The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-07-01
JASPER. INDIANA. FRIDAY JULY /, 1898.

same time ! was scorching anc
burning to death for more whisky.
At that time | would have walked
across a mine with match touched
TO il; | would have walked before
Exploding cannon for more liquor.
Il went to anothet saloon. This
time | was afraid to touch the bot
tie, but stood back trembling while
the murderer poured out the whisky.
Again that liquor turned to snakes
and they crawled around the glass
on the bar and Missed, writhed and
squirmed. Then in an instant they
all coiled about each other and
matted themselves into one snake
with a hundred heads, and from
every. head glittering eyes CLEANED
and forked tongues Kissed at me.
| rushed from the saloon. a dog
as large as a calf sprang up before
me and commenced to growl and
snap at me. ! picked up stick
about three feet long to drfend my
self. As soon as ! took that stick
in my hand it turned to "A snake. |
could feel its shiny body writhe and
Isquirm in my hands, and in trying
to hold it and keep it from biting
me, every finger nail cut like a
knife into the palm of my hand,
and the blood streamed down over
that stick that to me was living
snake.
dashed ii from me and ran to a
depot. | took a train and left it at
some town near Cincinnati. |
went to a hotel and there they per-
suaded me to lie down. Just as
soon as got to bed | reached my
hand over and it touched
COLD, DEAD CORPSE.
The room lighted up with a hun
dred bright lights and that corpse
opened its large, CLASSY, dead eyes
and stared me in the face. Then
its whole face and form changed tc
a demon and its red eyes glared at
me, and its whole iace was full Of
passion, ferceness and frenzy.
On looking around, everything
in my vision turned to living dew
il. Chairs, stand, bed, and my
very clothes took form and lived,
and every one of them cursed me.
Then another form more hideous
than the others appeared. Its lock
was that of witch or hag. 1t
marched right up 10 me and began
to talk to me, saying that it would
thrust its fingers through my ribs
and drink my blood; then it would
stick out its long, bony, skeleton
like fingers that looked like sharp.
knives, and laugh; that it would
sit upor me and press me to hell
that it would roast me with brim-
stone and dash my burnt entrails
into my eyes. Saying this, it
sprang at me, and for an age
fought with the unearthly thing"
1T finally left, and | arose and
went to the street. As soon as
on the pavement my foot
nod upon a dead body. The whole
pavement and street were filled,
men and women, and little children
wing with their pale faces turned
up to heaven. Every time | moved
stepped on corpse, and when
stepped on a dead baby it would
,ome to life and wall, and its dead
mother would rear up and rush at
ne, and
A THOUSAND DEVILS
would curse me for stepping on the
led. In this way | put in the
Whole night. When light dawned
he horrible objects disappeared to
ONE extent, and, by terrific ef-
ort was able to control my mind"
The debauch just described was !
he last one before Mr.. Benson be-
,an his active temperance work.
lie went to Maine and travelled back
oward Indiana, delivering lectures
wherever he stopped. Great num-
,ers were lead by his passionate .
loquence to sign the temperance
,ledge, and his work is considered
me Of the most remarkable in the .
cause. A number of
ines since he began to lecture he
as again descended into his old
ondition, but only for short inter :
ais. 1t was often supposed that :
Ie had been drinking when he had !,
ot. One of his indianapolis !,
speaking, Tuesday smorn-
ng, of his life, said:
"The terrible struggles, though !
uccessful, through which Re passed !
0 conquer the demon OF desire were !,