Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-10-08
A MOUNTAIN REYIVALIST.

! was well above Rogersville Tenn.
and could look down into some of the
prettiest coves and valleys in all the
state. when heard voice singing on the
trail ahead As | came nearer | discov
cred a man seated on a rock with book
in his hand He was hard looking Gus
toner. ragged. unshaved and unwashed
and he sung with such energy and in
such harsh tones that | suspected he was
crazy However as soon as he heard and
cav me he called out:
BE not afraid, stranger; l am here to
do the Lords work Two months ago ]
was the most shuckless critter in all Ten
nessee and wicked to boot. Light has
busted in upon me. and am tryin' to
make my Teller critters see and mend the
error Of their ways Let US sing
He had Moody and Sankey hymn book,
but he could only read with difficulty.
and his enthusiasm was too great for him
to stick to the text. He burst into song
When he had finished his song he an
nounced that he was reyivalist on his
tour to stir up the sinners Of the noun
tains, and that he was to hold services
that afternoon at Wharton's Valley, about
five miles away AS | was bound for the
same place we went on in company. !
soon discovered that the man was rough,
ignorant and given to plug tobacco, but
he seemed earnest in his mission, and SO
found many excuses for him He could
chew more tobacco in a given time and
spit further through his front teeth than
any man / ever saw. carried a few plugs
In my knapsack for the benefit Of the ma
tives at large, and he soon discovered this
and now and then would observe:
Eyes, stranger. although you may hev
bin pirate, there's hope ahead fur you,
and III take another bite o that plug.
BY the time we had arrived at Whar-
tons. he had wasted half my stock, and
had spat upon every rock on the wayside.
There were two cabins here, with three
others within the mile. and about fifteen
people had gathered to hear the revivalist
talk He introduced me as "a Teller crit
ter" he had picked up on the way, and
added that evidently needed praying for
rather coldly, thought, and / soon
learned the reason. When we had had
bite to cat the people arranged themselves
about the open door Of the cabin, and the
reyivalist began by saying:
"Thar's sin and wickedness yere-heaps
Of it. You'uns is nuthin' but shuckless
pack of sinners on yer way to fiery fur
mace fed with sulphur and brimstun. The
devil is cius behind the hull of ye an he's
bound to git ye."
Look we're. Joe Williams" inter
rupted tall and serious looking noun
taineer as he rose up, lets start this
yere circumstance at the beginnin'. In
the fust place, who was yer
Don't interrupt sarvent of the Lord"
warned Joe.
Yes. who was ye?" inquired woman
as she laid aside her snuff stick to stand
up. "Ye was pore an shuckless an low
down, Joe Williams, only few weeks
ago. Yer hull family was arfut, an the
best We had to eat was bar meat an
pones Ye drank mo whisky than ali
tho men put together, an ye never had
second shirt to yer backl'
This wasn't a corker for Joseph He
heard the woman through with q smile
and then said:
"A sarvent of the Lord must take the
abuse of shuckless sinners and turn the
other cheek. hev cum up yere to warn
ye that the seventh signals has bin sot in
the heavens as a warmth Wool Wool
Wool Them as gin heed will pass down
the trail clothed in silks an satins an
pearls Them as scoff an revile an cuss
around viii be token by the heels an
lung into the fiery furnace, which Is 100
feet deep an full of twistin' sarpints."
Two children were overcome and began
to cry at this but the father of one of
them gave him box on the ear and rose
up and said;
Who was you an what is your We
all know you to be shiif'less onery,
shucl,less varmint. You wasn't lit to wipe
up skunk's lie fur ten long vars. Then
you went over to knoxville, jined the
Salvation Army, an hev cum back yere to
call us pore and wuthless sinners"
Let us sing" said the revivalist as
the other paused, but the people groaned
him down, andxhe other continued:
We've bin feedin' yer pore heart
broken wife and children. an you hev bin
gallivantin' around an purtendin' you had
a call from the Lord to whoop 'er up
kin tell ye to yer face, Joe Williams, that
this settlement wants none o your kind
of religun. an it wants mighty sight
less of you Git right down an sheti'
"fain't got religunY' demanded Joe.
Has Jar got wings?" answered one
of the women. The Lord wouldn't hev
ye. Joe, an you know it. You's too onery
all through. You's too lazy to hold to
religion if you got it. "
Hes jist got to shetl" shouted another
woman.
" EIaint | got no call to spread the Cos
pcl?' asked joe
Mary call, answered one of the men
who had spoken before. You has list
got a call to be meaner pizen. and that's
all thar is to 1t.
An I've mistook. hev II" queried tho
alleged revivalist.
You hcv Now, then, You pint fur
home' Marian is thar a-waitin an the
three children ar thar a-waitin' an you
jist git up an arm some pork an corn an
let the Lord alone If We don't do it thar s
gwine to be some tar an feathers around
yerc!'
"Nayburs, said Joe after q painful
pause, If I've mistool, then I've mistook
! reckon you know bet Ter nor me- an I'm
willin to take advice. Beats all creation
how mistool, but shan't go agin yer
words
With that he stepped down and out and
ceased to be a revivalist and soon disap
peared. Then the big man with the seri-
GUS face got up, turned his eyes to
heaven and said: "Oh. Lord we is onery
an mean and low down. els shuckless
an shift less We hev made whisky agin'
the law, an we hev bin liars an profauers.
Thar's nothin' pizen mean that we hewitt
done at some time or other, but we reck
ons on thy goodness to forgive. We is
pore an ignorant Some of 1us can't read
nor write. an we is allus silin with bod
lily pains. Figger on these things, oh
Lord, an let the notches on the stick show
up in our favor.
With that the meeting ended. and the
big man took me by the hand and said he
hoped he hadn't offended my religion, and
that must stay all night at hts cabin.
Yer see" he felt to explain when
religun is religun, an it's the pure quill
an no water in it. there's never one of us
but kin tale it in large doses an be thank.
full to the Lord fur sendin' the messenger;
hut when an onery. wuthless cuss like
Joe Williams sots up to hev got call to
spread the Gospel, an he Gums yere
among us ms know him to spread it. why,
we feel TO make him shet. M Quad in
Detroit Free Press.
An Officers Trying Situation.
Twas dining at the officers mess Of q
regiment at Tounghoo. 1t was during tho
wet monsoon at the time, We were sit
ting over our wine, when young lieuten-