Life in the Clearings versus the BushMoodie, Susanna
History
Life in the Clearings versus the Bush
Moodie, Susanna
Frontier and pioneer life -- Ontario; Moodie, Susannah, 1803-1885; Ontario -- Description and travel
On the road leading from Belleville to this place, which is in the
direct route to Kingston, there is a large tract of plain land which is
still uncultivated. The soil is sandy, and the trees are low and far
apart, a natural growth short grass and flowering shrubs giving it very
much the appearance of a park. Clumps of butternut, and hiccory trees,
form picturesque groups; and herds of cattle, belonging to the settlers
in the vicinity, roam at large over these plains that sweep down to the
water's edge. This is a very favourite resort of summer parties, as
you can drive light carriages in all directions over this elevated
platform. It used formerly to be a chosen spot for camp-meetings, and
all the piously disposed came hither to listen to the preachers, and
"get religion."
I never witnessed one of these meetings, but an old lady gave me a very
graphic description of one of them that was held on this spot some
thirty years ago. There were no churches in Belleville then, and the
travelling Methodist ministers used to pitch their tents on these
plains, and preach night and day to all goers and comers. A pulpit,
formed of rough slabs of wood, was erected in a conveniently open space
among the trees, and they took it by turns to read, exhort, and pray,
to the dwellers in the wilderness. At right they kindled large fires,
which served both for light and warmth, and enabled the pilgrims to
this sylvan shrine to cook their food, and attend to their wants of
their little ones. Large booths, made of the boughs of trees, sheltered
the worshippers from the heat of the sun during the day, or from the
occasional showers produced by some passing thunder cloud at night.
"Our bush farm," said my friend, "happened to be near the spot, and I
went with a young girl, a friend and neighbour, partly out of curiosity
and partly out of fun, to hear the preaching. It was the middle of July,
but the weather was unusually wet for that time of year, and every
tent and booth was crowded with men, women, and children, all huddled
together to keep out of the rain. Most of these tents exhibited some
extraordinary scene of fanaticism and religious enthusiasm; the noise
and confusion were deafening. Men were preaching at the very top of
their voice; women were shrieking and groaning, beating their breasts
and tearing their hair, while others were uttering the most frantic
outcries, which they called _ejaculatory prayers_. One thought possessed
me all the time, that the whole assembly were mad, and that they
imagined God to be deaf, and that he could not hear them without their
making this shocking noise. It would appear to you like the grossest
blasphemy were I to repeat to you some of their exclamations; but one
or two were so absurdly ridiculous, that I cannot help giving them as
I heard them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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