SIR,
You have requested me to give you an account of those extraordinary exercises called the Jirks; with which request I now comply. In doing this, however, I would beg leave to remark, that in my relation I will confine myself to what passed under my own eye, without troubling you with the information given to me by others, or puzzling myself by attempting to account for them. No sir, it is not for me to say what is their cause—it is not for me to make any comment.
I had long heard of these uncommon things by persons of credibility, and had as long wished to see them myself. In my travels through the upper part of North-Carolina, I was informed of a camp-meeting, which was to be held, the beginning of last August, in Iredell county of said state, by the presbyterians and methodists in conjunction; in the neighborhood of which place, several had been affected with the Jirks, some time before. I went to this meeting, and after getting acquainted with a certain ’Squire R—g and others, I privately requested them to let me know, if any person was taken with them in any part of the camp, so that I might see them. None were affected in any manner uncommon, either on Friday or Saturday, though a divine power seemed to attend the preaching of the word. On Sunday evening about eight o’clock, ’Squire R—g came to me and informed me, he had just heard of a young lady who was taken in one of the tents with the Jirks. We both went thither, conducted by the person who brought him word, entered the tent, and sat down. In it there were three women, two men, and the young lady, who appeared to be about twenty-two years of age. She was lying on a bed thrown down on the ground, her right hand above her head, and her left lying across her breast. Her eyes were shut as if she was asleep, and to all appearance she was free from pain. Her pulse was very irregular; sometimes it beat pretty quick, and sometimes it could scarcely be felt. Sometimes one hand, then the other, and sometimes the head would be jirked, by a sudden involuntary twitch, a few inches out of the position in which they had lain, and would as often return to their place again. We called her by name, but received no answer—shook her gently by the arm, but she did not open her eyes. We requested one of the women to raise her a little, by sitting at her back, supposing that this might stop the jirking—but all to no purpose; and after staying in the tent about half an hour, we withdrew. The above young lady was a member of the Rev. Mr. K—k’s congregation; professed justifying faith for some time, and had been exercised with these Jirks before.
The next time I saw them, was about the first of December, at Mr. B—’s, in Randolph county, in the same state. Mr. A— preached, and a methodist preacher closed the meeting by singing and prayer. All was quietness and order till the meeting was dismissed; then some of the company began to sing a spiritual song, and immediately a young woman (grand-daughter of the lady of the house) was taken: yet this partook more of the dancing exercise, as it is called, than of the Jirks. It was not long after she was taken, before a very active, strong young man fell to the floor with the Jirks, more violently affected than I had supposed any ever had been with them. In the fall, I confess my dear sir, I thought some of his bones must have been broken; and seeing him flounce about on the floor, quicker than ever I had seen a fish when thrown out of the water, and certain in my own mind that he must be crippled if suffered to be tossed about so, I seized him by the shoulders, attempting to keep him down, which was forbidden, as soon as it was perceived, by his friends; they declaring the more he was confined, the worse he would be. At their request then, I let him go, but not without my fears, that he would never rise with whole bones. Two or three more were affected in the same manner, only not so violently, at this meeting: and what is very strange, when the above young man was asked if he was hurt, he answered no. All these were, like the first young woman I mentioned, professors of religion.
The next and last which I saw, was last February. Several were affected at a quarterly meeting, but these were the least agitated of any I had seen. They appeared in their senses while the Jirks were on; they could recollect what passed during the time, and when the congregation was dismissed, they could walk away. I am told that in many instances, these Jirks are accompanied with a barking, like that of a small dog; but in no instance did I hear any such noise.
I am yours, &c.
Source
“A Letter from the Rev. Mr. Mc’Leain,” Experienced Christian’s Magazine: Consisting Chiefly of Original Narrations, Showing the Increase of Christ’s Kingdom in America 2 (June 1805): 42–44.
