The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1908-07-23
OLD BETTEs
At It AGAIN
IN THE WEST
Old Reprobate Flags the Life
Out of the Ministers and
the Churches.

Old Sam Bettes, the cowboy
preacher. of fragrant memory. who
held forth in this state for several
years when hee>was building his COS
pei yacht for trip to South Amer
lea to convert the heather, and who
left rather suddenly when his wife
arrived from New York and discov-
cred peculiar condition of affairs, is
preaching In the far west, as Will be
seen from the following:
SEATTLE. Wash, Julv Gin the
course of an hours preaching at the
Volunteers of America mission. Sam
uel s. Bettes, the Cow boy preach
err roped. throwed and hogtied the
Baptists. Methodists, Presbyterians,
Catholics and quite number of 9TH
er religious bodies. After letting his
rawhide securely around the ortho-
dox denominations he proceeded TO
brand them with marks not exact
~ familiar to the cattle ranges In
used to ride the roundup.
Bettes. who says the prefix REV"
Is the prefix some ministers use to
slide into heaven with, faced a mixed
but entirely receptive audience when
he launched, or rather rode, full
speed into his discourse. There was
the usual shouting coterie of Volun-
teers. but the rest of the hall was
packed with men from the streets,
who were attracted by the faring
signs outside the basement entrance.
advertising the Cowboy Preacher
and by the, uproarious chorus or
cries that varied the singing.
The preacher got some enthusiasts
tic yells when he delivered himself
of especially caustic epigrams. "A
few of his choice ones were as fol-
lows:
You never heard of man back
sliding from the Presbyterian church,
because he had to backslide to get
there"
Some people talk about the Meth
can hog-tie any Methodist in catching
sinners"
"Fd rather be religious fool than
a devilish sharp"
The hard shell Baptist may get
to heaven. but IL he does he will find
out what an awful old fool he was
on earth"
Religion is good cure for dys-
pepsia. The man who cures general
~ has a stomach ache coming to
him"
NO true Christian vii, smoke a
cigarette. A cigarette is a fool at one
end. fire at the other. some paper
and dust In between"
Some Seattle ministers let their
hobbies run away with them. They
need a religious bronco buster"
Long hair don't let preacher
through the eye of a needle any cas-
Ter than long legs"
incidentally Mr.. Bettes wears a
good deal of hair himself, which he
losses back on his forehead when he
esque sermons. He took for his text
Who Is she that looketh forth as
the morning, beautiful as the moon,
clear as the sun. and terrible as an
army with banners" which he said
was from the Songs of Solomon, vi.
10.
Before the sermon began one of
the Volunteers arose and asked for
contributions. When the plate came
back to the platform Bettes arose
and remarked that he needed twelve
more dollars to pay for a new suit
of clothes. but the twelve dollars
were not forthcoming.
His sermon dealt chiefly with the
glories of unorthodox religion. He
calls himself free-will Baptist, and
frequently broke off short in his talk
to hand out some scratching denunci-
alton of certain aspects of present
day religion. Striding back and
forth on the narrow platform, his
long iron gray hair falling in disor-
derby masses across his brow. his
face flaming red and perspiring. his
arms waving. fists often clenched, he
poured forth torrent of words. at
times ascending to heights of un-
couth eloquence, at other times drop
ping back into slang or the grotesque
Language OF the plains.