieis-is the only thing that causes men to
be totally unlike-the only thing that
separates them and indehbly stamps
them as peculiar" Evangelical
prophets Just now are foretelIng the ap-
proach of the period when there will be
lone Lord one faith, one baptism"
There may, perhaps, be one Lord; but, as
long as time continues separated from
eternity, men will never unite upon one
faith and one baptism. OIL and water
will not mix, The Mohammedan and the
Christian will never be adjusted.
In all the county, there was no man
more highly esteemed for his probity than
Dave Williams. In his temporal deal
m.s, he was above reproach.
In such dealings. he gave to all
men what he exacted of them-justice.
But Dave Williams, both by education
and inclination, belonged to peculiar
people," He was member of that re-
ljgiOus sect which has reached the last
analysts of conservatism. His neighbors
said of him that he believed whatever
Is to be will be, whether it do or not" He
believed In the election of few and the
damnation of many. He bitterly OPP
posed sending missionaries to the
heather, believing it wrong to interfere
with Gods foreordained plans for the sal
walton Of men. He had no sympathy
with emotional religion. To him shout
Ing Methodist was lunatic of the most
violent type-one that deserved incarcer-
alton in an asylum. There were times
when he felt that he would rather follow
his children to their graves than see them
forsake the religion of their father. While
he did not admit it, he LETT the fertile
lands of tue county ana moved into the
wilderness because a series of revival
meetings had multiplied the Methodists
around him. He was afraid OF their in
fuence upon his children.
Dave Williams daughters-there were
twO-were little more than nonentities.
Sarah, the older, the number OF whose
years was Is, was a tall, slender girl, with
sallow face, devoid of expression.
susan, the younger, was like her sister in
everything except her age. She was but
10. They could read and write, but that
was the beginning and the end of their
education. II they ever bad aspirations
beyond the HOMOGENEOUS life marked out
Tor them by their father, they gave such
aspirations no expression,
Dave Williams wife lived again In her
daughters. What they knew. she knew !;
what were their pleasures were hers. The
religious faith they protested permitted
no deviation from Its traditions. 1t
created for them caste as binding as any
mat holds the Egyptian in bondage, and
absolutely prevented all development.
There WAS a son. By one Of those
strange contradictions sometimes OBJ
served in human nature, he was unlike
lhe other members OF his family. John
Williams, at the age OF 20, had few attrac-
ions OF person, but he was mentally
many leagues in advance of his parents
ana his sisters. He was somewhat OF II
student-doubtless he would have been
more of student had he had free access
10 books, He was fond OF mixing with
men. He longed TO travel, because he was
persuaded that there was bit more in
the world than WAS to be found in his
contracted sphere. He fretted under the
repressed conditions of his life. Deeply
religious, mis- father's faith failed to satisfy
n i'm n