The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1906-09-12
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, September IL, 1906.
THE SLEEPING PREACHER,
Or The Strange Case of Major Perry,
Negro.


witnessing an interesting phenome-
non. I think an account of "The
Sleeping Preacher appeared in the
Dispatch some years ago, but maybe
another report may be of interest.
On Saturday evening 18th of August,
1906, Rube and I set out for Major
Perry's, a distance of nine miles.
The drive was pleasant and just as we
crossed Clouds creek we began race
with storm cloud. The rapid light
ming urged US to hasten, so we arrived
at Perry's at O'Clock, before he re-
tired, and standing there in the yard
unhitching, looked about and saw
what seemed fit setting to the OBJ
iect of our visit. In the background
and yet behind us was the storm.
Lightning flashes showed cotton
patches around and infront was the
cabin where the "Sleeping Negro
Preacher lived. He is an old man,
81 or Sc years of age, and at one time
was a slave. He is an illterate mulat-
to, but has some intelligence.
Psychology gives instances similar
to this one. The person has a dis
eased brain to which the faculty of
memory is abnormally and involun-
tarily active during sleep, or under
some other condition. During this
abnormal activity the victim may
recount in the ninutest detail some
experience Of his past life or even
some innermost thought of his never
before uttered. I say Major Perry's
case is similar, because in all his
sleeping ministry of twenty-six
years he has preached from but
twenty-five or thirty texts using the
same of thought, illustrations, and
often the same words.
At half past eight Major Perry re-
tired. AS he lay there in bed we
watched him closely and saw him
quietly pass into sleep-just natural
sleepit appeared. Not more than two
minutes elapsed before he muttered
few times as if in conversation. l
noticed twitching of his hand-then
Immediately he repeated two lines of
the hymn:
"a charge to keep I have"
and sang them. When he Ihad sung
about two stanzas he seemed to weary
and afterward would cline out" and
pause long enough for it to be sung
then cline out'' again.
Finishing the hymn he threw Kim
self on his side, clasped his hands and
offered fervent prayer. After the
customary Introductory petition he
invoked the aid of Almighty God in
turning sinners to Christ, specifying
particularly gamblers, liars, and
newscarriers and closed with an ac-
knowledgement of the weakness of
humanity.
Major Perry announced his text as
being in Matt. 1850: "And shall cast
them into the furnace of fire; there
shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth.' He said in substance that in
his weak way he would try to remind
his hearers of their sins, to tell them
of the punishment awaiting the un-
repentant and of the reward for those
who turned to God.
In the impassioned speech of the
average "nigger" preacher and in
"nigger" dialect, he spoke of the
prevailing forms of sin among the lay
members of the church, hypocrisy,
gambling, lying, newscarrying, dane
ing and kindred vices. Then those
frivolous things which he called
"Form and Fashion, 'Prosper and
Style" were denounced. He declared
that these same four "forms'' had
crept into church worship and it was
all sinful.
Next he began severe Indictment
against those who preach, not being
called by the spirit of God, but merely
for the money and the good time to
be derived. Said that he had been
called by the spirit and had preached
the gospel daily since 1885 except for
the space of about two months. q in
quired and learned that he had sick
ness of that duration and did not
preach them. He declared that the
uncalled who earn living by Sunday
preaching violated the third COM
mandment in addition to the sin of
dispensing the gospel unworthily.
Here he quoted the entire command
ment.
In conclusion he said that he would
certainly go to heaven and told his
hearers what was to be done II they
wished 10 eriov ever1a stino peace