The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1897-07-21
A STRANGE COMMUNITY.
THE REMARKABLE HINKLEYITES or
THE PENNSYL WANNA HILLS.

EinklcJ's Crusade-Police Stop Sacrifices
Peculiar Religious Ceremonies - 4
Weird Funeral-Simple Marriage Cere-
Haony-A Practical Devil.
One of the strangest sects in the
United States whose existence was
until recently practically almost I'M
Known, are the Hinkleyites, who oc-
cupy small settlement among Penn
| sylvania's hills, q few miles from the
New York state line, not far from the
city of Binghamton, says the New
York Herald. There, strange as it
may seem in these hard times, money
is drug on the market, and yet the
! inhabitants are contented and happy.
But it is doubtful, though, if all the
money in the entire community We're
scraped together it would foot up more
than so at any one time.
This peculiar settlement is known as
Hlnkley Corners. 1t consists of
half dozen houses, a like number of
barns and other buildings, and a
frame structure used as q place of
worshi p in cold weather. As long as
the weather will permit, the religious
rites OF this strange sect are held in
The open air, usually in cave near
the woods
The history of this peculiar COM
munity is a strange one. About thirty
five years ago man named Hinkley
began preaching a crusade in the city
of Pittsburg. He claimed that Chris
tianity, by discarding the Mosaic laws,
had violated one of the principles upon
which it was founded.
Hinkley's crusade was so much of q
success, many prominent persons fol-
lowing his standard, that the police |
suddenly put a stop to the sacrifices.
The result Of this threat was to cause
Hinkley and a few followers to emf
CRATE to the mountains, there to start |
the peculiar settlement that exists to-
day. While working about the farms
the men wear ragged clothes, that in
the summer season scarcely cover
their bodies, but on Saturdays, the
day set apart for public worship, they
don their best apparel. The services
open with an invocation. the sacrifice
having been previously prepared, and
laid on the altar. The fire is then
lighted, and if the smoke arises in a
straight column, both men and women
burst into songs of thanksgiving but
should the smoke hang in a cloud
above the altar, weird, wailing song
fills the air until the priest has re-
plenished the fire, prepared new
Offering, and the smoke ascends di-
rectly heavenward.
A strangely weird and solemn sight
is funeral among those strange peo-
pie. The body is carried to its last
'estinS place on bier, the grave hay
nS previously been lined with straw,
md into this the uncoifined remains
ire lowered. Each person in attend
ince then sprinkles handful of earth
N the corpse, all the while chanting
he funeral hymn, and finally passing
mt OF the graveyard, until only the
exton is left to complete the work of
the dead. (
A wedding is an unusually quiet af- {
ar. The contracting parties call '
pom the priest, who requires them to c
Ign an agreement to live together as
IAN and wife, and then performs q I
hort ceremony, at the conclusion of |
.hlch he pronounces the couple united. c
hen at the next funeral, or on the +
ext day of worship, he announces L
ne wedding, and the newly married e
ouple are accorded the lights usually I
upon man and wife-they 7
re at liberty to purchase farm, and S
he community will become security b
II the payment within five years. Ii o
the end of that time the farm is not a
nd for, the priest, who is the chief b
iecutive officer of the community. t
recloses the claim, and the couple
e obliged to separate and seek work 81
here they can among their fellows. L