The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-07-13
A QUEER SECT.
The Faithists Of Shalam And
What They Believe.
A Religious Colony inNew Mexico Which
Aims to Reconstruct Society.

A recent letter to the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, dated Las Cruces, New Mex
leo, says: On the eastern bank of the
Rio Grande River, and about six miles
from this place is a colony of people
whose customs, history and religion are
the most peculiar to be found in this
country. They call themselves "Faith-
ists," have a new Bible written by one of
themselves; have a new calendar, in
which. the days, Sabbaths and holidays,
are changed, and the months are called
signs; eat only two meals q day, while
fish and flesh are forever forbidden as ON
article of food.
The "Faithists," as the members of
the Shalam colony call themselves, claim
to be n religious sect. They discard all
religions save their own, the essential
dogma of which is faith in Jchovih, as
he is called in their Bible, and to become
a covenant member q person must abjure
all other gods, lords or ~saviors. Accord
ing to their Bible, Jchovih is the spirit
that created all things, is omniscicnt,
omniprescnt and omnipotcnt, and has
his kingdom on earth, of which the
Faithists arc the sole members up to
date. DR.. ]. B. Newbrough, a dentist
of New York City, is the originator of
this sect. He claims to have been
wrestling with the spirit for ten years;
he declares that he wrote the new Bible
under the influence of the spirit, and he
is now the head or chief of Shalam col
ony which has been established rs Jeho-
wins kingdom on earth, according to
plans laid down in the Faithist Bible.
This new bible is called "Oahspe,"
meaning that it contains all that is worth
knowing about light. earth and sky, or
the sum of all kn~owlcdgc; and in it Je-
hovih says: cit is not for the past but
for the present era" 1t was written at
New York, in 1881. The book contains
900 pages, and is written in the most
ancient style, doubtless to give it a
musty smell. 1t is sold ut SIS n volume,
and has been circulated quite extensive
lN. The work. of establishing Jchovih
kingdom on earth was first attempted on
what is known rs the Thompson farm in
New Jersey, but that failed in a months
time, on account of u disagreement with
MI. Thompson in the year 1882. Head
quarters were kept up in New York City,
until in December, of 1883, the Faith
lists began to assemble at Pearl River,
Rockland County, New York. In No
vcmbcr, 1888, they held a convention in
New York, at which a committee wa
appointed to search for Shalam, and in
pursuance of this appointment Mcssrs.
Newbrough and Grill left Pearl River in
August, 1884. Shalam was discovered by
these gentlemen in September, 1884, when
a deed was made by John D. Bancastle
of Dona Ana, N. NJ, conveying about
400 acres of level land in the Rio Grandc
Valley to VIM. Rowland, Of Boston,
Mass, and I'll October, 1884, two dele
cations of Faithists arrived in Shalam. |
one of whom was the vcritablc DR.. Henry
Samuel Tanner, who tasted forty-two
days several years ago.
The colony claim that they have begun
a new race of people which will finally |
people the whole earth. They propose
to begin with children, orphans, waits
and castaways, Indians, Mexicans and
Americans. They have a calendar called
BOSNIAN, which calls the months '~'siens,"
and in which the days are numbered 1,
2, 8, a., 5, 6, z. Each seventh day is
their Sabbath, and they have religious
services in the Temple on that day. They
have a prayer-meeting on the fourth
eight of each week, and they have en-
tertainments and dancing.
The Faithists have $500 acres of fine
land, and are planting vineyard, orchard
and agricultural crops, and each member
is required to work as the c-chief directs.
without any compensation whatever. It
has recently become known to the men,
bers of the colony that the title to all the
lands, buildings, etc., is vested in Will
liam Rowland, of Boston, who has fur
nished all the money up to this time,
about $40, 600, and this discovery has led
to q rupture of no small proportions.
Curfositles Of Light.
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