History of the M.E. Church, Vol. IV - Media Sabda Org

words, "When I think of Jesus, and of living with him forever, I am so filled with the love of God,
that I scarcely know whether I am in the body or out of the body."
Good Henry Smith, whom we have so often met, was still braving the frontier trials of Kentucky.
At the beginning of this period he was on Danville Circuit, where he was aided much by James
McCull, once a stalwart itinerant, now broken down, and located, but still faithful. "I never," writes
Smith, "saw a man more anxious to speak for God than my friend McCull; but this was out of the
question. I, however, on two occasions saw him mount the stand, and look round on the
congregation, the tears streaming down his face, and, in a half whisper, say a few words; and
although half the congregation could not understand what he said, yet it ran like fire from heart to
heart, till all were melted to tears. On one of these occasions I was deeply affected; it seemed as if
my heart would burst. I certainly ought to have profited more by beholding such a spectacle, and
hearing the lectures he sometimes gave me; for he was a charming, sweet-spirited man, and a humble
Christian. I loved these people very much; but, thank the Lord, I never labored among a people that
I did not love, and take a deep interest in their welfare: generally, the last I was with I loved the most.
My last quarterly meeting was held at Jessamine meeting-house, April 22 and 23, 1797; and as our
annual Conference was held at Bethel this year, we had all the Holston preachers at our meeting.
Bishop Asbury was not with us, in consequence of affliction; and having the wilderness to go
through, he was advised not to venture; but the great Head of the Church was with us, and it was a
time of harmony and love among ourselves, and of great power in the congregation. Our business
was done in peace; for there was no jealousy among our little band of brothers; no scrambling for
the best circuits; (we had no stations;) if we got a bad circuit, we went to it with a willing mind,
determined, if possible, to make it better; if we got a good circuit, we went with a cheerful heart,
resolved to show ourselves worthy of a good place. From this Conference I went to Salt River again;
the Lord gave me favor in the eyes of these people, and also added seals to my ministry. In this
circuit I got acquainted with the widow of Colonel Harden. He was a devoted Methodist. He was
sent out, in company with another man, with a flag of truce to the Indians; but the savage wretches
killed them both. This good sister was sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; often shouting aloud, and
expressing the strongest confidence of meeting her beloved husband in heaven. Barnabas McHenry,
one of the early preachers, married into this worthy family: he was a man of strong mind, and able
in argument, and stood upon the walls of our Zion, and defended her bulwarks when she was assailed
by an enemy."
In 1798 he was under Poythress and Bird in Green Circuit, within the Holston District, and the
next year reached Ohio, where he meets again his old friend, McCormick, and whither we shall soon
follow him.
In 1799 the whole field, Holston, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and a circuit in Ohio, was one
immense district under Poythress, with an apostolic band of twelve preachers, including such men
as Burke, Kobler, Smith, and Sale.
John Sale was one of the most heroic evangelists and founders of western Methodism, though
only five lines are given to his memory in the official Minutes, and we know not the precise place
[17]
of his birth. He was born somewhere in Virginia in 1769, and, about his twenty-first year, became
a zealous Methodist. In 1796 he joined the itinerant evangelists, and was sent to Swanino Circuit,