The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-01-29

r1],A
She Sat Down to Read the First Com
munication She Had Ever Received
In Ivory's Handwriting.
greater responsibility. Oh, Waitstill. how
you have helped my poor. dear mother,
Would that | We're free to tell you how
l value your friendship. 1t is something
more than mere friendship. What you
are doing is ike thlOWlnA ii life line to !;
sinking human being. TWO or three times
of late mother has forgotten to set gu:
the supper things for my father. Her TEL,
years inccssant waiting for him seems t.
have subsidized a little. and in its place Sh,
watches for you. Ivory Id" Writteil
''WatcheS for her daughter" but carefully
erased the last two words. You cOne but
seldom. but her heart feeds on the sight
of you. what she needed, it seems, wa;
the magical touch of youth and health and
strength and sympathy. the qualities you
possess in such great measure.
If | had proof of my fathers death |
think now perhaps that | might try to
break it gently to my mother, as if it
were fresh news. and see if possibly |
might thus remove her principal halluci-
nation. You see now, do you not, how
sane she is In m~any-indeed in most ways
how sweet and lovable. even how sensi-
bic?
To help you better to understand the in
fiuence that has robbed me of both father
and mother and made me and mine the
subject of town and tavern gossip for
years past | have written for you JUS,
a sketch Of the "Cochrane craze" the ro-
mantle story Of a man who swayed the
Wills OF his fellow creatures in a truly
marvellous manner Some local historian
Of his time will doubtless give him more
space. My wish Is to have you know
something more of the circumstances that
have made me a prisoner in life instead
OF a free man. But, prisoner as I am at
the moment, l am sustained just now by
a new courage. l read in my copy of
Ovid last night. 1.-The best of Weapons is
the undaunted heart" This will help you,
too. in your hard life, for yours is the
most undaunted heart in all the world.
IVORY BOYNTON.
The chronicle of Jacob Cochrane's
career in the little villages near the
SacO river has no such interest for the
general reader as It had for Waitstill
Baxter. She hung upon every word
that Ivory had written and realized
more clearly than ever before the
shadow that had followed him since
early bOyhOod-the same shadow that
had fallen across his mothers mind
and left continual twilight there.
No One really knew, it seemed. why
or from whence Jacob Cochrane had
come to Edgewood. He simply ap-
peared at the old tavern a stranger.
with satchel in hand, to seek enter
tainment. Uncle Bart had often de
scribed this scene to Waitstill. for he
was one of those sitting about the
great open fire at the time. The man
easily slipped into the group and soon
took the lead in conversation. delight
ing all with his agreeable personality.
his nimble tongue and graceful speech.
At supper time the hostess and the
rest of the family took their places at
the long table. as vas the custom, and
he aStonished them by his knowledge
not only Of town history. but Of village
matters they had supposed unknown
to any one.
When the stranger had finished his
supper and returned to the barroom he
had to pass through a long entry, and
the landIady. whispering to her daugh-
ter, said:
Betsy, you 60 up to the chamber
closet and get the silver and bring 1t
down. This man is going to sleep
there, and l am afraid Of him. He
must be a fortune teller. and the Lord
only knows what else!!"
In going to the chamber the daugh-
ter had to pass through the barroom.
AS she was moving quietly through.
hoping to escape the notice Of the new
conner, he turned in his chair and,
looking her full in the face, suddenly
said: ..
Madam. you needn't touch your sill
yer l don't want it. l am a gentle
man.
Whereupon the bewildered Betsy
scuttled back to her mother and told
her the strange guest was indeed u
fortune teller.
OF COchrane's initial appearance as a
preacher Ivory had told Waitstill in
their talk in the churchyard early in
the summer. 1t was at a cnild's fu-
neral that the new prophet created his
first sensation. and there, too, that
Aaron and Lois Boynton first came
under his spell. The whole countryside
had been just then wrought up to a
state of religious excitement by re-
vival meetings. and Cochrane gained
the benefit of. this definite preparation
for his work. He claimed that all his
sayings were from divine inspiration
and that those who embraced his doc
trine received direct communication
from the Almighty. He disdained for
] NAL creeds and all manner of church
organizations, declaring that ~sectarian
names were marks Of the beast and all
church members to be in Babylon. He
introduced rebaptism as . symbolic
cleansing from ~Isectariap stains, and
. 49, ,@s : r
s%.g @a .,.
#l-r 70. ~ Bs-e ~ .@&N Et 80