The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-03-31
TIE FIGHTING PREACHER.
An Account Of . Surprising Mistake
WhErA some Of ths Boys Made

whgcA some Of th~ Boys Made
About the most deceivin and suTr-isir
man tha& ever had his turn With the
boys st the Cross Roads was tie Rsver-
Ell; Jonathan Pepperman. He was a
Methodist preacher and rode what they
called the Backx-oosis Cir,!Elit three ysars
hand rssanin. He was q little, quick
moticnei. hump shoulderea, willy lockin
man, with hair and whiskers as red rs a
fux's tail
If | do say il myself, Jonathan Pep
perruau was a good man, and there
want anything particular slorchy about
him as preacher. He didn't have much
to say outside of the church meetin's.
but he had his heart wrapped up in the
good work, and YOU conld look into his
clear. steady gray eyes and tell that he
was game to the bone.
The preacher started of enc Saturday
evenin 10 I'LL his appointments for Sun
day down AT old Yellow Shank church,
and his route took him around by the
Cross Roads. The boys was havin pow
erful lively times that evenin. Liquor
had been fiowin right free. ana there
was horse race and two or three fights
goin on at the same time. 1t was more
than the preacher conld stand still and
put up with. He hitched the horse and
mounted a big dry goods box and lit
into the crowd without any gloves on.
He told the boys in his own plain,
blunt way that they was headin straight
for that country where they could not
git any water and didn't need any
whisky 10 keep them warm. Some Of
them, he said, want worth the Gospel
salt that it would take to save them,
and some was so stinkin mean that the
devil would throw up his job if he could
keep from bein caught in their company.
The boys stood off and took the med
icine like he fixed it up for them till he
got through and quit. Then they closed
in on him and told him not TO hurry off
in the heat of the day. They didn't like to
be rough and ungentle with a preacher,
they said, but at the same time a preach
er ought to keep himself in preachers
place. 1t didn't look to them like he
was in any big hurry about reachin his
appointment, and bein as he had plenty of
time to spare they would have to ask
him to tarry till they could unbutton his
galluses and give him good sound
spankin. They didn't like to do it, but
it simply had to be did. The preacher
put in some serious objections and tried
his level best to talk the boys out of
their fool notion, but they stuck to it
that the job had to be tended to right |
then and there.
So they pitched in without KNOWN
what big slice of blue blazes they were |
bitin off. They soon found the Job |
CROWN devilish unpleasant for the |
crowd. The little preacher could kick |
like Il young steer and hit like clap of |
thunder at the same time, and he had |
two or three of the boys done up and |
laid out before you could turn around.
Then the main crowd took up for the
preacher and put stop to the perform
ance. They decided it might be better
maybe to let him keep his galluses on
and put off the spankin till some more
time.
There was meetin at old Yellow Shank |
church the next day as usual, and after
that the little Methodist circuit rider
tldn't have no better friends than the
boys he met over at the Cross Roads
hat Saturday evenin.-Rufus Sanders
n Columbus (Ga.) Inquirer-Sun.