The Arkansaw traveler. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1882-1???, 1888-11-24
THE DEVILS COMMUNITY.
BY !oPIE p. READ.

A community's prosperity can often
be estimated by the progressiveness of
its religion. Progressive religion is
always liberal, and liberal religion Is
never found except in prosperous COM
munities. The awful devil now exists
only among the thin settled hills
Nothing so frightens old Satan as the
shrek of a railroad engine. But there
are places where the railroad engine is
never heard, and here the devil In un-
restrained glee pops his flinty heels
$Hether and throws up his head with
a victorious snort.
passed through one of those devil
ridden communities some time ago.
One afternoon came upon an old fell
low who, assisted by boy, was en-
gagged in patching up tumble-down
log house. I had been all day in the
woods without having seen human
being and therefore felt disposed to
talk to some one.
allow are your" 1 called as I refined
up my horse.
The old fellow dropped pole which
he had just taken up, wiped his hands
on his brown jeans pantaloons, looked
at me for few moments and replied ::
"Sorter toPble; how is yo'se'f?''
l told him that / was well, which
so much impressed him that he wiped
his hands again.
"What are you doing?"
"Fixin' the meetin'- house. We air
goin' ter begin 'tracted meetin' here
next Sunday, an l am in a sorter
hurry ter git the house done. The
house would "a bin all right hadn't
bin fur ole Tom Parks"
"What did he dor"
"W'y, you see Pm the preacher O.
this here church, an t'uther evenin'
me an ole Tom got ter argyin' on the
skriptur' an fell out an fit. Then he
lowed that as two O. the logs O. this
church b'longed ter him that he would
take 'eln, an he done it. / went over
ter his house ter argy with him an
we fit agin, an he sorter cotch me I'M
der the jaw with his thumb an fo'fin-
ger, an he was worryin' me 30 that
was about ter acknowledge that he
was right about the pint O. skriptur'
when my son Alb here run up and
whacked him over the head with
chunk. But never mind, the DEVILS
got his eye on him an will tote him
off one o. these here nights. lust tell
you wouldn't be in his place fur the
biggest crap ever raised in this
county"
"You really believe the devil will
get him, do your"
"Know it as well as / know my
name, fur when Teller fools with
church he's gone. Take the case o.
Sam Carpenter, for instance. One time
thar came a heavy fall O. snow, an
long in the evenin' Sam he sot out ter
look fur his sheep. He went through
the hollows and over the hills, an
finally found 'em huddled up near the
Mt. Zion meetin'- house. He tried ter
drive 'em heme, but the snow was 30
deep that he couldn't make no head
way, so he jest opened the door O. the
church an driv 'em in thar. Next day
he got 'em home. Next night three
o. 'em was missin' Next night eight
o. 'em was gone. Wall, sub, it KEEP on
thater way till he didn't have sheep
left, an then he was tuck down with
the rheumatic"
"But what had the devil to do
with itp" I asked.
He gave me look of contemptuous
pity and replied: Had everything ter
do with 1t, fur he toted them sheep
off. Wy, old Aunt Patsy Feather
stone-an' q better old soul never
hved-seed a sort o. yallerish blue
light down in the holler one night,
an she crep' down, she did, an seed
the old devil with q sheep under each
arm crackin' o. their bones. Oh,
thar amt no mistake about it. WY,
one night, while lot o. the neighbors
was a-settin' up with old Sam, the
devil come along an stuck his head in
at the window an snorted the room
full O. sulphur smoke. Yes" he add
ed, 81 am in powerful hurry ter git
this church fixed 90 we kin go ahead
with our meetin', fur eff we don't the
devil is goin' ter cut up high capers
here this winter"
l attempted to reason with him.
"Look here" said he, ~ want you ter
go on. It's dangerous ter have a man
about here that amt got no mo- sense
than you have."-Neso York Mercury.
Chicago Opera House.