The old saddle bag preachers were a hardy breed. They fought the elements, critters, reprobate men and the devil. My grandfather (Pa) told me of times when the night was so dark, the fog so thick and the trail so narrow, only his horse could find the way. He told me about times when his hands were so cold, he would dismount and put them under the saddle for a while. In a way, I can relate to that. There have been times when my hands were so cold, I would lay them on the engine of my Harley to warm them. I must admit, there were places I could have stopped. He had none.
Even the strongest and bravest have weaknesses. I struggle with mine daily. Even the most faithful, need encouragement. Those who fight the hardest, sometimes lose the battle. If we never stumble, if we never doubt, if we never sin, we would never need grace. I praise God for His amazing grace!
I'm sure Pa had some spiritual weaknesses. I know he had physical ones. He suffered for years with his stomach, and died of stomach cancer at age seventy six. He also had a problem that many of our ancestors were plagued with: bad teeth. Many times, the only pain relief they could get was from whisky or herbs. Since Pa hated whisky, his only hope was herbs. One of their favorites was Red Oak bark. In a tea, it would bring an abscess to a head, and as a poultice, it would bring out a boil or a "rison." I remember once, my dad had a carbuncle, and they put coal tar salve on it. (I guess that was store bought.)
When I was a boy, we didn't go to the store much; the store came to us. There was a truck that came down the gravel road once a week. We called it "the rolling store." He sold stuff we couldn't raise or hunt. There was coal oil (kerosene), sugar, salt, coffee, shotgun shells and rifle cartridges, turpentine, and alcohol to name a few. We would harness a horse to the sled and meet him at the road.
My dad's favorite medicine was turpentine. He would put it on cuts, bites, stings, blisters and even bruises. My grandmother (Ma) would even put a drop of turpentine on a spoonful of sugar to get rid of pin worms. I've had that concoction, and I can testify that it works!
Once, I got cut pretty bad by a crosscut saw. Dad put pine rosin on it and wrapped it with a rag. Every night he would soak the rag off with hot water and put turpentine on the cut. I still have the scar as evidence.
My mother made a tea from four kinds of bark. Every morning she would heat it and give each of us kids a cup full. The taste was terrible! One morning, I asked, "Mother, why do we have to drink this stuff?" Her reply was, "It keeps you from having chills." I said, "Mother, we've never had chills!" Her answer was, "That's because you drink that tea!" Another favorite of mountain people was castor oil. When I was a boy, I would pray, "Dear Lord, please don't ever let them give me another dose of castor oil." I still think it should be outlawed!
As I said, my grandfather suffered with bad teeth. Once it got so bad, he rode several miles to a dentist. The dentist was away, but his wife told him she knew what the dentist would do, and gave him a piece of bluestone. She advised him not to use it until he got home, then to put the bluestone on the tooth and bite down. Pa said he could hardly wait to get home. As soon as he had stabled his horse, he did what she had told him. Pa said, the minute he bit down, he thought the world came to an end in his head. He said the pain was unbearable. He wallowed on the ground, beat his head against a tree and jumped in the creek and tried to drown himself. He said he screamed, pawed the ground and cried like a baby. After just a few seconds, the pain stopped and the tooth never hurt again. Years later, a real dentist told him the bluestone had killed the nerve in the tooth.
This writer has been asked to be a "Drifter" for Circuit Rider Motorcycle ministry. A Drifter is a biker who goes where he is called to preach and minister. Please pray for us as we travel. Remember, watch out for bikers!
God bless you! Bill Hamilton The Circuit Rider
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