PWWWPW 
 
 

" De Dry Bones in de Valley." 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 . . BY . . 
 
 Rev. Robert Parker Rumley. 
 
 Reported by 
 
 ORVILLE KNIGHT SMITH. 
 
 Sketches by A. M. Cole. 
 
 Published by A. Y. PEARSON, Asheville, N. C. 
 
~~p c 
 
 A-5HEVIL.LE, N. C. : 
 
 FURMAN *■ ME55LER, PRINTERS. 
 
 1896. 
 
 
 
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COPYRIQHT, 1896, BY ALTA /"\. COLE. 
 ALL KIQ!-n\5 RESERVED. 
 
TAKE gweat pleasure dis ebenin in look- 
 in' upon such an intelligent gaderin' ob 
 peoples who hab come out to heah me 
 deliber my famous sermon on " De Dry 
 Bones in de Valley." Many ob you hab 
 come to Asheville foah de benefit ob yoah 
 health an' to breave dis fine air, beefsteak, 
 fresh buttermilk an' eggs. I spose my name 
 is known all ober dis country an' I 'spose 
 de ol' country too. Ebery great man 
 must make his way. Well, if my name must go to de 
 topmost roun' ob de ladder ob fame I will go an' take 
 no back out, either. If I'm gwine to become a gweat 
 man I can't help it. 
 
 Now I want you bredern an' sistern to bear wid me 
 while I read a part ob de thirty-sebenth chaptah ob Ezekwell. I 
 don' mean only you white brederen but my cullud brederen too. 
 
 I will deliberate dis ebenin' on dese dry bones what I hab read 
 'bout, an' you will fin 1 my tex' in de fouth vus' ob de thirty-sebenth 
 chaptah ob Ezekwell. 
 
" O, ye dry bones, heah de wud ob de Laud." 
 
 Now brederen, I will preeface my sermon dis ebenin' wid an in- 
 troduction 'bout God's chosing peoples, de Israelites, dese Jews 
 what am scattered eberywhere 'round 'bout us selling dere wares. 
 Dese am de peoples what de prophets say wen' down into Egypt, an' 
 were kep' in bondage an' den aftah foah hunred an' fifty yeahs dere 
 became an exceeding gweat ahiny ob dem an' dey were led up unto 
 de Ian' ob Caanyan. 
 
 Now I wan' to tell you dis ere Ian' ob Caanyan am a Ian' what 
 flowed wid milk an' honey. I don' mean dat dis means jess what I 
 says, but I mean it were a Ian' where dere was lots of money or I 
 mean it was a Ian' where you could make lots ob money, an' where 
 dere was lots ob luxurious grass for de cattle to desist on. Dey had 
 dere barns full ob corn an' dere fiel's full ob-ob-ob corn. 
 
 But dese people was jess like you cullud folks who am growin' up. 
 You's don' think 'bout youh fadders an' mudders no more since de 
 'mancipation, an' jess go on 'busin' dem an' forgettin' all 'bout what 
 de Laud done did foah you. An' dats jess like dese peoples, dey jess 
 forgot all 'bout what de good Laud did for 'em and dats jess like you 
 cullud folks. 
 
 De richer men get de less dey think 'bout God, and dat am de way 
 
wid dese peoples, de more de Laud done 
 for 'em de more dey 'spised him, an' eben . 
 in de days ob Jer'miah, away back five 
 hunred an' eighty-seben yeahs before de 
 coniin' ob Chris', he wahned dem ob 
 dere sins an' dey jess laughed at 
 Jer'miah, jess as dey laugh at 
 me — aint dat so, brudder ? 
 "Yeh, Laud!" 
 Aint dat so, sister? 
 
 " Praise God — yeh ! 
 
 An' so accordin' to de prophesy ob Jer'miah, Jeru- 
 salem were taken by de heatherin King ob Babylon,, 
 an' among de cabtives taken by de heatherin King: 
 ob Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, were a 
 prophet an' his name were EzekwelL 
 An' he were a man ob edurcation, an' he 
 had a vision, an' de angels ob de Laud 
 came down to him in a whirl- win' — jess 
 think ob it — in a whirl-win'! An' de 
 angels carried Ezekwell up to Jerusalem 
 an' showed him through a gweat open- 
 
 " Yeh, Laud 
 
ing how his peoples were desecrating de holy temple, and wush- 
 iping idols. An' den Ezekwell were taken in de pwesence ob de 
 Laud by de angel an' behol' he saw a gweat throne an' de color 
 were liken unto a rainbow, an' dere were no light ob de sun but de 
 place were as light as day — jess think ob it. An' de Laud specken 
 unto Ezekwell an' told him to draw a picture ob Jerusalem an' to 
 put a pan 'roun' it to represent de wall 'roun' de city, an' to place 
 upon de outside ob de pan pictures ob forts — jess think ob it — what 
 do all dis mean? I shall interrogate dese things at further consider- 
 in' but don' get impassionate. An' de Laud tol' Ezekwell to take out 
 his househol' goods, part in de day time an' part in de night — jess 
 as de city folks do to sabe payin' rent. An' de Laud tol' Ezekwell 
 dat the peoples would ask him what all dese do mean, an' de Laud 
 said, " Jess so will be done wid Jerusalem, an' de city will be des- 
 troyed by de heatherin King ob Baby- 
 lon, an' aftah sebenty yeahs de Jews 
 would be retu'ned to Jerusalem." I will 
 ft ml 'l^&^^-Z^ffl not i nt errogate longer on de preeface to 
 
 my sermon owing to de indisposition 
 ob de weader. 
 Brudder, keep dat fire goin'. If I 
 
can't get dese peoples wahined up one way I'se gwine to wid 
 anoder. 
 
 An' Ezekwell had a vision — now 'member I tells you it were a 
 vision — jess like you folks do after eatin' cabbage — an' I 'magine I 
 can see Ezekwell sitting down in de valley which were full ob 
 bones, an' dey were very, very many an' very, very dry, an' he 
 looked all 'round at the question an' it were shrouded in mystery. 
 
 Now I don' want you to look at any small batch of bones ob an 
 acre or two, but a valley ten o' fifteen miles long full ob bones. 
 
 An' de Laud specken unto Ezekwell and said : " Son ob man, can 
 dese bones lib ?" An' he ansued, " O, Laud God, dou knowest." 
 
 An' de Laud tol' Ezekwell to prophesy unto dese bones an' say 
 unto dem, "O, ye dry bones, heah ye de word ob de Laud." An' 
 Ezekwell prophesied, an' dere were a noise an' behol' a shaking, an' 
 de bones came togeder, bone to his bone. 
 
 It is so said by dose who study physiology dat dis ere body ob ours 
 contain two hun'red and thirty-eight bones in it. Now let's see 
 'bout it. It am so said dat dis beautiful face ob mine habe fourteen 
 bones in it, an' each ob dese bones come togeder, bone to his bone — 
 an' dat dere am eight bones in dis head ob mine and dey all come to- 
 geder, bone to his bone — an' dere am three bones in each eah, an' 
 
six bones in both ealis, an' all ob dese 
 bones came togeder bone to his bone — 
 an' dere am twenty-six bones in de spine 
 an' all ob dese bones came togeder bone 
 to his bone — an' in de chest dere am 
 twenty-foah bones an' all ob dese bones 
 came togeder bone to his bone — an' dere 
 am two bones in each shoulder, one be- 
 fore and one behind, an' foah bones in 
 de shoulders, an' all ob dese bones came 
 togeder bone to his bone — an' dere am 
 one bone in each arm an' in each foah- 
 arm dere am two bones an' all ob dese 
 Dis beautiful face ob mine!" bones came togeder bone to his bone — 
 an' dere am eight bones in de wris' an' dese bones came togeder bone 
 to his bone — an' dere am five bones in de palm ob de ban', an' in de 
 palm ob both ban's dere am ten bones, an' all of dese bones came 
 togeder bone to his bone — an' dere am two bones in each hip, an' all 
 ob dese bones came togeder bone to his bone — an' dere am one bone 
 in each thigh, an' each ob dese bones came togeder bone to his bone 
 — an' in de knee dere am one bone an' in de leg below de knee dere 
 
am two bones in each leg an' all ob dese 
 bones came togeder — Brudder keep dat fire 
 goin' — bone to his bone — an' in de ankle dere 
 am seben bones an' all ob dese bones came to- 
 geder bone to his bone — an' dere am live bones 
 in de palm ob de foot — de ball ob de foot — an' each 
 ob dese bones came togeder bone to his bone — an' in 
 de toes ten, a half a score, dere am twenty-eight bones- 
 — an' now I hab got all ob dese bones in dere respect- 
 able places, an' dere am beside all dese, thirty-two teef 
 in de human head, an' all ob dese bones came togeder 
 bone to his bone — bone to his bone — aint dat so, brud- 
 der ? 
 
 " Glory ! Hallellujah ! Yeh !" 
 Aint dat so, sistern ? 
 " Shuah, Laud ! Hallellujah !" 
 
 I 'magine I can see all de bones in my body lying in de 
 valley, an' now I hab got dem all togeder bone to his bone. Direkly 
 I 'magine I can see Ezekwell talking tro' a great, long trumpet to 
 
dem bones in de valley an' lo an' behol' dern 
 bones am altogeder jess like a human skeleton, 
 an' den de sinews were put upon dem, an' de flesh 
 put on de sinews, an' den de skin were grewed on 
 de flesh, an' den I 'magine I can see de toe nails 
 an' de flngeh nails grow-i-n-g out an' de hair 
 comin' upon de head, an' instead ob de valley 
 being full ob dry bones I 'magine I can see a 
 gweat ahmy ob peoples, but dere were no bref in 
 dem, an' I 'magine when God specken unto Ezek- 
 well he tol' him to breave into dese slain, an' lo 
 an' behol' de win' came from de east, west, north 
 an' south an' dey couldn't mube — until de Holy 
 Ghost breaved de bref ob life in dem. 
 
 I'se got dese bones all togeder an' what do you 
 see now ? A valley full of men representing de 
 whole house ob Israel, an' dey looked like a gweat millinary com- 
 pany. 
 
 Somebody made inquiries 'bout what dese bones were typical ob, 
 an' how dese typical bones came togeder bone to his bone — one 
 bone lying heah an' nudder off yondah — an' what do all dese bones 
 
 "Jess like a human 
 skeleton." 
 
mean ? Dis am de gweat question. What am all dese bones typical 
 ob — an' I think I am prepared to answer dis. It represents de 
 whole house ob Israel during dere sebenty yeahs captivity in Baby- 
 lon. An' what do all dis noise ob de bones comin' togeder mean ? 
 Hit means de comin' togeder ob de Jews — Brudder keep dat stove 
 goin'. 
 
 Now let us sing dat old familiah hymn, " Dry Bones Comin' To- 
 gedder in de Mornin'." 
 
"Dry Bones." 
 
 I^JJjJ j j ^^ ^ J ^ JJ j J ^ 
 
 All dese dry bones ob mine, 
 All dese dry bones ob mine, 
 All dese dry bones ob mine, 
 Comin' togedder in de mornin' 
 
 -Cno. 
 
 ? - rj jJ ;j^fJ] ffj 
 
 **m 
 
 Cnoiius. — What you goin' to do when de judgment day, 
 What you goin' to do when de judgment day, 
 What you goin' to do when de judgment day, 
 Comin' togedder in de mornin'. 
 
 O, what a shakin' ob dese dry bones, 
 O, what a shakin' ob dese dry bones, 
 O, what a shakin' ob dese dry bones, 
 
 -Cno. 
 
De noise ob dese dry bones comin' togeder were jess like de noise 
 lots ob you pretendin' Christians am makin'. You's howlin' an' 
 shoutin' when you's jess got religion 'nough to go right down to 
 hell. God's goin' to punish you peoples jess like he did de Jews, 
 when dey were carried away captives to Babylon. 
 
 We lub de New Jerusalem jess like de Jews ob ol' lubed de ancient 
 Jerusalem, an' de Jews ob today 'spect to go back dere, but dey'll 
 neber do it 'less dey go by de way ob Jesus Chris' — aint dat so, 
 brudder ? 
 
 "Glory Hallelujah! Yeh !" 
 
 Aint dat so, sistern ? 
 
 " Praise de Laud ! Yeh !" 
 
 Dis sympathetical lub ob 
 de Jews foah Jerusalem will 
 neber die, an' I 'magine Dabid 
 was thinking ob dis when he 
 wrote de hun'red an' thuty- 
 sebenth Psalm. 
 
 "By de ribers ob Babylon de 
 Jews sat down an' wep' when 
 dey 'membered Zion, an' dey 
 
 Praise de Laud! Yeh 
 
prayed unto God, ' If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand 
 forget her cunnin'." 
 
 An' de Laud said unto de daughters ob Babylon who am to be de- 
 stroyed: "Happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou has 
 served them," foah dey made dere cabtives gib song an' become 
 merry foah dere amusement. 
 
 Yes, we Christians am goin' to hab a home by'm by, an' I wan' to 
 say to you's peoples, " 0,ye dry bones, heah ye de wud ob de Laud." 
 
 An' accordin' to de prophesy ob Ezekwell, Jerusalem were de- 
 stroyed on de ninth yeah an' tenth month by de heatherin King of 
 Babylon, an' among de cabtives taken were foah bwight young Jews 
 — now don' interrogate me to mean bwight in color, but I mean dey 
 were bwight intellectually. An' among dese foah bwight young 
 Jews who were taken captive were Daniel. An' de heatherin King 
 ob Babylon brought dese cabtives to Babylon, an' dere he edurcated 
 Daniel, an' aftah Daniel had graduated I 'magine I can see him keep- 
 in' de books. An' de angel ob de Laud came down to Daniel wid 
 de speed ob de lightning an' tol' him good news, dat de Jews would 
 be returned to Jerusalem an' dat de heatherin King ob Babylon 
 would be destroyed. An' de angel specken unto Daniel and said, 
 " Feah not, O gweatly belubbed ob God." 
 
By de candlestick on de 
 plaster." 
 
 vMTeriB Tercet TTprcaram No ^ r - i wan' to get 
 
 down to Babylon an' tell 
 you 'bout Nebuchadnez- 
 zar's son, who were now on de trone, 
 an' who were more wickedest dan his 
 fader, an' lo an' behol' de angel ob de 
 Laud — I think it were Gabriel, he usu- 
 ally waited on de Laud — appeared unto 
 de wicked King ob Babylon while he 
 an' all his lauds were habbing a gweat feast an' drinkin' wine out ob 
 de holy wessels dat were taken out ob de temple in Jerusalem. An' 
 de angel ob de Laud wrote de king's death warrant by de candlestick 
 on de plaster, but de king could not interprete de writing on de wall, 
 an' lo he grew pale an' called foah his wise men — an' jess fell all to 
 pieces. 
 
 An' de wise men came into his pwesence an' de King tol' dem dat 
 whosoeber should interprete de wriiin' should be made third ruler in 
 de kingdom. An' lo, dey could read de writin' but dey could not 
 interprete de meanin'. An' de King were troubled, but when de 
 news ob what were goin' on reached de Queen she were jess like de 
 women is now days — dey can tro off twice as much trouble as a 
 
man, an' Laud God A'mighty, I 'magine I can see de Queen in all 
 her majesty — an' she tol' de King not to be scairt, dat dere 
 were one man in de kingdom what could interprete de writin' an he 
 were Daniel. An' so Daniel were sent foah an' bwought in de pwes- 
 ence ob de King. 
 
 Now among all dese wise men who were called to interprete de 
 writin' were many 'stronomers, an' dey was jess like all de 'strono- 
 mers am now days. Dey try to tell us it am ninety-five million miles 
 from heah to de sun. Don' you beliebe it — it's de biggest lie I eber 
 heard ! What does dey know 'bout how fa' it am to de sun o' to de 
 moon — deys neber been dere. An' jess so dere's lots ob people dats 
 trying to tin' out how fa' it am to heaben. Well, dey'll neber know, 
 'cause dey'll neber get dere. You jess get religion once an' you wont 
 care how fa' it am to heaben o' de sun o' de moon. What yo' messin 
 wid dat fo' V Dat's none ob youah business — dat's God's business. 
 
 Dey ought to put a stop to puttin' out all ob dis trash 'bout how 
 fa' it am to de sun an' to heaben. I challenge de worl' to prove 
 how far it am to de sun ! You can get de exac' lebel ob de height 
 ob *Beaucatcher cause you can climb up 'dere an' measur' it; but 
 you can't get de exact lebel ob de height ob de sun cause you can't 
 get dere. O, Laud, let dem knock me out if dey can ! Let dem try 
 
 *lieaucatcher— A mountain near Asheville. 
 
dere expurt on me jess like dey did on de King ob Babylon, but 
 my God, bwing in Daniel, de man ob God, to interprete de meaning 
 ob all dis. 
 
 An' Daniel tol' de King he would interprete de ban' writin' on de 
 wall, but to keep de reward for himself an' gib it to anoder. An' 
 de writin' on de wall were Mene — Tekel — Upharsin. Mene, dat is to 
 say, " God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it." Tekel, 
 dat is, " Thou art weighed in the balances an' found wantin'." 
 Upharsin, an' dat is understood to be, " Dy kingdom is divided and 
 given to de Medes and Persians." 
 
 An' de same night aftah Daniel had interpreted de writin' de King 
 were slain, an' Cyrus, de comman'ing Gen'ral ob de ahmy ob de 
 Medes an' Persians, took de city. 
 
 Solomon, de wise king, said dat men ob high degree an' men ob 
 low degree am to be weighed in de balances an' foun' lighter dan 
 vanity. 
 
 An' aftah Babylon had been taken by Cyrus, an' de Jews had staid 
 in Babylon sebenty yeahs according to de prophesies, dey were 'inan- 
 cipated by Cyrus and returned to Jerusalem. Dis noise ob de bones 
 comin' togeder represented de 'malgamated noise ob de comin' ob de 
 Jews togeder on dere return to Jerusalem. 
 
Rise, Shine!" 
 
 You 'member when us cullud folks were 
 'maneipated dere were gweat joy, an' so it 
 were when Cyrus freed de Jews, and de 
 noise ob dese bones comin' togeder repre- 
 sents de Jews rejoicing. 
 
 My God A'mighty ! Sing " Jerusalem, 
 my Happy Home !" 
 
 If I jess had de wings ob de mornin' I'd 
 leap wight out ob dat window and go down 
 to de ol' plantation where I were 'maneipated. 
 
 An' accordin' to de prophesies de temple in Jerusalem were rebuilt, 
 an' jess so de Jews today think dey's goin' back to Jerusalem again, 
 but dat am a matter ob impossibility humanity speaking, foah de Jews 
 am scattered to de foah-win's ob de worl', an' not enough ob dem in 
 any one place to constitute a quorum, jess like de prophets says dey 
 was. 
 
 Now I am not goin' to 'laborate on de Jews goin' back to Jerusa- 
 lem, 'cause we is lookin' foah de new Jerusalem, way up in de skies. 
 Our mudders and faders hab done gone dere befoah, an' you's cullud 
 folks what's growin' up ought to be 'shamed ob yourselbs gettin' 
 drunk an' den gettin' on de chain gang— an' I mean yo' white folks, too. 
 
An' now let us sing dat good oP hymn, " Rise an 1 Shine 
 be honis', doan go away widout payin' foah de blessin'. 
 
 an' now 
 
 I 
 
 JJ ^J- 
 
 +-± 
 
 *» &■ 
 
 -J 
 
 -U3 
 
 Chorus. — Rise, Shine ! Shine like de stars, 
 
 Shine ! Shine ! All 'roun' de trone ob God. 
 
 r it r rn; i l i' i h> j^ f F^ ^rroa 
 
 __ l. f ' ! 
 
 Joseph had a vision, 
 
 Joseph had a vision ; 
 
 De sun, de moon, de leben stars 
 
 All made obedience — Cho. 
 
 Go get your youngest brudder, 
 Go get your youngest brudder, 
 An' gader all yoah fader's flock, 
 An' let us lib togedder. — Cho. 
 
 De chil'ren gaddered many, 
 De chil'ren gaddered many, 
 Excep' upon de Sabbath day, 
 Dey did not gadder any. — Cho. 
 
But now deah brudders an' sistern you nab 
 beared patiently wid me durin' my ebenin's dis- 
 course an' I shuahly appreciate youh good behabior, 
 but our church am pooh an' we need money an' 
 now brederen an' sistern, both white and cullud, be 
 lib'ral tonight an' help de good Laud out wid a five 
 dollar bill o' moah if yo' feel de sermon's wur.hit — foah 'member God 
 hates a stingy man. Now 'member dis am de way to shine. Now 
 Deacon Washington jess pass 'roun' de plate and gib dese peoples a 
 
 chance to shine. 
 
 Jess don' go 'roun' dere so 
 fas' Deacon Washington. Gib 
 dose peoples a chance to fin' 
 der pocket-books. 
 
 How am de collection been 
 comin' on Deacon Washing- 
 ton V 
 
 " We want jess fo'ty cents 
 moah, Pahson." 
 
 " Give doRe peoples a chai 
 dere pocket-books 
 
 a chance to fin 
 
 ■:s." 
 
Stories as told by Bro. Rumley. 
 
 I knew a preacher by de name ob Scott Brown who were preachin' 
 
 soon aftah de wah, an' on one occasion when he got up to preach he 
 
 began : " My brederen, I hab been preachin' since way befoah de 
 
 wah an' nobody, not eben my mastah, eber criticised my preachin'. 
 
 I'se gwine to take my tex' tonight one eye (I) John, two eye 
 
 (II) chaptah, Paul drawed de pistol on de 'Phesians." 
 
 * * 
 * 
 
 In 1872 I was at Camp Pinkney on de St. Mary's Riber, between 
 de Georgia an' Florida line. I had jess began to exort myself an' 
 my reputation growed out by my bein' a very gweat preacher an' 
 de people came frum fa' an' neah to heah me preach. Der were an' 
 ol' Methodist preacher who used to preach on de plantations an' rice 
 fahms who had heard ob me an' some ob de members ob de Metho- 
 dist church who knew him invited him to come up an' preach. I 
 bein' a Baptis' dis ol' fellow came foah de purpose ob knockin' me 
 out ob de ring. Our custom ob holdin' meetin's was foah one to lead 
 
an anoder to follow, so as de oF elder were de oldes' preacher 
 an' knowed moah dan I did, I managed to get him to open' an* 
 lead de meetin' an' I weie to follow. I introduced de oF elder an' he 
 got up an' said: "Brederen, I hab been preachin' fo'ty odd yeahs 
 an' nobody can tell me nothin' 'bout preachin', dey can't learn me 
 nothin', I knows all 'bout it. I take foah my tex' tonight, ' Line 
 upon line, precept upon precept.' Great God, brederen, let me tell 
 you somethin' bout de tex'. Dey's a chicken hen in heaben had ten 
 tousand chickens an' no hawk foah to eatum." 
 
 It has always been said dat de Methodist people were noted foah 
 fallin' from grace, but you know we Baptis' don' beleibe in fallin' 
 from grace — once in Chris' an' neber out. So I do know ob one man 
 dat did fall from grace. He were a man who libed in de southern 
 part ob de State ob North Carolina, an' he were a man ob small statue 
 but his wife were very large, portly — one ob dese men women who 
 could depend on her womanhood. So one day dey got into a dis- 
 pute an' it resulted in a fray. De man's wife were named Grace an' 
 Grace got mad an' took up a chair an' knocked her husband down 
 an' dat is de only instance I know ob any one fallin' from " grace." 
 
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