Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-09-16

secret until he could turn L 20 his
own advantage
/ noticed that Lem Wissell and
half a dozen other leading spirits
Of the town were gathered closely
about the big hOgshead from whose
top the revivalist was about %
speak AS he climbed his rude ros-
trum and began his incarnation (foF
the wild. rhythmic, incoherent al
dress could scarcely be called any
thing elsef these men watched him
with q cat-like intenseness whose
purpose well understood
b. and By the reyivalist made his
usual sudden and tragic pause and
then called upon every man. woman
and child before him 70 fall upon
Their knees IN penitent appeal for
+ me=cy. At the same time he began
10 fill the air with the far-ofT. agoa-
lied cries Of spirits suffering the
Z tgr1ents Of hell Suddenly the biz
hogshead flew ont from under hiu.
Z inpelled b. the feet Of six strong
men and down he came sprawling
upon his back At the same instant
/ the cries Of the tortured spirits
ceased and a silence deep and stern
fell over the crowd
Len Wissell spra1g ont IN frolt OF
the people. That man has ben
foolin' we-unsr" be cried. shaking
his fist a. the amazed and bewIldered
revivalist. who hal risen 70 a sitting
p0stlre
Sting him up cried a voice.
Put er bullet through him.
shouted another
The reyivalist leapsd 70 his feet
FRIENDS. be cried. you are mis-
taken. an no inposto-. There
has bsen given 10 ne more than mos
tai power for the salvation OF souls
command the fo-ces Of nature.
Not only can break the silence Of
heaven and hell. but can make the
very rocks sing the praises Of God !"
You lie- cried Lem HisselL
.Blasphemerr ! cxclaimed-
The revivalist u ned q look Of
whitening hatred. mingled with sui
len appeal upon me Gone he
cried, Il will prove it Come with
me among the rocks I will make
them sing Gods praises for you.
He sDrang up the narrow path
and the crowd followed him l went
along with them. less ont Of c1r-osit-
TO see what the man would do
though I was not entirely devoii Q.
that-than to see that he did not cs-
cape He led Us across the plateau.
where the village cows were pastgrez,
TO the edge Of the limestone Dreci-
pice beyond. Terraced out-croppings
Of the same pink.tinted stone broke
the surface OF the plateau into ridges
and hoilows Advancing to the face
Of one Of these great walls Of stone,
not more than thirty yards from the
edge Of the cliff. the reviTalist
struck it with a birch stick which
ne had picked up On the way
"Sing. Oh. rock. in Gods name"'
he cried, loudly; then turned 10 Us
and raised his hand 10 command
silence.
An intense hush fell over the
crowd Then was fatally but dis
tinctly heard, like the majestic tone
Of an organ, a sound Of music, issu-
ing apparently from the ground at
the base Of the rock Twas never more
astounded in my life It could not
[ b. due to ventriloquism, for no
human voice could produce all the
harmOnies, the sustained depth and
Z grandeur of that organ-tone.
I Furthermore, / could distinctly feel a
slight vibration Of the ground be.
meath my feet as the music swelled
and deepened. The revivalist fixed
! mis- eyes upon me with a look Of ex-
ultant triumph. What say you
now?' he cried to the people. Gam
/ an impostor or MOP"
A deep, perplexed silence was the
only reply.
For fully fifteen minutes we stood
Z there listening to the grand and mys-
terious music in that lonely spot I'M
I der the sky. Then it suddenly
ceased and we turned back to the vii
lage, some more than ever the dupes
81 this remarkable charlatan and one
at least, reluctantly confessiug that
there are "more mysteries under
heaven than can be explained in our
philosophers"
Thirty years afterward / found my
self again in the vicinity Of Milmont
and having day or two to spare
determined to visit the place for cur
iosity's sake and see how some Of the
old time reviyalist's miraculously
made converts stood the wear and
tear Of life. | found that many Of
them had already crossed the dark
river. but of those who remained few
remembered the shaggy ventrilo-
quist and none seemed to have any
recollection OF the fact that they had
once been converted.
/ took walk up to the plateau
where stood the mysterious singing
rock. Everything looked precisely
as it did more than quarter Of a
century before. Venturing nearer
the edge Of the cliff than man in
/ his senses ought to have done, my
weight broke Of an oYerhanging pro-
. fna4;n,, 1F o,.,,r, \