第 14 节
作者:
谁与争疯 更新:2021-02-19 00:36 字数:9322
to pray;〃 and Mrs。 Blakely repeated the same; but I told the women this
was doubting God in the beginning。
〃 'If you ask for bread; will He give you a stone。' I am willing to
trust God who said: 'Ask and ye shall receive;' and let Him send the
rain any way He pleases。〃 This was finally agreed upon; and the next
afternoon the citizens of the town were called to the church to pray for
rain。
After the meeting; we were standing on the platform in front of the
church; and a sprinkle of rain out of a cloudless sky fell on the platform;
and on the shutters of the house。 This was nothing but a miracle; and
was very astonishing to us all。 The next day the clouds began to gather
in the sky; and the moisture began; at first; to fall like heavy dew。 There
was no lightning or thunder and the rain came down in the gentlest manner
and continued in this way three days。 With this marvelous manifestation
in direct answer to prayer; many people said 〃we would have had the
rain any way。〃 Truly the ox knoweth his owner; and the ass his master's
crib; but my people doth not know; my people doth not consider。〃
I began to think what I should do to fulfill my vow to God; for I
vowed to return to Him something for rain; to show my gratitude that I
had seen done。 There was an old man; about seventy years old; entirely
destitute; whose name was Bestwick。 I went to see him; asked him to
come to the hotel and make his home there。 There was also a poor German
girl; named Fredricka。 I also gave her board at the hotel。 These two
stayed with me free of charge as long as I lived in Richmond。
There were two political factions in Richmond at this time; one called
the 〃Jaybirds〃 and the other 〃Peckerwoods〃。 The latter were people
that were in favor of the negro holding offices。 This party had control of
the country for some time。 The head of this party was Garvey; the
sheriff。 The head of the former was Henry Frost; a saloon…keeper; and
to this belonged nearly all the young men of Richmond。
Mr。 Nation was correspondent for the Houston Post and he wrote
a letter speaking of the bad…influence and conduct of these young men the
night before; screaming about the streets and disturbing the peace generally。
He went down to meet the trains about twelve o'clock at night。 The
next night after the article appeared in the Post; he came in and woke
me up saying: 〃Wife get up; I have been beaten almost to death;〃
and lighting a lamp; I found that his body was covered with bruises。
I bathed him in cold water and otherwise tried to relieve him。 He
was too faint to tell me the trouble; only the boys had beaten him。 I knelt
down by the window to pray to God。 I began by calling on God to send a
punishment on people that would do such a mean; cowardly act。 I prayed
until I received perfect deliverance from that kind of a spirit; and when I
got up from off my knees; it was four o'clock in the morning。
In this crowd was a family of Gibson boys; whose father was an
infidel; and encouraged his sons in this matter and in all their bad ways。
There were also other boys; Peason; Little; Winston; twenty…one in all。
A man by the name of Henry George asked Mr。 Nation to come and sit
on a bale of cotton on the depot platform; and talk with him; another one
of these boys came up and threw Mr。 Nation backwards on the platform。
Then each one gave him a hit with a stick; or a cane。 I don't think there
are but two or three of those boys living now。 After moving to Kansas;
a few months after this I returned to Texas for a visit。 I then looked;
upon the graves of four of the Gibsons。 〃Truly; vengeance is mine; I will
repay;' saith the Lord。
Mr。 Nation was very unpopular with the 〃Jaybird〃 faction; because
they said no Republican should stay in Fort Bend County。 The bitterness
between these two factions broke out in a war。 Garvey and Frost with
three others were killed。 Before this animosity between them arose; Richmond
was a very pleasant place to live。 A great deal of sociability existed
among the people; but from this time business and social relations were
almost entirely ruined。
I visited Richmond in 1902; and I never saw such a difference。 The
Galveston storm greatly damaged many of the houses; and the ruins were
still there。 A pall of death seemed to be over the whole place; and one
coming into the town would feel a desire to leave it as quickly as possible;
if there was not some interest independent of the town。 God said: 〃They
shall eat the fruit of their own doing。〃 Still in Richmond God has those
who have not bowed their knees to Baal。
Mr。 Nation's life was threatened and we had to leave。 He went to
Kansas where he had a brother。 After an application he took charge of a
Christian church at Medicine Lodge; Barber County; Kansas。 This is January;
1904; and we moved to Kansas about fourteen years ago。
We traded the hotel for property in Medicine Lodge。 Charlien; Lola
and their husbands moved to themselves and mother Gloyd would consent
to stay away from me only until we could get settled in Kansas。 She
had her trunk prepared for the journey。 She was now eighty…six years
old; but had remarkable vitality。 I said:
〃Mother you had better stay here the rest of your life; for Kansas is
much colder than this climate。〃
But she replied: 〃I came from Vermont and it is very cold there。〃
She followed me to the train; and when I went to leave her she placed
her arms around me and her head on my breast。 Her last words were:
〃I have lived with you and I want to die with you。〃 Oh; how I disliked
to leave her! This was the last time I saw her dear; sweet face。 We
had lived together as constant companions for twenty…three years。
Before I left Richmond; I requested of two of my dear friends; Mrs。
Connor and Mrs。 Todd; that if mother ever got sick; they would stay by
her until the last。 In a year from this time she died; being sick only three
days。 These dear friends stayed by her side until the last。 A telegram
was sent to me when she was first taken sick; and I wanted to go; but I
had no money of my own; and Mr。 Nation would not consent。 I have
never ceased to be sorry for it。
I was very much pleased when I first went to Kansas; for it was a
great relief from burdens。 We boarded six months。 After the year was
up; Mr。 Nation went to Holton; Kansas; and took charge of a church
there。 He went before I did; and to save shipping our horse and buggy;
I drove through。 In order to get a good start and directions for my journey;
I went to Bro。 Ed。 Crouce; who lived on a farm about five miles from
town。 Our horse was not very safe for he had a way of balking。 Bro。
Crouce told me to give him a severe cut across the back and give him the
reins if he attempted to balk。 I tried this on two occasions; following his
directions。 The horse reared up and acted in a way that terrified me; but I
conquered and for ten years I drove that horse。 He was a noble beast
with almost human sense。 This journey was four hundred miles。 For a
hundred and fifty miles I was accompanied by a young girl of sixteen
years of age; who was a farmer's daughter and seemed to be afraid of
nothing。 She was a great inspiration to me; preparing me to drive the two
hundred and fifty miles alone。 The great difficulty was in finding places
to stop at night。 I got so I did not look for large roomy houses for
entertainment;
but the smaller ones。 I found out that the friends of the poor
are the poor。 Mr。 Nation met me at Topeka and he was so pleased that
he said: 〃You shall have this horse and buggy for your own。〃
Holton was thirty miles north and we drove up together。
I began to have a contempt for popular preaching; keeping apart from
'clicks〃 and 〃sects〃。 I knew that my husband ought not to be in the ministry。
I do not believe he was ever a converted man。 This made me very
miserable; putting us in a false light before the people。 It was my desire
to serve God in a simple; humble way。 Before the year was out because
of some dissatisfaction in the church between Mr。 Nation and the board;
we left Holton。 I then drove back to Medicine Lodge alone; enjoying my
trip very much。 Mr。 Nation never took charge of a church again。 He
was a man well versed in law; and at one time rendered valuable service
in prosecuting liquor cases in Medicine Lodge。
When I lived in Texas and was keeping hotel in Richmond; one cold
rainy morning; a lot of men came in from the train。
I took special notice of one man。 His hands were that of a woman;
his face was very refined; but his clothes were shabby。 He was sitting
by himself and I said to him: 〃You must excuse me but you
look so much like a catholic priest I once saw。〃 I did not then dream he
was one。 Next morning I sent one of the boys that waited on the table to
see what was the matter that he did not come down to breakfast。 He was
sick。 I went up to see him and he told me he often had attacks of heart
trouble; that he had fallen in a faint in the yard the night before。 I asked
him if he had any friends。 He said: 〃No。〃 I asked him his business?
〃You guessed it last night;〃 he replied。 Then he told me he was a catholic
priest。 I was very much astonished for he had on a common su