Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1894-10-04
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How the n ountaineeSS Go te Chufch n

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There are church buildings in the vii
lagos, but the villages are few and far
apart; and in this particulars PLACES the
-cnstom was for some preacher to spring
e e y y We're out Of nowhere and to an
nounce a bush meeting by means Of a
written placard nailed tosa tree BY the
spring. It was to be held at Q o'clock
IN certain patch of woods, so COM
monty and frequently the scene Of
such meetings that the rude benches
made Of planks nailed to tree stumps
were always there, and kept in good
order de apparently by q devout noun
tanner who lived in the nearest cabin.
The meeting lasted less than an hour,
but the people made it the affair of a
day. They came from as far as the
news OF the meeting had been carried
by the equestrians and; wagoners who
had refined up at sight of the placard
and halted ssto see what's a-goin' on. -
Some, therefore, had been obliged to
set out soon after breakfast and that
would not make long journey where
six miles of road may loop over the Eto,o
OF a tremendous mountain, upwhich
the horses crawl, and the more humane
men lead instead of riding the M. Be
fore noon the wagons began to come
in. Bars were let down at various
points near the camp ground, and the
teens were tethered to the trees in
half a. dozen scattered parts of the
woods. The wagons were such as one
sees all over the land, made in Racine,
Wis, or South Bend, Ind, or Cortland,
N. =. Out of them came men and wo-
men, girls and boys, and even babies.
By noon nearly all the worship ers
were on hand-strolling from hitching-
place to hitching-place to see who had
come, and to gossip with friends and
acquaintance. It is wonderful how far
and wide men are known to one an
other in these mountains. @
The Interchange Of visits was fol-
lowed by a return of each party to its
wagon for a picnic dinner upon what
ever had been brought along cold corn
pone: principally. When all the wo1-
shippers gathered at the bush-meetiny
it was seen not to be very different
from q northern camp meeting, such
as one sees in New Jersey particularly.
The men wore soft felt hats and Ion e
boards, and seemed never to have
combed their hair The women had
on broad-brimmed black straw hats,
such as Twas told a mountain woman
is able to keep and use for Sunday
best" for a quarterxof a century. The
boys looked boldly at the girls, and the
girls looked slyly at the boys out of
the tails Of their eyes. The sudden
rattling of a wagon among the. trees,
followed by a loud whoa there!"' oc-
and song. Some of the men who came
without women stood away from. the
worshipers, smoking and talking as
'countrymen converse; in broken sen.
fences wide apart, with the fractures
filled up by, vigorous tobacco-chewing.
The preacher was a woman ssN1rs
Lawson, of Kentucky, the celebrated
evangelist. She brought young man
with her to open with prayer" and
to pass around his hat, and after his
prayer she delivered an address, which,
il. it were right to pass Judgment upon
it, I should declare to be the most
noisy and the least thoughtful sermon
or talk that ever heard. There was
singing before and after her address,
and it was noticeable that though the
young man had to sing nearly the
whole first verse entirely alone, the
people afterwards sang the remaining
verses, though there was not a; book OF
printed copy of the hymn in the forest.
In the eastern part of the, state,
nearer to Virginia, found that the
circuit-riders still ministers to the re.
igious welfare of the mountain folks.
There are neat little white and green
church buildings in the valleys, but
they are opened only once month.
About as often as that and in some
cases regularly, the circuit-rider sends
word Of his coming to the elders OF
deacons, or puts the notice in the
country paper if one is published near
the meeting house, and on the given
day he appears on horseback, with a
few extra b longings and his Bible
and song book rolled up behind him on
his saddle Wherever he breaches he
has a large meeting, and he boards
'round" with the religious families in
the old time honored way.-Julian
Ralph, in Harper's Magazine.
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