The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1897-06-26
.erurned Wrong side outards..

What makes me tell you what | do?
Ben Chris Weaver come up from the
old Panther creek settlement some days
ago, and passed night with me. You
see me and Ben Chris have been as
friendly and thick as four in bed from
through till now. And we still visit and
swap lies and mix tobacco ut least onest
a year, to keep our old acquaintance
young and the reeolleetions of old times
fresh SO far as me and him are con-
cerned.
.Fhey have now cot so Internal many
new pints and fancy trimmins and eX-
ira touches on the game, Rufe, til!
blamed if | know what cards are com
in next says Ben Chris that night
after supper. .'From the way in which
they run things in this present day and
generation, it wouldn't be no ways sur.
prism to me to see two pair beat three
of a kind, or four aces win the pot over
a straight flush.
And what is more. RUFF, if you amt
as blind as a mole and as def as post,
you can see them same new-fangled
fool notions eroppin out in regards to
n most anything and everything in
sight. Even to the churches have got
the new disease, and bless the Heavens,
if some of the latest styles in religion
don't make people meaner instid Of bet
-. 6 I
told it.
Right soon after Christmas two
preachers of new and curious religion
come down into the old settlement, and
after skirmishin and scoutin around
the edges for a few days, they put in
and went to Preachin forth their strange
doctrines. They soon got toe holt over
there at old Rehobeth church, and, by
gracious, they have now busted the
church wide oISn, and turned things
wrongside outards and raised more
hot weather amongst the people than
little. AS for me, Rufe, don't take no
stock in any such contortionments, but
from all | can hear and pick up around
amongst the people, the new preachers
set forth and maintain that accordin to
the Bible and the declared words of
the IL epistles, man has got the right
to marry himself off with as many yal'i-
GUS and sundry women as he wants to.
They preach some other wild and woolly
doctrines, but that pluperfect fool no
ton about marryin is the mainest new
pint in their religion.
Nov, it would seem like some of the
members at old Rehobet h--which you
rccollect that church was built up ac-
cordin to the Methodist faith and order
way back in the early settlement of the
country-they took up with the new
doctrine, whilst Others kicked and
wouldn't touch it with a 40-foot pole.
But finally at last the bggests stood
by the new preachers, and the others
them that are Methodists till yet, and
Methodists till they die-they had to
pull off and take out and quit the
church.
but the most strangest thing in the
whole business to me, Rufe, comes from
the fact that some of the women folks
have took up with that multitudinous
fool notion about more wives than one
for every man. 1t wouldn't look so
tremendous passin strange for the men
folks to take up with such doctrines,
but blamed if | can see how they ever
got it to go down with the women. But
it won't hold water, Rufe. told them
people from the jump that they run
their religion dead square agin common
sense and rough shod over human ma
ture, and they can't. The devil is in it,
and consquentially they are bound TO
play the devil with it"