The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-18
THRASHED INTO GRACE.
The Reform alton of IL California Bully by
Muscular Christianity.

San Diego (Cal) Corr. New York sun.
The Rev Stanley Wilson of the little
town of Ramona, a little way from
San Diego. besides being editor or the
Ramona Sentinel, is an all-round ath-
lete He can hold his own with the |
gloves with any amateur in the couh-
try. and he is his own fighting editof'
And he doesn't carry gun. re Is /
Baptist and he rides the circuit, whlch |
embraces a number of small mining
towns in the hills and mountains OF
Southern San Diego county. When he
is on the circuit he breaches IN TOWN
on Sunday morning, and IN the after
noon puts on the gloves with the lusls
young miners and ranchers, VINO are a.
ways eager to have go WIN nii'
He can best any of them that mas
turned up so far, and they have no END
of respect and admiration Tor MN.
They all crowd to her his sermons,
which they greatly approve ana ai.o-
gether the Rev Mr.. Wilson is the most
popular preacher who has ever ap-
peared in that region.
on one of his recent circuit trips ne
saved a man named Gum from the III
dams. Mr.. Wilson came up with theh
in a lonely place on the road across
warmers ranch There We're three In
dams, and they had Gum down ana
were about to stab him to death, pre-
sumably with the intention OF fopplng
him. The preacher came upon them
unexpectedly, and leaplng from ms
horse, scattered the Indians right ana
left One Indian got the sullivan
Knockout on the point of his cnln ana
stretched his length on the road. An
other received the preachers INST IN MS
solar pleXus. Then the preacher mao
lust time to dodge the knife In the hand
of the third Indian, after which he did
a neat bit of infighting. the result OF
| which was that he captured the KNIFE
| and sent the red man sprawling in the
| dust. BY this time Mr.. Gum had
scrambled to his feet and the two OF
| them drove the Indians ahead to the
nearest town, where they surrendered
| them to the law.
Last Sunday the Rev. Mr.. Wilson had
an unusually busy day. He preached
| at the mining town of Julian lie nad
a big audience and his sermon was full
Of his customary energy and eloquence.
The people listened attentiVeiy ana
| afterward gathered in groups to talk
it over. In the afternoon Dave Put
| nam, a town bully. who has been IN
many fights and has the reputation OF
! being a hard man to handle. accosteu
! the preacher on the street and demand
ed a retraction of an uncomplimentary
item about himself which had appeared
in that weeks issue of the Ramona
Sentinel Wilson declined to retract
Putnam insisted, and Wilson repieu
that he didn't publish a thing unless i
was true and that he proposed to stand
nv whatever he had said, and to pun
fish it again if he thought best. Then
Putnam pulled off his coat, advised tins
preacher to get ready for licking and
sailed in. But the preachers coat was
off before Putnam got there. and the
blow he had meant for the priestly
nose landed in the air. The bully was
a bit bewidered by this, but he TOOK
his bearings and squared off again
He is much heavier than Wilson, bu
the fight was nevertheless one-sidet
from start to finish. AS Putnam came
| on again the man of God dealt him {
blow with the right which knocked hin
off his feet and caught him on the jaw
with his left as he fell. The bully
jumped to his feet and renewed the at
tack. but he couldn't land anywhere
The preacher was too quick for nm
and did not receive single blow. Put
nam finally gave up after he had peer
stretched on the sidewalk three times
; and said il was all a mistake, an,
that he didn't want the item taken bacl
at all.
/, The young preacher is more popuia
than ever. and il is the universal opin
! | ion that any man who can lick DaY
| Putnam is the man for that towr
For Putnam himself the affair seem
: | to have been a means OF grace. ii
!, | has not tried to get into row sine
| then and has modified his demeano
! | and declares that hereafter he is goln
= to church every time Rev. Stanley WI
: son breaches.