240 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



thought in my mind that I caught myself almost blas- 

 pheming ; for I could not shake off the thought that if 

 God wanted, or took pleasure in such service as this, He 

 must be a monster. 



It was the same among the men. Into their work- 

 shops I passed more freely. There were carpenters, shoe- 

 makers, tailors, tin workers, and most other trades at 

 work ; but all was performed with the silence of a peni- 

 tential establishment. Scarcely an eye glanced toward 

 me on my entrance, not a word was addressed me, and 

 when I made an inquiry or two from a man or a boy, my 

 guide took it upon him to reply, and the person addressed 

 moved away, or turned his back on me with an air that 

 could not be mistaken. He did not want to be bothered. 

 Yet one lad spoke to me unbidden. 



It was at the blacksmith's forge; and I shall have 

 more to say about this youth a page or two farther on. 

 He was not older than fifteen or sixteen years ; a thin, 

 sharp-featured lad, with an enormous nose, and the 

 straight, black hair so frequently found on the head of 

 the religious fanatic perhaps because affected by him ; 

 but I am inclined to think as a peculiarity of his con- 

 stitution. The youth, who was called John (surnames 

 are not used, and I think not acknowledged, among the 

 Shakers), had a habit of scratching or tickling his nose 

 with his little finger, in a manner so peculiar that it could 

 not escape observation. When I first saw him he was 

 swaying a heavy sledge-hammer, while a man of three 

 times his bulk held the red-hot iron on the anvil ; for 

 John, if slight in build, was strong of arm, as I soon 

 discovered. 



As I approached the forge he dropped the hammer, 

 rushed to me and seized my arms, pinning them to my 

 sides, and screamed, " Come, dear brother, come and be 

 saved. Leave the sin, and come home to Jesus. Come, 

 thou dearly beloved of the Lord, come and be saved." 

 The poor fellow was undoubtedly mad. He continued to 



