The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-08-23
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REMARKABLE
GATHERING.
Negro campaigning That At
tracts Many Whites.
SOME STRANGE FEATURES
As Much Enthusiasm as a Football
field, and Deeper Feeling than
a Salvation Army
Meeting.
SOME STRANGE FEATURES
,s,ec,,1 q mic Time;s-Dlspatch.)

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tsoecial to The Times Dispatch3
MoRRISVILLE, VA. August 22-Two
miles south Of this town, on tho road that
leads to Pine View, is the negro church
and school OF Silver Hill, where annually
on the fourth Sunday In August begins
one OF the most famous and most widely
attended nprotracted meetings IN TINS
f.ection OF the State among the blacks.
1t always lasts one week. often two, ana
sometimes day and night. possessing
features strange and widely different
from anything to be found at other gath
erlngs in this section, and 50 well con-
Quoted is it that every year finds more
and more whites attending the services,
until tt has become quite fad, and
there are few OF the services that do not
find some whites in the gallery
1t Is hard to describe 1t and not miss
some interesting feature, It has as much
enthusiasm as q football field where
Yale and Princeton meet; It has deeper
feeling than the average Salvation Army
gathering, and features such as you
might expect to find on the Midway OF q
World Fair.
About fifty feet back from hard and
level road. In the edge OF an extensive
oak and pine forest. is situated the negro
church and school, which bear the name
a. silver Hill. The church is large
wEitewash shed frame building, with steel
roof laid over shingle one and looks
more like a large barn than q church.
Four tall windows on each side ana TWO
on each end admit plenty OF light, ana
no blinds ever obstruct Its course. IN the
end facing the road are two doo1s. una
above these Is a large. wide ga!!erv.
This is exclusively for the use OF the
~ TO- stairs l9
locked upon as an intrusion. The floor
ceiling and sides Of the interior are
sealed in plain, substantial manner-
in fact, everything about the building
shows an entire absence of style or pro-
tension Of any kind whatever. The pull
pit Is high and imposing. while wide,
high backed benches accommodate the
THIRTY THIRTY MILES TO MEETING. y
On the fourth Sunday In August at
silver Hill there can usually be seen
over a thousand blacks and hundred
whites: some have driven twenty on
thirty miles from Fredericksburg or war
renton, or beyond; some are natives nome
on q vacation from their service place,
IN Washington or some other city, and
some are friends Of those who have VS.
tied the place in former years. The
whites are a conventional, uninteresting
rroup., 50 we will pass them by. There
nre two services one at II and the other
at 2 o'clock The morning service starts
un nromptly at II with music as sweet
as human ears ever listened to, for while
there Is no time kept and no unison OF
voices still there Is absolutely no dis
cord to break the pleasant. harmonious
| sound that soothes the ear. The church
Ia full and many stand reverently around
| the omen windows, listening to tho
urea cher, whose sonorous voice might pc
| heard half a mile away. The scenes upon
| tho grounds on the first day Of the meet
| ing are more interesting to the curiosity
seeker than the interior OF the church.
About sixty feet norm OF inc churen 10 u
| we'll, and around this are about one hun
| dred men and boys. some lying on the
brown nine tags, some sitting on stones
or logs some standing idly around. as II
| overcone with the heat, and some are
drawing water for themselves or for the
| gigRling girls. who come more gorgeously
arrayed than II they had robbed the rain
bow of Its brightest hues, to make eyes
| nj the sporty young bucks and laugh at
their pert, admirng words. A white man
drives M with a surrey full OF blacks, and
| m exquisite Of color climbs down to as
stat the girls out; white hat adorns his
| head his negigee shirt has more yellow
! in It than any other color. red tie With
green dots encircles the high white col
| lar that props UP MS kIiuIk-coloTeQ cum,
the front of his coat Is literally covered
/ with buttons and badges, his trousers are
n very loud plaid, cane. patent leather
shoes and q pair Of brown canvas legglns
make his OUTFIT; but without the legglns
/ M would not be dressed, At the stlle Is
r,thered very dlgniied group, all
drsssed In shiny black. with the whitest
Of linen and black shoestring ties, These
nre the heads of the church. gravely dis
cuss!ng It's welfare
house mounted on wheels, Is doing n
/ s,nshinr bushes; so are the watermelon
wagons down IN the woods some distance
from the church Just stroll after four 0r
K. nvn Young negroes still further into tho
woods and it might astonsh you to find
vourse,f in the midst Of a combined cake
walk and dance. No one will notice your
presence and an Inquiry OF the youths
Who Nav the mouth organ will give you
The Inflammation that they are not dane
| inr-"ilst marching" a little further
nm IN the dense woods Is a silent, yet
more excited crowd than the "just march
;mp" group. Two strapping big bucks In
! the center of a ring are having flercn
4 fipht and while they often exchange
h,tter words they never use their fists,
Thsv grab each other by the arms and
v, nIi pound their heads together UNI
4 4, thnv seem to be almost out of breath,
t ~ ~ w,th few parting kicks they break
," only TO resume the head-poundlng
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