The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-10-31

Hello! HellolD cried shr1l voice
at my front gate. It was the morn
ing following the prayer meeting de-
scribed in the last installment of the
Chronicles. Your correspondent was
in q state of semi-consciousness,
ready to bless the one that invented
sleep, and equally as ready to call
down anathemas on him that would
interrupt It.
Hello! HelloI" again piped the
shrill voice, fare you all dead in
there 2"
Accusing myself with an effort, /
hoisted the window to find that the
sun had not risen, and that my un-
seasonable caller was John NJ. WEIGH,
a lad Of eight years and the son Of
John WEIGH, ST., at whose house we
had gathered the night previous.
"Pa says that the preacher will
leave on the noon train, and he wants
you to come up Immediately for he
hak special business with you"
Tell your father that / will be
there in ten minutes" And wonder
ing what could be the special business
of my new acquaintance, I hastily
stressed, and within the promised
limit had traversed the distance of
two hundred yards, to find Brother
WEIGH and the stranger awaiting me
on the gallery.
Il have been telling Brother Jones
that you have had Some experience as
a draughtsman, and could make a
chart or plat for him. Can you do
it,"
Eyes," said I, "if I am furnished
with the proper field notes."
There are no fields about this sur
vey, it has to do with the swamps of
Escambia river" said WEIGH.
Excuse me-" said Brother Jones,
perhaps If I repeat what have just
told you, may be Brother Tate could
receive some assistance, for my notes
must be furnished from memory, and
that too after a lapse of fourteen
years"
Go ahead" said Brother WEIGH
And for upward of an hour listened
to narrative which at times was of
such a nature that | hung with close
attention upon every word uttered
and then egain / was tempted to ex-
cuse myself from listening further to
his strange tale. But / did stay to
hear the whole thing, and learned
at the end why he had related his
strange story. His impressive dis
course of the night previous, and the
emotion displayed in its delivery was
now fully accounted for. Immediate
" my esteem for him grew and was
further increased when learned that
!, with Brother Welch, was to be-
come beneficiary or rather an equal
partner in the buried treasure con-
cealed in Escambia swamps and for
more than two weeks had eluded the
diligent search made by this strange
parsonage whom l shall henceforth
in this narrative call by the hyphen-
ated title of '"The Itinerant-Loca
Preacher" am aware of the fact
that this appellation is paradoxical
in its significance, but / think that
my readers viii agree with me that
he deserved it, inasmuch as he had
already exhibited his license as O
local preacher, and at the same time
held documents commencing him Il
congregations Of the Methodist
Church South.
Without further depression, let ms
-nesume and tell IN his own words thi,
remarkable story of 'SThe Itinerant--
Local Preacher"
The Itinerant Preacher.
Tin the latter part of May, 1855,
sound myself in the neighborhood o.
pollard, q paroled Confederate sol
der. had recently been a prisonel
upon Ship Island, and Il any one II
this part has had the misfortune I,
be confined as a prisoner on tina
island, he can imagine the picture
presented on my liberation from tina
horrible stockade. Sick and ENACT
ated from lack Of food and medicine
sore from the kicks and cuffs of
brutal negro guard; footsore and ia
tigued as plodded slowly my home
ward journey, constantly excited tn
pity of those / met, but who were un
able to assist me. Railroads had beel
destroyed by the Wilson's and tn
Briersons' raids. The future present
ed a gloomy aspect to me, and tn
prospect of seeing my relatives il
Carolina was as remote as If I wer
again incarcerated upon Ship Island
It was my good fortune to receive n
invitation to stay all night at a hous
near Pollard. The aged couple VIII
owned the house were in a grateful
mood. Their two sons had Just re
turned from the surrender at Appom
atox, and they invited me to rest u
until I became strong enough to re
i sumo my journey. This family whor
/ shall call by the name of Brow
were dependent upon the pine fores
for a support. The war and an Ell
fective blockade at Pensacola had pre-
vented them from marketing lumbel
But since their two sons had returne