Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-03-08
CHAPTER Ill
THE MISSIONARIES END.

THE MISSIONARIES END.
The gang under Het Magoone, who
set fire to Father Peters house and out
buildings, were more prudent than val
orous, for while they we'll knew that
they outnumbered three to one the IN
ion men gathered at Bradley's Crossing,
they did not care to risk a fight with
the little force under the lead of the
blacksmith.
During the years that strong Dick
Bradley had counted himself q Chris
tian, )" and spoken i'll meeting of himself
as "a brand snatched from the burn
ing, and 1.-THE chief of sinners, - be-
cause of his past, he found his sorest
trials i'll his constant effort to subdue to
the spirit the combative yearnings Of
the flesh. When, through the teachings
Of Mrs. Peters and Ella, he had learned
to spell his way through a chapter in
the Bible he found his greatest delight
in the records Of Joshua's battles with
the Canaanites, or the story that told
how the shepherd boy, David, left his
tocks on the hills to meet the champion
of the Philistines and subsequently rose
! by his skill and valOr to be the king of
great nation. He liked to read of how
Christ made whip and drove the mon
! ey changers from the temple far more
than he did to ponder over the sermon
on the mount.
"He would often say to me-" said
Miss Peters in telling the story of this
| rat l-al 10 }, s.,
all right, Ella, and hit amt TO- pore,
mis'able sinner like me to banker to
make any changes in hit I'll allow hit
couldn't be improved TO- them ez lives
i'll cities whar thar's lots of churches
and schools and them things, and whar
folks isn't 'bleeged to tote aims, but
thar's some parts of hit that sticks in
my craw and goes plum agin the grain
of my natur.
On being asked what parts these were
he said:
''Waal, thar's that one that seq,
Whoever smites yo' on the right cheek,
turn the other, SOS he kin get a whacll
at that. Now, sense I've been Chris
tian I've put up with right smart Of
smith from dOggone lot of ours that
| took advantage of my bein kinder help
less, TO that's jest what religin does TO-
man i'll these mountains, but don't
think, eff l was to go to hell TO- hit,
that 1 could bring myself to invite
Teller to smote me ON the left cheek aft
er he'd knocked me on the right. draw
the line at one cheek. Eff any Teller
tried it on two, I'd forgit my religin,
and he'd nave COZ TO- to grieve.
Then there's that pint bout lovin
ones enemies. I've allus thought ez
how that must have slipped into the
good book by mistake, for hit ain
nat raj. I'll allow Father Peters mout
do hit, TO he's so chuck full of religin
he amt got no room TO- nothin else,
but pore sinners like me must go on
a-gettin heap of solid comfort from
not lnvin thar enemies, but a-hatin 'em
like blazes.
But after that night in tho black
smiths shop strong Dick Bradley's
views as to the nonresistanco inculcated
by religion underwent radical change
He saw that when the hour for brave
resistance came Father Peters did not
fall back on prayer fo' his defense,
but was willing to fight and ready to
lead. That one act ON the part of the
old missionary did more to endear him
to these rude mountaineers than the
preaching and self denial of the ten
years that preceded it.
Tho ai5orC 11-bo bod nC,,no nm frp,,,
the Tennessee line under the lead of Het
Magoone contented themselves with
burning all the vacant cabins they could
find, taking it for granted that they
were the property of Union men. At
Bradley's Crossing the number of refu
gees increased every day, principally
mountaineers who had come up from
Tennessee or from the lower border
counties of Kentucky. These men were
all armed with old fashioned hunting
rifles, and they were not only willing
to face south and fight, but they were
eager for it, for each man had some per
sonal wrong which he was more eager
to avenge than he was to carry back the
old flag to the hills.
All these men brought famlshed appe.
titles, but no provisions.
A few days after Magoone's raid it
became evident that in another week, il
nothing were done, they would be called
on to face more RELENTLESS foe than the
Confederates under Zol1icoffer and Crit
tenden, and that was famine. While ev-
cry man at the Crossing understood that
if he had to fight it would be under the
lead of strong Dick Bradley, all, inolud-
ing the blacksmith, looked up to Father
Peters as the man on whom they must
depend for counsel and as the Moses
who was to lead the inevitable exodus,
from the mountains to that promised
land where there were strong hands and
keen bayonets to defend the old flag.
After carefully talking over the stu
alton together the preacher and the
blacksmith assembled their friends in
the smithy, and the former mounted the
anvil block, and after the customary
prayer delivered himself after this man
ner:
My friends, winter is on us. Our
enemy, the rebels, swarm i'll the hills,
and if the reports that come to us be
true, and 1 believe that they are, few
L