Camp meeting

“ It was the pioneer camp-meeting in the region, and, though the attendance was not large, it included nearly all the population of the vicinity. There were ten tents, and as many preachers, with the Presiding Elder in charge. The spirit of the meeting was excellent, and a goodly number of souls were gathered for the Master. The services were greatly enlivened, and clothed with additional interest by the presence of the several brethren whom I had brought from Brothertown. ”

“ Camp-meetings were usually planned and managed by Methodist circuit-riders or Baptist itinerant 127 preachers, who hesitated not to carry their work into the remotest and most dangerous parts of the back country. When the news went abroad that such a meeting was to take place, people flocked to the scene from far and near, in wagons, on horseback, and on foot. Pious men and women came for the sake of religious fellowship and inspiration; others not so pious came from motives of curiosity, or even to share in the rough sport for which the scoffers always found opportunity. ”

“ The tendency to testify is older than camp-meetings, and it will outlast them. Today, though long grown-up, I find my friends still shouting their experiences, I find myself still the shy and wondering congregation. As in the word “camp-meeting” there is military reminiscence, so the “professor” is lineal descendant of miles gloriosus, his survivor in the church militant. A puzzling number of people still like to exhibit their scars; a larger number like to exhibit the particular philosophic armor by which they—by implication—win in the battle of life still ever merrily waging. ”

“ The heart and conscience have not been touched. The older people will come out of a religious meeting and steal a hog for their supper. A white man said to me, ‘When these darkies are going to have a camp-meeting barbecue, I am pretty sure to lose two or three heads of cattle from my herd.’ One very pious brother, engaged in prayer at a camp-meeting, heard some one in the crowd say, ‘Here comes a United States marshal,’ when the brother rose from his knees, leaving his petition unfinished, and ran with all speed for the brush. ”

“ From its first inception the plan and idea of camp meeting life was to lift the mind for a season out of, and beyond all worldly cares, and thus to permit the soul to feast on things spiritual. The idea appealed at once to the primitive people of the rural communities even more than to those of the cities. The simple life of the camp was something they could understand and were used to. ”

“ They are men of family from 25 to 45 years old, steady, resolute, and respectable, and in them is vested the whole active power of governing the camp or rather of carrying out the decrees and decisions of councils. In a camp of 200 lodges they would number 50 to 60 men, and in a camp of 60 lodges 10 to 15 men. The soldiers’ lodge is pitched in the center of the camp and occupied by some of them all the time, although the whole body are only called when the chief wishes a public meeting or when their hunting regulations are to be decided upon. ”

“ Frequent council meetings should be held. When the senior council, composed of the leaders and director, meet for planning and to discuss the work, it should be understood that whatever is said or discussed at the meeting, must not be talked over in the presence of the boys, particularly matters of discipline, awarding of honors and camp policy. Joint meetings of the junior and senior councils should be held weekly. Each "tent" is represented on the junior council by electing one of their tent-mates, who shall present the views of his constituents at council meetings. ”

“ M. commenced a course of lectures on the camp-ground at East Kingston, N. H. This was the first camp-meeting held by believers in the advent near, and was noticed by a writer in the Boston Post as follows:—
“‘The Second Advent camp-meeting, which commenced at East Kingston, N. H., on Tuesday, June 29, and continued from day to day until Tuesday noon, July 5, was attended by an immense concourse of people, variously estimated at from seven to ten thousand.... ”

“ They have a cut-and-dried program, and a fellow can't get a word in anywhere. I'm going home. Give me the convention where a man can speak if he wants to."
In most of the camp meetings, but not in all, Sunday was the great day, a picnic on a vast scale, bringing hundreds of stages, carryalls, and wagons from all quarters, special excursion trains loaded with visitors, fleets of boats on the lake or river, if the ground could be reached by water route. No doubt some good was wrought. Under the spell of a stirring preacher some were turned from sin to righteousness. ”

“ In the Kentucky revivals the meetings, called camp meetings, were held in the open air. The interest in them spread in true epidemic form. At the height of the excitement, as many as 20,000 people, men, women and children, were gathered in a single camp at one time. ”

“ The white tents crouching close to the shade of the pines, the parade alive with groups and colors as various as those of Joseph’s coat, arms stacked here and there, and occasionally the march of a double file in green, or in mazarine blue, up an alley from the interior of the wood, to be dismissed in the open camp, resembles a militia muster, or a holiday experiment at soldiering, rather than the dark shadow of forthcoming battle. The cordon of sentinels suffer no Volunteer to leave the precincts of the camp, even to bathe, without a pass or the word. ”

“ The scarlet of the King’s uniform, peeping here and there through the trees that shaded the village street, the smart sentries who paced the walk before this door or that, the Twenty-Third drilling in an open space with their queues and ribbons and powdered heads, the old flag flying above Headquarters—these were sights pleasant enough. And the greetings of old friends were welcome; the camaraderie of an army campaigning abroad is a thing by itself. But when that was said, all was said. A camp is a camp, and the older it is the worse it grows. ”

“ Friendships have been formed which will last through life. The same group of fellows will never come together again. The director, perhaps as no other person, realizes the importance of making this night one of permanent impression, and his "good-by" talk to the fellows will reiterate the "why" of camping and emphasize the taking home of the spirit of good which has prevailed and the making it count for the best things in home, school, factory and church life of those boys who enjoyed the benefits of the camp. ”

“ Early in the morning, they heard, all about them, sounds as if a camp of people were there. They heard a young man shouting a sort of war cry, as young men do; women chopping wood; a man calling for a feast, asking people to come to his lodge and smoke,—all the different sounds of the camp. ”

“ In these days of war everybody can see a camp. Every one who stays at home has a brother or a son or a lover quartered in one of the myriad tents that have blossomed with the daffodil-season all over our green fields of the North. ”

“ The psychology of places, for some imaginations at least, is very vivid; for the wanderer, especially, camps have their "note" either of welcome or rejection. At first it may not always be apparent, because the busy preparations of tent and cooking prevent, but with the first pause—after supper usually—it comes and announces itself. And the note of this willow-camp now became unmistakably plain to me: we were interlopers, trespassers, we were not welcomed. The sense of unfamiliarity grew upon me as I stood there watching. We touched the frontier of a region where our presence was resented. ”

“ In half an hour, at any point, one can put himself into solitude and every desirable discomfort. The party that covets the experience of the camp comes down to primitive conditions of dress and equipment. There are guides and porters to carry the blankets for beds, the raw provisions, and the camp equipage; and the motley party of the temporarily decivilized files into the woods, and begins, perhaps by a road, perhaps on a trail, its exhilarating and weary march. The exhilaration arises partly from the casting aside of restraint, partly from the adventure of exploration ”

“ At every creek we found campers, some repairing wagons, yokes, chains, etc., doctoring sick cattle, washing clothes, or helping forward friends whose teams were weak. In all this there was excellent order, for the camps were organized in a general way by tens, fifties and hundreds. Peace and harmony prevailed all along the line. Evening prayers were attended to in each camp. There was much singing, mostly of sacred hymns or sentimental songs; and from no quarter could coarse songs be heard. Sometimes the camp would meet in a sociable dance in the evenings, to drive dull care away ”

“ The work of the day is sometimes done by tent groups or by boys grouped in alphabetical order, each group being under a leader whose part is assigned daily by the Camp Director (see chapter on Organization) . In the writer's camp, work is considered a great privilege. For instance, if three bushels of peas must be picked from the camp garden for dinner, a call is made for volunteers. From forty to fifty hands will go up and after careful choosing, six boys are selected to do this coveted work, much to the disappointment of the others. ”

“ If the party is few in number and of a timid disposition, they can have a camp within shouting distance of his house. If they are brave and adventurous, he will send them out into the depths of the forest. If they like water, he locates them by the shores of a lake. If climbing is their passion, he puts them at the foot of a mountain. Those who want to hunt can do so, and those who dislike fire-arms are placed in a camp where the popping of guns is never heard. He provides tents, guides, provisions, and even dangers and sensations.”
“Safety is what I want,” interrupted Mrs. Archibald. ”

“ A war-party is sometimes absent for a great length of time, and for days, weeks, and months their friends at home anxiously await their return, until, suddenly, from afar, the shrill war-cry of an avant courier is heard proclaiming the approach of the victorious warriors. The camp is in an instant alive with excitement and commotion. Men, women, and children swarm out to meet the advancing party. ”

“ If the camping party consists of more than two persons, each one should do the part allotted to him, and the work will be speedily accomplished. Remember that discipline brings efficiency, and do not be slack about a camp just because it is pleasure. One of the party should attend to the camp fire and prepare the meals while another secures the fuel and water. The tent can be unpacked and the ground cleared by the other members of the party, and when ready, all should assist in raising the tent, especially if it is a large one. ”

“ For eight weeks this past summer my family of two members camped with two servants. In addition we had the occasional services of a man who did all the heavy work. There was not enough for the servants to do in the cottage and log cabin of our establishment. They were discontented, faultfinding, and wholly out of the spirit of camp life. All of the day that their tone of voice reached was helplessly ruined. The only way to keep the camp joy and pleasure was to keep out of their way. ”

“ The evening saw a merry lot sitting round the usual great camp fire, song after song passing on from officer or man until the bugle rung out the retire, and visitor and volunteer quitted the scene. But they had to be up early the next day; breakfasts soon after daybreak, their tents to strike, and the whole camp to be packed. This done, a picnic dinner on the short crisp turf of the wild downs, and the whole marched to Warminster on the return to their respective homes. ”

“ There is no plausible reason why this should be so in a boys' camp. Grabbing of food, yelling for food, upsetting of liquids, and table "rough-house" will be largely prevented by the system of seating and of serving. The most satisfactory way is to seat by tent groups. Have as many tables as you have tents. Let each tent leader preside at the head of his table, and serve the food in family style. The leader serves the food, and sees that the boys observe the same delightful table life in camp as at home. ”

“ That officer is happy who, besides a constitutional love of adventure, has also a love for the details of camp life, and likes to bring them to perfection. Nothing but a hen with her chickens about her can symbolize the content I felt on getting my scattered companies together, after some temporary separation on picket or fatigue duty. Then we went to work upon the nest. The only way to keep a camp in order is to set about everything as if you expected to stay there forever; if you stay, you get the comfort of it ”

“ Early in the morning of Wednesday, the 12th of April, without the stirring drum or the bugle call of old, the camp awoke to the new life. Whether or not they had a country, these soldiers did not know. Home to many, when they reached it, was graves and ashes. At any rate, there must be, somewhere on earth, a better place than a muddy, smoky camp in a piece of scrubby pines;347 better company than gloomy, hungry comrades and inquisitive enemies, and something in the future more exciting, if not more hopeful, than nothing to eat, nowhere to sleep, nothing to do, and nowhere to go. ”

“ Every bit of the scene was a pleasure to me; I missed none of the details. The files of cadets in the camp alleys getting their arms inspected; the white tents themselves, with curtains tightly done up; here and there an officer crossing the camp ground and stopping to speak to an orderly; then the coming up of the band, the music, the marching out of the companies; the leisurely walk from the camp of the officer in charge, drawing on his white gloves; his stand and his attitude; and then the pretty business of the parade. ”