The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-27

century with the dark ages. One of me
most curious of these and noteworthy
for its widespread hold upon negroes.
is the sect created by a man sometimes
called the Negro Dowie,' because he,
William s. Crowdy, claims TO be Elijah
H.. and the latter-day prophet Of the
Almighty. The name given his follow
ing is the sweeping and noe very mod
est one of Church of God and Saints
in Christ"
Less formidable and respectful Is the
designation applied by those outside
the pale, who call the Crowdyites
Holy Jumpers because of their
frenzied performances at their meet
ngs, and Feet Washers because of
their observance of this practice. In
stead of being confined To the rural
parts of the south. as might be expect
ed. this queer body 1ourishes chiefly I'm
metropolitan centers, having "taber-
nacles'-the Jewish nomenclature is
followed-in Boston, Washington Phil
adelphia, Baltimore New York, Jersey
city, Chicago. Cleveland, Cincinnati.
Columbus. Kansas City. Topeka, At
lanta, Jacksonville, Richmond. Va,
Newport News, Bridgeport. Conn. and
Newport. r. l.
Geography by Revelation.
AS Joseph Smith discovered in estab-
fishing MormOnism, present day reve-
lation is a convenient cloak for many
teachings and practices. Thus Prophet
Crowdy says. with Brother John Jas
per. that the Sun do move" he knows
II because the Bible says so and be-
cause II has been revealed TO him.
Similarly he knows that the earth is
fat and square Also that Adam was
a black man-"Did you ever see any
white earth? God made Adam of
earth'-as were also the patriarchs and
Jews. There is ludicrously fearful and
wonderful exegesis of scripture in all
of the Crowdyite addresses.
Crowdy and his people are Jews. he
declares. for the true Jews are negroes.
Therefore they keep the Jewish Sab
bath. use the Jewish calendar, observe
limitations OF Jewish feasts, practice
what they believe to be Jewish rites.
and decorate themselves in a regalia
that is brilliant beyond the Hebrew
high priests robes
Like Solomon in His Glory.
The procession and feasts of the
-Crowdyites. with their vivid dress eff
fects. are strong card in attracting
members. Here is a glimpse of the re
cent Assembly" in Richmond, given
by Tim as-D,spatch reporter:
For weird and dazzling perform
anees, the sessions outclass anything of
the kind ever seen here before. Grouped
around the preacher on the stage in
a semi-circle, 100 men, in evening
clothes, almost concealed behind rain
bow ribbon streamers, shouted and
clapped hands, laughing frequently.
But the main accessory of these Holy
Jumpers was the choir, sitting just be
low the footlights and facing the con-
gregation. There were probably 100 in
the body, most of whom were women.
They wore crowns, topped off with blood
red silk. Choristers in white, with
white bows in each members hair,
faced the choir. The leader of the
choir cut wide circles in the thick air
of the hall, and the dance began. The
100 voices changed quickly from an an
dante TO an allegro, and as the women
sang they danced, not, however, NOV
ing from the spot on which they stood.
Near the end of the row woman,
weighing more than $50 pounds could
be heard above the rest. She required
more room, for she swayed 10 the
right, and then TO the left. keeping
time with the baton that was never
still Dancing by her side was a small
negro boy, who screamed in falsetto
tones. and from whose face streams of
perspiration poured as he worked mad
~ TO keep in line with his heavy
weight partner. Several times he
dropped out of step, and once he
changed from the scheduled perform
ance and ran TO the verge of an old
fashioned country breakdown "
The comment of the Weekly Prophet
upon the Assembly reminds one of
Dowie's reports OF his famous New
York visit. 1t says THE historic city
of Richmond the hotbed OF the Bap-
lists. has received a blow that was so
terrific that they can never recover
from IL.
The Prophet and the ShekeIs.
With delicious frankness this sect
emphasizes the money side. The proph-
ct does not hesitate to lift up his voice
for cash-or did. when he had voice.
His organ, THE Weekly Prophet"
outdces Dowie's best efforts in, first,
its laudation OF the prophet, and second
ly, in it's appeals for the uthes. IN
der the caption Special Notices from
the Man of God" there are in one is
sue six notices Of this sort:
tif,ed 10 send in half of all tithes and
also half Of all free-will offerings to the
Prophet of God at his address, 113 u
street Northwest Washington, d. G,
once every two months. Please DO this
at once. Nal. 3:S. Peace be unto thee.
Done by order OF the Prophet OF God, |
William S. Crowdy.'
Every body must pay a tenth of his
income. Still another column on the /
first mage OF this particular issue of
the organ is designated Our Rates |
from the Prophet" 1t tells the tax
that every individual and enterprise |
connected with the church must for
ward Of the prophet. Secretaries are
required to furnish reports to the pa
per, and then TO pay for having them |
published In this respect The |
weekly Prophet has reached a goal /
often coveted by despairing editors. |
Contributors have to furnish hard cash /
for having their pieces" appear, and
there is fixed rate for the publica- |
ton of photographs-$2 for three
months successive publication, which |
is surely cheap enough
Here is an important notice" from
the late issue OF The Weekly prophet: |
Unto the Elders of the Church of /
God and Saints OF Christ everywhere /
j now write unto thee 10 send the /
money for the Minutes as ye all vowed /
to do at the Assembly. l want ye all /
to send II in by the 5th of Elul and not |
later than the 10th. Done by order OF |
"Chief Evangelist Joseph w. Crowdy, |
Chairman of Presbytery Board" |
Imitation of DoWie sticks out all /