East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-02-02

For three years a nurse in Zion
City, and a member of the Dowie col
ony. Miss Alma Zahnter, who was in
Pendleton yesterday, a guest Of the
French restaurant, became tired of the
humdrum life Of that freak city and
is now on her way TO her home in
San Francisco.
Three years ago Miss Zahnter and
her cousin. Mrs. G. F. Robbins. a
widow of San Francisco. Joined the
Dowie colony at Zion City expecting
to remain members until death, but
the sanity tyranny of Elijah II, and
the freakish customs of his outlandish
city of Zion drove them to seek the
freedom OF the big, broad. palpitating
world once more and so she has shak-
en- the dust of Zion from her feet and
is going back to San Francisco to take
up her occupation as n hospital
nurse.
Miss Zahnter is an intelligent and
highly educated girl and spoke enter
tainingly of the Dowie colony and its
wonderful founder, who is now near
to death.
\ Nurse In Zion City.
Miss Zahnter had no money to do
nate to the cause of Zion when she
entered the domain of Elijah's sancti-
fled city, but owing to her skill as a
nurse and her good character and
sensible disposition she, with hundreds
of other working girls were admitted
to membership on equal footing with
those who donated millions to found
and carry on the vast schemes OF
Zion City.
She was made nurse in the Of
ed good food, warm clothing, plenty
OF reading matter, had plenty of leis-
ure time. was at liberty to go and
] come (as long as she did not tran
scend any of the fanatical dictates OF
! the propheD and was well cared fol
and treated royalty, she declares, ir
| the city.
But there was something so grew
some in the imitation of ancient pat
riarchal life, something so ogre in tbs
dogmatic rules of the old sophistica
tyrant of Zion that Miss Zahnter will
dozens of other sensible women anC
men shook off their allegiance anC
stepped out again into the free air o
the United States, where they nigh
love and hate, eat pork and butter
laugh at jokes and weep at suffering
with their barbarian American broth
ers and sisters outside of Zion's walls
hat In, hn ri
stages of Zion City all the freakisl
rules of the founder were carried ou
to the letter, because the first littl
handful of recruits that Joined hir
were as cranky and erratic as Dowi
himself, but as more and more peopl
were admitted, because they ha
wealth TO donate to the eXchequel
that Dowie and his rules were less an
less regarded and now vast major
ity of the residents of Zion regar
Dowie as a huge joke and live an
act as they please, hoping in som
way to get back what they paid int
the treasury of the freak fund" a
they call Dowie's collection Of cash.
She says that the rules against max
ing love, except upon the persona
advice and permission of Dowie ar
absolutely null and the youngster
make love and hold their "kissin
bees" just as they do in Missouri
Texas or any other pagan countr!
, far removed from Zion.
The rules of health promulgated b
Dowie are we'll observed and the sar
itary conditions are ideal. There Is
, rule against eating pork. but hog bone
can be found in the garbage barrel
even at the home of Dowie's mo!
trusted lieutenants and a secret ira,
fic in spare ribs and back bones
carried on under the very eye of I'll
prophet
The rules against expectorating @
the streets, using tobacco and intox
cants are tolerably closely observe
: and If no other good results con
{ from Zion's existence, these clean
1 customs will atone for all the freaks
Il reforms attempted within the borde
Of the city.
Miss Zahnter regards the thr'
years spent at Zion, one of the mo
valuable periods Of her life, becau
of the great opportunity afforded II
= the study of human character ar
e conduct under peculiar conditions al
!