Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-06
ISTOLS AND DELIRIUM TREMENS,

/ CONeEs
| How Future Ministers Spend Their Vaca-
tions-Their Experiences in the West
| From the New York Tribune
| 10 the average citizen the life of the theolog-
zeal student seems to be prosy and stupid, but
to judge by the conversation overheard in q
restaurant near theological seminary in this
city one evening recently there are interesting
| phases OF the budding minister's career. The
young men were telling OF their last summer
work when they were "out west" organizing
Sunday schools and preaching to the farmers
and cattlemen of the prairies. 81 shall never
forget the first Sunday spent in Minnesota"
| said the leader OF the group. II had found a
| good locality to organize school and had taken
notices OF my gospel meeting to all the farm
| houses for miles around. l spent Saturday
night in farm house about five miles from the
| school house where l WAS to preach. How it
| rained that night, The roof leaked, SO the
whole family, their CUES. included had to sleep
In one end OF the house with a buffalo blanket
partition between the imprOvised mail and fe-
male dormitories The next morning started
ahead of the family for the school house on nv
little road cart with pony had just bought
Did you ever see q road cart? Well it looks
Ikea heavy racing gig: 1t has only two wheels
X,
| My friends had advised me to carry revolver
for pleasure and profit in my experiences, and
| had it in my pocket.
''All went well until was about two miles
from the school house, when spied hawk
| circling over a neighboring farm house. Then
arose q struggle in my mind. wanted to shoot
| at that hawk, but it was Sunday. Still, if let
| the hawk 60 it would catch some of the farmers
| chickens and was it not more Christian to kill
| the hawk than to be the indirect means Of kill
i rv,Svt hA nhs olA a.
| hawk came near me that would be the signal
that it was foreordained that should shoot on
| Sunday. Sure enough! The hawk sailed d.
rectly over my head. raised my revolver and
shot. Instantly my gentle pony gave jump
of about twenty feet, pitching me out back
ward on my head in the deep mud, while she
started on the dead run down the road. l fol-
| lowed, sorry-looking spectacle. At the school
house the gathered farmers stopped my horse
and started back after me- / never told them
how my horse came to run away. but there was
| some smothered laughter about the tender.
| foot which reached my ears
II can beat that experience" said a student
who had been in Colorado in the same work.
Between my headquarte rs and the next post
Office this summer there was deep gulcE which
had originally been washed out by a mountain
stream. On the side Of it, about three-auarters
| OF the way up, ran the road on a narrow ledge
| OF rock. 1t was dangerous place. especially
at night, and Transfers always stopped and
blew horn before they started into it, because
1t was not wide enough to pass or turn around
| if two teams should meet. One Saturday night
started for the further town to preach the
next day. l called usual when got TO the
gulch, and, getting no answer, started through
blowing my horn every few feet as / went.
when was In the middle heard deathlv
Shrek followed by the most hideous Yelling
My heart as well as my horse stood still. and a
| second later l saw a man standing up in a big
lumber wagon whipping great strong pair Of
mules with all his might and yelling like a mad
man at each stroke. The team was coming
straight at me. with way to pass each other
l was paralyzed with horror and sat trembling.
| Now the team was on me. In a moment il
would all be over-when suddenly the team
swerved to the right, which was the outside
and over the ledge OF rock the mules wagon
and driver were hurled. A dull crash at the
/ bottom followed and then all was still. l could
not move for moment and then crept trem-
bling to the edge and looked over l could see
nothing except tho black night. drove on to
| town and told my story. Men set out at once
and found both mules so injured that they shot
| them. The mans neck was broken. Il found
/ that he was driver for quarryman and had
filed up with bad whisky and probably had an
attack Of delirium tremens."
| WELL that's pretty bad, =" remarked a third
''but believe that was just about as fright,
ened once this summer as you were, although
! If had KIN wn it. there was not SO much reason
for fear as imagined. was in North Dakota,
among the cattlemen, you know. l had a
curious class to deal with. They were rouph
fellows and would shoot as easily as wink: but
! they seemed to have superstitous awe of me
! because was a preacher One night man
called at my boarding place in the village and
said that was wanted at Carey Ridge, dismal
spot some three miles from town. He said he
would take me there and bring me back I
supposed that somebody was dying and as
there was no minister around said would 90.
My conductor rode in silence. and finally I
asked, who is it that wants meY
"'Me bruther.'
"'What is the trouble?'
"'He wants to get married.
MARRIED.! l gasped; why, can't marry
MIN. m not an ordained minister. am not
allowed to marry people, He did not answer
SO began to reason with him and asked him
to take me back. But it was no use SO I sat
still, resolving to make test of the matter
when ! saw the company. 70 my surprise
found the whole crowd composed of men,
armed to the teeth.
"'Gentlemen,' began.
| he wants to sneak, interrupted nv con.
ductor. NOW, you preacher chap, you've got
to 20 ahead when the couple comes in or Won
placed q bag Of money on the table, Just then
heard some shouting outside and veil and
then there galloped up man on horseback.
holding girl in his arms
quick "A1 ~
Il don't know what said, except that nro.
nounced them man and wife without looking AZ
them, for my eyes were ON . revolver in the
hands OF my gentle urger. minute later the
father and brothers Of the girl dashed up to
the shanty, but the girl laughed In her fathers
face and decided that discretion was the bet
ter part OF vnlor, and so held my peace. / was
taken back to my boarding place. pretty
thoroughly frightened. Before leaving me my
the whole matter. I did %, but within a
month was able to explain matters and ace the
couple legally married ''''
And then those guilsless theological students
put on their hats and coats and went home 10
write sermons. ~