The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-08-18
A REMARKABLE MAN.
THE Manner in Which a Cc]ored Preacher
Lcarnet; TO Eent. the Bible.

Learned 20 Esent. Lto
Rev. Nathan Smith. a primitive Baptist
preacher, is tall and slim, and at the first
glance would not be taken for any more than
an average negro; but says the Macon (taa.(
TezsgYGph, Rev Nathan S1utth is in some re-
spects very remarkable man. He claims
to be iiItt7 two years Old, though he does nos
looi. 1t, aud enjoys ia his declining years tls
regulation OF .,aipg an nenest as we'll 81; y
ssasli1ia man
| The manner III which he first learned to
xe:;s,i, ho1y }As was struck with the 'speri5,''
anA how tie began preaching, ses1ns like =
chapter from hoo('ooisnl, aud yet the story
| il tola in the most straig forward manner,
! in all earnestness and in {, manner THAI de-
| fes denial.
| At an early age, while blowing as a slays
irs Z, Mississippi cotton field, he says be Tyas
suddenly fslled to the ground by something
like 8 dull thud, that changed the whole
course Of his Life IT. was the s'sperit'' that
struck lairn, he says, and Immediately les
! say7 scenes Brighter than the sun had eve
shine on bcfoze; there was all brightness
above him and below al awful gulf. The
trees aro,lnd IN the woods bowed TO hlna as ho
| locked at them and every thing Was greatiy'
| changed. For several weeks ne remained
under the spell and during that time his
master thought he had lost his mind.
| "so / had" said s'u1ith, $50 far as tena-
roraI things were concerned" Finally he
came out, FROM andar The spell, ana onse
| night ne had . dream; Or rather a vision.
He saw sonnet hing like po! boiling over, ana
! Out Of the steam came a little nlan with au
| open booi1in his hand Placing It before the
| dreamer, the little man pointed to the book
! Of John and told him to read. Smith was
| conscious of the fact that he did not ntlow
! one letter from another, and in en in slant
remembered how he he'd pored over IT,, lit
| tla black Testament given him by his l.72cies
| and which he kept locked Up in his tru;ls.
! But hss could not resist, as much AS is;
| tried, locking at the book, and then, to his
great a1naze1nent, he read the book Of Jo1,.@
as readily as any body could nave done. Iae
| read the book through to the end and taea
| read other books. They were as EASILY read
as the first Thus, in p gle night, he has,
| learned to read, The little 1nan then vaa.
ished as he had appeared, and the balances
O. the night was spent in finding himself
preaching to crowds OF people, Of gyallins;
UP and down among the congregation SID
saving souls.
| The next morning when he awolza he ,yeIS
| to his trunk, and, taking out the littl, black
| Testament. opened it, and the first word to
! meet his eye was John He tried To reaGs
and he found that he could read as we'll az
! he did the night before when told to do 80
| by She little man. Then be went 10 IN OLD
| negro GA the place, who was preaching
| around, and told him that he could read the
| Bible. The old man toaa latna that he did nos
| know 81 word i'll the book Smith opeued his
! Testament and read <slou,3. The old aegre
| was sstonlshed, and told Kim be must be- g
preacher, tl1at he had been ordained to
| preach. That was thirty-iivs years ago; and
in that ti1aa he mad read tho Bible, ne1gs-
| papers or any thing in the shape Of aesss"
ing, and yet was never taught letter.
When his master refugcd from Mtasisa
sippi and settled in .Americus, Smith way
| one OF the party. In 1887, when The Federal
Government had work dona in Anderson
vile, Smith was one Of the hands, AID 1t
was while there that he was induced TO at
tend g. general meeting OF Primitive Bap~
lists. The text for the morning was verse
Smith had read when the lttle u1au
showed him the way to read. This i'm
pressed him very much and that night re
was taken into the church. In short
while afterward he went to preaching end
has kept it up. He had church in Laur-
ems County, sixty-dve miles from Macon,
and one in Houston County When he mas
no money he walks the distance, believing
that he must not incur debt.
Smith has memorized the entire Bible
from Genesis to Revelation. He can tell
the verse, chapter and book Of any extract
asked of him, and without the least hesita
ton. Not only can he repeat any passage,
but he can give his idea Of the meaning of
it. lie visits the store of Davis e. Balkcola
occasionally, and often some one tries 4,
trip him with his Bible knowledge, but it Is
always e. failure