Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-10-03
TEACHES COWS TO BE pEvoUT.
Elder slocum and His Temple in the for-
est Fastness.

In the heart of the forest fastnes'
that separates the land of clans from
the land of wooden nutmegs Is clrcu
lar clearing, upon which stands the
New Jerusalem of the Rev. William
Slocum, Elder Slocum is q hermit
minister. and his holy acre is the Gret'
ma Green of the border country. Ills
reputation extends throughout Eastern
Connecticut and Western Rhode Island
He is 80 years old, and totterine
skeleton. When San man saw hin
he wore dirty old shirt, pair of jear
trousers that once were blue, but whlct
age had metamorphosed into dirty
gray, pair of rusty boots and an ole
white felt hat, with waving white tur
kew feather. His copper-colored face
was covered with shaggy growth o.
hair.
He stood gazing at the approaching
reporter through bright eyes hidden IL
deep cells. When the low stone wal
surrounding the barn was reached the
Elder requested the reporter to kneel'
Down upon the sod he went beside the
brindle COW. This COW the preacher Of
tie sylvan solitude had taught from 9
calf to be devout.
He waved his wand, which consisted
Of a bayonet attached to a broomstick,
answering the dual purpose of Moses
rod and pitchfork, and the COW imme-
diately obeyed the sacred signal. The
bell tinkled and old Brindle shifted her
cud, dipped her horns and blinked her
meek eyes, whisked her tail, and first
on one knee and then on the other lnelt
for prayer.
After he had passed through this re-
ligious form he greeted his visitor and
examined his credentials to see if he
really were On angel and worthy of en-.
tering the temple. They consisted OF
so cents, and the Elder pronounced
him irresistible.
lie led the way then to the dwelling.
This is q low, rectangular structure
with glass sides. It is surrounded by a
garden, and all is enclosed by high
circular picket fence. This, like every
thing about the place, is symbolical of a
Scriptural truth.
It illustrates. the Elder says, the
never-ending idea of eternity. There
is gate for every point of the compass.
In the rear of the house, beside the big
gate, is little one. This illustrates
the truth that straight is the gate and
narrow is the way which leadeth into
life, and few there be that find it."
The gates all swing on pivots. This
is SO that all Europe, Asia, Africa and
America, should they make pilgrim
age to the Elders Jerusalem. could
pass in at the right, walk around the
garden and pass out at the left.
He lives entirely alone.
Upon approaching one of the gates
leading to the sacred Enclosure the Ell
der turned and said: @Put off thy
shoes from off thy feet. for the place
wherein thou standest is holy ground. /"
OFF went the shoes. The rear of the
porch of the temple is a dilapidated
blacksmith shop, with forge and every
conceivable variety of old iron. Pass
ing into the temple, the outer chamber
is reached. Then come the inner cham
Der and the oracle.
There is an old stove. almost nodded
in grease and dirt, in the inner cham
Der. Upon it the Elder cooks his meat
and gets his meals. His chairs he
makes himself. He goes out in the
woods and cuts o limb with tripod
branches. He saws o board. bores q
hole in it and sticks it on. He washes
once in while, too. His washtub is a
barrel and his washboard cudgel. In
stead Of scrubbing his clothes he clubs
them.
The many windows and the five Ian
terms, which the Elder keeps filled and
trimmed, illustrate that the Gospel is
light, and that the wise man keeps
his lamp ready against sudden call.
His window curtains are cobwebs,
which bend under the weight of dust
and flies.
He is very proud of the fact that he
was the first person to solve the mystic
ry of what to do with flies, by allowing
spiders to spin their webs and catch
them. and says that he isn't troubled
with the frisky little things at all.
The oracle is decorated with giddy-
colored Biblical pictures. Tie Elder
sleeps here in the winter time, but dur
ing the summer months he sleeps with
his COW. There is also well-worn
Bible lying open upon shelf. Out of
it the Elder reads before each meal.
This is the only literature that he has
ever read.
The Elder hasn't always been an &C.
centric hermit. He was ordained a
Baptist minister at the age OF %, and
has filed the pulpits of several
country churches. He says his creed is
summed up in the first six verses of the
sixth chapter of Hebrews. The longer
he preached the harder his creed got.
until he finally, some twenty years ago,
devoted himself to building temples,
where he could commune with
the Omnipotent. He has inhabited his
present one dozen years.
Although the Elder no longer has a
church, he still breaches. 4 tree stump
is his pulpit, and the several dozen in
hahitants of the vicinity make up the
congregation. The Elder begins his
sermons by telling his hearers where
the text can be found. But he never
reads it. He trusts that they will look
it up themselves.
Occasionally. too, when a country
IL,