Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1911-02-09
REVERSING
AN ADAGE
By HARVEY DIAL TON
Copyrisut 1910. by American Press
Association

And, strange TO say. toi &c Is t2e basla
OF Christianity Perhaps VIVA; ! moan
will be palmer when | have told my
story
| had been a clergyman Of the See
ond Presbyterian church IN orr town
for several years when | began to be
doubter first doubted the miracles
That's the way all skeptics begin. ana
they think that if the miracles were
out OF the way they could believe al
the rest II was hard to get NJ ~ me
pulpit every Sunday and preach whaf
| didn't believe myself finally ! ap'
piled for q leave on the usual clergy
mans gronnd--a bad throat-and went
on Il sea voyage.
The ship sailed in was a tramp.
was told that they had had fine wealth
err for three months Some of them
said they'd be glad to see a hurricane
they had got so tired of sunshine and
light breezes But the day after ! got
aboard the weather changed. and, sure
enough. the hurricane they wanted
broke on us furiously We were three
DAYS lighting seas set going by wind
travelling az the rate of hundred
miles an hour We had everything bat
tened down. but the waves pounded
out the glass over the cabins and so
much wafer poured into the hold that
all hands passengers and all-were
called upon to man he pumps.
During all this never did a sailor
pass me but he scowled at me. and oc-
casionally they would gather in knots
talking and shooting malignant gances
at me- didn't know what II meant,
and before | found out the wind died
down But Il cnme mp again, and we
went through three more days of much
the same kind of weather. When this
second storm was over | was standing
on the deck one afternoon looking at
a rainbow which seemed TO me bow
of promise when a number Of sailors
headed by an old salt with rings in his
ears came up to me. and the old fellow
said:
"Parson, we've come 10 the conclu
sion that you're bringing these storms
on us. and we don't want no more Of
'em We're goin to pitch you over
board
Seeing capStan bar near me. | seiZ
ed it 10 use as mems of defense.
but a man behind me was too quick
for me. and was hcld in a titanic
grip This gave the others chance
They closed and over went
The men continued 10 look over the
side of the vessel to sec what became
of me. especially as that place was
alive with sharks, and | had scarcely
struck the surface when a big fellow
gave slow flap OF his tail and float
ed toward me I'm n good swimmer
and bad no difficulty in keeping on
the surface BESIDES, | had hung on to
the capstan bar which was enough "a
float me anyway The shark came
slowly up to me turned on It's side
with a view to taking me in. opened
wide its scissor Jaws and
Here the turning point of my story
comes in put one end Of the cap
stan bar on his lower jaw. ana. Just
as The two started to get together /
wedced the other end in just back Of
his teeth on his upper jaw And there
nc was
was coating about between the
two rows Of teeth. hanging on to the
middle OF the bar Then when was
satisfied the shark could not bite
just foated out and up to the sur
face
Nothing succeeds like success. The
sailors who watched what | had done
threw lines down to me and hauled me
up again on deck
The first thought that came into nv
head was The miracle had most doubt.
ed-that OF the prophet Jonah. saw
It In different light than ever before.
Hadn't ! just been through a more re-
markable occurrence? And how had
| escaped? BY the same way as
had been tossed overheard force
made M my mind to stop doubtin; ana
30 to work saw that the sailors
after my experience with the shark
were afraid OF me- aud resolved TO
profit by their fear proposed there
after to preach the gospel peaccaolv
when ! could. forrihly when must
Every IMAM Iack of yuu. | thunder
ed, come Mt to prayers"
J led them Go the after deck not a
man rctuiue TO follow. and rave rbnm
hair an hou"s service established
two services u day. and NJ every serv
ice read them the story of he
prophet Jonah. at the end asking them
II any one OF them disbelieved il The
FIRST day one man said it was AN lie
J kno'ked MIN down He gor M. and
/ knocked him down again. and ne
Kept getting az and SHOCKING him
down till at Hsl he said n believe
you parson, md reckon youre rba
man that lived three days in fba
WulieS hclly Yourself"
Since then have believed thar force
even in oar calling is better than nor
suaslon AZ any rate, there are cgses
whore persuasion won't work. mir frrco
will And If there is any Mace whore
forec viii work better than persuasion
IT'S among q ships crew remained
aboard that shin seven mouths ANA
found the only way tn induce the men
10 believe anything extraordinary wos
10 nm minor n int, fI..,, -