Rosanna of the amish, p.16
Rosanna of the Amish, page 16
One day Little Crist came home from having some new horses shod at the blacksmith shop. He hurried to the house and told Rosanna,“I have some good news for you. I’ve just seen the new doctor. He was at the shop getting his horse shod, and I talked with him.”
“What does he look like?”
“Oh, he’s a fine-looking man. His name is Hudson. He is big and handsome, and has a nice voice so that when you talk to him, you just can’t help but like him.”
“Well,” noted Rosanna,“you know we’ll need a doctor before long, and I just could not think of using that doctor who neglected Elizabeth so badly. If you think Doctor Hudson is all right, let’s get him for when I need him.”
“I hoped you’d say that. I asked Jesse Horton about him. The blacksmith says this doc went to medical school for four years, so he’s well educated. People say that other fellow went away to school only a year or two. Jesse thinks that Dr. Hudson will put the other fellow out of business, and I believe it, too. I’ll see Dr. Hudson soon and tell him that we want him when you need him.”
“My, I don’t know when I was so glad. I dreaded seeing that other doctor come into my house again,” confided Rosanna.
Crist noticed that the news of the new doctor was a tonic for Rosanna. The burden of doubt and fear that had haunted her ever since the death of Elizabeth seemed to vanish, and she talked of the coming event with confidence and pleasure. When Crist saw Dr. Hudson one day in town, he told him that they would need him before long.
Dr. Hudson promised,“I’ll be over to see your wife soon, just to get acquainted. I’ll give her some suggestions that may make things easier for her.”
When Dr. Hudson called a day or so later, he showed such interest and concern that Rosanna’s confidence in him was established at once.
When the baby was born, Dr. Hudson’s skill and training soon had the child and the mother comfortable, resting, and doing well. The baby was a little boy, whom they named Levi. Crist reasoned that from the sturdiness of his little body, he would someday make a good harvest hand. During all these days, Momli was by Rosanna’s side constantly, and she never lacked any comfort that Momli could supply.
When Rosanna was able again to look after her household duties, she found that Mary Ann Carson, her maid and friend, had done her usual splendid job of keeping the household running smoothly. Everything was in order.
Little Crist went to Belleville one evening to buy the groceries but did not return as promptly as usual. When he came back, Rosanna asked,“Cristli, is anything wrong that you stayed so long?”
“Yes, Rosanna, I’m afraid there is. I stopped to listen to the men talking about the war, and I’m afraid some of us Amish people will either have to pay our exemption or go to war or to jail. Today Sike Brindle, Dave Fultz, Ed Stumpf, and Jesse Horton left for Washington, and people are afraid that more will be called.
“Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers, thinking the war would soon be over, but last week there was a bad battle at Bull Run. They say the South is enlisting men by the thousands. Of course, I won’t go to war and kill. That’s plainly against the Bible. I want to be loyal to the government, but between God and country, God must come first.”
“But there’s another way,” Rosanna reminded him.“Lincoln said that those who don’t want to go to war because of conscientious scruples may be excused by paying a three-hundred-dollar exemption. And your pap pledged that if you are drafted and can’t pay your exemption, he’ll pay it for you.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten about that.”
Later, several Amishmen were drafted. Some paid their exemption promptly. For those who did not have the ready cash, the church paid it.
In preaching one Sunday, the bishop asked all members to remain after the singing of the last hymn. He counseled them,“These are dangerous times. The war is raging, and we do not know who will be called next. Let us pray for deliverance from sinful requirements, and let us remain steadfast in the faith.
“If any one of you is drafted and you cannot pay your exemption, make it known without delay to Deacon Jonas. Well make up the money at once and free you. At present, there’s something over a thousand dollars in the alms treasury. If necessary, we can borrow from that fund until we have time to replace it.
“Also, if any man outside our church is drafted, a Lutheran or Presbyterian or Methodist whose conscience is against war, you may wish to help him pay his exemption if he is not able. I believe that would be right in the sight of God.
“Now, if there is nothing else, I will not detain you any longer.” Then after pausing a moment and hearing nothing, he dismissed them,“Go in peace.”
The December winds began carrying more and more snow so that by Christmastime the mountains and the valley were covered with white powder. Sleighing was good everywhere. One of Crist’s great delights was to hitch two fine horses to the big bobsled, bed it well with clean straw, cover the straw with sheepskins and blankets, bundle up Rosanna and little Yost and the baby, and go to preaching on Sunday.
In most things, the Amish religion discouraged the principle of the beautiful rather than cultivating it. However, when horses are well cared for, they grow handsome. Since there never was a church ruling against beautiful horses, Little Crist bestowed most of his aesthetic inclinations on horses. You could have a prancing team dash into the barnyard where preaching was to be held. The team might attract ever so much attention, but since nobody could lay his finger exactly on the spot where pride could be located, it could be neither condemned nor punished.
There was some subtle rivalry among Nancy Jake, Reuben Kauffman, Ben Sharp, and Little Crist in seeing who could drive the finest team to church. Yet none of these horse fanciers would ever admit that he was trying to outdo the others. Nancy Jake liked the ponderous Percherons, Ben Sharp preferred the swift-footed Hamiltonians, and Little Crist leaned toward the general-purpose Corn Planters. Reuben Kauffman appreciated fine horses of any kind.
It was a pleasure now to go to preaching. The Peachey (Renno) Church was growing rapidly, and there was perfect harmony between members and ministry. The congregation was made up largely of forward-looking youths and middle-aged men and women who believed in plainness and simplicity but not in too much unnecessary sacrifice and severity.
Crist Peachey had been made bishop since the division, and his leadership inspired the utmost confidence in the members. He demonstrated an unusual degree of common sense, a fine conception of justice, a thorough understanding of the Scriptures, and fine tact in leadership. The bishop was a successful farmer. He kept his 140-acre farm in top shape. It was well equipped with buildings, machinery, and livestock. The layout was all paid for, and he was known to have considerable money in the bank.
His prosperity and management in material things were vital factors in establishing confidence in his religious and spiritual leadership. The Amish believe in self-sufficiency, and they strive to maintain it through hard work and good management. If he had been shiftless and careless in material things, he could never have built up such a healthy congregation. But with his strong personality and his evident wisdom, his leadership was never disputed. His opinions on church affairs were eagerly accepted as authoritative, and the members gladly obeyed.
Bishop Crist never resorted to anything that even bordered on coercion. Since he was called to the ministry and later to the bishopric by lot, he felt called of God. He consecrated his life to the upbuilding of God’s kingdom, and no one ever doubted his dedication for a minute.
Everyone saw that the glory of God motivated the bishop to lead out, with no thought of personal aggrandizement. God prospered him in every way. Neither favoritism nor revenge ever entered into the discipline of a member. Those disciplined felt that justice tempered with mercy was meted out to them, and they were edified and satisfied. On this account, his church moved forward without dissension or discord.
Life moved on pleasantly for Little Crist and Rosanna as they prospered in material things, deepened their friendships, and felt a growing sense of responsibility in the church and the community. Experience in horse buying and selling had given Crist self-confidence, and with the added knowledge came both pleasure and profit.
Crist was being recognized as an authority on horses. Younger men would ask him to go with them to appraise a horse they were thinking of buying. They trusted that if there was anything wrong with a horse inside or outside, Little Crist Yoder could detect it.
Both Crist and Rosanna loved to sing, and in the long winter evenings, they would often sit and sing some new chorale they had heard. Many times neighbors and friends would come just for the joy of spending an evening singing together, or to learn a new chorale that to them was especially difficult.
In the preaching services, Little Crist led many of the hymns. According to custom, Rosanna never led any hymns in preaching services. But at weddings where women were allowed to lead hymns, she enjoyed a little friendly competition with her husband. Even at weddings, women were not supposed to lead any of the first three hymns, which must be sung in regular order. After that, however, anyone wishing to lead was free to do so.
As the years passed, more children came to the family. Three years after Levi was born, John arrived. Seven years after that, Joseph, the youngest of the family, was born. Rosanna did not expect Joseph to live. He was so small at birth that he had to be carried on a pillow. Even the courageous Dr. Hudson had little hope for him.
One day Rosanna asked,“Doctor, may I feed him diluted cow’s milk sweetened with brown sugar?”
“Feed him anything you like,” said the doctor.“He’s not likely to make it anyway.”
However, in Rosanna’s heart, there was no giving up. She fed her scrawny little baby weakened cow’s milk sweetened with brown sugar and, surprisingly, he began to grow. One day when Doctor Hudson came to see the baby, he observed,“Why, Rosanna, this little scamp is growing. I believe you’re a better doctor than I am. What did you do for him?”
“Cow’s milk and brown sugar, and—you won’t laugh if I tell you what else I did, will you? Since he was wasting away, I asked Mattie Hartzler to come over and measure him for the ‘take-off.’ She found that he had it, so she powwowed for the ‘take-off,’ and he’s been improving ever since.”
“Well, I’ll be hanged! I don’t know what the ‘takeoff’ is, and I don’t know what powwowing is, but I know that this little buster is getting better. So I’ll not condemn powwowing. You Amish people seem to have a patent on that.
“I heard about the time Dr. Bigelow had erysipelas so bad that he was half afraid he’d die. When he finally sent for Crist King to powwow for him, he got better at once. Perhaps it’s a form of faith healing or mental healing. I confess I don’t understand it.But if Mattie Hartzler can powwow for your sick little baby and help him to health, I’m for it. The time may come when we’ll all understand it better and maybe use it instead of so many pills and powders.”
Rosanna was surprised and gratified at the sensible attitude Dr. Hudson took toward powwowing. However, no matter what his opinion might have been or what he might have said, nothing could shake her faith in powwowing. She herself had stopped the dangerous flow of blood for many a man and beast when they had met with serious accident.
Neighbors far and wide knew Rosanna’s power over pain. When someone suffered unbearably, they would come to her or send for her, and she would powwow to stop their agony. In a few minutes, the pain would be gone so the patient could rest comfortably.
Bill Kosier, a hard-working carpenter, lived at the back (Stone) mountain. About every two years, he would get a severely sore eye, as painful as a boil on the eyeball. The Amish name for it is piischt Bloder (pinkeye). When the pain in his eye became unbearable, he would come to Rosanna.
After she would powwow for him on two consecutive days, the inflammation would clear up. The pain would disappear, and Bill would say,“Rosanna, I don’t know what in the world I’d do if it wasn’t for your powwowing. When my eye hurts so bad that I can hardly stand it, the pain begins to ease up the minute you are through powwowing the first time. You’re better than any doctor. Let me pay you for it.”
“Oh, no. If I took money for it, the powwowing wouldn’t do any good. If I can help you, I’m satisfied.” Perhaps the faith Rosanna had in powwowing is related to the faith that can“remove mountains”(Mark 11:23). How little we really know about the possibilities of that faith described and practiced so long ago.
C H A P T E R 16
The Boys
T H E T R A I N I N G O F Amish children begins early in life. The first general lesson is obedience. Parents such as Crist and Rosanna were careful not to issue many orders or commands. But when they gave a command, it had to be obeyed at once and without any back talk.
One of the first lessons in obedience and endurance came as Rosanna took her children along to preaching. The little ones were required to sit with their mother and keep reasonably quiet for almost three hours. Children might sleep if they wished, but they must not disturb the services. Any child who cried too much would be taken out and quieted and brought into the services again. One who repeated the crying stunt too often would be taken out of the house beyond hearing distance and punished.
The children quickly gained the impression that to be taken out of preaching services was no lark. They learned to endure the long services without much complaint. To make the burden a little lighter, however, the hostess provided a snack in the middle of the services. She brought a well-filled platter into the room where the mothers and the children were seated and gave each child a piece of half-moon pie. This helped to break the monotony.
A key virtue in Amish training is learning to work. There is always much work to do, and Amish parents are sure that idleness leads to wrongdoing.
At the age of six, Rosanna’s boys were required to fill the woodbox each evening without being told to do so. It was their regular duty. They also were given the responsibility of putting bedding in the cow stable and tying the cows for milking. These tasks were assigned to Yost and Levi as they came along, and when they realized that these jobs could not be neglected without reproof or punishment, they did them without complaint.
To complain would be to show weakness and a lack of manly strength, and no red-blooded Amish boy wants to be a weakling. The general scorn for weaklings is a tremendous stimulus for young Amish boys and girls.
For the next few years, when the March sun had dried off the fields, Little Crist took the two older boys out to the field with him to help in the first spring job —picking stones off the field that would later be mowed for hay. That job is a backbreaker, and many boys hate it. But since there were two, Yost and Levi, almost the same size, a little rivalry could be established that helped greatly in carrying on.
When the boys were tired, Little Crist would say,“Come on, boys. We’ll soon have this job done, and then we’ll begin to plow.” Plowing is always a challenge for boys, and they delight in doing it. A boy who can handle a plow and shows himself a good horseman is practically considered a young man.
Crist saw the time approaching when the boys could work with the horses. He took care to have on hand good and reliable lead horses which the boys could work and drive with less danger. One of these was a roan called Charlie, and the other was a big bay named John. Yost, being the oldest, was given his choice of leaders for plowing. He chose Charlie, and that left John for Levi.
The first day’s plowing was a great occasion for these boys. They did their best to see which one could plow the straightest furrow. During the first day, Little Crist went first with one son and then with the other to show him how to hold the plow, how to swing it around at the end of the field, how to say“gee” and“haw” to direct the horses right and left, and how to manage the plow when it struck a rock. The boys knew all these things fairly well from following along when their father or the hired man plowed. But they needed practice to learn how to do it themselves.
When unhitching time came in the evening, Little Crist purposely remained in the background to see whether they could unhitch and take the teams home without help. He was gratified to see these little chaps unhitch the horses properly, lead them to the fence so they could climb up and jump onto the leader’s back, and ride home. At the supper table, only one subject was discussed.
“Well, I plowed more furrows than you did,” Yost bragged to Levi.
“Maybe you did,” Levi retorted,“but I plowed mine straighter than you did.”
When the boys had gone to bed, Little Crist told Rosanna,“Mother, I’m pleased with the way those two little shavers plowed today. Why, they already plow as well as many grown men. When they get a little more practice, they’ll be hard to beat.”
Rosanna answered with a little tease in her voice.“It’s the Irish in ‘em that makes ‘em good workers.”
As the parents talked of the interest and effort these two lads put into their work, they rejoiced that their early training was already well begun.
One day as Little Crist was out in the field along the road, where the boys were plowing, Robert Maclay drove by. He was a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian gentleman who did not use nicknames and called people by their right first names. Robert looked in and saw these two boys plowing, so he stopped and greeted Little Crist.
“Well, Christian, I see you’re getting considerable help with those boys plowing, and they’re doing it well. Soon you’ll need more land. How would you like to come up and farm one of my places? My homestead contains 150 acres. I’m having a little trouble handling it well, but I believe your management would suit me fine. Would you consider farming my homestead? Take your time to think it over.”
