Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 April 1915 — LAND OF QUAINT CUSTOMS [ARTICLE]

LAND OF QUAINT CUSTOMS

Many Things In the Cumberland Mountains That Seem Peculiar to Visitors. The great days in the mountains generally depend upon the state of the creek-beds, which are almost the only roads. In the spring these highways are flooded and the mountaineertravels very little. It is in the autumn that sociability is possible. There are “corn-shuckings,” “baptizings” (often performed in muddy branch or creek), and the great camp meeting of the mountains, the Baptist association. It is here in the Cumberlands that all ramifications of the Baptist belief flourish —Hardshell, Missionary, Ironclad and others. Every one within miles attends. They ford the rivers on horseback, drive along the precarious highways in jolt-wagons; horses, mules, oxen, are all pressed intolservice for this great occasion. Last are the horse traders, a motley, disreputable crowd, often the worse for too much “moonshine.” Armed to the teeth, they present the appearance of desperadoes, and it is safe to assert that the religious aspect of the camp meeting has little charm for them. But perhaps the strangest of all customs is that of holding the preaching services long months after the burial of the dead. Two years have sometimes elapsed before the memorial service; in one instance the bereaved “widow man” sat beside his second choice, who wept profusely over the fate of her predecessor. There are several reasons for the postponement of the sermon —one, that the preacher is often miles away and not available until the season of good roads. —Christian Endeavor World.