Pioneers of the Old Southwest | Page 9

"Severe." Since we know that Brother Grube's spelling of
names other than German requires editing, we venture to hazard a

guess that the name he attempted to set down as it sounded to him was
Sevier. And we wonder if, in his brief sojourn, he saw a lad of eight
years, slim, tall, and blond, with daring and mischievous blue eyes, and
a certain, curve of the lips that threatened havoc in the hearts of both
sexes when he should be a man and reach out with swift hands and
reckless will for his desires. If he saw this lad, he beheld John Sevier,
later to become one of the most picturesque and beloved heroes of the
Old Southwest.
Hardships abounded on the Brethren's journey, but faith and the
Christian's joy, which no man taketh from him, met and surmounted
them. "Three and a half miles beyond, the road forked.... We took the
right hand road but found no water for ten miles. It grew late and we
had to drive five miles into the night to find a stoppingplace." Two of
the Brethren went ahead "to seek out the road" through the darkened
wilderness. There were rough hills in the way; and, the horses being
exhausted, "Brethren had to help push." But, in due season, "Br
Nathanael held evening prayer and then we slept in the care of Jesus,"
with Brother Gottlob as usual in his hammock. Three days later the
record runs: "Toward evening we saw Jeams River, the road to it ran
down so very steep a hill that we fastened a small tree to the back of
our wagon, locked the wheels, and the Brethren held back by the tree
with all their might." Even then the wagon went down so fast that most
of the Brethren lost their footing and rolled and tumbled pell-mell. But
Faith makes little of such mishaps: "No harm was done and we thanked
the Lord that he had so graciously protected us, for it looked dangerous
and we thought at times that it could not possibly be done without
accident but we got down safely... we were all very tired and sleepy
and let the angels be our guard during the night." Rains fell in torrents,
making streams almost impassable and drenching the little band to the
skin. The hammock was empty one night, for they had to spend the
dark hours trench-digging about their tent to keep it from being washed
away. Two days later (the 10th of November) the weather cleared and
"we spent most of the day drying our blankets and mending and
darning our stockings." They also bought supplies from settlers who, as
Brother Grube observed without irony,

"are glad we have to remain here so long and that it means money for
them. In the afternoon we held a little Lovefeast and rested our souls in
the loving sacrifice of Jesus, wishing for beloved Brethren in
Bethlehem and that they and we might live ever close to Him.... Nov.
16. We rose early to ford the river. The bank was so steep that we hung
a tree behind the wagon, fastening it in such a way that we could
quickly release it when the wagon reached the water. The current was
very swift and the lead horses were carried down a bit with it. The
water just missed running into the wagon but we came safely to the
other bank, which however we could not climb but had to take half the
things out of the wagon, tie ropes to the axle on which we could pull,
help our horses which were quite stiff, and so we brought our ark again
to dry land."
On the evening of the 17th of November the twelve arrived safely on
their land on the "Etkin" (Yadkin), having been six weeks on the march.
They found with joy that, as ever, the Lord had provided for them. This
time the gift was a deserted cabin, "large enough that we could all lie
down around the walls. We at once made preparation for a little
Lovefeast and rejoiced heartily with one another."
In the deserted log cabin, which, to their faith, seemed as one of those
mansions "not built with hands" and descended miraculously from the
heavens, they held their Lovefeast, while wolves padded and howled
about the walls; and in that Pentacostal hour the tongue of fire
descended upon Brother Gottlob, so that he made a new song unto the
Lord. Who shall venture to say it is not better worth preserving than
many a classic?
We hold arrival Lovefeast here In Carolina land, A company of
Brethren true, A little Pilgrim-Band, Called by the Lord to be of those
Who through the whole world go, To bear Him witness everywhere