. Highways and byways of the South. gs visited a waste poolthat formed on the ground below. Many a bucketfulfor home use was carried away by both whites andblacks, and every little while some colored man oryouth would drink by putting his mouth down to thespout, or perhaps he would fill his felt hat and drinkfrom that. On my walk, the day before, Jerry and Abrahamhad pointed out to me the colored peoples chuch-house — a plain, barnlike structure originally putup for a bar-room. It stood in the woods on theriver bank, and the stream flowed dark and swift anddeep not a stones throw away. In fron
. Highways and byways of the South. gs visited a waste poolthat formed on the ground below. Many a bucketfulfor home use was carried away by both whites andblacks, and every little while some colored man oryouth would drink by putting his mouth down to thespout, or perhaps he would fill his felt hat and drinkfrom that. On my walk, the day before, Jerry and Abrahamhad pointed out to me the colored peoples chuch-house — a plain, barnlike structure originally putup for a bar-room. It stood in the woods on theriver bank, and the stream flowed dark and swift anddeep not a stones throw away. In front, suspendedbetween two trees, was the bell, — a great, brokencircular saw. On one of the two trees hung a shortiron bludgeon which served as a clapper. Some manof the congregation rang the bell for church, and theboys rang it for Sunday-school. I had planned toattend service at this colored church-house; but Ilistened in vain for the bell, and when, toward noon,I walked down to the river, I found the preaching infull The Bell-ringers Way down upon the Suwanee River 57 The interior of the edifice consisted of a single, big,bare room with a floor of unplaned and unmatchedboards, and naught overhead but the roof, throughthe crevices of which I could see bits of sky. Thewindows had disappeared, but heavy wooden shutterswere hinged at the openings, and could be swung backto admit the light when the room was in use. Allthe seats, including one behind the pulpit, werebenches, some of them broken, and most of thembackless. The pulpit was on a low platform. It washardly more than a shelf covered with cloth. Therewere two preachers, one seated on the platform bench,the other exhorting. Three of the sisters sat along theright hand wall and four of the brethren sat along theleft hand wall, and that was the congregation. The exhorter was a little man with a long of his front teeth were gone, and their absencewas rather impressive, for he opened his mouth verywid
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
