« O F e:l,de;jr f^^JBEiJ^ ROSS .ostles, whose writings contain the waters of eternal life of which he that drinks shall never die. The doctrines and blessed promises to be found in them are more refreshing to the Christian while on his journey, than ,all the fountains that ever gushed from Carmel or Leb- anon to travellers from the desert. They contain treasures hidden from the careless eye. Search them diligently. They will make you wi.=e unto salvation, and enable you to obtain an inheritance among them that are sanctified. " And should we not bless and magnify the name of our Heaven- ly Father who has given us these living oracles, these writings of the twelve holy apostles, these wells of water at Elim to refresh us on our journey, as they did the Jews when journeying to the beauti- ful land promised their fathers long years before? " But did they find aught beside the twelve fountains when they ar- rived at Elim? Yea verily ! Threescore and ten palm-trees rising above the sands of the desert in matchless beauty, casting a delicious shade from their long dark green leaves, where the Jewish host might rest their toil-worn limbs. What beautiful emblems these of the seventy sent out by Christ, as recorded by Luke, to publish the glad tidings of salvation to those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death." Thu.s in a style of preaching both pleasuig and instruc- tive would Elder Fort often delight his audiences. On another occasion he preached an interesting discourse 144 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. of the same kind from Proverbs 30: 26. "The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rock." The coney, he told us, was a small animal of the rabbit kind, very weak and unable to defend itself from its ene- mies, and for this reason was always found near large masses of rock, in which it made its house, and to which it would flee in times of danger. Here, protected by its stronghold, it was safe from all its enemies, how powerful soever they might be. These weak but sagacious little animals he considered typical of the Christians, who have chosen a tower of strength — the Kock of Ages — to which they can flee in the hour of danger, and where they can rest in safety while storms and tempests are raging without. It was delightful to sit and listen to him while running the parallel between this little animal and his antitype, the Christian, and bringing to view so many interesting points of resemblance between them. Elder Sugg Fort was pastor of the Ked Kiver Baptist Church until his death in 1829. It was organized by his father Elias Fort and other pioneer Baptist brethren in 1791, and is the oldest church in the Bethel Association. It worships in a handsome new house near Adams' Station, on the Nashville & Henderson railroad. Elder Fort and your grandfather lived in adjoining counties. Their fields of labor were consequently nearly the same. I well remember how much they seemed to enjoy each other's society, and how heavily the news of his fellow-laborer's death fell on your grandfather. They were separated more than thirty years. May we not sup- pose there was joy unspeakable when they met again on the shinine shore. CHAPTER XV. SKETCHES OF EARLY MINISTERS. Besides Elders Moore, Brooks, Todevine, and Fort, there were two others who occasionally visited us, viz., Elders Daniel Parker, and Garner McConnico, the former a messenger sometimes sent from the Wabash As-sociation, Indiana. The latter was from the Cumberland Associ- ation, Tennessee, already mentioned. They were very different from each other in many respects, but both were men of note. Elder Parker, I think, I only saw and heard preach once, which was during an Association held at Spring Creek Church about the year 1820. He was a small, dry-looking man, of the gipsy type, with black eyes and hair and dark complexion. On rising in the pulpit to speak, he soon gave us to understand that he meant business, — pulled off his coat and vest, laid them deliberately on the pulpit near him, and unbuttoned his shirt collar. After this preparation it is almost incredible with what ease and fluency he spoke. He seemed full of his subject, and went through it in a way that was truly wonderful. He was an able man in his way, but afterwards gave his Calvinistic brethren a great deal of trouble, from which they have not yet fully recovered. The famous "two seed" doctrine originated with him, which heresy shook the churches of 145 146 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. the Old Order to their foundations lono; after the Bethel Association had been formed. It seems that when Elder Parker in reading his Bible found such expressions as, "Your fcither, the devil," or, "Child of the devil," it set him to thinking, as did the falling of that famous apple Sir Isaac Newton, — which was, in his case, too, attended with important results. He decided in his own mind that these texts were to be understood literally and not figuratively, as they had been heretofore, and that without any figure of speech Satan had a host of lineal descendants in the world. And when we look around us and see how enormously wicked people sometimes become, this fancy of Elder Parker does not seem so absurd after all. But in order to make out that Satan had children in the world directly descended from him, he had to adopt the violent presumption that the souls of one part of mother Eve's children were of celestial origin, as, for instance, that of Abel, and those of another part, as that of Cain, were supplied in some way by Satan. And thus came the hoo seeds, which are now so mingled together that no being in the universe but the Omniscient can tell one from the other — the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats — with any degree of certainty. At the last day, however, a complete and final separation will take place. Satan's seed will then be sent to dwell with him forever in outer darkness, while the good seed will be permitted to enter into the joy of their Lord. According to Elder Parker, the devil's children were the non-elect, and their being such was a sufficient reason for their being left out of the plan of salvation. This doctrine was received with great favor by numbers r SKETCHES OF EARLY MINISTERS. 147 of the Old Order of Baptists, and it required all the learn- ing and talent of those opposed to it to prevent its general adoption. Any one who is anxious to look further into this subject may consult the great argument of the late Dr. "Watson against this heresy in his work the "Old Baptist Test," before referred to. He was a professor in the Medical Department of the University of Nashville, and one of the luminaries of the hyper-Calvinistic Baptists. I am not able to tell you when or where Elder Parker died, but think, when he used to come among us, he lived in Indiana, and belonged to the Wabash Baptist Associa- tion in tliat State. Elder Garner McConnico, who belonged to the Cumber- land Association, used to come down now and then and preach among us. He was a large, handsome man. His voice was singularly rich and powerful, and his talents of the first order. On one occasion he had an appointment to preach under some shade trees on the banks of Big Harpeth Eiver ; but there fell a heavy rain the night before, and when he reached the river it was past fording, consequently, he could not join his congregation. He spoke to them, how- ever, from the opposite bank, and told them if they would seat themselves and be quiet they should hear what he had to say. This being done, he raised his voice a little above its usual pitch, and preached a fine sermon, every word of which was distinctly heard on the other side, notwith- standing the distance, and the dashing of the swollen stream against its banks. Elder Todevine used to say when .speaking of him, " Brother McConnico has a voice like a trumpet." 148 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. The following sketch of him is condensed from an old record now before me. Elder McConnico was born in 1771, in Lunenburg County, Virginia, and was the youngest of three brothers His mother was a woman of great piety, from whom he received when young many kind admonitions. An old Baptist preacher who had belonged to the British army, and remained in the United States after the Bevolutionary war was over, was instrumental in awakening him to a sense of his lost condition. This old soldier had an appointment to preach in his mother's neighborhood, and she requested Garner to go with her to hear him. To this he objected. The request was slightly modified so as to take the form of a eommajid. With this he thought it prudent to comply. He hated the very name of Englishman, having when a youth been often compelled by the British and Tories to leave his home, and lie out in the woods when they were in that part of the (ountry. And he determined, if he did go, not to lis- ten to a word the preacher had to say — his mother could not make him do that any way. On reaching the place, however, he concluded to go just near enough to look at the preacher. He proved such a diminutive, unsightly dwarf of a man, that young McConnico felt some curiosity to hear him talk a little. He did so, and never heard mortal man speak with such power. To use his own expression, " He seemed to bring the very heavens and earth together," and when he came to himself he was standino; near the old man in tears. From this time he never rested until he embraced religion, and united with the Baptist Church at Tusekiah. Soon after this he was married to Miss Mary Walker, SKETCHES OF EARLY MINISTERS. 149 and commenced trying to preach. lie was, however, so disgnstod with his efforts, and annoyed by the ridicule of his brother that he and his young wife left Virginia, crossed the mountains, and in 1795 settled in Davidson County, Tennesee, hoping to get rid of the impression that it was his duty to preach. Fully resolving never to do so any more, he enjoined on his wife, when they should seek their new home, not to let it be known he had ever presumed to be a minister of the gospel. Here he resided two years after his removal, in a state of great darkness, to use his words. After this he was in search of his horse that had strayed off in the spring of the year. As he was walking along a narrow path cut through the tall cane, in deep thought on the subject of preaching, he saw a small venerable-looking man advancing towards him. The thought at once came into his mind that this was just such a looking person as the apostle Paul, and when they met after the usual saluta- tions, the following' dialoQ-ue ensued. " What sort of a country is this we are in ?" said Mc Connico. " A very rich woody country," responded the old man. "Any religion in it?" " A few scattered about here and there." " Any Baptist preaching in it ?" " There will be Baptist preaching in it next Lord's Day." " And you are the preacher ?" " I try to preach here sometimes for want of a better." Here they parted. This old man afterwards proved to be Elder Dillahunty, a pioneer Baptist preacher, well known in that part of the country in the early times. 150 ELDKR REUBEN ROSS. Young McConnico could hardly wait for the day of preaching to come round, so great was liis desire to hear the venerable old man preacher. Punctual to the time he was there ; and when Elder Dillahunty at the close of his sermon made an appointment to preach on a certain Lord's Day at Richland Meeting House, young McConnico in his ex- citement rose up and said : " And I will be with you there." " And who are you ?" says Father Dillahunty. " The man you met in the cane brake." " A Baptist ?" " Yes." " And a preacher ? " " Why, yes, / have tried to exercise a little in that way." And now the great secret he and his wife were going to keep so close, was out, and he was in great trouble on ac- count of what he had done. At the time and place appointed, he attended, but tried hard to beg off from preaching ; Father Dillahunty, how- ever, held him to his promise. He had not gotten more than half through his sermon before the good old man rose from his seat, took him in his arms, wept aloud, and thanked God for having found a young brother on the frontier both able and willing to assist him in spreading the glad tidings in the wilderness. This Elder Dillahunty was a Baptist preacher belong- ing to the Neuse Paver Association, North Carolina; be- fore he came to the west. (See Burkitt and Eeed, page 309). Richland Meeting House where this took place was the name of the first Baptist Church ever planted on the south side of Cumberland River, in Davidson County. SKETCHES OK feARLY MINISTERS. 151 In tlie fall of 1797, Ekler McConnico removed to the neighborhood of Franklin, Williamson County. Here ho built up the Big Harpcth Church, which was organized in 1800. It was the third Baptist church planted south of Nashville. He was ordained to the ministry by this church in 1800, and took the pastoral charge of it the day he was ordained. He continued pastor until his death in August 1833, in the sixty-second year of his age. All his life after he joined the church, about forty-five years, was spent in preaching the gospel. He loved this church to the last, and in the dying hour when all else seemed for- gotten often repeated its name. One thing in this connection strikes us as a very singu- lar coincidence. It so happened that he preached his first and his last sermon from the same text. " Examine your- selves whether ye be in the faith." Probably such a thing never occurred before. It seems to have been purely acci- dental. At the organization of the Cumberland Baptist Associ- ation he was chosen its Moderator, and remained in that honorable office till his death. This showed the high es- timation in which he was held by his brethren, and his ability to preside over their deliberations. An extract from a notice of his life says : " Elder Mc Conuico was peculiarly commanding. He was of a stout, robust person — his face intellectual — his eye penetrating — his whole demeanor marked with perfect dignity, and his voice singularly powerful, manly, and pleasing." Such I remember him to have been more than fifty years ago, when in the prime of his manhood and the vig- or of his faculties, he would address us while sitting un- der the trees during the pleasant days of summer. 152 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. The happiness which those of the same faith felt when they happened to meet in the wilderness is well il- lustrated by the account given above of the interview between Elders Dillahunty and McConnico. And it is altogether unlike what is felt in densely populated sections at the present day. Their loneliness and isolation caused a thrill of joy at meeting more easily imagined than de- scribed. Who shall describe the deep feeling of brotherly love among the few men and women who met in Severn's Val- ley, ninety years ago, under the branches of a primeval sugar maple, to organize the first Baptist church ever con- stituted in the state of Kentucky ? The men were clothed in hunting shirts, leggings, and moccasins all made of the skins of wild beasts, and wearing hats made of buffalo hair rolled round oaken splits. The women wore garments of the same materials. Their descendants who now wor- ship in costly temples have little conception of the Chris- tian affection that filled the hearts of these strangers meeting thus in a strange land. ClIArTEll XVI. REMOVAL — OLD SPRING CREEK CHURCH. I TOOK occasion after your gramlfather had reached the vicinity of Port Royal, where he remained a few months, to call your attention to various subjects which I thought would interest you, viz., the character of the people he found there, a brief description of the country in which he was henceforth to labor, and a notice of some of the Baptist preachers with whom he was associated after his arrival in this country, the Red River Association, and some of the usages or customs of the Baptists. It is now time to inform you that in the winter of 1808 he removed seven or eight miles nearer Clarksville, and went into a cabin more comfortable than the one we had left, belonging to an old gentleman named Christopher Owens, who with his wife were prominent members of the Baptist Church. They were in good circumstances, own- ing land and negroes. They had everything plentiful around them, and abounded in milk, butter, and wild honey; that is, honey found in hollow trees growing in the woods, and called on that account Bee-trees. The old lady was very kind to your twin aunts and myself, and when she saw us playing at a distance would often send for us and give us a feast on milk, butter, and honey, and made a life-long friend of me by the way in which she encouraged me to eat. Butter at our table in those times 153 154 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. was rather a rarity, and I had been taught to help myself to it rather sparingly. Aunt Owens, however, as we came to call her, would set out large platefuls, and noticing that from the effects of education I took but little, told me to eat just as much as I wanted, — the more the better. So soon as I became satisfied that she was in earnest, I did full justice to her kindness and hospitality, and thought things were beginning to look something like what I had expected to see when we reached Cumberland. The old gentleman, though probably as kindly disposed as his wife, we did not like so well, on account of his rough manner. Whenever he saw us out of place or in mischief of any kind he would say: "You little heifers, what are you doing there?" This word heifers we thought had some bad meaning, — though what we could not tell, — and always took to our heels when we heard it. This year your grandfather raised a crop of corn. He labored in the field every day except Saturday and Sun- day, which he devoted to preaching. The crop he raised here was very fine, and the luxuriance of its growth and abundance of its yield delighted him very much. We children had rather a pleasant time while living here. Our cabin was near the river-bank, which was fringed with reeds, whose evergreen leaves looked pretty in winter, especially when sprinkled over with snow. In spring the trees nearer the river put forth their light- green leaves very early, forming a beautiful border, con- trasting finely with those further from the water. Here we first saw flocks of Paroquets, called by Ornithologists "Carolina Parrots," a little larger than the common tame pigeon, and whose plumage was very beautiful. The pre- vailing color "a bright-yellowish silky green with light- REMOVAL — OLD SPRING CREEK CHURCH. 155 blue reflections." Their notes, though, are harsh and dis- cordant. These birds of bright phimage we children never tired of looking at. We were told by some one that they slept at night suspended by their crooked bills from the branches of the forest trees. I think they have for many years piust left our country. I can but regard it fii5 very singular that after so many changes of residence I am now living almost in sight of where this cabin once stood. This spot seems indeed the centre of a charmed circle, from which it is impossible to escape. All things around it are now greatly changed e.Kcept one, — the beautiful stream of water, which, like that described by one of the poets, " Flows and flows, and will forever flow !" A few years before his death your grandfather, while on a visit to me, proposed very unexpectedly that we should ride over and look at the place. I say unexpect- edly, because I knew he never liked to visit a place after he had left it. On the way he was quite chatty and more cheerful than usual. When he reached the place, however, a chancre soon came over him. The shadows of lonir van- ished years no doubt began to pats before him. He sat on his horse and looked around a few moments, and then proposed that we should return ; few words were spoken on our way home. I regretted I had not dissuaded him from going when he proposed it. So depressing was the eflfect upon him. During this year (1808), the Spring Creek Church was constituted. Their meeting-house was near Spring Creek, a tributary of the West Fork of Red River and in Mont- gomery County, Tennessee, a short distance south of the 156 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. State Line, and took its name from the prett}' stream of water near which it stood ; it was on the north of the stream, and only a short distance above its mouth, near what was long known as the Brumfield place, from an old gentleman who lived on it many years ago. A road leads from the south side of the creek to what are known as Cobb's and Peacher's Mills ; soon after crossing the creek it fiasses near the old site which is a few yards only to the right. Several graves, very indistinct some years ago, marked the spot where it stood. North of the church there was a grove of heavy tim- ber owned at one time by your uncle Charles N. Meri- weiher, and south of it the limpid stream in which so many were baptized in early times, nearly all of whom have since passed away. In looking over the mutilated records of the old church now before me, among others I see in faded characters three names — Sister Barbara Bar- ker, Sister Mary Meriwether and Sister Mary D. Barker. The first your maternal grandmother; the second her sister, the friend of your childhood ; the third the friend of your beloved mother. This meeting-house was built of large poplar logs hewn on two sides, and the openings between them in some places were large enough for a small boy to crawl through. No ceiling intervened between the rough floor and the naked rafters. The pulpit, such as it was, stood on the north side of the room, and the door fronted it in the- south side. It was a bleak place as you may well suppose in winter — "domus veritoruni," — a temple of the winds. In summer, though, airy and pleasant, open to every pass- ing breeze. It was built about the year 1804, three or four years REMOVAL— OLD SPKING CREEK CHURCH. 157 before wo came to the couiury, ami at first had no chim- ney or fire-place as appears from the following extract from the journal before referred to. " Saturday, October 3d, 1807. The church met in or- der. Brother Todevine chosen Moderator. On motion, it is ordered that there be a chimney erected to this meet- intT-house." I remember to have seen, even after a chimney had been built, large fires made on the ground near the house in very cold weather for the people to warm themselves by before going in to hear the sermon. The members who worshipped at this meeting-house before being organized into a church were fourteen in num- ber all of whose names may still be seen in the journal. Before the Red River Church received its name it was called the Fort Meeting-house Church, and the fourteen members who worshipped at Spring Creek Meeting house were what was called an arm, or wing, or branch of the Fort Meeting-house Church. These arms, wings, or branches were under the supervision and care of the mother church until regularly constituted, when they set up for themselves, and managed their affairs in their own way. The Spring Creek wing in 1807 concluded they would like to organize, and petitioned the mother church to give them permission to undergo the necessary transformation, which was granted by the kind old mother; a presbytery, consisting of Elders Jesse Brooks, Josiali Horn, Josiah Fort, and others, was sent down when the wing, or arm, was organized into a regular body, or church. This was done on Saturday, April 2, 1808. In the month of June following, an order was passed 158 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. that it should bo called "The Spring Creek Church of the West Fork," which name it still bears. On the same day petition was made for admission into the Red River Bap- tist Association. This is a brief history of the origin of this old mother of churches. About the same time they made a church covenant, in which they pledged themselves to watch over each other for good, to maintain the discipline of the church, and to try in the most brotherly and affectionate manner to re- claim those whom they saw falling away and neglecting their religious duties. They also agreed on certain rules of decorum, by which they were to be governed while transacting the business of the church. Many of these rules indicate no small degree of wisdom and forethought. Your grandfather was upon all the committees that arranged these instruments. When finished they were spread upon their journal, and frequently ordered to be read by the Clerk that they might be retained fresh in the memories of their members. They next began to think of choosing a pastor. Ac- cordingly, on Saturday before the first Lord's Day in September, 1809, on motion, they agreed to take into consideration the expediency of calling a pastor. On Saturday before the first Lord's Day in October, 1809, the church appointed Saturday before the next meeting as a day of fasting and prayer, before entering upon this important business. On Saturday before the first Lord's Day in November, 1809, the reference respecting the choosing of a pastor for the church was taken up, and it was agreed that it should be done by private vote. Whereupon Elder Reuben Ross was chosen. On motion, it was agreed tliat Brother REMOVAL — OLD SFRING CREEK CHURCU. 159 Ross should have some time tx) consult his own mind, and report whether he was willing to take upon himself that oflSce. On Saturday before the first Lord's Day in March, 1810, on motion, Brother Reuben Ross is called upon to give the church an answer whether or not he will take the pastoral care of this church in conformity with their former call. Whereupon he answered in the affirmative, with this consideration, that both church and pastor shall be at liberty to separate, either from the other, whenever they may deem it to be to their spiritual advantage. Thus reads the old record. Here, then, we see that in the month of March, 1810, your grandfather was chosen Pastor of Spring Creek Church. This connexion lasted, I think, about twenty-nine years, and seems to have been an unusually happy one. The preceding account will give you some idea of the simple course the Baptists have followed from the days of the renowned Roger Williams — whose name has been forever rescued from oblivion by our distinguished historian Ban- croft — down to the present time. Your grandfather was now becoming one of the most popular and influential preachers of the times. He was deeply interested in the work before him. He sympathized with all in distress, especially with those who were in trouble on account of their sins. He commenced about this time his work of preaching funeral sermons more ex- tensively, of which he did so much in the course of his life. On these occasions he was sure to say something to soothe the troubled spirits of those who had lost their loved ones, and to turn their thoughts for a few brief mo- ments, at least, from this land of shadows and of death to IGO ELDER REUBEN ROSS. that brighter world beyond the stars where all will meet again, and sin and sorrow be seen and felt no more. The youths and maidens w?re pleased to have him unite them in marriage, and to hear him pray that theirs might be a long and happy union ; and those who had re- pented of their sins and believed in Christ desired him to lead them down into the baptismal waters. In a word he seemed to be just suited to the people and the times, and his influence began to be felt to an extent by no means in- considerable. Our rude old meeting-house in the course of years be came a center of great attraction, and drew to it all classes of people both far and near. It seemed to have an attrac- tion also for the preachers who did not live at too great a distance. Here might - often be seen and heard Elder Moore dealing heavy blows on Arminianism, against which he waged ceaseless warfare. Here Elder Todevine, with his full round face and large black eyes, seldom failed to attend, and here were seen the mild attractive features of Elders Fort and Brooks. Still later, now and then a dis- tinguished preacher from a distance might be seen there. I remember on one occasion, on a cold dark day in au- tumn, while the wind was sweeping through the large open cracks between the logs of our old meeting-house ; and each one, with his neck drawn down, and his coat collar raised as high as he could get it, sat waiting for preaching to commence — a dark, thick set, substantial looking man, with black eyes and hair, with saddle-bags on his arm and umbrella in his hand, entered the door-way, and walked across the room to the pulpit. On reaching it he spoke a few words to your grand- father (introducing himself no doubt), whose countenance REMOVAL— OLD SPRING CREEK CHURCH. 161 at this expressed great delight, and a warm greeting en- sued. The stranger then entered the pulpit, and took his seat. By this time wc lookers on, as you may readily suppose, had our curiosity raised to an uncomfortable height. After singing and prayer by y oar grandfather, in which I fear we did not join as heartily as we ought for thinking of the stran- ger in the pulpit, the latter rose up and read from his Bi- ble these words : " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maran-atha," and preached a sermon that was long remembered by those who heard it. When he came to tell us what it was to be accursed at the com- ing of the Lord, his discourse bordered on the sublime and terrible, and many fi om that day, as was said, dated the commencement of a better life. The stranger proved to be the celebrated Elder Isaac Hodgen from Kentucky, who afterwards with Elders War- der and Vardeman occasionally visited the southern por- tions of the state. CHAPTER XVII. SCENES AT THE OLD CHURCH. The first Saturday and Sunday in every month were the days for preaching at the old Spring Creek Church for many years. For some reasons the May and June meet- ings were much better attended than any others. On these occasions the people from all the country around might be seen moving towards it, as to a common centre. Buggies, carriages, and vehicles of every sort are now associated in our minds with big meetings. But as far hack as 1812 and 1815 these were seldom to be seen. The first thing I remember in the way of a pleasure car- riage was a small vehicle without top or springs, called a Jersey "Wagon, or Carryall, When one of these was first seen rattling along — people — especially children and negroes, would stand and look at it till out of sight. The next improvement was the gig, with only two wheels, and drawn by one horse in shafts. I first saw elderly ladies riding in these with a man-servant on horseback leading the one attached to it by the bridle. My conclusion was that none but very rich people could afford to ride in this style. The first carriage I ever saw in this country, fitted up for two horses and an outside seat for a driver, with handsome top cushions and silver- mounted harness, belonged to two or three maiden sisters, who came, I think, from Virginia and settled near us in 1G2 SCENES AT THE OLD CHURCH, 163 the Barrens. This w:is considered by us juveniles as a marvel of elegance and splendor, and after the ladies would leave it and go into church, rustling in their silks, we would stand around at a respectful distance and ad- mire its beauty. But this was long after the time of which we are speaking. You would see pater-familias on his way to church on horseback, with the baby before him on a pillow, and another little fellow riding behind him. His wife, per- haps, on a mare with a young colt, with one child in her lap, and another behind her also, jogging along after him. Most of the horses would have two persons on them. The beau might be seen with a large bunch of pinks or roses in his button-hole — the larsrer the better — ridinj^ beside his young lady, holding her parasol or umbrella over her fair face to protect it from the sun or rain. It was also his duty to raise any branches of trees that ex- tended across the narrow road, that she might pass without inconvenience. Some were more expert in the.se matters than others, and gained credit in proportion. There was a practice the beaux had which they called "cutting out." This was when a young lady and gentle- man were riding along cosily together, and anything happened to throw them a little apart, for another gentle- man who was riding close behind to slip in between them and leave the first out in the cold. This, I think, was a very ugly practice, but by common consent considered " fair play," if it could be done without jostling the young lady. When she happened to be a sort of belle there was quite a scramble for her in this way. It was considered unladylike for her to show any preference on such occa- sions, however much she might feel. 164 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. It was the duty of these knights to see that their ladies did not suffer from thirst during the long hot days, and they might he seen at all times passing through the crowd carrying them fresh water from the spring which they often drank from a gourd. These gourds were sometimes very pretty, and many thought water from them tasted sweeter and fresher than from anything else. Almost every mother carried her baby with her to meet- ing, and at the big meetings they would be in great force. These little fellows on account of the heat and the re- straint would sometimes become furious, and make their little fat legs fly about at a wild rate; and when a num- ber of them would join in concert, they would almost drown the voice of the preacher. After the mother had done all she could to pacify the babe and foiled, she would hand it over to its father, Avho, if after trying in a very motherly way to soothe it did not succeed, would take it on his shoulder, and walk off under some shady tree, where perhaps soon after both might be found fast asleep. The dress of these belles some years later was very striking. They had two appendages attached to them called sleeves, about the size of large pillows, which had the efifect to make them look like birds with enormous wings, beyond all proportion to the body. The head was ornamented with a Leghorn hat, or flat, with a brim of prodigious size. Its only trimming was a broad bright ribbon which passed round the crown, with long ends which hung down behind a yard or more. These hat=5 were costly, selling sometimes for thirty- five or forty dollars, or even higher. They were greatly prized by the girls. The effect of these hats with the broad brims and these large sleeves was to diminish the SCENES AT THE OLD CHURCH. 165 stature; and a lady, a little below the medium height, sailing along under one of them, was a queer-looking ob- ject. Yet a kind word or approving smile from one of these beauties, was as much prized as when arrayed in the beautiful costumes of later times — those of 1871 and 1872 excepted, which in hideousnoss excel all ever known be- fore; causing them to look as if their backs were broken. There were several families in the vicinity of this church whose custom it was to take people home with them to dine after preaching. The more company they could engage the more delighted they seemed. They would often come to you before getting off your horse and make you promise beforehand to go home with them. I and my set usually went home with an old gentleman named Buckner Killebrew. On reachinsr the house, after helping their sweethearts off their horses, each young man would take off his saddle, bridle, and blanket, and lay them by themselves. Then he would turn his horse into a large enclosure, where would be a number of troughs filled with corn and pumpkins, and racks full of sweet blades of fodder stripped from the stalks of Indian corn. Here the horses would fight, and eat all the evening. If one was whipped off from his trough, he would go and drive another from his, take his place, and so on all round. On going into the house all would be invited to " take something." "What they called something at this place, was commonly old peach or apple brandy and honey. All from the old men and preachers down to the boys, would help themselves to some of this. You must not be sur- prised, for besides the belief that something of this kind was conducive to health, we were every one old Calvinistic Baptists at that time, all of whom are supposed 6y na^^^rg 8* IGG ELDER REUBEN ROSS. to like something good to drink. And Temperance societies and everything of that sort were no more dreamed of than railroads, telegraphs, or ocean cables. After this preliminary movement we were invited to a dinner that it would do any one's heart good to look at. The table would be literally covered with good things, so that there was not room enough on it for another plate or dish. But the most interesting thing of all was the pleas- ure it gave our old friend and his wife to see us eat. They watched us closely, and when they saw one about to quit were really distressed. This may seem like exaggeration, but I could mention some that even you can remember who were sorely troubled if their friends did not eat heart- ily of their bountiful tables. After the first course was ended no one was permitted to leave his seat until the debris of the first battle were swept away, and pies, cakes, and tarts brought on. These were of various flavors — some very sweet, some quite acid, and others less so. The shapes also differed : some were round like the full moon, some like the half moon, and others again crescent-shaped, interspersed with pitchers of cider, and cold sweet milk not with the cream all taken off", as is often done " in these degenerate days." At length the feast ended, as everything good and beautiful must in this world. After this we would have some pleasant chat, in which the host and hostess took part. Then some one of the company would say, " The sun is getting low" which was, alas, too true, and a slight shade of sadness might be seen stealing over our faces, and our party would break up and all start for home, sad, to think another long month must pass before we should meet again. SCENES AT THE OLD CnURCII. 167 I will only add that the last timo I passed the place where this hospitable mansion stood — it had fallen into decay and ruins, and all around it looked sad and lonely. " Sic transit." Such are some of the recollections, still fresh in my memory, connected with this old church in the bygone times. In process of time when the wants of the community required it, the members, assisted by their neighbors and friends, decided to build a more commodious house of wor- ship. Accordingly on the opposite side of the same creek, a few miles distant and to the east of the old site, near what was known as Booth Malone's spring, another was built retaining the same name. This also in course of time, after the country became more densely populated, was found to be too small and inconvenient, and another was erected still farther to the east, on the road leading from Clarksville, Tennessee to Trenton, Kentucky. It is a very pretty country church, and among its members may be seen on meeting days many of the descendants of those who met at the old log meeting-house first built. Some time after the first house had been abandoned an elderly lady, distinguished for her piety and deep religious feeling, remembering the happy days she had spent within its walls, had it removed and rebuilt at her own cost near her own residence, hoping that some of her old brethren in the ministry would continue to preach there occasionally. But its glory had departed, and it soon ceased to be known as a place of worship altogether. It stood on the right side of the road leading down the creek from where your grand- father lived, on the land owned at present, I think, by the Hacknev familv. CHAPTER XVIII. LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. We must now return again to your grandfather, whom we left at the "Owens' Pkxce" on Red River in 1808, where he made a crop of corn. In the fall of that year a land-owner, or land-agent, called on him and told him of some valuable land he had for sale in Stewart County, near the Cumberland River, on Saline Creek, and advised him to go and look at it. He did so, and was so well pleased that he made a pur- chase. I do not remember either the number of acres he bought or the price he paid for it. His brother, Nathan Ross, who had moved to this country this year, also purchased land and settled in the same neighborhood, at which your grandfather was very much gratified. With this purchase he was well pleased, and hoped he had now found a home and resting-place for himself and family, and that his wanderings were at last ended. On returning home he gathered his crop of corn, and sold it to a man named Duval, who soon afterwards failed, and the money he expected to receive for it was lost. This man Duval built the first brick court-house in Clarksville, which stood so many years on the public square, and was long considered the chief ornament of the place. The crop, I think, amounted to a hundred barrels, 168 LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. 109 and the price was one dollar per barrel. I need not say that this was a heavy loss to your grandfather at this time, when the price of the corn was so much needed. He soon after removed to Stewart County, into the neighborhood of his land, and went into a cabin where a man named Outlaw had been killed a short time before by lightning, while standing on the hearth near the fire. The place where the lightning entered through the roof was still visible. We children begged hard not to be carried into a place of such evil omen, but there was no help for it, as the weather was bitterly cold, and there were no improve- ments at all on our land. We always felt ill at ease in this house, and often looked up at the roof with a shudder. The winter of 1808 and 9 was so cold and inclement that but little out-door work could be done. The most important enterprise we undertook at that time was pre- paring a sugar camp. There were a great many sugar maples on our land, and your grandfather wished to make a supply of sugar from them for his family. The old pioneer arrangement for making sugar was very simple. A rude shelter was made with boards for protec- tion from rain and snow ; under this a trench was dug in the ground as a sort of furnace, and over it boilers of every kind which could be obtained were placed so that a hot fire could be made under them. A sort of pocket-shaped notch was then cut in the tree to catch the sap, which was conducted off through reeds or pieces of elder-stalk into small wooden troughs made for that purpose. When sap enough had collected, it was put into the boilers and boiled down to a certain consistence, and then set off to cool slowly and in order to make cake sugar; 170 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. but if the intention was to make granulated sugar, it was stirred while cooling. In this way fomilies often made more sugar than they needed for their own use. While the sugar-making was going on, every one, the children and negroes especially, was in high spirits. New Orleans sugar, when they could get it, was preferred by elderly people for coffee, but for all ordinary purposes the tree sugar answered well enough. The syrup made of it was then, as now, highly esteemed, for its peculiarly rich and delicate flavor. It was often necessary at these camps to sit up all night and keep fires under the boilers. This I never liked. To stand near the bright fires and look out into the " black- ness of darkness " that surrounded us was a little un- pleasant, especially when, as was often the case, the wolves were howl ins; and the owls hootino; in the distance. The owls I disliked more than the wolves. They sometimes broke out into something like a fiendish laugh, which I abhorred. I had often heard that Indians would imitate owls when signaling each other at night on their murder- ous expeditions. On one occasion, when several hours before day, your grandfather and I were sitting up attending to the boilers, a wild beast, seemingly of the larger kind, commenced a sort of wailing cry a little way from our camp, passing round it all the while at apparently the same distance. Your grandfather stood and listened for some time, and then said, " We had better get on our shelter." I went up first, and, after handing me his axe, he came up him- self. The animal continued its circuit round the camp for some time afterwards. Your grandfather struck the board of our shed violently several times with his axe, which LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. 171 made quite a loud noise, but it did not seem to be heeded. Finally the creature went off in a straight direction, utter- ing its wail as far as we could hear it. We thought it was a panther, attracted and confused probably by our fires. I may here add that we made abundance of sugar that winter to supply us till the next season. You must remember we were now on the very extreme limits of the white settlements. At this time, on the west bank of the Tennessee Eiver the Indian territory began, and extended to the Mississippi River, an extensive country occupied by the Chickasaw Indians and wild beasts for many years until it was purchased by General Jackson, settled by white people, and known afterwards as " Jackson's Purchase." When the weather was unfavorable for sugar-making, and not too inclement for out-door work, your grandfather was busily engaged in cutting logs and making boards for building a cabin. He generally took me with him when thus employed for company, and that I might be able to amuse myself, he gave me a hatchet to fell small trees with near where he was at work in the woods. One day when a tree on which he had been chopping for some time began to ftill, on looking round he saw me standing immediately under it. He gave the alarm, and I sprung behind a tree near by for protection. Had it not been there, I must have been killed by the broken limbs, which fell with a crash all around me. The shock produced by this disqualified him for doing any more work that day, and he went home, taking me with him. As we walked along together he spoke of the uncertainty of human life, and of the importance of always being pre- pared for death. He praised me also for my presence of 172 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. mind in slieltoring myself as I did behind the tree. My situation was indeed a perilous one, and my escape little less than a miracle. As soon as his timbers were ready his neighbors assisted him in raising his cabin, and when we moved into it all were happy in having a home and resting-place of our own, although it was one of the rudest description, built with a view of using it as a shelter only until one more comfortable could be erected, as were most of the cabins of the pioneer settlers. The floor was made of logs, split open and laid down with the smooth side uppermost, and then dressed off a little with an adze. Your grandfather was every day more and more pleased with the tract of land he had [purchased. The growth upon it indicated great fertility. Besides the larger trees, such as the poplar, ash, walnut, and sugar-maple, there were also the buckeye, hackberry, papaw, redbud, spice- wood, and grapevines of enormous size, reaching to the tops of the tallest trees. When spring had fairly opened, and the forest was decked in its gay attire, its beauty was not to be easily described. The poplar with its tulip-like blossoms, the dogwood with its gay white petals, the redbud with its delicate purple bloom, and the blackhaw with its snow- white clusters mingled with the light green leaves of early spring, made a picture of surpassing beauty. Our cabin was near the right bank of a small stream, a tributary of Saline Creek, that wound along its gravelly bed, and whose water was so clear that one could see the smallest fish playing at the bottom, even where it was deepest. On its margin at that time grew many flowers — bluebells, wild pinks, a delicate little iris of singular LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. 173 fragrance and beauty, and a tiny white one, whicli I sup- pose was a variety of the anemone, or wind-flower. This year we cleared off a few acres of land, and had the first log-rolling I had ever seen. This was to my mind a grand affair — six or eight strong men on each side of a heavy log, carrying it along with measured tread to the heap where it was to be burned. Yet we did not get our little field ready for a crop of corn this season, but had to rent one. This lay immediately opposite where the Saline Creek Baptist Church now stands, as I learn, in a little bottom near a small spring which breaks out under the bluff. This spring attracted our attention sev- eral times while we were living near it. It w.is observed, that when the creek was high, and the water flowing a little flush from the spring, great numbers of fine black perch would come out from under the bluff and flutter along down the little branch to the creek which was near. Many, when this was known, went with bags and baskets, nnd filled them with fish which they took out of the shal- low water with their hands. At this time, though living in the plainest way one can well imagine, as regards both food and raiment, we were very cheerful and happy, the demon of discontent not as yet being awakened among us by seeing others better off than ourselves. To this our pretty wild frontier home, in which we all felt so great an interest, in no small degree contributed. But alas, all our pleasing anticipations were destined soon to be blighted. Your grandfather now learned, when too late, that the individual of whom he had purchased the land had no legal title to it, and consequently could make him none; and that it, with the little improvements he had made or. 174 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. it and the money he had paid — which was about all he had — was lost without any recourse whatever. This was a cruel blow, and one from which he did not recover for many long years. I remember well how unhappy he ap- peared to be, but there was no help for it. He imme- diately rented a small place in the neighborhood, and we bade adieu to our pretty home, where for a short time we had been so hopefal and happy. I do not remember that I was ever at the place afterwards, though we lived some two years near it. None of us, I believe, wanted to see or think of it again. Notwithstanding all these disappointments and misfor- tunes, your grandfather, during the whole time he lived in Stewart County, which was nearly four years, kept up his regular courses of preaching two days in every week in the different settlements within his reach. These days were Saturday and Sunday. Besides these he often preached on other occasions, funeral sermons mosth''. Although uniil late in life he gave much of his time to this kind of preaching, I think he never had any particu- lar partiality for it. But as on these occasions he gene- rally had large and attentive audiences, he considered them as opportunities for doing much good, and availed himself of them to direct the thoughts of the people to the importance of being prepared when they too should be called to stand in the presence of the Great Judge, and give an account of the deeds done in the body. As the death of many whose funeral sermons he preach- ed were not hopeful, he did not dwell long on the life and character of the dead, unless there were peculiar circum- stances connected with them which could be turned to the advantage of his hearers. But after making a few re- LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. 175 marks suitable to the occasion, he woulil proceed to preach a discourse after his usual manner, first to invite attention to what the Bible and our own experience teaches us in regard to our being in a state of irreconciliation with our Creator, and the necessity of coming to love and serve him before we can be adopted into the heavenly family and become heirs of salvation. He would then explain the great and glorious provision made for our salvation by the sufferings and death of Christ, and then exhort us to flee from the wrath to come by every consideration, — the uncertainty of life, the cer- tainty of death, and after death the judgment when all must appear in the presence of God to give an account of the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. He warned us not to neglect this great salvation, but while we had time and opportunity to seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near, since, as the Bible teaches and the poet sings, " There are no acts of pardon past In the cold grave to which we haste ; But darkness, death, and long despair Reign in eternal silence there ! '' In preaching funeral sermons of little children, which he was often called to do, he would give expression to many beautiful thoughts calculated to soothe the bitterness of parental grief. It was generally believed, he would say, that one-half at least of the human race die before reaching the age of accountability, and consequently, all had safely reached the mansions of eternal rest, were numbered among the happy spirits, and safe forevermore. Add to these the myriads of holy men and women who had 176 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. come up out of great tribulation, and entered through the gates into the city, and we are not surprised to hear John declare in his glorious vision : " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude that no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." This was a theme on which he loved to dwell. While living in this county he travelled and preached much with a minister named Dudley Williams. He pos- sessed fine talents, and for many years was much esteemed on account of his zeal and Christian character. As a preacher he was eloquent and impressive, and your grand- father loved and admired him. He seems, though, to have had a turn for trade and speculation, and finally be- came involved in debt. Hoping to extricate himself from his embarrassments, he left home and went down into what was then called the Attakapas country in the south- eastern part of Louisiana, and commenced trading in beef cattle for the New Orleans market. Here he remained for several years, but failed in his expectations of mend- ino; his fortunes. On returnins; home he commenced preaching again, but seems to have lost prestige as a min- ister, and suff'ered to some extent in his reputation, the particulars of which I do not remember. After some years he died, and his sun, which in early manhood had shone brightly, finally set under a cloud. Your grand- father never thought of him afterwards but with deep re- gret and sorrow. He was often at our house, and I re- member him well. All the time he lived in Stewart County, your grand- father preached for the Spring Creek Church as its pastor, though disttint about thirty miles. It was his custom to LIFE IN STEWART COUNTY. 177 leave home on Friday, and reach the neighborhood of his church in the evening of the same day, preach on Sat- urday and Sunday, and return home on Monday. One morning soon after leaving home to attend his meeting he returned, and told some of the neighbors where he had just seen a bear, and then went on again. The whole settlement soon collected together mounted on horseback with dogs and guns. On going to the place where the bear had been seen they soon found him. After along and exciting chase bruin was brought to bay and killed. Late in the evening the hunters in triumph came by where your Aunt Polly and Aunt Nannie were setting on the fence awaiting their return. They stopped a few mo- ments, and showed us the great paws of the bear, which they had cut off and brought home as a trophy. We were almost afraid to look at them, they seemed so formidable. This gave us something to talk and think about long af- terwards, and checked our rambling about in the woods so far from home, lest we might fall in with others like him. To me the few years we lived in Stewart County were by far the most interesting of my boyhood, and I am not a little surprised at the distinctness with which long for- gotten scenes and incidents re-appear even now when I think of those early times. Memory is, indeed, a wonder- ful faculty, the great store-house where countless forms of beauty and loveliness repose, but, alas, where also, side by side with these, are many dark shadows of grief and sor- row, from which, were it possible, we would gladly turn away. And here, had I a turn for moralizing, which I have not, I would say, let every one consider well what he says and does in this life, since memory will not always linger alone on what is bright and beautiful in the past. CHAPTER XIX. CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. When we first moved to Stewart County in the winter of 1808, nearly all that portion of it lying immediately on the Cumberland River, from near Dover to the mouth of Saline Creek, was a wild, uninhabited district, which had not yet attracted the attention of settlers, and was almost precisely in the same state it had been in for ages. Its hills, valleys, and streams were as nature had left them ; and no one at present passing over it would have any conception of the difference wrought in its appearance. Perhaps no one standing on the site of the little cabin we built there could believe it was the spot I have described. There was a wild, rugged district lying west of us be- tween the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, about twelve miles in width, an almost unbroken solitude, after which, as already stated, commenced the Indian territory, extend- ing to the Mississippi River, since known as the Tennessee and Kentucky Purchases. Soon after we moved there, however, a great change took place in our district. Settlers came in very rapidly. Many cabins were built along the streams or creeks, and small fields were cleared up and planted in corn and pumpkins, which grew with amazing luxuriance. I will not risk what claims I may have to veracity by telling 178 CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY, 179 you bow thickly I have seen these pumpkins lying on the ground, or the size to which they sometimes grew. Soon the cow with her tinkling bell Wiis seen grazinn^ on the rich pea-vines among the hills, and swine feeding on the mast or acorns, wliich in many places covered the ground. The little tub mill soon followed, near which the still-house — the never-failing sign of a dawning civiliza- tion — might be seen with its lazy wheel raising water from the creek by means of cows' horns fitted to its rim. These still-houses followed in the wake of "Boyd's Red- heifer," at Nashville, where, in 1787, when a run was made, a horn was blown to convey the glad tidings to all the thirsty souls in the city; and Paton's "Buffalo Bull," near Clarksville, to or from or by which the County Court ordered so many roads to be made at a still later period. This seems, indeed, to have been a famous watering place in its day, though after diligent inquiry I have not been able to learn its exact locality. Many of the comforts and conveniences of life at this time were not easily procured. Salt was very scarce, and consequently dear. It was made near Shawneetown, in Illinois, and brought down the Ohio Eiver in crafts called pirogues, — a French name, I think. These were made of great trees, dug out after the manner of common canoes. When two of these were lashed together they could carry a considerable amount of freight. Bringing down salt in these in former times was attended with danger. There were many bad Indians, and worse white men, infesting the banks of the Ohio, who used to kill those in charge of the pirogues and rob them of their freight, whatever it might be. And long afterwards, when the Indians had passed away, men in their trading boats were murdered 180 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. and their goods carried off. Many, no doubt, remember the murders and robberies that used to be committed at and near Ford's Ferry on the Ohio River in later times. When the pirogues would land at the mouth of Saline Creek with salt, people went with horses and bags a con- siderable distance to get small supplies of it. I went once with your grandfather, and saw quite a crowd at the landing. I think he gave three dollars and fifty cents per bushel, of fifty pounds, for what he got then. An old gentleman, named Hubbard, had brought down this salt, and I heard him relate some of his experiences while engaged in this business in former times. He said that he would keep his pirogues out in the middle of the river when he saw or heard anything suspicious on shore, and lie down in them, holding the rudder in his hand, occasionally raising his head an instant to see if he was going right, and then ducking it down quickly before an Indian could shoot him. Of coffee, for the first few years, there was little or none. The same might be said of imported tea. A substitute for the latter was made of sassafras, spice wood, and sage, sweetened with maple sugar. Young people and children liked these beverages very well, but elderly people did not regard them with much favor. Several years, I think, passed without any flour in our house. At length some was obtained, and we had hot biscuit on Sunday mornings for breakfast, which we chil- dren considered high living. Your grandmother would also sometimes permit us to put some in our pockets to eat during the day. Considering the quality of the flour of which they were made, I can but wonder that we should have liked them so well. It has been my good fortune CUSTOMS AND S01:NI:S in STEWART COUNTY. 181 since to eat as good biscuits as were ever made, I suppose; hut those remain still embalmed in my memory. The wheat sowed in our settlement was in little patches, and was reaped as in the days of Boaz and Ruth with a sickle. I doubt if you have ever seen one of these imple- ments of husbandry. The wheat was gathered in the left hand and cut off with the sickle held in the right, and then dropped in little handfuls on the ground. Old Hus- sey's reaper was then no more dreamed of than some great invention which shall come to light centuries hence. A dozen or more men all abreast and about half bent, reap- ing in this way, made a pretty sight. The manner of getting out the wheat was no less primi- tive. As in ancient times the sheaves were laid down and the grain beaten out with flails ; but more frequently many of these were laid on a yard made smooth and level by careful preparation, and a number of horses with boys on them made to trot round and round upon the sheaves until all the grain left the heads, after which the straw was taken off. Then, as even wheat fans had not come into use among us, on some windy day a man would stand on an elevated place and pour the wheat slowly from a pail or basket until the dust and chaff, or at least a part of them, were carried off by the wind. A sack of this wheat would then be sent to one of the little mills, and perhaps ground immediately after a sack of corn. Con- sequently a large amount of corn meal was mixed with the flour. It was then put into a hopper, and run through a bolting cloth stretched on a frame and turned by hand with a crank, like a grindstone. It was the business of each mill boy to bolt his own flour. This part of the business was our abhorrence, and I shall never forget 9 182 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. having to sit on a platform and turn this miserable crank by the hour. Your grandmother tried once to make light bread of this flour, but without success, though for biscuit and batter-cakes we thought it answered very well. It was the business of the husband to provide his family with food. This was easily done if he had a small piece of rich bottom land cleared and fenced in, and was the owner of a few cattle and hogs. The former could live during the winter on very little besides the cane which had not yet disappeared, and the latter on the beech mast and acorns which were very plentiful. Then almost every man had his rifle, with which he could furnish for his family supplies of wild turkeys, venison, and other game. The graceful and sprightly squirrel, whose home is in the forest, was also to be had. These sometimes appeared in such numbers as to be regarded as pests. To destroy them our settlers often turned out in companies with their rifles, and sometimes rewards were ofi'ered to those who brought in the greatest number of scalps within a specified time. They often emigrated in vast numbers, swimming across the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Eivers, and people would stand on the banks and kill them with sticks as they came ashore. One woman, while washing her clothes on the river bank, was reported to have killed several hundred in one day. Goldsmith tells us, if I remember rightly, that these little animals often get on pieces of dry bark, hoist their tails for a sail, and in this way cross rivers and lakes. I do not remember, however, that any were ever seen crossing our rivers in this fanciful way. Wild pigeons, too, at certain seasons of the year, were to be seen in countless numbers, extending from one side of the horizon to the other, darkening the heavens CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. 183 while passing over. All these things combined give a charm to frontier life, which causes the pioneer to re- member it with pleasure, though often at the same time surrounded by dangers and privations. It was the business of the wife and mother to provide clothing for her fomily, and to aid her in this every settler had his little cotton or flax patch, or both. When the balls opened the cotton was picked out, and after being dried in the sun a few days was stowed away. As there were no cotton gins in our part of the country, the seeds were picked out by the fingers instead. At night, during the winter months, after a large fire had been made and the hearth swept, your grandmother would put a little parcel of this cotton down before it, for each one of us to pick before going to bed. In each one of these was enough to keep us busy an hour or so. It was placed thus before the fire, because, when heated, the seeds could be taken out much more easily. After grum- bling a good deal about the size of our respective piles, and getting her to take some from one and put it on another to equalize them, we went to work, plying our fingers nimbly till our tasks were done. When finished and all put together it made quite a pretty show. This was a famous time for talking about ghosts, witches, bears, panthers, and Indians. We knew many stories of the heroic men and women of still earlier times, who had to contend with the cruel Indians. We often found ourselves, without knowing how we got there, far away under other skies in the land of Gideon, Samson, David, and Goliath. Our father and mother were gene- rally seated a little apart from us, she sewing or knitting, and he reading or meditating, though one would think to 184 ELDER REUBEN ROSS- little advantage, considering the noise around him. Many- times we would all be telling the same story at the same time, each in a prodigious hurry lest another should get before him in the narrative. Our mother would occa- sionally help us on with our story when at fault. In reading the Old Testament she took great delight, and was consequently specially able to keep us right in our Bible stories. After the tasks were done, the stories finished, and a little time allowed us to compose ourselves, the evening devotion followed, consisting of the reading of a chapter from the Bible, the singing of a hymn, and prayers. In your grandfather's prayers there was a peculiarity I never observed in those of any other person. No two of these had the least resemblance as regarded set words and phrases. He seemed filled with the very spirit of prayers which found utterance in no set form of words whatever, and even when a child I used to admire their beauty. There was an evening hymn which was a special favorite of his about this time, and we all joined with him in sing- ing it. " The day is past and gone, The evening shades appear, Oh, may we all remember well, The night of death is near ! We lay our garments by. Upon our beds to rest. So death will soon disrobe us all Of what we now possess." He invariably read out two lines of the hymn, and after singing these, two more. This had the advantage of keeping us all well together, and preventing the dis- CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. 185 cord which is apt to arise when this is not done. In large congregations this enabled all to sing. And when the air was a familiar one, and the couplets tastefully read out, the swell and volume of sacred melody in those old times was often grand and beautiful. For congregational sing- ing, I think no other method can compare with this. Many families cultivated the indigo plant in those days (which I think very much resembled our common penny-royal), and manufactured their own indigo, thus saving the expense of buying, which was an important consideration with us. Your grandmother and I were famous indigo makers. Dressed buckskin was with the settler an important article of clothing. A young fellow with hunting shirt and trousers made of it was considered as provided for in the way of clothes for an indefinite period of time. I never heard any one estimate their probable duration. I have myself seen a boy wear a pair of these trousers until they would descend but little below the knee though long enough when first made ; but it must be remembered that while the boy was growing taller the buckskin was inclined to shrink. Dressed buckskin when new is soft and vel- vety, and of a rich bufi" color, but time would tell upon it more or less, as upon other things. In its last stages it became blackish and almost as sleek as glass. If a boy on a cold frosty morning put on a pair of these trousers in this state without drawers, as was often the case for the best of reasons, a considerable clattering of teeth might be heard. But then what could be better to have on when one climbed a tree with rough bark or ran through a patch of briers? The hunting shirt made of this mate- rial came down to the hips, and was confined at the waist 186 ELDER REQBEN ROSS. by a belt. It generally had a small cape notched round the edge to give it a pretty finish. The bottom of the shirt was ornamented in the same way. When a boy my heart's desire was to have one of these suits, but that hap- piness never fell to my lot. Besides cotton cloth and buckskin a good deal of linen was also made. The flax plant was pretty while growing, especially when its tiny pale blue blossoms were out. When prepared, it was spun on a small wheel turned by a crank kept in motion by the foot. Elderly ladies used these mostly, and in the course of a day would spin a large amount of thread on them. Cloth made of this constitu- ted a large portion of the clothing of the men and boys in summer. It was used also for towels, napkins, and table-cloths. Many persons tanned their own leather and made their own shoes. A large tree was cut down, and made into a trough. The hides were prepared and put into these troughs and oak bark laid between the folds. They would at length imbibe enough of the tannin from the bark to be converted into leather. This was made into shoes sometimes by a member of the family, and at others by an itinerant, who went from house to house for that purpose. Your grandfather sometimes made shoes for us children, and was thought by us to be a wonderful ge- nius on that account. For many years he kept a set of shoemaker's tools in the house for that purpose. Nothing was more valued by the settlers than good axes. The unskilful blacksmith often failed to temper them properly, and they would then bend or break on the edge, and consequently much time was lost in carrying them to the shops. One of the fine Collin's axes that CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. 187 afterwards came into use would then have been considered a great treasure. Bells to put on horses and cattle were at this time con- sidered of great value, but less so than some years earlier, when 640 acres of land near Nashville, on what is now the Lebanon Pike, sold for " three axes and two cow bells," and a faithful rifle, and a clear toned bell were traded for another tract. Of all the bells ever made, perhaps no two ever sounded exactly alike. The practiced ear could detect the difference, and each person could go to his own bell though many might be sounding in the distance at the same time, and thereby find his own stock. Cattle and horses, too, knew their own bell, and in this way kept together. Their attachment to it was often so great that they would follow it almost any where. While at New Mad- rid many years ago I heard the story of a mule drover who being asked what he considered an exorbitant price by the ferryman to set his mules across the Mississippi River, said he would not give it. And taking his bell off his leader got into a skiff, and as he was rowed across rang it loud and distinctly. His large drove all came down to the water's edge — stopped, listened a moment and then plunged into the mighty stream. For some time their heads and long ears could be seen by those standing on shore, but at last owing to the distance they disappeared and all seemed to have gone down to rise no more. At length one was seen to emerge on the other shore near the man who rang the bell, and then another and then another until finally all were seen standing together among the cotton trees on the opposite bank near their bell. A blacksmith who could make a good hA\ found it very 188 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. }»rofitable, since nothing was more sought after in those times. For most of the settlers being scarce of feed for their work animals after the day's work was done turned them out to graze at night, and had to collect them again in the morning, which was easily done when they had bells on them. It should have been mentioned sooner that every fami- ly had its spinning wheels, cards, and loom. All the girls were taught to spin, card rolls, and weave. I used to think they appeared to great advantages while spinning. Their light and graceful movements and handsome forms had an effect altogether pleasing. I doubt if any female employ- ment ever showed them off to a greater advantage or was more conducive to health. A wonderful story was told of a young lady who could spin a thread so fine that the wool required to make a piece of cloth of average width could be drawn through her finger ring. If this were so, it is well she did not live in the days of the envious Minerva, or like poor Arachne, she too might have been turned into a spider for rivalling that goddess in her favorite art. When the thread was spun very fine and even, then dyed blue, and woven into strips or checks tastefully shaded it made very pretty dresses for ladies. The dyeing was done mostly by old women, whose hands while thus engaged were of a deep blue color. The process of dyeing, for some unknown cause, often proved a failure as did that of soap-making likewise. With both these operations many supposed witchcraft had something to do. All amusements were conducted with an eye to some- thing useful. The young people had their cotton-pickings, and at these there would be a good deal of niirth and CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. 189 gaycty, but a largo quantity of cotton picked also. At the quiltings they would Lave a lively time, chatting, joking, and courting; but there was a pretty quilt to show when all was over. House-raising and log-rolling involved so much hard work, that one would think they could not have been regarded as holidays, but they were nevertheless. The corn-shucking was a favorite pastime. At these, about dusk, the hands would assemble and a pole be laid across the corn-pile to divide it into two equal parts. Then two men would be chosen called captains, after the manner of school-boys preparing for a game; each, one after the other, chose his man, and the corn-crib was un- covered to receive the ears as the shuck was pulled off. Each captain took his men on his side the pole, the darkies raised the corn-song, and the contest began. In a few hours the large corn-heap would melt away, and the dividing pole fall on the side of the victors. They would often then seize their captain and bear him off in triumph on their shoulders. The darkies had a variety of corn- songs and a name for each. " I'm gwine way down the river," "The nigger-trader bought me," and "Fare you weU, Miss Sarah," were very fashionable. The airs, and what little of sentiment there was, generally had a tone of sadness in them, and the rich mellow voices of the singers, when heard far away during the stillness of the night, had a very pleasing effect. After supper all re- turned home to meet again in a few nights at the house of another neighbor, and thus go on till the shucking season ended. Boys were kept pretty well to business during the week, but on Sundays they literally ran wild. Kobert 9* 190 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. Raikes and Sunday-schools had not been heard of then. After breakfast in summer wo would repair to our play- ground in some secluded place under the shady trees and spend several hours, running races, jumping, wrestling, and playing at ball and marbles. The black boys were permitted to join us on terms of perfect equality. After amusing ourselves in this way till satisfied, we often took our bows and arrows, which we had carried with us, and went to the creek, pulled off our trousers, wound them round our necks, and waded up and down in the shallow water to shoot fish with only one garment on, and sometimes not even that. When we came to water of sufficient depth we all plunged in, diving, swimming, and splashing the water about like dolphins. In autumn we roamed the forests in search of nuts, wild grapes, persimmons, papaw apples, and black haws. The latter was a fruit we highly prized. It grew on a dwarf tree about the height of the common dogwood, with smooth glossy leaves. In our rambles we sometimes passed by the solitary cabin of an old hunter named McCuUoch. It stood on the bank of a stream called Hays' Fork, in a grove of beech trees. The stream, if I remember correctly, was a tributary of Saline Creek. His cabin was one of the rudest kind, very low and small, and the cracks between the logs were large. There was a fire-place in one end, and a chimney about breast high, across which sticks were laid for the purpose of drying or curing his venison. He was a good deal past the middle age, tall, spare, and sinewy, with a florid complexion. He had a beautiful rifle, mounted with silver, and kept in the most perfect p^'der. No living thing — not even a dog, the usual com- CUSTOMS AND SCKNES IN STEWART COUNTY. 191 panion of the pioneer hunter — was to be seen about the place. He was, I think, one of the last of the old hunters that had lingered in our settlement — one of the Leather- stocking type. It was said he would leave home some- times for weeks together — gone perhaps on a distant hunt. He killed a great many deer, as was reported, for their hams and skins, which he used to sell. It was supposed he had money secreted in the woods somewhere near where he lived. His method of approaching the deer, of which ho killed so many, was very singular. He took care to get the deer between himself and the wind, so that it could not scent him. When the deer's head Wtis up he stood per- fectly still, and when it was down grazing and could not see him he walked towards it till it was about to raise its head again, and then stopped. He knew when it was going to raise its head, because before doing so it always shook its tail. In this way he could approach as near his game as he desired — so near as never to fail to bring it down when he fired. I heard that he used to say all or nearly all the tales told about the killing of people by wolves were untrue, as he had never known but one person killed by them. A negro man, who had been sent to help a neighbor to kill his hogs, and was on his way home after night with fresh meat in a basket, had been attacked by a gang of them and devoured, together with the meat he was carrying. When he did not return as expected, his master, on going to look for him, found nothing but a piece of his hat and his shoes to show where he had been killed. An account he gave of an unwelcome visit he once had from a panther was quite thrilling. He had observed that 192 ELDER REUBKN ROSS. for several nights in succession some of the venison he had placed over his chimney to dry was carried off, and concluded to lie down and cover himself with skins and keep awake to see what was going on, lie did not wait long before he heard something jump up on his scaffold. Almost at the same instant scaffold, meat, and a large panther fell down together into his cabin. He had never, before nor afterwards, been in such deadly peril. For although the panther is a great coward naturally, yet when hemmed in or wounded he knew it to be the most dangerous wild beast of the forest. His first impulse was to reach out for his rifle to shoot it, but he was afraid it would notice this and tear him to pieces. The creature at first seemed greatly astonished at what had happened, and stood still for some tinio looking round the cabin. As good fortune would have it the door had been left partly open, and on seeing this his visitor passed out into the dark and left him, greatly to his satisfaction and comfort. As the settlement increased in population, and game became more and more scarce, the old hunter at length left his cabin and never returned. Whither he directed his steps, I think no one ever knew. Perhaps still farther towards the settins; sun. The first school in our settlement was taught by a gen- tleman named Ferrell, which name sounded so much like ferule as to be suggestive. His curriculum, or course of studies, was spelling, reading, and arithmetic. As regards his proficiency in these branches I can only testify as to his penmanship, which was simply marvellous for its beauty. This school, at least while I attended it, was quite large. It was composed of girls and boys, and I think in some CUSTOMS AND SCENK-5 IN STEWART COUNTY. 193 respects deserves notice. In the first place, it could boast of only one arithmetic, which belonged to the master. When a boy wanted a sum to work upon he carried his slate to him, and had one set down suited to his age and advancement. He took his slate out under the trees, and was allowed his own time to report progress. He might take a week if it suited his convenience. After trying it a few days, if he could not work it himself, he generally, carried it to some boy more advanced, and had it done. He then took it to the master, who, if on examination it was found correct, ordered him to set it down in his cypher- ing-book in which each scholar was required to enter in full every sum he worked or rather had worked for him. These cypher! ng-books consisted of about one quire of common cap paper stitched together and placed between a covering made of pasteboard. These were preserved with great care, and generally ornamented with some of the elegant penmanship of the master. After writing down his sum the master set down another on his slate, and he went out into the woods as before. Another peculiarity of this school was the absence of everything like classification. So soon as the master took his seat in the morning the head scholar came forward made a bow, and spelt or read his lesson. Before he could reach his seat the next in order would come up, recite, and go back ; and this went on all day, no two reciting together. No scholar was permitted to study upon his lesson to himself, but was required to spell or read it out in a loud tone of voice with his book held up before his face so that he could not look about. The louder they read and the more noise they made, the better the master was pleased, and 194 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. wlien they were in full blast the din was simply tremen- dous. On seeing some gentlemen riding by one day he told us to let them have it, and they got it sure enough. He liked people to hear us when preparing our lessons. The boys soon learned that, provided they did it in a proper tone of voice, they could talk on any subject they desired without being detected. Our teacher believed in the virtue of the rod, and kept three or four very pretty specimens by him on nails driven in the wall near where he sat. I think he must have had a good eye for things of that sort as in my rambles in the woods I never saw any so tapering and shapely as his were, and have no doubt that when passing about if he saw one of these beauties he secured it for our benefit. I think he preferred the black hickory, though, to the time-honored birch. These he not only used in individual cases, but some- times made a general application of them, as when he noticed a sort of languor in the school, he would go round and whip the whole concern. If a boy who was conning over his lesson at the time complained of being whipped unjustly, he would be told that a chap who failed to get a whipping ten times when he deserved it had no right to complain if he got one now and then when he did not. As a general thing we took our whippings as a part of our schooling, without making much ado about them, and thought if we did not get more than one or two a day we were doing pretty well. But our teacher had one practice which we all considered " dog-mean," to use our phrase. He kept a little stick about eighteen inches long lying on his table, and when on looking round he saw a good many not attending to their CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. I'.'O lessons he would throw this stick out into the middle of the floor, and order all that were idle to pick it up and bring it to him. Whereupon, half a dozen little fellows would be seen to rise slowly from their seats, on which they lel't their spelling books ; pick up the miserable stick with their little brown hands ; march up with it " slowly and sadly," as if they were carrying the last friend they had in the world to his grave ; receive their whipping ; and return to their seats again. The day of deliverance at length dawned. The larger scholars decided to strike for a holiday. Consequently, one day when the master went to his dinner they barred up the door securely. On returning he inquired, " What it meant." He was told we wanted holiday, and he could not come in till he agreed to let us have it. He replied that he would go and cut an armful of switches, and if the door Avas not unbarred when he returned, we would be sorry we had ever heard of such a thing as holiday. Then he started off to get thega as we supposed. All now became terribly frightened, and not waiting to unbar the door ran up the chimney which was low, jumped down upon the ground and ran home. This broke up the school for the present. I think he taught there afterwards ; but your grandfather never sent me to him. Here I think it but just to state, that though this teacher did a good deal of flogging, he never whipped us cruelly, and seemed to do it rather as a duty than from ill temper. I remember him well. He had red hair, a long narrow face, and fair complexion. You will perhaps hardly believe it when I tell you we had an Exhibition while I was going to tl^is school ; but it is true. This was considered a wonderful event in our 196 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. settlement, and excited it from centre to circumference. Wiiat we called a stage was made before the school-house door and raised some distance from the ground. A part of this was concealed from public view by counterpanes tacked together for a curtain. The speakers and actors issued from behind this, and came out on the boards in full view of the spectators, who stood or sat on the ground. There were many speeches spoken and dialogues acted to the great delight of the people. The great event was the killing of Caesar by the Roman conspirators. He came out first on the stage — then one, and then another of the assassins. While they were standing and talking together in a very friendly way, one of the conspirators drew his dagger and struck at Caesar. The rest joined in, and while he was defending himself as best he could, Brutus drew his dagger and struck the mortal blow. Caesar then folded his robe around him, and fell pouring out at the same time some red paint pre- pared for the occasion, which trickled down like blood. It was a terrible spectacle, and many who witnessed it turned pale. Few present had seen anything of the kind before, and it made a deep impression on their minds. I think even now, all things considered, the acting was very good. Thus you see, though nearly out of the world, we were already enjoying some of its entertainments. Our old school-house, I think, stood across the creek in a southeasterly direction from the present Saline Creek Church, distant from it, perhaps, three-quarters of a mile. I think it was used as a meeting-house before the present one was built. The last time I saw it I was in company with your grandfather and Elder Fort, who held a meet- in"; there "lono; time a";o." CUSTOMS AND SCENES IN STEWART COUNTY. 197 As I have told you a fish story I will now toll you one al>out a snake and then bid a final adieu to the old school- house with all its pleasant ami unplo;isant memories. A schoolmate and I were i^oing to the spring for water and we saw a flock of partridges just before us. As he was very expert at throwing stones, he threw one at them and killed one partridge. We were very proud of the feat, and after looking at it some time laid it on an old log, in- tending to get it on our return, and show it to the boys when we o;ot back to the school-house. We loitered some time at the spring, but when on our return we came to look for the bird behold, it was no whore to be found! We walked around and around wondering what could have become of it, when on looking down, wonderful to tell, there lay a rattlesnake almost under our feet. I need not tell you he was in size a monster, for in snake stories they are always so. This fellow had just swallowed our bird, as we found afterwards. Why he had not bitten us it would be hard to tell. An old hunter who lived near Greysville, Todd Coun- ty, Kentucky, was standing near a tree waiting for his dogs to bring by him a deer which they were pursuing ; on looking down saw a prodigious rattlesnake coiled up al- most under his feet, and at one bound placed himself at a safe distance. As the snake had behaved so well toward him, he hesitated for some time about killing it. After thinking the matter over he concluded that, though a good snake himself, he belonged to a bad family and killed it. We came to the same conclusion concerning our snake, and did likewise. He was an ugly-looking rascal and we thought he had poison enough in him to kill a dozen bovs had he bitten them. CHAPTER XX. WAR — INDIANS — COMETS— EARTHQUAKES. The year 1811 was an eventful one, both for our settle- ment and for our country. " Coming events " were be- ginning to " cast their shadows before," and to fill the public mind with forebodings of trouble. The English Government claimed and exercised the right to search American vessels on the high seas, and to take from them all they thought or pretended to think were British subjects, and to put them on board their own vessels of war. All foresaw that this would make war inevitable, if persisted in, as no proud, higli-spirited peo- ple could brook so great an indignity. It was known, too, that nearly all the Indian tribes were more or less disaifected and hostile, and that in the event of a war with England an alliance would be formed among them, and that the tomahawk and scalping knife would again be used to perform their bloody work. It was well known, also, that Tecumseh, the famous In- dian chief, was busily engaged in forming an extensive confederacy of all the surrounding Indian tribes, the ob- ject of which was to exterminate the white race, and to prevent all further encroachments on what they considered their territory. This celebrated chief is said to have been one of three brothers, born at the same time, on the banks of the Scioto 198 WAR— INDIANS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 199 River, near Chill icothe, Ohio. His father was the famous Shawnee chief, Cornstalk, who commanded the Indian warriors in the battle ol Kanawha, or Point Pleasant, in 1774, whore but for the vigilance of Eobertson and Se- vier, it seems that the army under General Lewis must have met with a bloody defeat. His mother is variously stated to have been a Shawnee, a Creek, and a Cherokee Indian. " His enmity to the whites was con- stant and bitter. In all the terrible incursions of the savages by which the first settlers of Kentucky were har- assed, he was conspicuous, but rarely appropriated to his own use any of the booty thus obtained. The love of glory and his desire of sating vengeance on the whites were his predominant passions." " In person he was about five feet ten inches high, with handsome features, a symmetrical and powerful frame, and an air of dignity and defiance." As a warrior, politician, and hunter, he had no equal in his tribe. Of his skill in hunting it is narrated that, being challenged to a con- test by the best hunters of his tribe, he returned, at the end of three days, with thirty deerskins, while none of his competitors brought in more than twelve. After inspiring the northern tribes with deadly hostility to the whites, he passed through the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, on his way to the Creeks and Cherokees. When he set out on this journey he left his brother, Els- katawa known as the Shawnee Prophet, in command of his northern warriors, with strict orders to strike no blow until his return. But he, becoming impatient, attacked General Harrison, November 7th, 1811, at Tippecanoe, where he was defeated in a bloody battle, and the Indian war fully inaugurated. 200 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. This disobedience of orders on the part of the Prophet well nigh ruined all the splendid schemes Tecumseh had been forming for years. He did not succeed, it is true, in bringing our Indians, the Chickasaws and Choctaws, into his league. Had he done this all our settlements on the Cumberland must have been broken up. But as our peo- ple could not know certainly how matters stood, they were constantly harassed by alarming rumors. At one time a report came that they were killing people at the Mouth of Sandy, on the Tennessee Eiver, and that they might be expected in our settlement any hour. The report reached us about dusk, when your grandfather was from home. As soon as it was quite dark, your grandmother took us all, and went over to the house of Uncle Nathan Ross. She forbade us to speak a word or make any noise what- ever on the way. We moved along, like so many silent spectres, in the darkness. On reaching his house, we learned that he had already collected a number of men, and had gone to see -what the Indians were doing on the Tennessee. Returning in a day or two, he reported that only one family had been frightened from home, after which the bed-ticks had been ripped open and carried off, and the feathers left scattered about the house and yard, but by whom this had been done, I think, was never known. Although Tecumseh did not succeed in turning our Indian neighbors against us, it was different with the Creek Indians, and the massacre at Fort Mimms, in what is now the State of Alabama, one of the bloodiest in the annals of Indian warfare, soon followed. The flame there kindled by him among the southern Indians continued to blaze, until it was finally quenched in their blood, WAR — INDIANS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 201 'luring the wars waged against them, by the heroic Jackson. I may liere state tliat after Tecumseh returned from his southern tour, he collected together the warriors left after the battle of Tippecanoe, and joined the British army in Canada, was made a brigadier general, and distinguished himself for courage and conduct, until he fell in the battle of the Thames in 1812, while gallantly leading his war- riors to the charge.* To add to the causes of uneasiness already mentioned, the great comet of 1811 made its appearance at this time. It was a splendid affair ; having a tail long enough, it was said, to have coiled round our planet five thousand times ; a comet of tremendous magnitude. I remember well when we first saw it, at your grandfather's. A stranger had died in the neighborhood, and his remains had been brought to our place to be buried. It so hap- pened that the interment had not been completed till after dark ; and while the grave was being filled up, some of the bystanders happening to look to the northwest, saw the terrible stranger on the verge of the distant horizon. I need not say its appearance caused a deep sensation in a crowd, all of whom had been taught to look upon comets as harbingers of impending calamity. To add to our misfortunes still further, the northern lights were particu- larly showy and beautiful this season. And when they would change rapidly from one part of the heavens to another, and sometimes assume a dark red hue, many thought that the movements of armies and bloodshed were portended, and lost heart altogether. But the worst was not yet. On the 16th of December, 1811, the severe * For what has been said of Tecumseh see Cyclopedia Americana and Putnam's Annals. 202 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. shock of an earthquake was felt ahout two o'clock in the morning. This produced the greatest consternation. Many of the neighbors, while it was yet dark, loft home, and came to learn of your grandfather what it was, and what w^as the cause of it. He told them it was an earth- quake, and that earthquakes were supposed to be caused by great fires raging in the bowels of the earth. And when he added that not only single houses, but great towns and cities had often been shaken down by them, and thou- sands of people buried in the ruins, all thought they had made a merciful escape, and about daylight started home happy, and it is to be hoped, thankful, that they had es- caped so well, not doubting that all danger was now over. But about sunrise, a noise like distant subterra- nean thunder, far away to the southwest, began to be heard. As it approached nearer and nearer, and grew louder and louder, the ground began to tremble. AVhen it reached us the noise for a moment was terrific, and the vibrations of the earth violent. Then the rumbling sound gradually rolled away to the northwest till it became in- audible. The feeling produced was sublime and awful. Even dumb animals seemed to be awed by it. They looked pensive and dejected, as though something strange and mysterious was going on. We are familiar with the rum- bling noise of thunder in the air. It appears to be in its place there, but when the same sound is heard deep down in the earth, it seems strange and unnatural. I was in bed, asleep, when the first shock was felt, and of course knew nothing about it, till all was over; and when I heard them telling how the ground shook, furni- ture, plates, and dishes rattled and clattered ; and the WAR — INDIANS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 203 house itself seemed ready to fall, I regretted that I had not been awake to see and hear it all. But I was soon to be more than gratified. Your grandfather, like the rest, supposing all was over, had sent me out into the field early in the morning after his horse, when the second shock— much more violent than the first — came on. When I heard the rumbling noise and felt the ground shaking under my feet, I threw away my bridle, turned, and fled to the house with all speed, which I reached in a badly demoralized condition. About the same time, the neigh- bors who had just left, and many besides, came pouring in, a pitiable and terror-stricken crowd, and remained in and about the house and yard all day, expecting another shock every moment. A few who lived nearest went home for something to eat, but were soon back again. Toward evening their uneasiness seemed to increa.se, and it was soon apparent they intended to stay all night and have 3'our grandfather preach for them. Erasmus was right when he exclaimed : " Quam religiosus nos afflictio fadtf How religious affliction makes us ! The weather was quite cold, and large fires necessary. The stout young fellows took their axes, and soon provided a good supply of wood, by splitting up some large logs, that lay in the way, near the house. All seemed serious and thoughtful, and very much disposed to huddle together. The thought of the long dark night that lay before them, and of what might befall them, before another sun arose, awakened feelings of anxiety and apprehension. That night many knees bent in prayer that had, perhaps, never bent in that way before. All, without exception, from the least to the greatest, might be seen in that humble atti- tude, so becoming those who appear, as it were, in the k 204 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. presence of the Deity, to implore liis favor and protection, in times of perplexity and danger. There are few things more impressive, than to behold a whole congregation at once upon their knees. In his discourse that night, your grandfather told us of the ancient Ninevites, who had become so wicked that a prophet was sent to warn them of the judgments about to fall upon them and their doomed city. And how, af- ter all, from the king on his throne, to the beggar in the street, had repented of their sins in sackcloth and in ashes, they were saved from the impending destruction. Then he exhorted us to do likewise, as the Heavenly Father was merciful, and did not desire the death of the wicked, but that all might repent and live. He added, that with repentance toward God, and faith in Christ, we had the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come, and would then be ready to meet death, whether he should come in " sunshine or in storm," in the earthquake or in " the pestilence that wasteth at noonday." These were words of encouragement, which led many of those present to repent of their sins, reform their lives, make a profession of religion, and honor the profession they made, by a pious walk and godly conversation. Others again who seemed to have started well, faltered by the way, and as the earth became more and more steady, their faith became more and more unsteady. These were called " earthquake Christians," to distinguish them from those who held out faithful to the end. During this winter, night-meetings were held, more or less frequently, at the houses of the settlers in our neigh- borhood. And as the different groups who attended them, were seen approaching with torches after dark, from WAR — INDIAJfS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 205 various points, some nearer, and others more distant, the scene was both wild and beautiful. These torches were made of dry poplar rails, split up into small pieces. The light they made was very brilliant, when seen among the forest trees, during the darkne.ss. Besides the religious benefit which the settlement received from your grandfather, he rendered it valu- able service in other respects. When the spring of 1812 opened, slight shocks of the earthquake still con- tinued to be felt frequently, and some believed the earth to be in a constant vibratory motion, because, as they af- firmed, any one laying his hand on the top rails of a com- mon fence, could perceive a constant movement of the rails. On account of these things many became very de- spondent, and were little disposed to make preparation for a crop. He showed them them how unwise a course like this would be, since if they were spared by the earthquake, they might yet be subjected to the greatest suffering for want of supplies for themselves and families. He made them more hopeful, too, by informing them that there were many instances on record, where after the earth had been violently agitated for a time, no great calamity had been sufiered by the people where it had occurred. Although the earthquakes were very alarming to us on the Cumberland, they were much more so at New Madrid in southeastern Missouri. In the journal of the famous Lorenzo Dow, who attracted much attention in the early part of the present century, and who will appear hereafter in our narrative, may be found a letter written to him, by a lady of that place, giving a graphic description of the earthquake there. In the autumn of 1836, I had occasion to visit New Madrid, 10 206 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. and in riding over the surrounding country, even then the effects of the terrible earthquake were everywhere to be seen. In places, the surface of the earth was covered over with great heaps of white sand ; and great fissures, where the earth had opened and thrown up volumes of water and sand to a great height, were visible in all direc- tions. The little knoll to which the terror-stricken crowd fled in despair was pointed out to me. This being the highest spot, they thought it would be the last to dis- appear, when the earth sank down, and the waves of the great river overwhelmed them. A gentleman who lived near New Madrid, with whom I stayed all night, entertained me with a good many amusing anecdotes, one or two of which I will repeat. They were connected with the earthquakes, or what he called the " Shakes." He said there was at that time, and had been for some years previous, near 'New Madrid, a Frenchman, some- what advanced in years, who had no fixed home, but lived, sometimes with one family, and then with another. All were glad to have him with them, as, besides being very entertaining, he was a fine hunter and angler, and kept the family with which he stayed bountifully supplied with game and fish of the best quality. He seemed to have been finely educated, in feet, " to know every thing," rather solitary in his habits, very religious, and a Roman Catholic. No one knew anything of his history, but the conclusion was, that he had been a per- son of rank in his own country, and probably compelled to leave it on account of political troubles, and that he had come to New Madrid, perhaps because a great many peo- ple were there of French extraction, and speaking the French language. WAR — INDIANS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 207 After the first shake which had alarmed them all greatly, they came to the conclusion, as we did on the Cumberland, that all danger was over, and began to think about other matters. About sunrise, or a little before, he being then a lad, was sent to look after some cattle in the cane-brake, near the river, and the Frenchman concluded to accompany him. They had nearly reached the place to which they were going, when the terrible noise, deep under their feet, began to be heard. Soon the tops of the tallest trees were seen to bow down to the ground, yawn- ing chasms to open and close, with a noise resembling the report of artillery, and the waters of the Mississippi in great waves to roll up stream, in a most frightful manner, carrying with them the boats, and all other craft that were cabled to the shore. These terrific sights and sounds, as he said, frightened him so badly that somehow the thought came into his head to get down upon his knees and pray, and accord- ingly down he went. The Frenchman, who happened to be standing near by, leaning on his rife, asked him " What he meant ?" " Going to pray to God to have mercy on me," was the reply. — "Ever pray to God before, or thank him for any of his blessings ?" " Never thought of such a thing before in my life." " Well, you mean, piti- ful, cowardly fellow, you shan't do it now. If you attempt it, ril kill you on the spot." And throwing his rifle into the hollow of his left arm, he sprung the trigger, and looked as if he would rather do what he said than not. There he was between the earthquake and the French- man, hardly knowing which was the worse. He knew after- wards that the man's intention was to teach a good lesson — not to put ofi^ praying till the last moment. But he never 208 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. fully forgave him for it, and thought no one that wanted to pray as badly as he did at that time ought to be pre- vented, even if he were scared into it. He related also an anecdote of an old woman, who lived on the bank of the Mississippi. Her husband and chil- dren all died from the unheal thiness of the country, and she was left poor and lonely. Going down the river bank one day for water, in a very disconsolate mood, she thought while there she would say her prayers. Going to a place where the bank hung over a little, she got down upon her knees and prayed that, if it was the Lord's will, she might be taken from this world of sin and sorrow, to another and a better, where her troubles would end, and she could be at rest. While thus engaged in prayer, a slight shock of the earthquake occurred, and a small slide of earth took place, some of which fell upon her back. Springing up to her feet and brushing the sand from her shoulders, she said : "Well! I declare! what is this world a-comin' to? I would like to know ? Everything anybody says now- a-days is taken for yearnest ! " And she hurried off, as if highly offended. My host seemed to enjoy this joke greatly, and could mimic the old lady finely. Peter Cartwright, the famous old circuit-rider, who could preach sermons, scare up sinners, whip rowdies, and tell good stories with any one, says in substance, that he was in Nashville when the first severe shock of the earth- quake was felt, and saw a negro woman start to the spring for water, with an empty pail on her head. When the earth began to shake, and the chimneys and scaffolding around the new buildings to tumble down, she raised a shout, and said : " The Lord is coming in the clouds of heaven ! The day of judgment ! The day of judgment ! " WAR — INDIANS— COMETS— EARTHQUAKES. 209 Her two young mistresses bearing this, came running out of the house, dreadfully frightened, and begged her to stop and pray for them. She said : " I can't stop to pray for you now. I told you how it would be. He is coming ! He is coming ! I must go to meet him. Farewell ! Hallelujah ! Glory, hallelujah !" and went on clapping her hands and shouting. Old Brother Valentine Cook (he adds), a man of " pre- cious memory," and his wife Tabitha, were living at that time near Eussellville, Kentucky. They were in bed when the earth began to shake and tremble. He sprang out, threw open the door, raised a shout, and with nothing on but his night clothes, steered his course easterly, shouting, every jump, as he went : " My Lord is coming ! My Lord is coming !" His wife took after him, also in her night-dress, crying at the top of her voice : " Oh, Mr. Cook, don't leave me ! don't leave me !" " Oh, Tabby," he said, " my Lord is coming. I can't wait for you, Tab- by." And hurried on, shouting, as he went : " My Lord is coming ! I can't wait for you. Tabby." There were but few deaths reported from the effects of the earthquakes. One poor woman at New Madrid was said to have been so overcome with terror, that she swooned away and never recovered. In one of the boats that broke loose from its moorings, and which was wrecked, it was reported, a woman and six children perished. The most considerable change effected in the face of the coun- try was the formation of what is called Reelfoot Lake, on the opposite side of the river from New Madrid. Here a tract of country, some eighteen or twenty miles long, and five or six wide, sank down, and was covered over with water, in some places to a considerable depth ; it is said 210 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. also that the tops of tall trees may still be seen under the water, by those passing over the lake in canoes. The beautiful country around New Madrid was nuioh damaged by the earthquake, and the people so much alarmed and discouraged, that our government kindly agreed to take back the land it had sold them, ' and granted them the privilege of removing and finding new homes on govern- ment lands elsewhere. Many moved away. Others sold their claims to speculators, and for several years there was a lively trade in these claims, which were known as " floats," if I remember rightly. Not only did the earthquakes alarm the whites, but many of the Indians, who had been removed west of the Mississippi by our government, deserted their new coun- try, and came back, supposing the Great Spirit was angry with them for having deserted the bones of their chiefs, their warriors, and their forefathers, and signified his dis- pleasure by making the ground tremble under their feet.* Before leaving; the settlements on the Cumberland, an account of which will be given in our next chapter, I will remark, that in the year 1810, as already observed, the Eed River Association met at our old Spring Creek Church, from whose minutes of that date I will make a few extracts, thinking they may be of some interest to you. " First.-^The introductory sermon was preache<] by Elder Josiah Horn, from John 5: 39 — 'Search the Scriptures.' " " Secondly. — The Association met for business. Prayer by Elder Lewis Moore. Brother Anthony New chosen Moderator, Brother Wil- liam Aingall, Clerk, and Eldftr Reuben Ross, Assistant Clerk." " The number baptized in all the churches this Associational year was 78. The number received 118. The number dismissed by letter also * See Putnam's Annals. WAR — INDIANS — COMETS — EARTHQUAKES. 211 llvS. Excommunicated, 39. Died, 9. Total number of members 1,020 Money in the treasury, ^35.37." " Six churches petitioned for admittance, and on being found ortho- dox were received." " Received with much pleasure and gratitude correspondence from Cumberland, Green River, and Wabash Associations: to wit, from Cum- berland, Elders Gaines, McConico, White, and Turner. From Green River, Collins and Lamars. From Wabash, Isaac McCoy." " Appointed Elders Reuben Ross, J. Benbrooks, I. French, and An- thony New a committee of arrangement. "Appointed Elders White, McConico, Turner, and Moore, to preach to-morrow, and to begin at ten o'clock, A. M." " Appointed Elder Sugg Fort, and Brother Wells, and Grey, to write corresponding letters to Cumberland, Green River, and Kehukee Asso- ciations.'' " Resolved, To allow Elder Reuben Ross five dollars for his services as messenger to Cumberland Association. Elder John Benbrooks one dollar and fifty cent^ for his services tx» Green River Association, and Brother Aingell six dollars for his services as Clerk. " Resolved, That Elder Sugg Fort write the next circular letter and choose his own subject." " Resolved, That Elder D. Brown, preach Introductory Sermon to the next Association, and in case of failure. Elder Reuben Ross. "Resolved, That next Association be held at Blooming Grove, Mont- gomery County, Tennessee, on Saturday before the second Sabbath in Aug., 1811." "After prayer by Elder D. Brown, the Association was adjourned to the next time and place mentioned ! Anthony New, Moderator, William Aingell, Clerk." I make an abstract from the circular letter on prayer : " With regard to prayer, it appears to be the desire or breathing of the soul to the great God, and is held forth in Scripture, by drawing near to God — lifting up our souls to him — pouring out our hearts to him. It is said by some that the English word prayer is too strait: for that properly signifies petition, or request; whereas, humble adoration and thanksgiving to God are as necessary as any other part of it; if so, it consists in adoration, thanksgiving, and supplication. That it is our duty to adore him, as he is a Being transcendently glorious, self-existent and independent, infinite and eternal, appears plain, from both Scrip- ture and reason." CHAPTER XXI. A NEW HOME IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. From the time when he lost his liouse on Saline Creek, in Stewart County, your grandfather was restless and un- easy until he procured another. Early in the year 1812, he purchased on credit of Mr. Needham Whitfield,* about three hundred acres of land, lying in Montgomery County, Tenn., eight or nine miles north-west of Clarksville, im- mediately on the State line, something less than two miles west of where the turnpike road from Clarksville to Hop- kinsville, Kentucky, crosses it. Of this tract, the State line formed the northern boundary. I think he agreed to pay about twelve hundred dollars for it, in such sums as he could spare, annually, after supporting his family. Mr. Whitfield acted in a very liberal and friendly man- ner in this transaction. He never pressed your grand- father for any of the purchase money; but was satisfied with the payments he was able to make, from time to time, I think it was seven or eight years before he was able to pay principal and interest, and get his deed. I had the pleasure of helping a little towards making his last pay- ment. Soon after the purchase was made, leaving me, then about eleven years old, to stay with your grandmother and the children, he took his axe and went on his place. I * Then, and until his death, living on Spring Creek, in Montgomery County. 212 A NEW HOME IN MONTGOMEEiY COUNTY. 213 think he cut all the logs to build his house with his own hands. He took great pains, as he always did in every- thing, to select those that were straight and pretty. His nearest neighbor, with whom he boarded, was a kind old gentleman named Eogers, a member of his church, whose family consisted of a wife and an only son. I hardly need say that they all became very much attached to each other. When ready to bring his timbers together, he made an arrangement with his old neighbor and his son, Joel, to assist him, promising to aid them, in turn, in housing their crop of corn. At length, having everything ready, he collected the neighbors together, and his house was raised. It had two rooms, and a passage between them, as was very common at that time, and even much later. He worked hard, in order to get one room ready for his fiimily before cold weather set in, only coming home now and then to see us, and let us know how he was getting on, and to answer our questions about the new place. When one room was habitable, he came for us, and we all moved up to it. We regretted leaving our old friends and neighbors on the Cumberland, to whom we had be- come much attached, on account of the common dangers and hardships we had experienced while living together there ; but were glad to remove farther from the Indians and earthquakes, our new home being about twenty-five miles ftirther east. I always intended revisiting the old neighborhood but put it off until it is now too late. I shall never forget how wild and beautiful all things appeared to me the first spring we lived near Saline Creek. It was late in the fall when we reached our new home. 10* 214 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. There was not the slightest improvement on the place be- sides the unfinished house. All around looked sad and dreary, especially, when the wind swept over the dry and withered grass, or rustled among the dead leaves of the post-oak and black-jack trees. None who ever witnessed the desolate appearance of the Kentucky Barrens in early times, during the winter season, can forget the feeling they produced. Far as the eye could reach, it seemed one barren, cheerless waste. Seen at this season of the year by the early explorers, it is not strange that they called them the Barrens, or the barren lands. The pioneer hunters had no conception of their fertility, and very naturally supposed that there were only a few stunted trees in these wide prairies, be- cause the ground was so poor. No greater mistake could have been made. During this winter I first saw the tre- mendous fires caused by the burning of the dry grass. In many places, this grass was very thick and tall; and when perfectly dry, should it get on fire, the wind being high, the spectacle became truly sublime, especially at night. The country around far and wide, would then be illuminated by a lurid light, reflected from the clouds of black smoke in the upper regions of the atmosphere. The flames, when the wind blew strong, would move with such rapidity that animals of all kinds had to hurry forward to avoid perishing in them. They would sometimes burn the leaves on trees, twenty, or thirty feet in height. Some- times they would consume all the fencing around the farm, in spite of all that could be done to save it. No one who ever witnessed one of these great fires would ever afterward be at a loss to account for the scarcity of timber in the Barrens, as trees of all kinds, when A NEW HOME IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 215 small, were destroyed by them. Should a little twig or hush put up from the ground one season, it was sure to be burned the next. The Indians, in early times, used to set this grass on fire, when hunting, and killed great quanti- ties of game as it fled before the flames. But if, in winter, the barrens looked cheerless and dreary, it was far otherwise in spring and early summer. It would be difficult to imagine anything more beautiful. Far as the eye could reach, they seemed one vast deep- green meadow, adorned with countless numbers of bright flowers springing up in all directions. At that time of the year I was sometimes sent to Hopkinsville — then called " Christian Court-house " — distant sixteen or eigh- teen miles. The whole distance was a scene of unvarying loveliness and beauty ; only a few clumps of trees and now and then a solitary post-oak were to be seen, far as the eye could reach. Here I first saw the prairie bird, or barren-hen, as we called it, which I afterwards met with in such vast numbers on the great prairies of Illinois. Here the wild strawberries grew in such profusion as to stain the hor-se's hoofs a deep red color. It is not strange that Daniel Boone, Finley, Clark, Hen- derson, and others, who saw Kentucky in its virgin beauty, gazed upon it with admiration and delight. Nor is it strange that the red man contended, so long and so obstinately, for an inheritance so rich and so beautiful. Only a few years before we moved into the Barrens, their fertility began to be known. Before that time im- migrants usually settled along the water courses, where they found timber and water more abundant, though land much inferior in quality. But when their fertility was known, settlers were attracted in great numbers; the want 216 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. of timber and water, however, were two great draw- backs. Sometimes three or four families were compelled to haul water for several miles, from the same spring, caus- ing much loss of time and no little trouble. Many deep wells were dug, at considerable risk and expense. Cis- terns would have remedied the evil, but they were then unknown, and did not come into use till many years later. I remember to have heard a good deal of a man whom all considered very lucky. He was the owner of a valua- ble tract of land in the Barrens, on which there was no water. After digging a number of wells, and failing to reach water, he began to think of selling it. About this time he was visited by a friend from a distance, to whom he told his troubles, and in the course of conversation, happened to observe that he had seen a muskrat at a cer- tain place a few days before. His friend told him there was always water within a few yards of the spot where this animal was seen. On going to the place, and bending down the tall grass, they found just below the surface a beautiful cave-spring. After having hauled water for several years, as others in the neighborhood did, and becoming heartily tired, your grandfather determined he would dig a well, though it by no means suited him to incur the expense it in- volved. There were men who professed to be able to di- vine the presence of water and its depth below the surface of the ground, called water-witches, though it seems they should have been called water-wizards. He had little faith in these pretensions, but to obtain water was of such great importance, that he determined A NEW HOME IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 217 to avail himself of all the chances, and rode some distance to find one of reputation in this art, thinking " if it did no good it would do no harm." When the diviner came, he wont to a peach tree grow- ing in the yard, and cut from it a branch with two prongs; tiiking one in each hand, he walkiid around some time. At length the end of the rod bent down toward the earth. Here, he said, a fine bold stream of water would be found, by digging about sixty feet. A stake was driven down, to mark the spot; a* well-digger employed, a windlass and bucket provided, the work commenced. This went on with many alternations of hope and fear, until the depth of ninety feet was reached, when it became too dangerous to proceed farther, and the well was abandoned. Another sad disappointment. When I last saw the place a mound of red earth was still visible to mark the spot where so much labor had been in vain expended. As no land was cleared on our new place, we were com- pelled for several years to rent, preparing three or four acres of our own land for cultivation every season. Your grandfather did much of this work with his own hands, being employed in this way all the time he was not out preaching. Many of his neighbors, being in good circum- stances, helped him. Sometimes they sent two or three hands to assist in making rails, and doing other heavy work, and at length there was no need of renting, which relieved him greatly. Amongj his kindest neio-hbors were Dr. John T. Gil- mer, and his brother Nicholas, who removed from Georgia, and brought their young families and servants w.th them. They and their families soon seemed to regard us, very much as near relatives, and perhaps there have been few 218 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. instances, where a greater degree of harmony, good-will, and love subsisted among those not related. They be- longed to the Methodist Episcopal Church, we to the Baptist, yet this never seemed to have been thought of by either ; but regarding each other as Christians and fol- lowers of the same Divine Master, all else seemed to be forgotten. These excellent men are now no more. l)r. Gilmer came to prefer a free state ; sold his old Kentucky home ; removed to Illinois ; and died there many years ago. His brother Nicholas remained in Kentucky until his death, which took place about the same time as that of your grandfather. I remember well, when he drove up, within less than a mile of us, and pitched his tents among the grass and wild flowers, and remained encamped, until tem- porary houses were built. Your grandmother sent your aunt Polly, aunt Nannie, and myself, to their encampment, with butter, milk, eggs, and a basket of dried fruit, sup- posing these acceptable after their long journey, and thus our acquaintance began. All who had milk cows abounded in milk and butter at this season of the year. Among our other kind neighbors was a Mr. James Lock- ert, a relation of the Lockert's still living in Montgomery County, who removed to or near Little Kock, Arkansas. We were sorry when he left us, as his children were our playmates, and together we hunted wild grapes, straw- berries, and hazlenuts in the barrens. Mr. Hinton and his family, kind and agreeable people, who belonged to the Presbyterian Church, were as regu- lar in attending your grandfather's meetings, as any of his own denomination. Mr. John Hinton, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and long one of the most A NFAV HOME IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 219 distinguished teachers in the country,\vasamember of this family. Mrs. Hinton, the mother, was very kind and atten- tive in times of sickness, of which we had a great deal while living at this place, and very much endeared herself to your grandmother. Whenever I was sent to her house on errands, she had a little table set out with milk, butter, light bread, and preserves for me to eat before I left. In my estimation she was one of the saints, for whose can- onization, I would have voted any day. The neighbor who used to entertain me most, was an elderly gentleman, Captain Thomas Rivers. He was a man of property ; owned many negroes, and a valuable farm, near what is now called Mansion's Spring which then sup- plied many families with water. He was the grandfather of the distinguished Methodist Episcopal preacher, I think, of Louisville, Kentucky. Captain Rivers, though a kind- hearted gentleman, was rough, boisterous, and, as some thought, overbearing in his disposition. I became acquaint- ed with his boys at school, and was often invited home with them to spend the night, where I used to hear him relate many amusing incidents and anecdotes of his life. He said one of his neighbors permitted his large flock of sheep to run on his pastures most of the time, not troubling him- selve to keep them at home, whom, he told one day, to let them remain as long as he thought proper, they should be treated just as if they were his own. He told how he killed a fine mutton every week for a long time, until the owner accidentally found it out, and when he complained, asked him if he did not remember his saying they should be treated just as his own. The sheep did not trouble him any more. He had a number of pretty daughters, and it was said 220 ELDER EEDBEN ROSS. when idle young fellows would go to see them and stay longer than he thought necessary, he would make out a little bill, charging them so much a day for themselves and horses, — hand it to them and get on his horse and ride over his farm. On returning he generally found his house was his own ; none of them ever returned, except those who meant business. War was declared against Great Britain on the 20th of June, 1812, and no period in our country's history, be- fore our great civil war, was shrouded in deeper gloom than the first two or three years after our removal from the Cumberland, back to Montgomery County. Espe- cially may this be said of the western people, during the last few months of 1814, Portentous rumors were then afloat, of a vast armament, that was being fitted out in the West Indies, whose destination was the capture of New Orleans, and the mouth of the Mississippi. And there was perhaps not a well informed man in all the country who believed these important places could be successfully defended. Should the British effect the permanent occupancy of New Orleans and the Mississippi River, they thought the ruin of the South and West would be the result, as it would give them possession of our other great rivers — en- able them to turn all the surrounding tribes of Indians against us, and probably succeed in driving us again be- yond the Allegheny Mountains. These apprehensions in- duced Kentucky and Tennessee to put forth all their strength in aiding the heroic Jackson to defend these vi- tal points. In the month of December, 1814, a number of volun- teers were encamped upon the bleak, snow-clad hills A NEW HOME IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 221 around Clarksville, awaiting transportation to New Or- leans, where it Wiis reported, an army of fourteen thou- sand men were about to be landed Viy the enemy. These volunteers sent a request to your grandfather to come and preach for them, as often as he could, while they were in camp. This request was promptly complied with, and he spent much of his time with them. These soldiers be- longed to families in the surrounding counties, with many of whom he had become acquainted in his frequent tours of preaching, and he came to feel a deep interest in their welfare, both temporal and spiritual. When speaking of them to your grandmother, aiter having visited them, he would tell her what noble-looking young men they were, and how his heart misgave him, that their manly forms would be seen no more among us after their departure. It is well known that in those days, when a call for volun- teers was made, it was answered first, by the best mate- rial — the flower of manhood of the country. At length he bade them adieu ; and they embarked on their perilous voyage, down the great rivers in the dead of winter, on the crowded and uncomfortable flat-boats, but his heart still followed them, and they were long re- membered in the evening prayer. When the news of the great, and on our part almost bloodless, victory reached us, he was more moved than I had ever seen him on any joy- ous occasion. He understood the crisis, and knew better than we, the greatness of our deliverance, and the lustre it shed upon our arms. Above all, he rejoiced to think that so many he never expected to see would return home. Of this victory I well remember, we at first heard a vague rumor as if floating in the air. None could tell whence it came. The whole community seemed to be struck with a 222 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. kind of awe, and repeated what they had heard almost in whispers. The feeling was much like that produced by the first uncertain news of General Taylor's victories over Santa Anna in Mexico, but more intense. Could it bo that the course of victory which had so long followed the arms of England had been checked ? Could it be, that our beau- tiful country, south and west of the great mountains, was to remain our own ? Many suns rose and set, many were the alternations of hope and fear, before the news was fully confirmed. When it was, no bonfires were kindled, no cannon heard to boom in honor of the great event ; but I doubt whether a greater load of apprehension and dread was ever removed from any people. You must re- member it was not war, but Indian-war, that was so much dreaded by our people, war upon helpless age, women, and children. Hope revived ; cheerfulness and gayety returned ; and many songs that grew out of the events of the war became very fashionable. Especially those recounting our brilliant naval victories on the lakes and high seas. One called "The Eaces," which referred to achievements on land, was a great favorite. Of this, I remember several stanzas, though not in their proper order, as follows : " Ross came to Baltimore and swore, More than a match they'd find him, So swift he ran, from boy and man, He left the world behind him. " When Harrison, the battle won On Thames, from bloody Proctor, Poor Proctor's speed, none could exceed Not e'en his aid and doctor. " When Packingham, to Orleans came •Full sure of easy victory. Resolved forthwith to try the pith And mettle of old Hickory. A NEW HOME IN MONTOOMERY COUNTY. 223 " Grreat was the stake he wished to take, 'Twas beauty, sir ! and booty, And much the wag did boast and brag, But Jackson knew his duty. " He won alas ! a fatal race, He ran till out of breath, sir : His booty was a burial place, His beauty, wounds and death, sir! '' The war of 1812, lasting about three years, was a period of anxiety and trouble. Our extended sea-board was ex- posed to British vessels of war, from Maine to New Orleans ; our Atlantic towns and cities destroyed, and the National Capital laid in ashes. During these years, your grandfather preached much of his time, his labors greatly lessened by being nearer his church. The Baptist churches in those days were often in trouble, less on ac- count of doctrine than of order and discipline A mem- ber would do something supposed to be improper ; some would be for, and others against him. Then one of the sister churches was requested to send what were called " helps," that is discreet, unprejudiced men, who after hearing both sides, would advise a certain course, which was usually, though not always, agreed to. Your grand- father, being very persuasive and free from all suspicion of partiality, was in great request, and had great weight in settling these troubles. One little church, called "Cub Creek," was nearly always in " hot water." Deputation, after deputation would come up for him, to go down to help them. Their case had become chronic. At one time he was so often with them, that when brethren would ride up to our gate and inquire of me where he was, I, (for mischief,) would tell them I expected they would find him down about Cub Creek meeting house. CHAPTER XXIL OUR SCHOOL — BASCOM — MORRIS — CARTWRIGHT, For several years, during the war and after its close, I occasionally attended a school in our neighborhood. Near what was at first called River's Spring, but afterward Hanson's, was built a school-house and a little log meet- ing house also, called Bethel, for the use of the Methodists of whom several families were living in the neighborhood This church still bears its old name. This was considered a high school at that time, as in it were taught the Latin and Greek languages, and the ma- thematics to some extent. Classical learning was held in high estimation among us in those days, and almost every one who could afford it, had his boys studying Greek and Latin, so that many who had but little knowledge of the English branches could translate Virgil and Horace, Xen- ophon and Homer, with ease and elegance. A thorough knowledge of the grammars, and a rigid application of their rules were required. The education of the distinguished men of Kentucky and Tennessee then began and ended pretty much with the Classics, It is not strange that a thorough course of Classical studies has always been held in high estimation by those who are capable of appreciating their value, since it exercises and develops every faculty of the mind, — memory, reason, taste, judgment, and imagination. Be- 224 OUR SCHOOL - BASCOM — MORRIS — ■CARTWRIGHT. 225 sides this a habit of patient applicjition is formed, which is of priceless vahie, since it enables the individual to in- vestigate and master with comparative ease, any subject to which he may turn his attention Most of the great phi- losophers, poets, orators, historians, divines, jurists, and physicians of Europe and America owe their renown to the mental training derived from a thorough study of Classical literature. And as these noble studies seem at this time to be on the decline, might it not be well for the friends of learning and progress, to awake to a sense of their importance and value ? Mr. Davis, a young teacher from East Tennessee, taught at this place for some time, and was much esteemed by all who knew him. Valentine Barry, son of Daniel Barry, one of the finest classical scholars in the West then, or perhaps since, succeeded him. He had been educated in Ireland, his native country, taught a school near Bards- town, Kentucky, before he came among us, and numbered among his pupils there Judge Rowan and Judge W. T. Barry, as I have heard. These were among Kentucky's great men. He left two sons, Henry and Valentine, whom he had educated with great care. Henry died young, and was lamented by our whole community, as he was highly es- teemed, and of bright promise. Some years after his death, which occurred in or near Louisville, some young friends and myself went to the burying ground to seek for his grave, but after spending several hours reading the in- scriptions on the grave-stones, we failed to find his name. His elder brother, Valentine, our teacher, afterward studied law, and was appointed Judge of one of the courts of Tennessee, but has now been dead many years. There 226 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. were several sisters, two of whom, Mrs. M. I. Killebrew and Mrs. N. Johnson, taught schools also. The former of these, (I think) is still living in Mississippi. The latter is dead. While in occasional attendance at this school, I saw several ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who afterwards became famous in the West, to wit: Bascom, Morris, and Cartwright. All of these I heard preach in our little church, Bethel. Dr. Bascom was then young, handsome, and very pre- possessing in the pulpit ; of a fresh and ruddy complex- ion, fine head, hair, and eyes, well formed, and of good size. I only heard him once. The impression left on my mind is that he described to us the garden of Eden, its beautiful trees, fruits, and flowers ; its green hills, shady valleys, and crystal waters. He told us how our first pa- rents, for disobedience, were driven away from this fair in- heritance, and never again permitted to behold its match- less beauty. But, he added, there was a fairer Eden, in a still brighter clime, prepared for those who were willing to become the followers of Christ, and " by patient contin- uance in well-doing, seek for glory, honor, and immortal- ity." His language was highly poetical and beautiful. None of his printed sermons can compare with this, ac- cording to my recollection, in beauty of style and splen- dor of diction. He became a star of the first magnitude in his church, which still honors his memory. Bishop Morris, I heard preach two or three times. He was rather below medium height, with black eyes, black hair, and rather dark complexion. His expression was solemn though pleasant and engaging. Your grandfather spoke in very high terms of him, as if he had formerly OUR SCHOOL — BASCOM — MORRIS — CARTWRIGHT. 227 made his acquaintance. I am not certain whether he was a circuit preacher or a presiding elder when in our part of the country, but believe he was the latter. I heard him preach from the text " Pay that, which thou hast vowed." He alluded to our proneness, in times of afflic- tion and danger, to make vows of repentance and reforma- tion, and to forget all these promises of amendment when the danger is over. He asked what we could expect, when afflictions again came, and we implored divine assist- ance, but the solemn declaration : " I will laugh at your calamity. I will mot-k when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction, as a whirlwind. When distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not an- swer. They shall seek me early, but shall not find me." This discourse made a deep impression on those who heard it. His manner in the pulpit reminded me of your grandfather. Elder Morris rose high in his church. In 1817, he was a travelling preacher in Ohio, Kentucky, and Ten- nessee. In 1836, he was elected bishop, by the General Conference. Peter Cartwright, I also heard preach in our little church. He was slightly above medium height, well formed and muscular, with a well-shaped head and face, large mouth and healthy complexion. He was born in Virginia, 1785, and consequently was about nine years younger than your grandfather. In his autobiography, he gives a thrilling account of his father's removal to Ken- tucky : " After we struck the wilderness, we hardly travelled a day (he says) but we passed some white persons murdered and scalped by the Indians, 228 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. while going to, or returning from Kentucky," " In the Fall of 17!13, my father," he adds, " determined to move to what was then called the Green River country, in the southern part of the State of Kentucky. He did so. And settled in Logan County, nine miles south of Russell- ville, and within one mile of the state line." We thought we had managed to get pretty much out of the world, when your grandfather moved upon the Cumberland, but times were a little harder with the Cart. Wrights, according to the statements of Peter Cartwright- " When my father settled in Logan County, there was not a news- paper printed south of Green River, no mill short of forty miles, and no schools worth the name. Sunday was a day set apart for hunting, fish- ing, horse-racing, card-playing, balls, dances, and all kinds of jollity and mirth. We killed our meat out of the woods, wild, and beat our meal and hominy with a pestle and mortar. We stretched a deer skin over a hoop, burned holes in it with the prongs of a fork, sifted our meal, baked our bread, ate it, and it was good eating too. We raised or gathered out of the woods our own tea. We had sage, bohea, cros»- vine, spice, and sassafras teas in abundance. As for coffee, I am not sure that I ever smelled it in ten years. " There were two large caves on my father's farm, and another about half a mile off, where was a great quantity of material for making salt- petre. We soon learned the art of making it, and our class-leader was a great powder-maker. When a considerable quantity of powder had been made, they concluded to take it to Fort Massick, a military post on the Ohio River, some distance above its mouth, and barter it for such articles as they most needed. A large poplar tree was cut down, and made into a pirogue, which was launched into tho Red River, the pow- der put on board, and proclamation made to the surrounding country, to bring in their bills of what each wanted, how much, and names duly signed. Some sent for a quarter of a pound of coffpe, some for one yard of ribbon, for a butcher knife, or a tin cup. " When all things were ready, the class-leader went on board, de- scended R.ed River to the Cumberland, the Cumberland to the Ohio, and up the Ohio to the Fort; made satisfactory exchanges, returned, and for weeks they had a time of great rejoicing at the success of the enter- prise." OUR SCHOOL — BASCOM — MORRIS — CARTWRIGIIT. 229 Peter was what would now be called a '^fast boy ;" at sixteen, his father gave him a race-horse and a deck of cards. He was the old man's only son, who, no doubt, rejoiced at his precocious boyhood. But Peter's mother, a pious woman, shed many bitter tears, when she saw the coarse he was taking. It seems, though, his career was suddenly stopped. He and his father had been invited to a wedding, where they had a lively time. After his return home, Peter began to feel very badly. The blood seemed to flow to his head, his heart to palpitate, and his eyesight to fiiil. He thought his hour had come, rose from his bed, got down on his knees, and began to pray. His mother sprang out of her bed, kneeletl down beside him prayed and exhorted him to look to the Saviour for help. He did so, "and then and there promised, if the Lord would spare his life, he would serve him the rest of his days," which promise he had never fully broken. He now gave his race-horse back to his father, and re- quested that he should be sold, brought out his pack of cards, handed them to his mother, who laid them on the fire. It was long ere he was relieved of his burden of sin and guilt. Once he retired to a cave on his father's land to pray, and to bewail in secret his unhappy condition, when, suddenly, such a fear of the devil fell upon him, that he seemed to be personally present, to seize and drag him down to the bottomless pit. With terror he sprang to his feet and ran home to his mother. The neio-hbors thought Peter had gone crazy, and his father released him from all business on the farm. At length, during the progress of the great revival of 1800, at the old Red Hiver Church, in your vicinity, where eighty or ninety were 11 230 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. converted, Peter raised the shout of victory, and rejoiced in the hope of eternal life. There is reason to believe that Elder Finis Ewing, one of the founders and ornaments of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was converted at the same time and place. The Rev, James McGready, an able Presbyterian minister, seems to have been the leading spirit in tliese great meetings. Soon after his conversion, Peter began to be heard in the class-meeting and love-feast, then as an exliorter, and, after that, as a circuit-rider, in which capacity his name became familiar in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. When disposed, he could preach a scary sermon. He once gave us a glimpse of the bottomless pit and what might be seen in it. He leaned over from the pulpit, as if he saw it, and it was a dismal place indeed; old Dante, in his vision, never saw anything more hor- rible. It was away down, down, almost out of sight. As the fiery billows rolled along, one after another, he could see lost sinners floating upon them, like wrecks upon a troubled sea, and behold their agony. Here he saw an infidel, who used to be so flippant when talking about hell ; there, a scoffer at religion ; yonder, a murderer; and yonder again, a miserable drunkard, that had brought his broken-hearted wife and little children to beggary and ruin. But the greater number he saw were a pack of miserable sinners, fools, that had blundered along like so many idiots, just as if there had been no God, heaven, or hell in the universe, until they dropped into hell, and the devil got them. Over the dreadful abyss, he would de- scribe a sinner as hanging by a single hair, and cutting as many antics as a monkey, having no more idea of his danger than a brute beast, until the hair snapped, and OUR SUnOOL — BASCOM — MORRIS — CARTWRIGIIT. 231 down he went. One would suppose these extravagant and frightful pictures would have had no good effect. But they sometimes took such hold on the imagination of thought- less and wicked men, as to wake them up, lead them to repent of their wickedness, reform their lives, and become exemplary Christians. It seems that a real bad scare is now and then not without its use, especially if nobler mo- tives fail of success. Elder Cartwright belonged to the church Tnilitant, fought gallantly for his religious dogmas, and, according to his own account, had the rare good fortune to conquer in all his battles. Baptists, Reformers, Unitarians, New Lights, Universalists, Mormons, and Shakers, all fell under the blows of his ponderous battle-axe. Nor did it fare better with the blackguards, ruffians, and rowdies that hung around his camp-meetings. They too, sooner or later, were doomed to come to grief. He did not see the necessity of theological schools, and an educated ministry, since, to use his own words, " God, when he wants a great and learned man, can easily over- take some learned sinner, shake him awhile over hell, as he did Saul of Tiirsus, knock the scales from his eyes, and, without any previous theological training, send him to preach Christ and the Resurrection." " A powerful con- viction and a sound conversion" were held in high estima- tion by him, and these might be begun and finished in a few hours, where the good work was progressing, with energy and power. For many years it seems to have been his chief delight, at his great camp-meetings, " to ride the whirlwind and direct the storm," " to see men," according to his own ex- pression, " fall around him, as if slain in mighty battle." 232 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. By day, the scene was picturesque and striking, but at night it became wild and weird beyond description. To stand apart and listen to the groans and lamenta- tions, the prayers and exhortations, the shouts and halle- lujahs, of the vast crowd, mingled with the voices of the preachers, in the dimly illuminated encampments, would produce impressions never to be forgotten. At the close of the sketch of his eventful life, written by himself, when far from his " old Kentucky home," and the old churcli where he was converted ; he begs his brethren of the Methodist Episcopal Church " not to let camp-meetings die out." And says in his pathetic lan- guage : " He wants to see their revival before he descends from the walls of Zion and goes hence." At the time of which we are speaking, the great revival of 1800 was still felt by the people of the West, — and especially by the Methodist and Presbyterian communi- ties. From the latter of these a new denomination arose, destined to rank high as a religious organization — the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Elder Cartwright saw the beginning and the end, and was a chief actor in the wonderful drama. As this was an important event in the times of your grandfather, I propose giving you a short account of it in our next chapter. CHAPTEE XXIII. GREAT REVIVAL, AND ITS PHENOMENA. In the year 1799, several ministers of the Presbyterian Church, Elders McGready, Hoge, and Kankin, and one belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church, Elder John McGee, held a sacramental meeting, at the old Red Ptiver Church, which stood on or near the same site as the church of that name now does. The meeting drew together a large congregation, considering the thinly settled country. On Sunday Elder Hoge preached and, as he was often heard to say afterwards, addressed the assemblage with a freedom and power, never before felt. The hearers though riveted in their attention, remained silent and quiet. As he closed his discourse. Elder John McGee rose, singing, Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, With all thy quickening powers, Kindle a flame of sacred love, In these cold hearts of ours. He had not sung more than the verse quoted, when an aged lady, Mrs. Pacely, sitting quite across the congrega- tion to the left, and Mrs. Cl?irk, also advanced in years, seated to the right, began in rather suppressed but dis- tinct tones, to hold a sort of dialogue with each other, and to reciprocate sentiments of praise and thanksgiving to the Most High, for his grace in redemption. Still the ])reacher sang on, and the venerable ladies praised God, 233 234 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. in louder tonas. The preacher, still singing came down from the pulpit, intending to take the hands of these two happy old sisters ; shaking hands, however, as he passed along, with all those within his reach. Suddenly persons began to fall as he passed through the crowd— some as dead; some most piteously crying for mercy ; and a few, here and there, lifting their voices high, in the praise of the Redeemer. Among these last was Elder William McGee, who fell to the floor, and, though shouting praises, was for some time so overpowered as to be unable to rise. The other ministers, McGready, Hoge, and E,ankin, were so surprised and astonished at this apparent confusion in the house of the Lord, that they made their way out of the door, and stood asking each other in whispers, " what is to be done." Elder Hoge looking in at the door, and see- ing all on the floor, praising or praying, said, " We can do nothing. If this be of Satan, it will soon come to an end ; but if it is of God, our efforts and fears are in vain. I think it is of God, and will join in ascribing glory to his name." He walked into the house where the others presently followed. Rapidly those who had fallen to the floor mourning and crying for mercy, arose, two or more at a time, shouting praise, for the evidences felt in their own souls, of sins forgiven — for '' redeeming grace and dying love." So there remained no more place that day, for preaching or administering the Supper. From thirty to forty, that evening, professed to be converted. Thus began that wonderful religious movement, which not only pervaded Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, but crossed the mountains, and spread over many of the states on the Atlantic seaboard. On account of the strange GREAT REVIVAL, AND ITS PHENOMENA. 235 bodily agitations attending it, it was considered the most wonderful event of the times. " The next appointment was for the Saturday and Sun- day following, at what is to this day called the Beach Meeting House, situated a little south of the Cumberland Ridge, ten miles west of Gallatin, Sumner County, Ten- nessee." Here a vast crowd assembled, and scenes simi- lar to those at E,ed River Meeting house transpireent and believe the gospel, and begged us so hard to be THE TRUANT. 345 good, and seemed so sorry for us, that we all fell to crying like our hearts would break, and some of the meanest old sinners in the whole settlement cried like young gals when they are in trouble. Some of them jined the church, and they aint been so wicked as they was before. Some of us were kinder shamed of ourselves, for taking on so, but we couldn't help it, for I tell you he preached powerful." The youth never forgot this interview, and it was ever after a pleasant recollection. After dinner he bade adieu to his lively and kind- hearted host, and started, not for Muhlenburg, but straight for home, which he reached late in the eveningof the third day after leaving it. Had he encountered real hardships and dangers on his wild adventure, his reception, on re- turning, would have more than compensated him. His mother and the children were greatly delighted, and praised him extravagantly for returning, and on his telling her that when he came to think about it, he was satisfied he had acted wrong, and turned back on that account, his mother said, that was just what she thought he would do from the first. This pleased him not a little. He re- lated to her all he had experienced on his travels, and it is probable so poor a tale had never been listened to with deeper interest. It was often mentioned, years after, by the family, as a remarkable event in its history. When, in turn, he was told all that ha,d occurred during his absence ; how business was suspended ; the wheel and loom forgotten ; how they all sat up till late at night, listen- ing for him to knock at the door ; how they watched the gate and looked down the road all the long days; how the neighbors would come in and inquire about him, shake their heads and go away. But it is time we were looking 346 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. after the youth's father. When he returned home, only the day before his son, from a toar of preaching, and learn- ed what had taken place, he, to use a phrase now in vogue, " was very much demoralized." It was not uncom- mon at that time, and still less so some years earlier, for wild young " scamps," to leave home for the purpose of " running the river," as they called it, which was to get on a keol-boat, barge, or flat-boat, and become regular boatmen. This often made ruffians of them, especially if they ran the lower Ohio River, which was long infested by desperadoes of the worst type. Many no doubt, still remember the bad reputation of " Ford's Ferry" and its vicinity in former times, when traders were murdered for their money, and owners of trading boats with their families were said to have been killed, the goods taken out, and the boats burned, and where Ford himself, who it was thought belonged to the gang, was shot dead in his own house, by whom, it was never discovered, though the house at the time was full of men drinking and carousing together. I remember to have seen somewhere a description of the cave, called " The Hole in the Rock," in which these men lived. It was said to be near the river and not far below the Ferry. I once heard a gentlemen speak of an amusing incident in reference to this old Ferry, years after the death of Ford. He stated that, being on his way to look at some of the fine lands in Illinois, he reached the ferry late in the even- ing, where he had expected to stay and cross the river next morning. But every thing about the premises ap- peared weird and uninviting, and brought to his mind the ugly tales he had heard about the place. These took such hold of his imagination, that, notwithstanding respectable THE TRUANT. 347 people were then owners of the premises, he offered an extra price to be set over the river at once. When he reached the Illinois shore he felt much relieved, but his rejoicing did not last long ; for, while riding across the gloomy bottom, he saw a man sneaking along the under- growth, evidently intending to get into the road just be- fore him. He concluded at once that the man was a rob- ber. Holding his bridle in his left hand, and putting his right into the pocket of his overcoat, where was his pistol, he cocked it, intending, so soon as the suspicious-looking fellow put his hand on the bridle, to shoot him down. Instead of doing this,4ie stopped short, took off his hat, and bowing politely, said: " Stranger, if you have any to spare, please give me a little piece of terbacker." The " terbacker " being given, there were two happy fellows — one because he had a plug of fine tobacco, the other that he had escaped a rencounter with a supposed robber. The youth's father had more than once expressed to his mother much anxiety on his account, having observed that his mind seemed to be too much occupied with tales of ro- mantic adventure. Being an ardent admirer of J)aniel Boone, who was then hunting and trapping in Missouri, he sometimes, in a rather peculiar way, would say to his mother : " You needn't be surprised if some day I leave home to join Daniel Boone." Having his fears now fully aroused, the father of this truant now determined to set out early next morning in search of him, before he wan- dered off too far, and I doubt not would have rivaled Ceres in his fabled search for Proserpine, had he not found him; for he was not easily deterred from anything he under- took. Knowing this, the young adventurer made all haste to depart. Late in the day he was happy to discover he 348 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. was^ in Indian parlance, on " the right trail ;" and a little before nightfall met a man who said he had seen his father dismount at Elder Home's gate and go into the house. Elder Josiah Home was a Baptist preacher, an excellent man, — one whose "praise was in all the churches" on ac- count of his gentle Christian character. He resided in what was called the Blooming Grove Settlement, some ten or twelve miles below Clarksville. His father had been vainly trying to ascertain what direction the truant had taken, and, when night came, found himself near his friend's residence, and concluded to remain there for the night. It was dark when the lad reached the place where his father was, and, getting off his horse, went to the door of the room where he and Elder Home and other members of the family, with several neighbors, were sitting round the fire, rather a melancholy group, having heard the sad news. After knockino;, and beinsr invited to " enter," he stepped in. In a moment all were on their feet. Going to his father, he shook hands with him — told him he had reached home safely, and, on learning he was in search of him, had started almost immediately to find him, and had succeeded in tracing him to this house. His father was greatly delighted, and the boy never remembered having seen his expressive countenance more radiant with pleasure than on that happy occasion. It was evident that a load of anxiety had been lifted off his mind. All gathered round, and a general shaking of hands ensued. " Old Brother Home " was the happiest person present, your grandfather excepted — for I sup- pose it is not necessary to use" our thin veil any longer. "We had an excellent supper, spent the evening very happily and on the morrow returned home. CHAPTER XXXV. DR. CHARLES MERIWETHER AND HON. JOHN W. TYLER. The spring after the adventure narrated in our last rhapter, your grandfather informed me that there was a -chool near Dr. Charles Meriwether's, taught by a Mr. Boyer of Todd County, Kentucky, and that he had been invited to take me there to board in the family and attend the school. This proved to be a most fortunate arrange- ment for me, for there I was received as one of the family, lid treated with the utmost kindness. The Doctor had Uiree sons, one near my own age, two younger, and if there Wius ever any diflerence made between us, I never per- ceived it. This kindness made a deep and lasting impres- sion on me; remaining green and fresh in my memory though the changing vicissitudes of many long years. Dr. Charles Meriwether was a native of Albemarle, Virginia. He was a large and handsome man. Let no one suppose he sees his real likeness in the portrait still to be seen in the parlor at Meriville. His form was noble and com- manding. His features were cast in nature's finest mold. His smile was of the utmost suavity and kindness, and his expression striking and engaging. However, you need not to be told this, who remember him well, though later in life. I have no doubt that he was the most educated and highly cultivated gentleman in the West at that time. His grandflither, generally known in his day as " Parson Douglas," belonging to the Church of England, came from 1^ 349 350 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. Scotland, and settled in Virginia in early times. He was descended from the ancient and powerful house of Douglas, so famous in Scottish history. His mother, Margaret Douglas, married a Welsh gentleman named Meriwether. Parson Douglas was considered a man of extensive learning and ability. Many books may be still seen at Meriville, the name of tlfe family seat, in which is written : " Ex libris Gidielini Douglass." One of the books of Wil- liam Douglas. After having passed through a liberal course of study in Virginia, Dr. C. Meriwether was sent to the far lamed University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, then in its palmy days, where he remained a number of years, and graduated in the school of medicine. I used to get his Diploma — the first one I had seen, and which was a showy affair — and try to decipher the Latin, but with indifferent success. During his sojourn at Edinburgh, he formed the acquaint- ance of many of the great men who shed luster on the University at that time. I have heard him speak of inter- views with Robertson, the historian, then principal of the University ; Blair, the famous rhetorician, and others dis- tinguished for science and literature, who attracted stu- dents from all parts of Europe. After graduating he returned to his native state and practiced medicine. Having an ample fortune, he paid but little attention to collecting his fees. He once showed me a large, well bound book in which all his accounts were made out with care and neatness, which had never been collected. The total amounted to a large sum of money. About the year 1817 he emigrated from Virginia to Southern Kentucky, and purchased a large body of fertile land in what is now Todd County, lying along the State line. Here he was living when I entered his family as a DR. CHAS. MERIWETHER AND HON. JOHN W. TYLER. 351 boarder. I, of course, was amazed at the extent of his knowledge. From the humble, the fascinating science of botany, to the profound subjects of physical and metaphys- ical learning, he was fcimiliar, having explored them all. And when, after supper, he would remain in the dining- room an hour with me, as he sometimes did, conversing on these and kindred subjects, so interesting was he, the time glided swiftly away. Chemistry seemed to interest him more at that time than any other subject, as wonderful discoveries were then being made in that department. He also took much delight in Mathematics. He said to me on one occasion : " H you will remain with me during the holidays, I will give you any assistance in Geometry you may need." Accordingly I procured Euclid's Elements, the work then in common use, and went to work. When the demonstration of a proposition did not appear clear to my mind, he would explain, and show me wherein the de- monstration lay, in so few words and with such perspicuity, as to excite my admiration and surprise. He concerned himself in all natural phenomena, and when in 1825 those singular and beautiful circles appeared around the sun, which some may still remember, he became greatly inter- ested, and he and Mr. Jefterson, President of the United States, were in correspondence on the subject. They were very wonderful as well as beautiful. Your uncle, Charles A. Meriwether, has in his possession a diagram which his father left, showing the manner in which these circles in- tersected each other. But in the diagram the lovely rain- bow tints were wanting. I think Mr. Jefferson and Dr. Meriwether together discovered what they considered a satisfactory solution ; but, I regret to say, I do not now remember what it was. 352 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. During the years I remained in the family, the doctor enjoyed life very much. It was at the time when Sir Walter Scott held the literary world spell-bound. First, by his poetical works, and then by his novels, nothing comparable to which, in the realms of fiction, had appeared previously. The Scottish character was well understood by the doctor, having lived so long in Edinburgh ; and when it was so well delineated by the magic pen of the " Wizard of the North," it afforded him unmixed delight. It was with the comic or lower characters, such as Mompliss, Dandie Dinmont, Captain Dalgetty, that he was most delighted. Old Mause, who appeared to such advantage at the battle of Loudon Hill and on other oc- casions, was a great favorite with him. Her sneer at " the old woman in scarlet, who used to sit upon seven hills," " as if one was not enough for her," amused him par- ticularly. I have heard him say that he had no doubt of having seen the original of the Black Dwarf, the famous " Canny Elshie." Quito a friendship at this time existed between him and ex- Governor Blount of Tennessee. The latter would come occasionally and- spend several days with the doctor. It was a great entertainment to me, at such times, to hear their conversation. Doctor Meriwether was familiar with the progress of literature, arts, and sciences in the old world, and could relate anecdotes of the distinguished men, many of whom he had seen. The Governor, on the other hand, was well versed in the history of our own country, the thrilling events of its early settlements. Gen. Jackson, and the Indian Wars. The Governor was re- markable for being very spare. I doubt your having seen any one more so, who was in health. He often made this I DR. CIIAS. MERIWETHER AND HON. JOHN W. TYLER. 353 matter of amusement. Being on one occasion at a f{\shion- able watering-place among the mountains of Tennessee, he was seen by some of the mountaineers, who had brought venison and other game to selL They looked at him inquisitively. At length, one, a little more forward than the others, said : " Mister, please tell me what might be your ailment?" " I am afflicted," said the Gover- nor, " with a swelling of the legs," pulling up one leg of his trowsers to show them. " Well, I never," said the mountaineer, " the water of these springs is powerful." The Governor was a most agreeable gentleman, and one whom Tennessee delighted to honor. Dr. Meriwether's ideiis of economy differed from those of most men, both then and now. He lived strictly on his income. If his crops brought him large sums of money, it was well ; if not, it was likewise well. Much or little, he never went beyond it. This kept him free from all annoyances of indebtedness. He never bought any thing because it was cheap. I have heard him say that he never had during his life, purchased any thing to sell again, or to make profit on it, but to keep for his own use. He disapproved of all kinds of gaming and betting. When any one he esteemed bet money and lost it, he always re- joiced, and would say, " that was the best that could hap- pen to cure him, as no advice and warning is likely to do any good while one is successful." He was, at the same time, kind-hearted and liberal, and assisted your grand- father and his family more than any other individual among his friends. His wife, was also, a very excellent character. As the mistress of a family she had no supe- rior. Order and system every where prevailed. " She was not afraid of the snow for her household." It was pleasant 354 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. to see her servants in their clean, warm, and comfortable clothing. All their wants were well supplied, both in sickness and in health. The most striking trait in her char- acter was her extensive, but unostentatious charity. All the needy in her vicinity were her beneficiaries. Like the 2;lorious woman mentioned in the Bible, "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hand to the needy." In the day when " secret things shall be revealed," but not till then, will all her good deeds be known. It is pleasant to write and think of characters such as these. Your maternal grandmother, Mrs. Barbara Barker, was her sister, and resembled her in all her ex- cellent qualities, and benevolent impulses. The two sisters, your beloved mother, and Dr. Meriwether were baptized by your grandfather, and now, after the journey of life, sleep tranquilly together, in the cemetery at Meriville. The Shakers, a strange new set, first made their ap- pearance in our country, while I was at Meriville, and were very active for some time in making proselytes. We attended one of their meetings, at a place then called the Cross Roads ; since, Graysville. Several elders were pres- ent. Their costumes were plain and neat, though singu- lar ; their appearance, rather striking. We had several discourses on that occasion. They said that all the world eventually would become Shakers. One of them spelled atonement thus, " at-one-ment" and said it indicated that all people would, eventually, become one ; and that, then Shakerism would appear in all its beauty and excellence. In conclusion, they sang one of their songs to a lively air called, " Fire in the Moun- tains." The chorus of which was DR. CHAS. MERIWETHER AND HON. JOHN W. TYLER. 355 " Babylon is fallen, ia fallen, is fallen, Bab^'lon is fallen to rise no more." Some years after this, being on my way to Louisville I visited their village, South Union, then rather a new place. At that time dancing was one of their public re- ligious exercises. I saw them perform on Sunday. Two lines were formed facing each other and extending quite across their handsome church. A man with a fine voice sang a quick air, and all fell to dancing, keeping time to the music, and dancing forward and back. This they con- tinued with spirit until, on a signal, all would stop a few minutes, during which a short exhortation was given, and then dancing was resumed. After they had been well exercised in this way, they were dismissed. There was no appearance of gayety whatever ; yet still, I imagined, it was rather a pleasant excitement. I have learned that dancing in public has been discontinued by the brotherhood. The Shaker religion seems to have been the most absurd of all " humbugs,'' if I may use a slang term. The credulity of a large portion of mankind may be re- lied on to an almost unlimited extent, but it was a.sking too much to require belief that the old Lady, Anne Lee, was a second " manifestation of Christ." This, was bad enough, but when they forbade " marrying and giving in marriage," many considering this as being mostly what they were made for, there was no longer a hope of suc- cess. Mahomet and Brigham Young understood human nature better, and were " wiser in their generation" than the Shakers. Shakerism must in the nature of the case die out. The school at Meriville closed some six or eight months after I entered. Li the mean time Hon. John W. Tyler, a 356 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. Virginian by birth, had opened a school in the vicinit3^ To this I was sent. I soon came to admire and esteem our teacher very much. He reached my ideal of a gentleman in every respect. His knowledge of the Latin was ac- curate. He translated with great ease and elegance, in strict accordance with its idiom and grammatical construc- tion. It was delightful to hear him translate a fine passage from the classic authors. After reading Latin with him for several months, I was one day expressing regret, at not being able to read the Greek also ; he then remarked that he once commenced learning that language, but for some reason discontinued it, .and added that if I was willing, he would resume it, and we would study it together. I went into the arrange- ment with pleasure, hunted up the old Greek Grammar given me by Judge Brown, and committed it to memory ; then with some difiiculty, procured the " Lexicon Schrev- elii," the meaning of every word in which was given in Lat- in, and also a very valuable Greek Testament, with a Latin version, and took my first lesson in John's gospel, which we read through. We declined all the nouns, pronouns, adjectives ; conjugated all the verbs, pointed out the princi- pal parts of the tenses formed from them, and also the man- ner of formation, even to the " Paulo post futuruin," that terror of the school-boy of those days, and in search of which an old Greek student is said to have lost his wits. Westenhall's Grammar gave us a specimen of the Greek Tree, which consisted of the root of the verb, and all the tenses or branches formed from it. We took great plea- sure in seeing this tree grow up under our pencils, and spread out its branches, one after another, until it attained perfection. You must understand that Mr. Tyler was DR. CIIAS. MERIWETHER AND HON. JOHN W. TYLER. 357 then a young man, only five or six years older than myself, so that there was a good deal of sympathy between master and pupil. I dwell the longer on these small matters, first, because they go to show the truth of the old adage — " Where there is a will there is a way," and also, because it is pleasant to think of those old school-boy days, in the morning of life. After John's Gospel we read other books, Graeca Minora and Majora, Lucian's Dialogues, the Anabasis and CyropcBcZia of Xenophon etc., and finally plunged into The Iliad, that grand old epic whose sublimity and beauty, notwithstanding its gray antiquity, remain and will re- main, a marvel and a mystery ; and which, like the deity it describes, " Its glory shrouds, In gloomy tempest and night of clouds.'' Mr. Tyler, from this time continued at the head of a large and flourishing school, till his death in 1866, except the years he was in the Tennessee Legislature, both as senator and member of the lower house. His death filled the whole community with lasting sorrow. Between him and his family and your grandfather, there were for many years relations of a pleasant kind, the re- sult of mutual esteem and friendship. I always considered him a superior, and in many respects a remarkable, man. While all proceeded smoothly in his school, he was singu- larly mild and gentle. But when insubordination or defi- ance made its appearance — which he was quick to observe — and the crisis came, he met it with a nerve that never failed fully to impress all with the knowledge that he was "master of the situation." On account of the fine 16* 358 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. qualities of both his head and heart he was greatly beloved by his pupils, and "Old Luke," as he was famil- iarly called among the boys, will long be remembered with affection and tenderness by many, who have not for- gotten the happy school boy days spent under his instruc- tion. CHAPTER XXXVI. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. For several years after the organization of Bethel Asso- ciation, all looked bright and cheering, . Peace reigned iu all her borders. New churches were constituted, and her membership was constantly on the increase. Not a cloud was visible on the distant horizon. The most experienced mariner would have predicted a long and prosperous voy- age over a tranquil sea. But even then, fiir away among the distant AUeghanies, a storm was gathering, destined to try the timbers of the goodly ship. The storm king, on the present occasion, was the cele- brated Alexander Campbell. He was a native of Ireland, born in 1788 in the county of Antrim. He was finely edu- cated, and possessed talents of the highest order. He landed in New York city in 1809, having in charge his mother and sisters, all on their way to join the hus- band and father, who had come out two years previously to prepare a home for them on their arrival. The history of their voyage is of uncommon interest, especially that relating to their shipwreck during a storm on the coast of Scotland, which caused a long separation between the father and his family. From New York they proceeded to Philadelphia — thence, across the Alleghany Mountains to Western Pennsylvania, where Elder Thomas Campbell, the father, attracted by the romantic beauty and fertility of the country, had selected his home. 359 360 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. He was a niinister of the gospel belonging to the de- nomination of Christians known as the Seceders, who se- ceded from the Presbyterian Church of Scothxnd in 1733, on account of their opposition to what was called the " law of Patronage." All accounts describe him as an excellent character. He was distinguished alike for learning, talents, philanthropy, and piety. In emigrating to this country he seems to have had two objects in view — providing a home for his now large family, where land was both cheap and fertile, and hoping, or rather dreaming, that he might here be instrumental in bringing the various religious denominations together in one great brotherhood, where all would see " eye to eye, and speak the same thing," preparatory to the introduction of the Millennial glory. There is reason also to believe that he had largely imbued the mind of his son Alexander with this idea, which in after years suggested the name of his periodical, the' Millennial Harbinger. When Thomas Campbell, in 1807, reached Washington County, Pennsylvania, he was happy to find among the pioneer settlers a number of his Seceder brethren, who had already organized presbyteries and a synod. They re- ceived him with open arms, and considered themselves highly favored in having among them so good a man and a preacher so able ; and, as was natural, they anticipated much happiness in the future. But these hopes were not to be realized, for Elder Campbell soon began his reforma- tory measures, by permitting persons to partake of the Lord's Supper, who, by the rules of his church, were not authorized to do so. This produced trouble, and he was finally summoned for trial before the Presbytery, which decided against him, when he took an appeal to the Synod. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 361 Finding this also unfavorable, he seceded from his brother Seceders, and, as is usual in such cases, carried off a num- ber of his brethren with him. The turn things had taken seems to have perplexed the old man greatly, finding almost at the commencement that he was about to add another denomination to the number which, according to hi.-? views, w;i8 already far too great, and which he had fondly hoped to reduce. Finally, however, as there seemed no alternative, he formed his followers into a body, not to be called a church, but " A Christian Association," to meet at stated periods for wor- ship. He recommended to this body the adoption of the formula, that " When the Bible speaks they would speak, and when the Bible is silent they would be silent." This formula Dr. Richardson, Alexander Campbell's biographer* considers as containing the germ of the " current Refor- mation." Here he began to foresee the difficulties that lay in the way of his progress. For no sooner had he an- nounced this principle in the meeting than Andrew Munro, a shrewd Scotchman, rose and said : " Mr. Camp- bell, if we adopt that as a basis, there is an end of infant baptism." Mr. Campbell replied, in substance : " If in- fant baptism is not found in the Bible, according to our rule, we must give it up." Here another brother arose, and, with tears in his eyes, said ; " I hope I may never see the day when my heart will renounce that blessed say- ing of the Bible : * Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.'' ' The Seceders were thorough Pedobaptists. However, by common consent, they agreed to waive the subject of infant baptism for the present, and to publish a " Declaration or Address " to the people. 362 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. Elder Thomas Campbell, still feeling uncomfortable in the position he and his little flock occupied, next con- cluded to make an overture to the Presbyterians to unite with them, they differing but little from the Seceders in faith and practice. This movement was disapproved by his son, Alexander, who had by this time joined his father and took a deep interest 'in what was going on. The Presbyterian Synod, fearing probably that, on account of their latitudinarian and reformatory proclivities, they would occasion trouble, declined to admit them into their communion. This called forth a severe philippic from Alexander Campbell against the Presbyterian Synod, whence may be dated his war with that influential denomi- nation, which was waged with much vigor on both sides for many years. The Christian Association now determined to form them- selves into a regular church organization, chose Elder Thomas Campbell as their pastor, elected deacons, and ordained Alexander Campbell as a minister of the gospel, who immediately began to preach in the surrounding country with marked ability. The members of the " Brush Run Church," as this was called, were at first Pedobaptists ; but what Andrew Munro had said, seems to have set them to examining the subject, and they found, as they thought, that there was no authority in the Bible for infant sprinkling, and they were all finally immersed, Father Campbell and Alexander included.* Some of them at first, however, did not come * This comprehensive statement doe.s not enter into details. The his- torical fact is that Thomas and .Alexander Campbell and others received immersion June 12, 1812, at the hands of Elder Mathias Luce, a regular Baptist minister, a pastor in the Redstone Association. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 3G3 to believe in immersion so readily as afterward. On one occasion, when several were to be baptized, Father Camp- bell took them down to Buffalo Creek, to a place where the water was quite deep, coming up to the shoulders. He himself did not enter the water, but stood up on a root that projected a little over the surface, and bent their heads down until they were buried in the liquid grave, repeating in each case the baptismal formula. This was now, essen- tially, a Baptist Church, Calvinistic in doctrine, — as the Baptists generally were of that day, — opposed to sprink- Img, believing immersion alone the proper act, and be- lievers only the proper subjects of baptism. But for some cause it did not seem to take root and flourish, notwith- standing it had two of the ablest preachers in all the coun- try. Its membership being at this time only about twenty- eight. Father Campbell felt quite distressed at their slow progress, and still greatly desired a union with some reli- gious body. This was eventually effected. There was at that time, 1813, in the rich valleys among the western slopes of the Alleghanies, a number of Baptist churches organized into the Redstone Association, so called from an old Indian fort of that name, on the Monon- gahela River, sixty miles above Pittsburgh, where the town of Brownsville now stands. This Association num- bered over thirty churches and about eleven hundred members. From what we can learn of the " laity " of this Associa- tion they seem to have been a quiet and orderly body of Christians, fond of reading the Bible, the Pilgrims Pro- gress, the Holy War, Booth's writings, and other standard works of Baptist literature, and guarding with special care the baptism instituted by the Great Head of the Church 364 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. himself. But, although this honorable testimony was borne to the character of the members of these churches by Elder A. Campbell, he gives an invidious picture of the " clergy " of the Redstone Association when he says : ■' The people were much more highly appreciated by me, than their ministry. Indeed, the ministry of most sects, is, generally, in the aggregate, much the worst part of them. It was certainly so, in the Redstone Association thirty years ago. They were little men in big office. The office did not suit them.* They had a wrong idea, too, of what was wanting. They seemed to think that a broad rim on their hat instead of a narrow one, a prolongation of the face, and a fictitious gravity, a longer and more emphatic pronunciation of certain words, rather than spiritual knowledge, etc., * * were the grand desiderata." In the above we have an illustration of that bitterness of feeling towards " clergymen " that so much marred the beauty of his Christian character. Still feeling isolated and lonely, Father Campbell and his little flock next turned their eyes to the Redstone Association, and petitioned for union with them. Admit- ting the Baptists to be harmless as doves, they certainly were not wise as serpents. For unlike the Presbyterians and Seceders, they received them with open arms, and rejoiced, no doubt, at having in their number, those two able preachers. But this proved to be a fatal step to them, and was the " beginning of their end." " The flital machine had entered their city." Elder A. Campbell soon preached doctrines that sounded strange in their old Baptist ears. By some these new doctrines were approved, by others condemned, and war was inaugurated. Those opposed to Elder Campbell's views, at one time thought they had matured a plan to excom- municate him, or throw him overboard, as the frightened ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 3G5 mariners did Jonah of old, during the storm that throat- onod them with destruction. But they Httle know their man. When they were about to take the vote for this purpose, to their amazement, they found that Jonah had ah'oady gone on board another ship that was near by, — that is, had transferred himself to the Mahoning Associa- tion ; and thereby having checkmated his adversaries, as Dr. Richards says, was out of their jurisdiction and still in the Baptist denomination. Still the fight went bravely on among the Redstone people, long after the cause had left them, and it continued till scarce a vestige of the Red- stone Association was left. One can but feel sorrowful at their fate, when he remembers how cozy and comfortable they were before the evil days came upon them. We may say, in passing, that Father Campbell, when he saw his little bark, that had so long been drii'ting about at sea, safely anchored, gave the helm into the hands of his son, and was no more seen actively engaged in its manage- ment. For several years after Elder A. Campbell united with the Baptists, he |)reached a good deal, and his reputation for learning and talents was on the increase. In 1820, he and a Presbyterian minister named Walker had a debate on the subject of Baptism, in which he gained additional laurels and proved himself to be an able debater. The year 1823 was an important era in the life of A. Campbell. In this year he held his celebrated debate with Pv,ev. Wm. C. McCalla, also a Presbyterian minister ; the subject again was Baptism, and again he obtained fresh laurels. It was in this debate he turned the laugh upon his adversary (who had been saying a good deal about the unhcalthiness of the practice of going down into the water 366 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. and being immersed), by requesting the audience to look first at Elder Jeremiah Vardeman, one of the moderators, a man of magnificent proportions, over six feet high, and weighing about three hundred pounds, who had perhaps immersed a greater number of converts than any other man in America, — and then, at a little, dry Presbyterian minister (another moderator), sitting near him, who during all his ministerial career had been sprinkling babies, and then decide on the unwholesomeness of immersion. In this year also, the publication of the "Christian Bap- tist " was begun by Elder Campbell, which had a wide cir- culation, and added to his reputation, by proving him to be a ready writer as well as an able debater. This work created considerable interest among all religious parties, especially among the Baptists, many of whom considered some of its teachings not so much reformatory as unsound and revolutionary. Although the Baptists in Southern Kentucky felt a little uneasy at the boldness and novelty of some of his views, yet, as they thought, he had defended them so gal- lantly against the Pedobaptists, their old hereditary oppo- nents, they could not conscientiously turn against him, by saying anything to his disadvantage. He was the pride of their hearts, especially of those who were present at the McCalla debate, which was held in Washington, Mason County, Ky. ; after which he occasionally came down and preached among us. In one of these visits, he came as far south as Elktoii, Todd County, and preached in the old court house. The house was closely packed. His reputation bringing many from distant points, I rode fifteen miles to hear him on that occasion. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 367 He was then somewhat out of health, and remained seated most of the time while speaking. The people gen- erally, were disappointed, as they had come with the ex- pectation of hearing a great display of oratory, and his dis- course happened to be rather didactic on that occasion. He told us of the Temple and the utensils used in it, and what they symbolized. I remember becoming greatly interested in what he said of those things. Toward the close of his discourse, he rose to his feet and treated us to some very fine oratory, in which Kentuckians delighted especially in those days, On leaving the court house, after the discourse ended, while standing near the door, some one called my name, and on turning around, I found it was our old family friend, Mr. William Dickinson, whom you remember no doubt, and a great admirer of your grand- father. He asked me my opinion of the discourse? I told him I thought it very fine. " Yes," he said, " I sup- pose it was, but your grandfather can beat him any day in the year, give him an even start." I replied, I had my doubts about that. He said, " I have none whatever," but I suppose he thought differently afterwards, as he finally went over to the Reformers. This was the gentle- man with whom Elder Robert Rutherford resided till his death. I saw Mr. Campbell twice after this, once at Doctor Meriwether's and again at Oikadelphia Church, where I heard him preach a second time. Your mother and I, with a number of others, spent the evening with him at Doctor Meriwether's at the time alluded to, and heard him converse with much interest and pleasure. A gentleman present, inclined to infidelity, got into an argument, and Elder Campbell soon disposed of his case in a very pleasant way, leaving no disagreeable feeling. He was a superb 368 ELDER REUBEN ROSS talker, and passed gracefully from one interesting subject to another, till a late hour of the night. Some years after this, when on his way to Nashville, he again visited Doctor Meriwether, spending several days, and a messenger was sent, requesting your grandfather to go and be with him while there. He did so, and they spent two nights and a day together, during which interview, they talked over all the new issues that had been raised by Mr. Campbell concerning faith, baptism, and spiritual influence. After your grandfather returned home, desiring to hear his report, I rode over to see him. He said, he had been very favorably impressed by Elder Campbell, both as a gentleman and a Christian, and added that " when he un- folded his views in conversation, they seemed less objection- able, than when seen in print." Being asked if he thought union and harmony could be preserved among the Baptists, he shook his head and said, he " feared not," and that much trouble was in store for the Baptist churches, and that many friendships of long standing were destined to be broken up. This he felt very acutely. After this Mr. Campbell at one time would seem to moderate a little, and then again to go to greater extremes. In his discussions with Elders Semple, Meredith, Broadus, and others, at times, he would so express himself as to encourage lio})e of their coming to an understanding. He, and old Bishop Semple, as he was sometimes called, went so far as to get in the same bed and sleep together.* This was really, very encourageing, and it would seem that some good ought to have come of it, but unfortunately, none ever did. * See Memoirs of Mr. Campbell by Dr. Richardson. I GHAPTEE, XXXVII. DISSENT FROM ELDER CAMPBELL. I PRorosE now to notice some of the points wherein your grandfather differed from Elder Alexander Camp- bell. These were often the subjects of conversation during the rise and progress of what was called the "Current Eeformation." He had read with care all that Elder Campbell had written and published both in The Christian Baptist and in The Millennial Harbinger. And when, in 1835, he published a small volume entitled : " Christianity He- stored," he perused that also with special care, as it was supposed to contain his more mature views. He was now fully satisfied that they were unsound on several subjects, especially so in regard to faith, baptism, and spiritual influence. As to faith, he diflfered from Elder Campbell in this : That the Bible clearly teaches that the forgiveness of sins is predicated on faith in its true, scriptural import, in which is always implied a disposition to love and obey God : whereas. Elder Campbell taught that no one's sins are forgiven unless he is baptized, immersed in water. It was your grandfather's custom, in order to determine what the Bible taught on any subject, to group together a sufficient number of passages bearing on it, like so many independent witnesses to a particular fact. This method 3G9 370 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. would leave on the mind a conviction little less strong than demonstration. Some of the texts he cited to prove that forgiveness of sin was predicated on faith, were as follows : " And, as Mosos lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, evon so must the Son of man be lifted up . Tliat whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." " He that believeth on him is not condemned ; but he that believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the uaine of the only begotten Son of God." " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that be- lieveth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." " Jesus said unto her ; I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead yet shall he live." " By grace are ye saved, through faith." " And whosoever believeth on me shall never die." " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God." " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Now it seems, as your grandfather would say, little less than incredible that any one should come to the conclusion that salvation is not predicated on faith, after reading these texts and many others like them. And if language like this could be explained away, who can say that any- thing certain can be learned from the Sacred Oracles ? He would remark that, not only the voice of Revelation teaches this great truth, but Reason also. The faith of the Bible that brings salvation is a faith in Christ, " that works by love," disposing men to love, reverence, and obe- dience. This brings them into the relation of children, whereby they can say, " Abba, Father," for the apostle says, " Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Je«5us," and hence, " heirs of God, and joint heirs with DISSENT FROM ELDER CAMPBELL. 371 Christ." Just as Noah's faith moved him to build the ark, as God commanded, and saved him and his family from being swept away by the deluge ; so does faith in Christ, — it works by love and brings the sinner into fel- lowship with God and with his Son Jesus Christ. They are then " in Christ ;" arid thus by grace are they saved, through faith. Hence, he would say, both reason and revelation predicate pardon and eternal life on the faith of the gospel. But, since the Bible speaks of a living faith, or " faith that works by love," and a dead faith which is of no value, every one should take head to the kind of faith Joe possesses. The former he compared to a tree planted by a fountain, bending under its load of fruits; the latter, to a blighted trunk, with decayed branches and withered leaves. The man who has living faith — the faith that looks to Christ, and rests in him, and longs to be with him — he likened to one who, having confidence that there is a better country, with more fertile soil, a milder climate and more salubrious air, begins without delay his journey to this " better land ;" while he whose faith is dead, never moves away from the bleak and sterile soil on which he first drew breath. Many, he feared, who simply admitted or assented to the truths of the gospel, mistook this for true faith. No one, though, need be deceived on this momentous subject. If his faith leads him to love and reverence God, and to walk in all the ordinances and com- mandments of the Lord, blameless, he need have no fears on the subject. And of this no one need have doubt, as it is a matter of consciousness. " He has the witness within himself." One can as certainly know that he loves the Heavenly Father, as that he loves an earthly friend and benefactor. 372 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. According to your grandfather's views, the faith which saves the soul involves not only the assent of the under- standing to the truths of the gospel, but the consent of the will, and the approval of the heart. He thought Mr, Campbell's view defective, because it makes faith almost exclusively an intellectual exercise. If " faith works by love," it has to do with the heart, for it is the heart that loves. It is not necessary for me to enlarge, as you can see wherein your grandfcither and Mr. Campbell differed.* Elder Campbell's views on baptism, also, were objected to. On page 213 of " Christianity Restored," he says : " If, then, the present forgiveness of sins be a privilege and a right of those under the new constitution in the kingdom of Jesus, and if being * born again,' and being ' born of the water and the Spirit' is necessary to admission ; and if being born of water means immersion, as is clearly proved by all witnesses, then remission of sins in this life cannot be re- ceived or enjoyed previous to baptism. • • The remission of sins, or coming into a state of acceptance, being one of tlie present im. munities of the kingdom, cannot be received or enjoyed by any one pre- vious to baptism." * It is well to emphasize the fact that Christ is the object of gospel faith. He who exercises this faith not only believes what the gospel says about Christ, but believes in him. Faith is a personal matter, not merely because it is the act of a person, but because Christ, its object, is a person. No belief of any propositions concerning Christ has any sav- ing element in it, apart from faith in him as a personal Saviour. Faith is a trustful reception of Christ as the only Saviour. This faith follows repentance. There is, of course, a faith that precedes repentance. That is to say, a man must believe there is a God against whom he has sinned, before he can repent; but this differs from faith in Christ. It is only a preparation for the exercise of faith in Christ. He who is convinced that he is a ruined sinner, in perishing need of a Saviour, is ready to give to the Lord Jesus that reception which the gos]iol claims for him. Receiv- ing Christ is inseparable from love to him, and therefore " faith works by love." J. M. V. DISSENT FROM ELDER CAMPBELL. 373 Here, then, Elder Campbell unequivocally teaches, that without immersion there is no remission of sins. No Baptist, perhaps, living or dead, had ever believed or even dreamed of a dogma like this before ; and, conse- quently, it fell like a bombshell in their ranks. Its very novelty, though, seems to have had a kind of fascination for some. Notwithstanding the great importance your grandfather always attached to baptism, in its proper place and import, he never believed that the forgiveness of sins was predi- cated on it. Faith, in its Bible import, as already stated, and no bodily act whatever that men can perform, is the condition of salvation. Men ought to be baptized, as an emblem or symbol of death to sin, and resurrection to a new life, and not to obtain the forgiveness of their sins. But are not the " Reformers " beginning to reconsider this doctrine ? An article has recently appeared from the pen of Henry T. Anderson, whom we used to hear preach so often at our old Oikadelphia Church, in the stormy days of the beginning of the Reformation, and who was then considered one of the most uncompromising advocates of Elder Campbell's views, in which he says: " Baptism in water for the remission of sin can never be sustained, for water afifects only the body. But the blood of Christ affects the heart, as seen in the words above quoted, and can affect the heart only through faith." * * * "Id Rom 6:4,6, we have language that teaches the meaning of baptism. It is the likeness of Christ's death and resurrection. Is it not then a symbol, or if any one prefer, an emblem ? These two places are sufficient for our purpose. Christ died, was buried, and rose again. We are buried in water and raised again as a likeness of what he did. But the likeness of his death can never affect our sins. We must apprehend him, lay hold on him hy faith, and be baptized in water as a symbol of our being baptized into him in Spirit.'* 17 374 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. Thus we see that Elder Anderson, a veteran in the army of the Reformation, and a laborious student of the Bible, having given what is tliought to be an excellent transla- tion of the New Testament from the original Greek, after the lapse of forty years, holds the identical views your grandfather did from the beginning, namely, that bap- tism is a symbol or emblem of the forgiveness of sins, and not tliat by, or through which, the pardon of sin is obtained. Elder Campbell's views in regard to Spiritual Influence were not in accord with your grandfather's views. On page 350 of the volume referred to, Elder Campbell says : " As the spirit of man puts forth all its moral power in the wonls which it fills with its ideas, so the Spirit of God puts forth all its convert- ing and sanctifying power in the words which it fills with its ideas.'' * * * "If the Spirit of God has spoken all its arguments, &c., then all the power of the Holy Spirit that can operate upon the human mind is spent." From these and kindred passages, your grandfather said it was clear that Mr. Campbell believed and taught that all the converting power of God was in the word alone. Now, he believed equally with Elder Campbell that the Holy Spirit operates on the human mind, by and through the word, but not by and through the word alone* He * It is safe to say that the Holy Spirit operates through the word. It is not, however, necessary to say that he always confines himself to this method of operation. We disparage the Spirit if we say that he cannot gain access to the human heart without words; for we vir- tually represent him as unable to do what Satan does every day. Some of Mr. Campbell's opponents, forty years ago, did him injustice in insist- ting' that he identified the Spirit and the word. He never did this, but the view which he urged was that the Spirit is in the word — so that if we have the word we have the Spirit in all his converting and sanctify- DISSENT FROM ELDER CAMPBELL. 375 believed and thought that the Holy Spirit often influences the souls of men, entirely independent of the word, but always in accordance or in harmony with it; that he influ- ences the human mind, even in the dark corners of the earth, where the word has never been ; and that to this divine influence is to be attributed all that is good and virtuous in heathen lands. " Why," he would ask, " may not the Good Spirit, without words oral or written, influ- ence the minds of men, since Satan, the Evil Spirit, and according to the Scriptures the enemy of God and man, is now, and ever has been doing this without any word oral or written ? " Elder Campbell's reason for not believing this was that no one could understand how it was possible that Spirit could act directly on spirit, except through the medium of words. Your grandfather thought this objection not only unscriptural but unphilosophical. All know that matter attracts or influences matter. Of this they have no doubt. But the greatest philosopher, living or dead, could not tell how it was done. He could say, that matter is attracted by attraction or influenced by influence, and that would be the end. He would say that men know something about many things, but understand very few things fully, either in the natural or the spiritual world. And that he was a wise man who said, he that believed only what he under- stood, had the shortest creed known. And he concluded that Mr. Campbell was mistaken when he denied that Spirit could operate on spirit, unless through the medium of words ing power. This, however, may not have been his uniform view, for he often changed his opinions, and, indeed, came as near as any man of modern times, to passing through all the signs of the theological zodiac. J. M. r. 376 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. " filled with ideas ;" since, according to the Bible, the Old Enemy and his emissaries are "going about seeking whom they may devour," or lead to destruction by their wicked influence, independent of words. When he wishes to make one murder his neighbor, or do any other wicked- ness, great or small, he does not hold a talk with him, but by temptation, suggestion, or impulse induces him to com- mit the deed. Or he enters into the wretch, as he is said to have done into Judas Iscariot, to tempt him, without the use of language, to betray his master. We believe that there are many other passages of Scripture, which led to the belief that Spirit operated on spirit, directly, with- out the intervention of words, such as " My Spirit shall not always strive with men." " The Spirit of God came upon him." (Balaam.) The personal experience of each individual also, he thought, proved the voiceless influence of the evil spirit on the mind. He would say that probably most persons re- member times when suddenly, by some evil influence, their whole nature, for the moment, seemed to be changed for the worse, and then slowly " to right up again," as if by some beneficent influence or spirit. And, also, times when his nature seemed to be mysteriously exalted to a higher degree of purity and excellence. So far then, from believing with Elder Campbell that, all the power of the Spirit of God upon man is in the word alone, and that when the word was given all was given, he thought that even dead inanimate matter was often governed by the Spirit as when in the early days of creation he moved upon the waters, bringing order and beauty out of chaos. When Christ spoke to the storm-tossed waves of the Sea of Galilee, the power that stilled them, was not in the words, DISSENT FROM ELDER CAMPBELL. 377 for tliese the waves could neither hear nor understand. When he laid his malediction on the barren fig tree, and it withered and died, when he called the lifeless form of Lazarus from the grave, it was not the words alone that produced the effect, but an awful and invisible power be- yond them. Indeed, there was no subject on which I ever hoard your grandfather converse more interestingly than that of the Holy Spirit, whose power, he thought, pervaded all the realms of creation, ever bringing good from evil, and counteracting the baleful influence of the Prince of Dark- ness and his emissaries. CHAPTER XXXVIII. END OF THE REFORMATION. We learn, from his Memoirs by Dr. Richardson, that Elder Campbell made a profession of religion in his youth. And his experience, as then given, seems to resemble all those of the times. " As his convictions deepened he underwent much conflict of mind, and experienced great concern in regard to his own salvation ; so that he lost, for a time, his usual vivacity, and sought in lonely walk and by prayer in secluded spots, to obtain such evidence of divine acceptance as his pious acquaintances considered requisite. * . . ' Finally, after many strugglings,' he adds, ' I was enabled to trust in the Saviour of sinners, and feel my reliance on him as the only Saviour. From the moment I was enabled to feel this reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, I obtained and enjoyed peace of mind.' " I doubt not that during the interview at Dr. Meri- wether's, Elder Campbell gave your grandfather this ac- count of his conversion, and of his subsequent Christian life, as we are informed he did to Elder John Smith. After his conversion he became a member of his father's church, and before leaving the old country, it is probable they con- versed often concerning the possibility of doing something in the new world to aid the cause of religion and Christian union (which seems to have occupied much of their thoughts), as here civil and religious liberty were fully enjoyed. On arriving in this country, taking it for granted that religion was in its depressed state on account of the number of sects, creeds, and errors in doctrine that every- 378 END OF THE REFORMATION. 379 wliere prevail ; as he told me, he rose to his feet, stood a moment, then fell suddenly with all his weight on the hearth, but seemed to recover a little very soon, and said: "Fanny, I have started on my long journey." There were two opinions in regard to the cause of the fall. One, that it was para- lysis ; the other, that it was, simply, vertigo. I have no doubt it was the latter. The fall was a hard one ; turning the side which fell on the bricks black with bruises. All the family gathered around him immediately; his physi- cian was summoned, and every thing done that kindness and affection could suggest ; but inflammation and fever supervened, and it was soon apparent that his recovery was more than doubtful. We will let some extracts from letters your aunt Morrison wrote to her daughter, your cousin, Rowena Waggoner, of Louisville, tell the remain- der. She says : " I am sorry to tell yon that father is very ill, much more so than he has been since you left us. He had a fall, about noon last Friday, the 416 LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 417 10th of January, and has not been up since. We are all very uneasy about him. Ho cannot move his feet at all. I am fearful it was para- lysis that caused the fall, as he started across the room. We sent down f )r brother James, Friday, and he came up yesterday. He intends stay- ing with your grandfather this week. • • • "I will write you a few lines every day till Monday, and tell you how he is." " Monday morning. — Father is no better this morning, and was very ill all last night. His mind is flighty at times. Your father came in a short time since, and told me my father had called me two or three times. I went to his room and sat by him a while, but he had fallen asleep. Your uncle James, Mr. Slaughter, Mr. E. Garnett, and your brother sat up with him last night. The neighbors are as kind and attentive to him as they can be. All seem anxious to do something for him." " Monday evening. — Brother James thinks father better than he has been since he came. Dr. Porter, Mr. and Mrs. Radford came to see him to-day. All denominations love him " " Tuesday morning. — Dear father is no better ; was suffering a great deal all night. Edward Ross came up to see and help nurse him. Oh, that we could relieve him !" " January 2oth. — The doctor says he cannot live more than forty-eight • hours, unless a change for the better takes place soon. He suffers a great deal, but is resigned to both suffering and death ; for he is ready for the change that awaits us all. I heard him praying several times to- day that he might be permitted to die, and be at rest. His faith is unwavering, for he ' knows in whom he has put his trust.' " " January 2(ith. — I see no change in father's condition since yesterday, except his mind seems more wandering. He smiled pleasantly while relating some of the incidents of his early life. He is perfectly helpless and requires several persons to turn him in the bed. Mr. Richard Tandy, Mr. and Mrs. Barclay, Annie Pendleton, Mr. B Garnett, indeed all the neighbors come to inquire how he is, and offer to sit with him at night. I give you all these particulars, for I know you want to hear them." " January 27th. — Father is no better to-day. His mind wanders, so that it is sad to hear him talk. The doctor says he is no longer sensible of his sufferings, and I am thankful that it is so. Mr. William Pen- dleton, Mr, R. Jameson, and Mr. E. Garnett, are particularly kind. Brother James is still with us, and will remain till all is over. Your 418 ELDER REUBEN ROSS. grandfather says, ' Eugene is one of the best nurses he has ever seen.' I feel so sad ! It seems to help me to tell you all these things. " January 2Sth. — Your grandfather breathed his last this morning, a few minutes after five o'clock, without a sigh or a groan. It is some comfort that his last moments were so calm and easy, after all his suffer- ings ; though he appeared to feel no pain for twenty-four hours before his death, and was unconscious a great deal of the time. Yesterday, he looked up at brother James, and said : ' Why, Jemmie ! ' and smiled, and seemed surprised and pleased, as though he had but just come. Im- mediately after he fell asleep, and slept for 8evera.l hours, breathing calmly and sweetly as if he had been well. When he awoke your father was standing by his bed. He said: 'Johnnie, if you will open the door, I will sing you a new song.' When the door was opened, he began : " ' Oh, sing to me of heaven When I am called to die ! ' " His countenance brightened up while singing and he sung several verses very distinctly. And these, my child, were his last audible words on earth. I thank my Heavenly Father for the reason I have to believe that he and my dear mother went directly to heaven when they left this suffering world ; for heaven was a theme they loved to dwell upon Father will be buried to-morrow at Cedar Hill, at three o'clock. Brother James has gone down to. attend to the digging of a grave by the side o, our beloved mother. How calm and peaceful and beautiful he looked when I beheld him for the last time ! He was dressed in a suit of deep black, without shroud or winding-sheet, as was his expressed desire. He requested your uncle to bury him in a plain, black walnut coffin, just like the one our mother was buried in. I wi^h you could have seen him. It would have left such a pleasant recollection with you. His features wore the same sweet, peaceful expression that rested on mother's after death." " January oOth. — Eugene and Millie have returned from Cedar Hill. They say they never saw so many people at a burial before. A good many joined them as they passed through Trenton and the neighborhood below. • ■ "I can't tell you how much I miss him. He was so much comp.any for me, and I loved to think he was safe in his' own room, even when I did not see him walking about. When Spring comes how I shall miss him. He told me of the first visits of the LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 419 l)ir