The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-08-21
UNCLE TOM BARKER.

He had been wild and reckless and feared
not God ner regarded man, but one day at
a camp meeting, while Bishop CASTOR was
shaking up the sinners and scorching them
over the Internal pit, Tom got alarmed, and
before the meeting was over he professed
religion and became a jealous, outspoken
convert, and declared his intention of going
forth into the world and preaching the
Gospel He was terribly in earnest, for he
said he had lost power of time and must
make it up. Tom was a rough talker but
he was good one, and knew right smart
of ''Scripter," and good many of the old
fashioned hymns by heart. The conference
thought be was pretty good fellow to
send out into the border country among
the settlers, and so Tom straddled his old
flea bitten gray, and in due time was cir
cult riding in north Mississippi.
In course of time Tom acquired poteriety,
and from his strong language and stronger
gestures and his muscular eloquence they
called him old ''Sledge Hammer" and after
a while "Old Sledge" for short Away
down in one corner Of his territory there
was blacksmith shop and a wagon shop
and whisky shop and postofiice at Bill
Jones' crossroads. and Bill kept all of them,
and was known far and wide as Devil
Bill Jones'" so as to distinguish him from
Squire Bill, the magistrate. Devil Bill had
sworn that no preacher should ever loot q
horn or sing hymn in the settlement, and
if any of the cussed hypocrites ever dared
to stop at the crossroads he'd make him
dance a hornpipe and sing a hymn, and
whip him besides.
And Bill Jones meant just what he said
for he had mortal hate for the men of
God. 1t was reasonably supposed that Bill
could and would do what he said, for his
trade at the anvil had made him strong
and everybody knew that he had as much
brute courage as was necessary. And so
Uncle Tom was advised to take roundance
and never tackle the crossroads. He ac-
cepted this for a time, and left the people
to the bad influence of Devil Bill; but it
seemed to him he was not doing the Lords
will, and whenever he thought of the
women and children living in darkness
and growing up in infdelity he would
groan.
One night he prayed over it with great
earnestness, and vowed to do the Lords
will if the Lord would give him light, and
it seemed to him as he rose from his knees
that there was no longer any doubt-he
must go. Uncle Tom never dalled about
anything when his mind was made up. He
went right at it like killing snakes; and so
next morning as 'nabor" passed Oh his
way to Bill's shop, Uncle Tom said:
my friend, will you please carry mes
sage to Bill Jones for meP Do you tell him
that if the Lord is willin l will be at the
crossroads to preach next Sunday at II
O'Clock, and | am shore the Lord is willn.
Tell him to please 'norate' it in the settle
ment about, and AK the women and chill
dren to come Tell Bill Jones viii stay
at his house, God willin, and I'm shore
he's willin, and I'll preach Sunday, too, if
things git along harmonious"
When Bill Jones got the message he was
amazed, astounded, and his indignation
knew no bounds. He raved and cursed at
the consult" as he called 1.-THE consult
ing message of Old Sledge"-and he swore
that be would hunt him up and whip him,
for ne kuowed that he wouldn't dare to
come to the crossroads.
But the "nabors" whispered it around
that Old Sledge would come, for he was
never known to make an appointment and
break it; and there was an old horse thief
who used TO run with Murrell's gang, who
said he used to know Tom Barker when he
was sinner and had seen him fight, and
lie was much of man.
So it spread like wildfre that Old
Sledge was coming, and Devil Bill was
''gwine" to whip him and make him dance
and sing "hime," and treat to a gallon of
peach brandy besides.
Devil Bill had his enemies, of course, for
he was hard mau, and one way or an
other had gobbled up all of the surplus of
the "naborhood" and had given nothing in
exchange but whisky, and these enemies
had hoped for somebody to come and turn
him down. They, too, circulated the as
founding news, and, without committing
themselves to either party, said that I'LL
would break loose on Saturday at the
crossroads, and that Old Sledge or the
devil would have to go under.
On Friday the settlers began to drop into
the crossroads under pretense Of business,
but really to get the bottom facts of the
rumors that were afloat.
Devil Bill knew full well what they
came for, and he talked and cursed more
furiously than usual. and swore that any
body who would come expecting to see
Old Sledge tomorrow was an internal
fool for he wasn't a-coming. He laid bare
his strong arms and shook his long hair
and said he wished the lying, deceiving
hypoCrite would come, for it had been nigh
on to fourteen years since he had made a
preacher dance
Saturday morning by 9 O'Clock the set
tiers began TO gather. They came on foot
and on horseback, and in carts-men, wom-
en- and chIidren-and before II o'clock
there were more people at the crossroads
than had ever been there before.
Bill Jones was mad at their credulity.
but he had an eye TO business, and kept be-
hind his counter and sold more whisky in
an hour than he had sold in month. As
the appointed hour drew near the settlers
began 20 look down the long straight road
that Old Sledge would come, if he came
at all, and every man whose head came in
sight just over the rise of the distant hill
was closely scrutinized.
More than once they said, "Yonder he
comes-that's him, shore" But no. il
wasn't him.
Some half dozen had old buIlseve sill
yer watches, and they compared time. and
just at 1855 O'Clock the old horse thief ex-
claimed:
Il see Tom Barker risin of the hill
hain'J seed him for eleven years, but, gintle-
men, that ar him, or I'm a liar"
And it was him
As he got nearer and nearer, a voice
seemed to be coming with him. and some
said, He's talkin 10 himself" another
said, He's a taikin TO God Almighty"
and another said, IN be burned il he
am "a praying" but very soon it MAS de-