El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-07-14
Long Prayer


81 heard Senator Joe Blackburn of
Kentucky tell q good story at Kansas
City last week" said a man from New
Orleans en- route to San Francisco,
while eating breakfast in Ell Paso this
morning. 1.-THE senator was talking
with q crowd of Kentucky delegates
when the conversation turned to
religion and its material forms.
"Talking about religious ceremo.
nies,' said Blackburn, L think old
'Eph' Lillard, the warden Of the
Bluegrass State prison, tells about as
good story as ever heard.
'''Is seems that 'Eph' had among his
prisoners two old negroes, both par
sons, and both sent up for the same
job. Each man had tried to obtain
freedom by blaming the guilt on the
other. aud the feeling of good fellow
ship continued during the beginning
of their terms. Rev johnson was a
devous Methodist, while Rev White
was 6 dyed-in-the-wool Presby terrain.
One day while exercising in the yard
the old trouble came up, aud Rev
John son proceeded to jump all over
his brother of the cloth. He might
have finished the job had not the
| guards hauled him off.
"Now this trouble had lasted for
long time, and Eph' decided to put 40
end to it then and there. He ordered
that Rev. Johnson be fogged as the
aggressor In this particular case, and
| that Rev White be made to witness
the punishment as an object lesson
when all was ready for the punishment
the two darkies were brought out, and
Rev johnson had his back barred. To
'Eph's' surprise, Rev White asked as
q favor that he be allowed to pray
while the stripes were being laid on his
sinful brother, and that the guards be
instructed to cease logging as soon rs
the prayed erded.
'Eph' thought this peculiar re-
quest, but said all right, with a
Well, the fogeing and the prayer
began and Rev White closed his
eyes, braced his back against the
wall and started in with loud
sirg-song howl:
"'He devoted ten minutes to the cul-
prit, then went on to his family and
prayed for each member individually
He prayed for every member of Rev
Johnson's former hock, for all the men
who had ever come into contact with
him, Cor the storekeepers with whom
he had dealt, and for all the towns in
Kentucky he had ever been in. Then
he crossed the state line and prayed
for ell the communities in Tennessee,
Illinois, and West Virginia which he
suspected his aching brother might
have visited and was about to get into
Alabsma and Georgia when 'Eph,
who bad laughed until he could hardly
stand, held him up.
by this time the guard had got or
to the joke and was oaly pretending te
! az on the strokes, so that the culpris
was not badly hurt.
'Jist one minute. Mr.. Warden
begged the prayerful orator. 'Jist on
minute whilst prays for you all 81
then enumerated the goodness of. the
warden and his family and his rels
tives, and was about to switch Off t
&, the various guards when he was order
ed to stop. He regarded his brothe
with some satisfaction and announce
that he certainly would like to hsv
finished that prayer.
"'Mr. Warden remarked the di
com flied Rev Johnson, j jill
want t. say one thing. Dis yere ba,
;. lost the Methodist church shini
light. for 1 never, never again will
70 able to pray a long prayer"