The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-11-30


ing more money with his tongue AM
| gymnastics than Bryan earns Will
) his chin music.
After Hearing Him Preach.
:, In another place is an article OF
; this remarkable man, written ter
, days ago, but crowded out last week
Later. thinking, that, perhaps. | did
not see him in true perspective, new
er having heard him preach U saw
Elm perform. on temperance at our
Chautauqua two years sincel | con
cluded to run over to Ottumwa last
Sunday and see the agile fellow at
short range. 1t was the best enter
tainment in twenty years. The train
was half hour late. and feared a
| big chunk would have been CRASHED
out of the pie before could reach
/ the tabernacle Two or three
/ blocks away l ',eard the "hollering of
4 the captains 1t sounded like the
F.; tumult of the bankers at a circus and
/ the roaring of the animals, but there
!! was no bad ammoniacal smell. Edg-
ing in through ranks of folks stand
ing up, told an usher that had
come forty-siX miles to hear Mr.. Sun
day and he must reward such virtue
by finding me a good seat. He con-
quered roost at the end of a row in
the center. about three rods from the
big stand, six feet high, on which
/ BILL as he delights to call himself,
and his smooth assistant and musical
director were begging for money to
apply on the debt for the building
and for running expenses. and they
raised a very considerable sum. He
is cute and smooth enough to coax
backsheesh out of wooden and
time. voiding slang, and bobbing and
sizzling round like a drop of water on
hot gridle. In the morning and
afternoon heats they raked in some
$4,000 and several hundred sinners.
The tabernacle is long, rambling
horse shed of a place, but it is well
ventilated by hinged transoms and
windows and skylights as in Noah 5
ark. electrically lighted and steam
heated. Long pine plank benches to
plaRks get next" in an hour or two
STILL one is so interested, amused
tickled. one does not mind calluses
and splinters. or think of arnica.
cushions and poultices.
At last Bill" got down to his job
and made good. He is taller than
remembered quite six feet, thin in
the legs, thin in the tanks, but as
why as a coiled dynamo or rattle.
snake; burly torso heavy should
ers, with a thick neck and a square
face and head. big blue eyes bullying
like an insects. wide mouth. show
ing a fine set of natural teeth. arms
as long as gorilla's, legs like stills;
blood vessels in the neck as thick as
your finger when he is talking II en-
ty-ffve to the dozen; and he is all
action, action, action, the most high
strung nervous fellow you ever saw
straining at leash, with a temperament
compounded of ginger. quicksilver
tobasco, red and green peppers, car
bolic acid. barbed wire and jerky
lightning, | am sure that a psyche
logist would say that his peculiarly
catchy power over an audience is due
to his physical intensity vehemence.
and swiftness of movement that
amounts TO velocity. BY his rapid
impassioned utterances and peristal-
tic motions he hypnotizes a crowd
1t is precisely the same thing you
see, in steam coach. out in the pas
lures the swift train sets the farm
dog crazy, and he takes after it like
all-possessed, yelping. running as #
he would burst his boilers. going It
down the track like a streak of light.
nfng-the dog is bewitched by the mo-
ton and so are the domestic animals
just beyond the right of way Horses
and cows fling up heads and tails and
sail. and the hogs timber up. run side
ways and remark "ker-smoosh' . which
is as near as a shoat can come TO
speak our word Gosh" One great
secret of Sundays success lies in his
tremendous activity and gymnastics.
# is catching. infectious. he com
municates his tireless energy, pumps
You full of electrical juice, and PEG
pie follow him as lively as the tail of
a comet holds fast TO its shining head.
The picture of William on this page
does not exaggerate his antics a bit.
II the course of FIVE minutes he can
get himself into more knots. kinks
and elongations than any mortal out
side a circus ring. Nor does this i'm. !
press one as affectation, or something
calculated on for effect he Is not
putting on dog" he is not original.
aboriginal and fantastic for pur-
pose; he r. simply acting naturally,
acting in preaching role as he acted
on the diamond when ball-player.
He is made that way, and that Is all
there is OF It
How refreshing It is to see an orig.
inal impulslve man acting naturally.
with no pretense and reserves, Think
Of the average IA atar I'm contrast Uo