Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-05-01

pastor and the deacons OF the church.
as the ordinary contributions all COM
bined seldom exceed half dollar. and
this generosity evidently suggested
the practicability of taking up another
collection. There was an earnest con
sultation among the group. and when
the singing ceased one of the deacons
stepped forward and made an earnest
appeal in behalf of the pastor, whose
salary was very much behind, he said,
and was not likely to overtake him in
these hard times.
He spoke of his zeal and devotion, his
eloquence aud constant endeavors to
improve the temporal as we'll as the
spiritual condition Of the parish, and
begged the people Of the congregation
to remember him in their pocket books
as we'll as their prayers. The hat was
passed again, but the result was not SO
gratifying as before, and at the close
of the service the minister very candid.
ly remarked to the white visitors, as he
was thanking them for their generos-
ity. that he wished his collection had
been taken first.
Another hymn was sung, the clown
ish-looking chorister leading. and then
the pastor resumed his exhortation.
and asked the mourners to come to the
bench before the pulpit. Then &C.
Cured one of those remarkable scenes
which are still common in the country.
and are sometimes witnessed in the
town churches during revivals and
other occasions of great religious ex-
citement. AS the exhortation and ad
monitions of the preacher grew fervid
the women on the mourners' bench
and other parts of the congregation. as
the spirit moved them. gathered in the
area III front Of the pulpit. singing,
crying and screaming. and with the
deacons and three or four other men
Joined in "walk around" or shout
ing dance"
1t is not dance, but shuttle. The
feet are not lifted from the floor, but
the joints at the knees and hips are in
constant motion. and the head and
upper part of the body sway in unison
to the music. 1t is not unlike the fun
eral dances of the Sioux or the religious
dances of the Samoan islanders that
we saw so we'll exhibited at the
Worlds Fair; but it resembles more
closely the chorus dances of the Da-
honey negroes, so we'll remembered
by all visitors to the Midway Plais-
ance, when the whole crowd INDUCED
in a concerted walk around while the
chiefs, one after another, came forward
and recited their own achievements in
war and the chase. 1t is relic of the
fetch worship of Africa. and has been
inherited and adapted by the Christian
lied negroes as method of arousing
fervor and exciting the emotions.
AS the young men and women engaged
in this ceremony the old men and
women on the benches around them
sung in reiteration hymn that had a
marching melody and a rhythm that
fitted the motion Of the shufling feet.
There seemed to be no limit to the
verses. and they continued indefinitely.
The congregation were swaying back
and forth. and the mourners in the GEN.
ter began to get more and more excited.
Their eyes shone with unnatural light.
and seemed fixed upon something far
away. like hypnotized subject, aud
every now and then, with fearful
shrek. some overweight girl would
throw her arms into the air and fall
under the feet of tho others in hyster.
ical frenzy. The outsiders would
reach in and drag her out by the legs
and arms. and hold her down upon
one of the benches. At times her
frame would be stiff and rigid like an
epileptic. when instantly her muscles
would relax, and she would leap and
shout. thrash wildly around and throw
her arms. embracing passionately what
ever they inclosed, until finally. over.
powered and suppressed. the uncon-
scious woman would lie moaning and
weeping upon the bench. while her re-
latives or friends stroked her head and
hands and wiped the froth from her
lips-Chicago Record.