The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-29

III IN / characters of early Indiana days
e was John Rolfe He was COM
I&&M monty known as the "Fiddling
S Parson." He was erratic in his
movements and moods, after the order of
the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, once so we'll
known throughout America, England and
Ireland. He was possessed of an eloquence
that was actually startling, and preached
with the same unctiOrrwhether his audience
consisted of only dozen backwoodsmen in
rude log cabin, or of hundreds at a camp
meeting. He did not claim TO belong TO
any particular sect or denomination, and it
was never certainly known from whence
he came to Indiana.
He would suddenly appear in neighbor-
hood preach a sermon or two and then
| suddenly disappear. He would preach
,, whenever he could get any one to listen to
| him, if 1T was only the members of single
| family. as he passed from cabin to cabin.
/ A hundred strange stories were told of him
| in the early days, for il was while Indiana
was still a Territory that he did his work
here He wore his hair long. His eyes
| were dark and piercing, and for most part,
he wore buckskin coat and leggings. He
traversed the forests on foot, with an old
| fashioned saddie-bag thrown over his
| shoulder. In it he seldom carried more
| than a change of linen and Bible and
| hymnbook His knowledge of the Scriptures
was something wonderful. He could quote
almost any passage from memory, giving
| chapter and verse. And If one would quote
some passage he could give the verse be-
fore and following it.
He never preached controversial sermons.
| but his topic ever was the JOY of a better
| life Contrary to the other preachers of
| his day, he seldom held up before his con-
gregation the terrors of punishment for the
wilfully disobedient Love. redeeming
love, was constantly his theme. Above all
else. he delighted to depict the glories of
| the life to come; to tell of the struggles
and triumphs of the saints.
| He wandered through the forests from
| cabin to cabin, and it was his custom on en-
| tering any house to give the old Jewish
| salutation: May the peace of God rest on
| this house and all therein" The Indians
| were troublesome, but he feared nothing at
| their hands, but kept up his wanderings.
| He did not avoid the settlements, but pre-
| ferred to visit the lonely cabins. AS a rule
| the people of Indiana at that early day were
| law-abiding people, but among the hills
| bordering the Ohio river, were many cabins
| hidden away from the trail" and it was
! generally supposed such cabins were inhab-
4 tied by lawless men, horse and cattle
1 thieves, and upon them the blame for the
| sudden disappearance of more than one pio-
| neer or traveller had been placed. Even OF
l these desperate men John Rolfe seemingly
| had no fear, and it was known that on more
| than one occasion he voluntarily sought out
some cabin Stunned by all.
| At settlement on the Ohio river he heard
! that back in the hills, some miles away.
1 was the headquarters of a notorious gang
/ of horse thieves. So desperate were those
hiding there that there had been talk of or
1 ganizing body OF the settlers to break up
| the band by force Rolfe inquired the way
/ TO the place, and announced his intention Of
1 going there to preach. He was warned that
| it was taking his life in his hands, and that
| it would be impossible to accomplish any
| good.
This did not deter him. Starting out on
| foot. he so timed himself as to arrive at
! the cabin of the leader about the middle of
| the afternoon. Three or four Of the desper-
ADDE'S were lounging around the cabin as he
/ approached. and these he greeted with his
| usual salutation, MAY the peace of God
! rest on this house and all therein" This
| was greeted with sour looks and audible
| cursing. Nowise Disconnected by this rough
| reception, he took seat on the bench al
| ways found at the door of cabin in those
days and began a conversation. The men
had already been drinking heavily and they
continued their rotations, asking the preach
er to join them. This he declined, but in
| such a way as not to offend them.
1 At last one of them asked him his bust
| ness and he replied that he was a preacher
| and had come to preach to them. This was
| received with loud curses and the declara-
| ton that no psalm singer would be per-
| mitted to ply his vocation in that neighbor-
| hood. To this he made no reply, but con-
| tinued TO talk in voice so pleasant that
| some of the men instinctively forebore to
| emit their accustomed oaths. In looking
| around he espied Il fiddle and, reaching for
let HIM Breach he. SUPPOSED they would not
| object IL he should play the fiddle for them.
This proposition was received with loud
| laughter. as they thought a fiddling preach
err was novelty. They had idea he
could play and thought TO have much fun
over his attempts. With a quick twist or
| ment in tune and then began a concert of
sweet sounds. such as the woods of In
| diana had never heard. At first he played
| such music as he knew to be familiar TO
| the backwoods. all the time talking in a
| low, sweet strain, of the music. Then he
| broke off into rapid and inimitabe imita-
| tons of various birds of the forest. inter-
mingled with the howls of the wolf, the
| hootings of the OWL the scream of the
| panther. So realistic were his limitations
| that the listeners involuntarily looked
| about them as if they expected to see the
| birds or beasts. Without a pause he
| changed TO a wild and weird melody, grow
| ing wilder and more weird. until the blood
| of his hearers first broke out in fierce ges-
| ticulations and shouts. and then into some
| thing very much like fear.
| Then came another change. This time il
| was TO the low and plaintive melodies of the
| nursery. that some of them had listened to
| i'm their childhood days. So plaintive. so
| sweet were these sounds that the eyes of
| more than one of those rough men began
| shayx tears and their roleh GA tbs