Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1888-05-23


went last Sunday to witness an outdoor
| negro baptizing away over by the fort, in the
| eastern part of the city. I had witnessed
| one or two baptizings before in regular bap
| tiste1ies in colored churches; and also one or
two descents of the 'spower." But never in
all my southern experience had I witnessed
such startling spectacle, such wholesale
enduring with "power," as that which un-
folded itself to me on this occasion.
I went in the company of friend who is
in the southern work. We started at about
| ten o'clock-i in the forenoon. We went down
Houston street to Calhoun, and down Cal
houn to the Zion Baptist church, where the
| society worshipped, in connection with which
the baptizing was to take place. We had
supposed that there would be a preliminary
service lasting from eleven to twelve O'Clock
in the church. To our surprise when we ar
rived at the church it was empty.
negro sat on the steps and to him we ap7
pealed for Information. Said he:
''They hey done gone already"
"Where is the baptizing TO come offg'. I
asked. AzsH
cover yender," he said pointing in the di-
rection of the fort, and disclosing as he did
so the whiskey bottle in his tattered inside
pocket.
We went on to Pine street, and then down
Pine to the gully just under the fort. New
er, though I should live to be thousand
years old, will forget the strange sight
| which there saluted our eyes. The hillsides
were black with people, all gazing down at a
1
| was in progress. The brook which furnished
| water for the service was SO nearly dried up
| that it was nowhere more than an inch deep.
| The pool had been created by following out
the ground, banking up the sides with
boards and laying special influx pipe be-
| tween the basin and better water supply
farther up the stream. The water in this
| pool was of the same dirty red color as the
| clay soil about it,
| Leading away from the pool, up a gentle
| incline, there was narrow passage~way, up
| which the candidates for baptism were led,
or rather dragged, after they had been inn
| mersed. The ground along this path had
| been made muddy by the water which
| dripped from ihe gowns of those already i'm
mersed.
| The candidates for the holy rite Of baptism
| were ranged in phalanxes around the pool,
robes the women wore white gloves, pecu-
liar kind of white mittens-without shoes
| upon their feet, a white fllet about their
heads to bind their hair in place, and usually
any quantity of white ribbons and furbe-
| lows. They were a very beautiful white
when they went into the pool, but by the
| time they came out and had foundered half
way up the red hillside they were usually a
| sight to behold all muddy and drabbled and
| fit for real bath when they should arrive
| home.
| The men and boys wore long white gowns,
l excessively fulled and ruffied in front.
| IE was really quite picturesque scene,
| and you have only to add the peculiar Groom
| ing, wailing noise INDUCED in by negro audi
-"mourning" it is called (without
| sounding the in the word)-in order to i'm
| agine the strange impressiveness of the occa-
| sion.
| But even with all these peculiarities the
scene would have lacked its most character
| istic feature had it not been for the almost
Pentecostal baptism of .Epower," which
seemed to descend upon each person as he
or more often she--was pulled up out of the
turbid pool and dragged away. Immediately
| upon emerging from the water the woman
| who had just been plunged would clap hel
| gloved hands and flop, and writhe and shrek,
| and throw her arms about as though the very
| spirit of Beelzebub had entered into her.
| Each woman would have another woman
1 the pool and 'tmother" her after she came
out. But one woman could no more hold or
control her than dikes or jetties of straw
could restain the waters of the Mississippi.
Often it would take all the strength of four
or Eve men to prevent her from doing her
self serious harm. Some, freeing themselves
| from those who sought to restrain them,
would throw their arms around the necks OF
those whom they encountered on their way
out of the throng, be they men or women,
| and hang there as if in delirium of spirit
nal exaltation. Others would cast themselves
I upon the ground and seek to beat their heads
| against the occasional boulders along the way.
Even little girls only ten or twelve years OF
age foundered and writhed with the same
| energy--just as little fish are not to be dis
counted by the larger ones at Hopping when
| pulled out of the water.
1 Some women went down into the water
1 very much are led to believe that GER
tain martyrs have gone to the stake, with
| firm tread and shining countenances. Not a
| few turned as they entered the pool, and
| waving their hands to the thousands on the
hillsides as in an ecstacy of joy. shouted
| plaintively:
ssFar'well, sinnahsl"
| And the multitudes on the hillsides was
/ waited back the wailing answer:
| "Far'-we--lli'
/ Carriages were waiting on Pine street, at
| the summit of the gentle ascent on the north
side of the pool, to receive many of the--I
| had almost written s'victims"---as they
gained the top, half led, half dragged by
| those who were 'mothering" them. Still
more retraced their steps to their homes all
| the way on foot, looking for all the world
| more like drowned rats than like human be-
ings. Idon't want to seem sacriligious, but
if it hadn't been for the appalling physical
commissions through which the great majori-
ty went, / think should have had to laugh.
The white robes were SO limp and SO smfrched
| with Georgia mud!
The cries of the baptized as they came up
out of the water were many of them striking.
Here are few that remember:
"Glory, glory, glory! (ad infinitum)
''Free gracei''
'Hallelujahl Oh my soul; hallelujah"
tGlory to God, sistehs, glory to God!'
"Pray for me, sinnahs!p
"Thank you, Jesusl"
blessed be King Immanuel!"
"I did it all for Jesus sake!"
go, I'm SO glad; 1 nebbah weep no MOP
And the people on the hillsides called back
eve know you'se gladi'
'fBress de Lodi"
''Dahs no goin' back now, honeyl"
''Dass right; dass right"
"You'se bought wild de blood OBJ de lamb.
''Halleluiah! hallelujahl"
There were seyenty-seven baptized in all
There had just been a revival of severa
weeks duration and this was the gatherin,
of the fruits of that movement. At leas
three-fourths of the converts were women O
course, and. of course also the women mad,
the most fuss. l suppose that this form O
religious emotionalism would die out if W,
| could but educate the women out of sucl
displays. At least eleven out of ever,
twelve women went through this strang
physical experience, whereas not one cut o
|. four of the men yielded.
The singing which was conducted while tn
baptizing was In progress contributed largely
to the uniqueness of the occasion. Som
good old deacon or elder would start som
familiar tune, like 'sThe Year of Jubilee
! Come" for instance; or, less rarely. some oil
plantation melody; and then it would b
caught up by the multitude and would ech
from hill to hill, interspersed with "Hallelu
effect was weird in the extreme.
Then there were the snatches of converse
ton to be heard on all sides. One woman
who stood near me at one time said to tn
turbaned old auntie at her elbow:
"Dis was right good haul dis time, Sistal