Signs and Wonders God Wrought in the Ministry for Forty Years/Chapter 22
CHAPTER XXII
A MIGHTY WORK AT ST. LOUIS, MO.
The Lord was calling us to St. Louis, Missouri, April, 1890, but we wanted to stay in California through the summer, and we had quite a struggle to know what to do. We placed our goods on the cars and were going to Los Angeles, California. That night I received a letter calling me to St. Louis. We sold our household goods and started next morning for St. Louis. No person knew we were coming until our meeting was announced. Surely God leads me in a mysterious way. I cannot have any choice, or say I will go here or there, but I must know the voice of God, and where He leads I will follow. Two years prior to this time the way had been opened in St. Louis. Many of the best citizens invited us to go and hold meetings. They would have taken much of the burden off us, but our dear Lord does not permit us to lean on or trust to the arm of flesh, for the battle is not ours, but the Lord’s.
We held meetings in a hall for two months. The first night there were eighteen present. God was there in power. Two were converted. The crowds grew larger every day, and souls were converted at every meeting. A number of remarkable cases of divine healing were wrought by the Lord. We felt we could not afford to board; that we must save our money to pay the expenses of the meeting. We rented rooms in the third story of a private house and did our own cooking. This was very hard on us, but it was the best we could do.
We were invited one Sabbath afternoon to hold a meeting in the Union Market. We felt the Lord was leading in this, and accepted, the invitation. We had a large, attentive congregation. The street-cars were passing by loaded, to see the new bridge that had just been built across the Mississippi river.
One old man, a Catholic, heard me preaching. He got off the cars, came to the meeting and listened attentively; at the close of the service he was saved. He said he wanted the kind of religion we had. He had a hard battle to fight with his family, who were all Catholics; but he stood firm, and said he was determined to make heaven his home. God set his seal on this meeting. Many were convicted. God knows how many carried the good seed away in their hearts, that will grow into eternal life.
“It was now the first of June, and we were ready to put up our large tent, which we brought from California. The only place we could get room enough was “Kerry Patch,” a place noted for the hoodlum element, where they gathered from all parts of the city. People have been shot down, or robbed, or stoned here, any hour of the day. There were two large Catholic churches, one on each side of the tent. One was about a block away, the other about two blocks. We lived in our small tents without a shade tree, for five months.
The Christians tried to persuade us not to pitch our tents in “Kerry Patch,” and after we had them up they tried to have us move away from that wicked and rough element, but we felt God had led us there. We rented the ground for three months, paid seventy-five dollars for it. The Christians said there had been several show tents put up where ours stood, and the rough element cut the ropes and tore their tents down. They said if they would cut the ropes of a show tent, surely a gospel tent would have no chance at all: We said God has placed us here and by his grace we will stay. Many of our best friends were afraid to let their wives and daughters come, and felt they were running a great risk in coming themselves, as the congregation was stoned coming and going. Sometimes the stones went flying through the tent. They did not know what a camp-meeting was, but thought it was some kind of a show. Most of these people had never been to a church. The first night the tent was crowded. Men stood on the seats with hats on, cigars and pipes in their mouths, coats off and sleeves rolled up. Women with old dirty aprons and dresses on, bare-headed and bare-armed. They would shoot off fire-crackers, and when we sang they sang the louder; when we prayed, they clapped their hands and cheered us: They had pistols and clubs, and were ready to kill us, and tear down the tent. It looked like we would all be killed. Several ministers tried to talk, but were stoned down, or their voice drowned out. It looked like surrender or death.
It was an awful sight to see a little band of Christians, sitting nearly frozen to their seats with fear, surrounded by a mob of wild fierce men and women, many of them half drunk, their eyes and faces red and inflamed. Every effort failed and we could do nothing with them. I said to my co-workers: “We will never give up, and if they take us out of the tent before we are ready to go, they will take us out dead.” I told them to lead in prayer one after the other, and the God of Elijah would answer.
A sister knelt on the pulpit pale as death, her hands and face raised to heaven, and in a clear ringing voice asked God to save and bless the judgment-bound multitude. A feeling of the awful presence of God began to fall on the people. Another sister followed in prayer, then I arose, and stood before them. I raised my hand in the name of the Lord, and commanded them to listen. I said the Lord had sent me there to do them good, and that I would not leave. until the Lord told me to, when our work was done. I told them the Lord would strike dead the first one that tried to harm us, or to strike us with a dagger. If any tried to kill us the Lord would strike them dead. The power of God fell, - and the fear of God came upon all the multitude. The sweat came on their faces, and they stood like as though in a trance; the men began to take their pipes out of their mouths, and their hats off. The women began to cover up their bare necks and arms with their aprons. They felt they stood naked. and guilty before God. They began to get off the seats, and try to sit down, but some fell and lay like dead. Others stood with their mouths open. One Catholic said that I struck him down, and showed him hell. Tears ran down many faces, through the dirt, leaving streaks. They stood like they were afraid to move, and they all passed out quietly. After that the hoodlum element always respected me. Many would take off their hats when they passed me; but they stoned the people coming and going to the meetings, and threw stones: through and over the tent for some time, till we: got them conquered in the name of the Lord; and the help of the police.
The citizens took it in hand, and went after the police for not doing their duty, for they were afraid of the mob element. The chief of the police came and told me I should be protected, if he had to send out the whole police force: The soldiers at Jefferson Barracks said we were doing a great work, and if the police would not protect me they would.
The ground near our tent had always been used by the hoodlum element from all parts of the city. They would come together on Sabbath and bring kegs of beer. Several companies of baseball players were included in these Sunday gatherings. On the first Sabbath we held meeting, when we began to sing nearly a thousand of these roughs and toughs came rushing into the tent with their bats and balls. There were old men, middle-aged men, young men and children. Some were dressed in baseball uniforms, some in rags, some were drunk, some with pipes in their mouths, and some with cigars. They stoned the tent, stoned the people coming and going to the meeting.
The next Sabbath they came as usual, but the chief of police with several police came and drove them away. Oh, praise God for such victory! The neighbors had been tormented nearly to death. These roughs of the city were there every day, and especially on Sabbath, They said if the meetings did not do any other good, it had relieved them of an awful nuisance. With the kindness of the police and the power of God, those who came to the meeting and would not be tamed were driven away, the rest quieted down; then the civilized people came, many who had been afraid to come before. We do not blame them for being afraid. It was only by the grace of God we stood through the showers of stones. Some of the worst characters on earth came to the meeting. If God had not protected us we would not have left that camp-ground alive. Glory to God, he never leaves his children.
The women and children began to wear cleaner clothes, and came with their bonnets on, and left their dirty aprons at home. The men shaved and combed, and came with their families. They said the meeting was doing good, and that their wives and children were getting more tidy and keeping their homes cleaner. I told those who opposed opposed the meeting that if it did no good, except to clean up some of their citizens and better their moral condition, I thought it a good work, and they ought to give us a helping hand. Many of the best citizens came to the meetings and were astonished at the great victory we had gained over the rough element, and the good order maintained.
The tent held eight thousand: There were meetings every day and night for five months. There were thousands outside the tent, but they could see and hear. We had six small tents, besides the large one and it looked like a little town. I slept, with my helpers like babes in our tents. Oh, praise the Lord for his care and protection!
Many were carried in, and got up and walked out. The blind shouted for joy; the lame threw away their crutches, and leaped and rejoiced, and said, “Oh, I am healed!” The deaf and dumb clapped their hands, while tears of joy ran down their faces. Children that had never walked ran about praising the Lord. Some, both young and old people who were perfectly helpless, received a shock from Heaven’s battery, that sent life through their limbs; they clapped their hands and jumped and cried for joy.
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Many were baptized with the Holy Ghost, and received many gifts; all the gifts were manifested by the Holy Ghost. Many received the gifts of healing; the casting out of devils; some of miracles; of visions; of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands; some received the gift of new tongues, and spake very: intelligently in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. He gave them to know what they were speaking.
The Lord called one man by name, and told him he must go to many nations, to give them the light, and to speak to them in their own languages, and gave him the gift of writing the interpretation. He also saw many visions. The Lord revealed the deep things to him. Since then he has preached to many strange people: of all nations. They would weep and cry out and say, “We will serve the man that died for us.”
A little girl was brought to mie one day; she was helpless all over, and could not talk or walk, and had no use of herself. I prayed for her. The crowd was great as there were hundreds trying to step into the pool, so we told them to take her out a little, and let her try to walk, for she might walk at once, or they might have to teach her, like any other child learning to walk. After a while they came back with her. She was walking and talking; but they could not understand a word she said! Praise the Lord, she had the use of her whole body, she was walking and talking in a strange language or tongue. She was filled with the Spirit, and as bold as a lion in the power of the Holy Ghost.
I stood her on the platform, and she began to walk about, and preach. With hands uplifted, pointing to heaven, and stamping her foot; she preached to the astonished multitude, showing what great things the Lord had done for her, for she spake some words in English. They said it was the greatest battle ever fought in the Mississippi Valley of religion against science, and the works of man, and the powers of darkness. The whole city was shaken. Missions started in many places. The different churches began to have street meetings, and to visit the prisons, and hospitals, as they had never done before.
The people told us we would never stay the three months; that we would lose that money; but, praise God, we stayed the three months, and then engaged the ground for two months more.
The man who owned the ground was a Catholic. He was so pleased with the change in the neighborhood for good he said he would let us have the ground free of charge. The interest of this five months’ camp-meeting in “Kerry Patch” was widespread. It reached from the Atlantic to the Pacific and across the ocean. I received letters from a minister in Scotland whom I had never met, enquiring about the wonderful work of God he had heard about. He sent.a letter for publication in favor of the meeting. I received letters from prominent ministers in Canada; from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; from Indiana, and all parts of the country, inquiring about the great work God was doing in St. Louis. People came two thousand miles to be saved, or to have their bodies healed. Some of the physicians said they knew there had been six hundred persons healed. They said many of these had been given up by the best physicians of St. Louis. It was true, that thousands were saved, and hundreds healed instantly and saved at the same time.
While holding this meeting a boy was brought to us, who had been caught and thrown into a dog wagon by the dog-catchers; and frightened nearly to death. He went mad, and would have awful mad spells, or fits, every night or day; sometimes: oftener, for a period of two years past. All that medical skill could do, had been done, but to no avail. It was a peculiar case; the mother told: me that doctors from Germany had tried to cure him, but had all failed, and that all hopes of ever doing so were given up. At times he was all right. He heard about the meetings, and begged his mother to take him.
She brought him one Sunday. She had him in the great crowd near the outer edge of the camp, when he took one of his mad spells, and he was snapping and biting at everyone. The people were panic stricken, so they gathered him up as quickly as possible, and took him to my small tent. There he caught hold of the heavy canvas with his teeth, and bit, and chewed a hole in it, several inches each way. Hundreds saw all this.
I told her never to bring him back, for we would all be arrested; but he was better after that, and begged his mother so hard, that one night, as I was working at the long altar, preaching to hundreds, there she stood by my side, with her boy. I was so scared, but saw how much faith she had in me, and the boy looked so pitiful, that the Lord gave me faith to pray a him, and he was completely healed.
Nearly the whole city knew about the condition of the boy, and when they heard that he was healed, and his mind perfectly restored, they all wanted to see him. I would ask him to come up on the big platform, and he would step out so manly, and tell that the Lord had saved, and healed him, and had filled him with his Spirit.
For years after, when I went to the city over Sabbath, he would come walking down the aisle to the pulpit, with a lovely bouquet of flowers.
The mouths of the gainsayers, scoffers and liars were stopped. Thousands of souls were saved. Several police, many Catholics, many Germans and people of other nations were represented at the altar, weeping their way to Calvary, and soon joined in the song with the blood-washed company.
The weather became too cold for our tents. We rented a church building down in the best part of the city. We started a mission of over four hundred members. The interest of the meetings had continued to increase all summer, and when we: went into the church God was there in mighty power, with signs and wonders following. Sinners could hardly keep still until the invitation was given for them to come to the altar. They came by scores, among whom were some of the worst drunkards. A number of Catholics, and indeed, all classes, were brought to Christ.