Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-05-01
GEORGIA NEGROES.
Visit to a Country Meeting House
Near Townsville.
JEALOUS IN RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
The "Walk Around" or Shouting
Dancs"-Peculiar Hymns Of Coiored
People-Taklng up Collections.

The fervor and simplicity Of worship
among the colored people OF the south
has been considerably modernized and
modified by their education, and par
ticularly by the education Of their
preachers. The pulpit of the town
churches that are able to pay salaries
are pretty generally filled by college
graduates or persons who have had some
educational advantages and who may
not have lost zeal. but have certainly
lost flavor by refinement.
There has been no feature Of negro
life that has changed so much. While
the deep religious sentiment that. like
their loyalty. has been most marked
characteristic of the race has not been
impaired, the emotions have been
largely suppressed in worship, and the
younger generation do not enter into
the shout meetings or the walk
arounds" with as much zest and en-
thusiasm. or experience the powers
with such abandon as their grandfath-
ers and grandmothers did in the simple.
unostentatious services in the planta-
ton meeting houses before the war.
The genuine thing can only be found
nowadays in remote and primitive
settlements where the worship Is con-
Quoted by itinerant preachers or plan
tation exhorters who are emmployed in
the..fields or at the turpentine stills
during the week and lead the services
in some school house or crossroads
church on Sunday.
The colored people are mostly Metho-
dists and Baptists. and find some sub
divisions Of the latter sect down here
that do not exist in the north and
which seem to have resulted from
differences both concerning doctrines
and forms of worship. There is
great deal more theology among the
negroes than one would suppose. They
have surprising knowledge Of creeds
and schisms. and in every community
are controversionalists OF local fame who
carry on continual warfare Of words
as fierce as those that were waged after
the council Of Nice and in the time Of
Constantine.
But generally one negro is Baptist
because he has been taught that bap-
tism by immersion is essential to saliva
ton, and another is Methodist be-
cause he has been taught that it isn't.
And, as it is the disposition of the
race to get all the comfort and enjoy
mont out of religion, immersion is
popular, and the Baptists are more
numerous than any other denomina-
ton in this section.
They are subdivided much more than
the Methodists. There are straight
Baptists and "hard Shells" who stick
to the points of Calvinism with more
tenacity than the rest of the dennmina-
ton, and bush Baptists. who. as near
as can discover. are orthodox in their
belief, but get their name from the
fact that they have no houses Of wor-
ship built with human hands and hold
their meetings in "the bush," as the
pine groves are often called-the groves
that were Gods first temples. This
practice. was probably due originally
to poverty.
The primitive, or "anti-mission"
Baptists. as they are sometimes called,
are numerous in Georgia among both
blacks and whites. They are supposed
or intend to follow literally the teach
ings and the example of the Savior and
the apostles. but at the same time are
strict adherents to tho doctrine of cleo
tion and consider themselves the chosen
subjects of grace. They are opposed
to missions on the theory of salvation
by selection-those who are called
they only are chosen. Those who are
not called were doomed to perdition
from the beginning of time. Their
preachers receive no salaries. but. like
the sparrows. pick up what they can
here and there. They have no fixed
residence, or circuit, or parish. but
abide with the brethren wherever they
happen to be. and on the Sabbath
preach at the most convenient place
of worship. They sit at the table
when they can at communion, and
after the sacrament wash each others
feet.
l asked venerable and intelligent
looking old preacher to explain the
difference in belief between the "prim-
tive and the "bush' Baptists.
g / doan't reckon kin do dat" was
his reply. 'but dey's all de same in de
sight o. God"
l attended service at the Jerusalem
Methodist church in the woods about
six miles from Townsville. 1t is q
rude structure of pine boards and tim
bers, unplaned. implanted and weather
worn, and very much out of repair.
There are no windows. but the holes
in the roof and the cracks in the walls
let plenty Of light in. and the spirit
Of God was there.
We arrived in time to see the Sun
day school and heard class Of picka-
ninnies put through the catechism by
bright-looking young mulatto woman
with a sweet voice. who taught day
school in the same meeting house dur