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Joseph C. Dylkes, also referred to as the Leatherwood God, was a messianic figure in the early settlement of the Ohio Country in the United States. Very little is known about him, when and where was born, or what happened to him after his public apparition. He came out in August 1828, in a camp meeting near a chapel known as the Leatherwood Church in Salesville, Ohio. On Sunday afternoon, the United Brethren minister John Crum was preaching to a large congregation, when a voice shouted "Salvation" followed by a strange sound, taken by all who heard it to be the snort of a horse. Everyone was taken by surprise and turned to see the stranger, dressed in a black broadcloth suit, frock coat, and white cravat and wearing a yellow beaver hat. He appeared to be between the ages of 45 and 50 and sported long black hair. The stranger was hosted by some members of that congregation, attended various religious meetings, and sometimes preached. Displaying knowledge of the Bible, he started to declare himself to be a celestial being, and finally claimed he was the Messiah who had come to establish a kingdom that would never end. His assertion of immortality had as proof that no one could harm him or touch a single hair of his head. Some families accepted his claims and became his followers, creating a controversy in the Ohio valley. A mob that had decided to discredit him came to a religious service in the home of a Dylkes follower and tore out a considerable lock of his hair to show his humanity. Dylkes was carried before the local Squire to be charged but was released on the grounds that it "was not a crime to be a god." Dylkes took refuge in a farm belonging to one of his followers and declared that he was going to Philadelphia to establish a "New Jerusalem." During the trip he disappeared and never any trace of him was heard again. A few of his believers, such as Michael Brill and Robert McCormick, died still believing in Dylkes. ==Source== * Howells, William Dean (1837–1920) - "''()''" 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph C. Dylkes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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