Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1918-06-15
A REGULAR CAMOUFLAGER

Episcopal church, built Of round pine poles
with an inch board floor and the whole COW
cred with four foot clapbOards. 1t was not
intended for an exclusive summer meeting
house. but that was about the only season
of the year that services could be held in
it owing to it's rather open condition, and
then again, it kinder fitted in with the COM
munity which had an over-supply Of sum-
mcr Christians and winter devils Under
this church edifce the hogs of the planta-
ton spent their winter nights, which left
it pretty well stocked with feas that be-
came very numerous in summer and they
never lost an opportunity of coveting with
the Lords elect on Sundays, when they as
Scmbled for worship. So annoying to the
congregation did these little pests become
that the parson sent word a week ahead,
that THE Hets had to be driven out or he
would have to preach under an accommo-
dating shade tree hard by, which moved the
brethren to assemble the following Satur-
day afternoon and proceed to clean house
and to likewise make it hog-tight for the
following winter that there would be fewer
Heas the following summer The pests
were just sbad preaching day as in the
past and might have so continued all sum-
mer had not some wise old head moved to
herd few sheep about the house for
brief period. The feas got matted into
the sleeps wool and when the sheep were
let out the fees went with them and the
balance of the summer there was more
preaching and praying and less scratching.
This church edifice was one Of four of
similar construction, which belonged to the
Beech Grove Circuit and it generally had
a new preacher every year and sometimes
change was necessary in the middle of the
year. when the Elder became unduly fond
of some of the sisters. So when Rev. Mal1el
(accent on the az, a tall slender and more
or less prepossessing parson, showed up
for the summer prOtracted effort it was not
much out of the ordinary, save and accept
that the young ladies Of the community We'd
with each other as to who could fry the
finest cuts of yellow leg chicken for him
Unlike most country communities of that
state, there were large number of young
ladies that had acquired sufficient edu
cational smattering to enable them to pass
third grade examination permitting them
to teach country school, which had any
where from fifty to one hundred pupils in
it for three months each year, and those
young school marms were at home for the
big meetin - in general and to see the
new preacher in particular on this occas-
ION. Rev. Makiel had voice that could be
heard mile away on still clear night as
easily as if you were in the meetin' house,
and he seemed to always try to accommo-
date the fellow a mile away.
Aside from his good looks and loud voice,
he. using the word of the present hour, was
past master at the art of camOuflaging.
At the recess hour he took special delight
in assembling the school marms about him
and telling them of his great learning. Latin
and Greek to him were no more than ordi-
nary English and he would recite one or
the other at length for their entertainment
and his edifcation. Hebrew was the foun-
cation of his theology and he even read his
Sunday Bible lessons prior to preaching,
from a Greek testament. Such learned
preacher, black or white. had never before
visited this community and Sis Mandy
told Of missus all about ''dat fin edicated
elder. dat had jist come to preach at the
tracted effort
That flock of young girls and the big
mpptjn of that community ALWAYS at+raota6