The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-02-07


The desperate swung into the saddle.
and then his followers sent up gasp Of
relief. Not ut all ashamed Of their
work, but with their feelings against
Father Peter somewhat allayed, Ma
goone and bis gang, on foot and on
horseback, started into the hills
Then the old clergyman assembled his
friends before the ruin and addressed
them. He counseled patience and peace.
He implored them to avoid gatherings
and not to talk. even with those they
were sure Of, ON the subject now excit-
ing the land. This done. he called ON all
to kneel and to join with him in pray
er, and all did SO excepting the black
smith, who, with folded arms, watched
the blue smoke pillar rising from the
ruin.
Brother Bradley, said the old cler-
gyman when he had concluded, "will
you lead us in prayer"
Strong in everything he did, the
blacksmith, during his years Of grace,
had developed decided talent for pray
er. There were force and q rude elo-
quence about the man very effective
with people Of impressionable natures.
Father Peters," he replied, II can't
pray. Hit don't seem jist the thing fo'
me to pray to Jesus Christ when he
stands by and sees lot Of cussed rebils
burn down the house we uns built TO-
him. He had the powah to strike 'em
dead like lightnin, but did he do hit?
Not much. Thar's heap Of Goals and
ash whar the church was, and thar's
that d--d Het Magoone off safe with
his gang, whin should smashed in
his skull like the she'll Of bird egg and
then flung him into the fiah. -
Father Peters tried to reason with his
friend. He repeated all the wise and
trite things about the mysterious ways
Of Providence, the power Of prayer, the
necessity Of keeping alive the faith, and
the certainty that truth would triumph;
but, while still loving and respecting the
noble old man, the blacksmith was in
no mood to be comforted by words. In
effect he replied in this way, and on
the men 1t was evident that his words
had q stronger influence than the pray
ers and exhortations of Father Peters:
"I've got 80 that I can spell out few
words in the good book, but my young
est boys got noah downright l'arnin, fo'
he's readin Biography. Still can think,
and do think right smart, and har's
what I've been a-thinkin this blessed
day, and say hit without meanin no
disrespect fo' Father Peters nor his kin,
fo' I love 'em all, God bless 'em!
''But, after long months of waitin
and prayin, the wah, ez we uns tried to
pray off, hez come to the Cumberland
hills, and hit do look powahful like to
me ez ef she'd come TO- mighty long
visit. Wah means fghtin and fab and
blood and death! Wah and religin
can't nevah gee. Yo' can't yoke 'em.
One pulls moth, the other south. One
means trustin in God, which is all
mighty nice and comfortin in peace; the
other means trustin to yerse'f and yer
rifle, and that's the only ching to do in
time of wah. I'll go home from har
and mold bullets in the forge while the
lead holds out, and I'll take the good
book fo' waddin, to help kill the foes
of the Lor, d.-n 'emi
go to yer homes, folks, and think
hit ovan. Tell yer wives apd chillen,
yo' uns ez ken tote rifles, that yo'll be
'bleeged to leave 'em mighty soon, 'fo'
the ch h'icell come to be shot down like
dogs in these hills or to git together and
fight our way to the old flag. The men
that fred the meeting house today
b'foah our eyes, tonight may burn our
cabins ovah our heads. If SO be they
don't do hit, hit won't be COZ they don't
want to, but COZ they re skeert. A man
with rife will have noah powah to
keep 'en low than fifty thousand mil
lion meetin houses full of folks pray
in.
$50 that's why think religin's all
right in hits place, and hit may give
powah of comfort to the wimmin when
we nns hez to light out, but OF fo' me
I'm in TO web. and l feel that I'll be
'bleeged to give my religin a rest till
| we decide with our rifles whether q lot
! of d----d ribils or we Union men is
a-gwine to hev the free run of the hills
along the Cumberland Thar, that's ali
] have to say, and hits right smart
noah than l tended TO say when sot
ont. -
Father Peters saw that it would be
! folly 10 attempt to change the black
! smith or to try to hold to his own peace
! ful views the Union mountaineers that
/ heard him, And then, as his daughter
/ confessed in telling tho story, he fully
! appreciated the force of the blacksmith s
1 reasoning about the war, though the
/ change III the man S religious views had
/ on him a most discouraging effect.
Even the women and children present
( on this occasion seemed to realize that
/ the war had come to the hills, but they
! made no outcry, gave no sign of nerv-
! business. If anything indeed, they ap-
peared to rejoice at the prospect Of an
excitement that would break in on the
dull and brutalizing monotony of their
lives,
Promising to keep to themselves and
to come together at Bradley's Crossing
when the danger became more threaten
4INn, IL a L. kI.1,.