Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-06-13
AMONG LowLAND FOLK.
Some Quaint clympses u Life in an untrod-
dan Fleld as Seen BY NJ. Quad.


door. wiping her eyes and using her
snuff-stick by turns, and sat down
beside her and inquired:
What sort of a preacher is this man
who holds forth here to-day"
Sort o. wakeful, but not wakeful
enough she replied.
"What do you mean by that?
"Why. sab, he makes me feel that l
am pore and shuckless critter. but he
doan' skeer my old man with gravel.
He orter whoop and holler and make
Dan'l reckon that he was a gwine TO
meet up wild Satan at the next co-ner.
Your husband isn't bad?n queried?
.'He hain't so bad, but he isn't a be-
lever. Says the Lawd dun put him
yere and has got to save him. He dun
won't steal nor he, but he fishes for
suckers on Sundays and is agin the law
when the law is agin moenshine wills
4 ky"
An old man who had to use cane,
and who had walked three miles, came
limplng up at this moment and saluted
the woman with:
"Howdy, Mary"
| 'Howdy, Uncle Reube.n
'.How's yer pore health this sun
day?"
''Jist middling, thank ye. How's
Sary?"
''Jist movn'. the pore critter She
was chillin' agin last week. Whar's
| Dan'lp'
carter squirrels, l reckon"
"Um! Dan'l won't never be fitten. ="
''Reckon not, I've gabbed and gabbed
but it doan' do no good"
"Wall, the good book says thar shall
be some who will hearken and some
who shall close their ears to the voice.
Dan'l is layin mp fire and birthstone
agin hisself. -
''Thats what tell him. but he doan'
seem to keer."
The preacher now made his appear
ance, riding mp on mule so old and
lame and blind that he could not move
faster than a walk. The man was past
60, feeble and bent, and dressed in
homespun. He had word and y
hand-shake for most everybody, and
then went in to begin the services. His
opening prayer was brief but to the
point.
"0h! Lawd.' he began, ''we pore
critters has gathered together once
mo- to listen to Thy word and injoy
Thy favor. We's tryin' hard to be
/ iitten, but the corn planted on side
hill has hard work to stand up straight.
Wipe out the record agin us, oh, Lawd,
and let us begin over and hope to do
| better.n
The hymn was ''Rock of Ages and
each one pitched the tune and kept the
time to suit himself. When through
the preacher said
"The text which hey dun got fur
this mawnin' is 'Onless We believe We
can not be saved Doan you uns 90 and
make any slips over that. Thar's ole jim
Lambert. He dun says he believes, but
whar' is he on this Sabbath mawin'
Down a-hshin' for suckers or out diggin
roots Thar's ole Danl Wilson.
| Hero the woman had talked with gave
"a sudden start of surprise. He has
dun told me over forty times that he
believes, and yit whar is he to-day? Ar
he among us? You'll find him
scattered oveI.the kentry this mawnin'.
purfessin' ter believe in the Lawd, but
follerin' Satan just the sane.o
That's Dan'l-my DAMP ex-
claimed the woman, as she stood ue
HE dun allus sayin' that he believes,
and that he hopes to be saved, and then
creakin' (cheatmg) the Lawd out OF
his due!''
''And thar's some of u.s. continued
the preacher, "who purfesses to be
Christians and who ar allus peartly
ready to declare that we believe. We
snuggle to the hope that this is gwinC
to save US, but it hain't We think we
kin beat a man on mule trade, or mix
turkey and geese feathers together and
tie the bag string in q hard knot, and
then ask the Lawd to forgive and il
will be all right. Doan' you deceive
yourselves. The Lawd haint gwine tel
forgive until ye make everything squar'
He's gwine ter look at yer deeds a'
well as hearken to yer words
I'm leanin' jist that way" observed
a middle-aged farmer as he arose
thine sold that ar sick mule colt flu
$40 tried to git forgiveness for hui
week, but it wouldn't come. 1t WASH
till after had gone and give up $40 O
the money that the burden rolled of
my conscience.
"And thar's some of us who run L
the Lawd too often, said the preacher
"We's dun botherin' Him with trasl
and tryin' to shoulder off our burdens
1t won't do you 'uns any good to fal
on yer knees if yer mule gifts sick Of
yer hogs stray away, or the roof of thu
cabin springs leak. The Lawd hahn
up thar to be bothered with trifes
He's a-expectin' erybody to hev com
mon sense, and to git out and doctor
their own mules and hunt up their owl
hogs. There's ole steve Parshall, ful
instance. He's a-botherin the Lave
more'n all the rest of the folks in the
county. If he has a bile on his leg he
draps down and axes the Lawd to take
itaway. He'll hire a Niger to PLAN
his con, and then instead of gwine tel
work at the weeds hisself later on. he'll
put in hull hour AKIN the Lawd tc
gin him full crap. | tell We the Lawd
hain't gwine ter do it. He hain't up
thar fur that purpose.
kin pray when my old man is took
slck?' asked woman who had come
alone.
That's according" he answered.
"The Lawd hain't gwine ter send nc
angel down to tell ye to make mus
tard plaster and git up a redness on
yer ole mans chest, and he hain't
gwine to put no handwritin' on the wall
tellin we what's good for bilious fever
or rheumatic. He's expectin' We 10
know all that and good deal mo-, and
prayers hain't got nuthin ter do with
it."
"My womans bin prayin for rain, ;"
said farmer who bad come barefooted
and without coat or vest.
''She won't git 1t" emphatically re-
piled the preacher. when the Lawd
made this yere world in six days He
| fixed up the weather and set her going,
and He doan' hey nothin' to do with
wetness nor dryness. That's Natur',
and yer ole woman kin war her teeth
out prayin 'tgon't do no good"
For two long hours he discoursed ard
answered questions by turn, and for
straight shots and horse sense he could
not be surpassed In closing ho said:
II haint dun gwine ter ask the Lawd
ID help yer con or turnips, or to gin
We fine clothes ard greenbacks. I'm
gwine to humbly be. that He will, in
His own good way, make We mo- fifteen
fur the life ter come. Pore, titless, sim
ful critterS, let us kneel in prayer. -
Cbtcogl EUe1aing Journal.
9uE Iatast rannrts m ~. LOGS az