The Shasta courier., 1866-10-13
SHASTA COURIER.
Adventure of a Corpse.


NJ. ,ono since a native of the Emerald
IL ons of the victims of the late arsenal
arnio.on died in Washington, and imme
d;ate nrenarations were made to give MIN
nc. genreel funeral. 1t was first arranged
that he should be buried there, but some Oh
h;s kindred being buried in Parkersourg,
West Virginia. it was finally Determined
that what remained of poor johnny :"
should be sent to that place. ,, ~ of
Accordingly, after the wake, lone u
,ba GOOD old sort the remains were accom-
panied by his sorrowing friends TO lne uepo' ,t
- ,ots the cars for the place Of burial. Inc
S,na-al PROCESSION arrived at the depot some
time before the departure of the tram IN
which the remains were to go, and the
uourners spept the intervening time In as
.uaoino their sorrows at the neighboring
bars so abundant in that vicinity, the corpse
meanwhile remaining on the platform,
ready to be placed on the p. N. tram,
which. would connect at the Relay House
with the Western train.
The party meanwhile drank so many
Ibations to the memory of the departed that
they returned to the station in very mel
low condition, and the railroad officers being
apprehensive that they would be incapable
Of taking care of the corpse telegraphed to
the agent at the Relay to see that the corpse
was taken care of at that point Shortly be
fore the time of starting the corpse was plac-
ed on the train, and an attempt was made to
muster up the mourners, when it was ascer-
tanned that one or two of them had got 50
obfusticated as to have taken the New York
train.
The rest of the party, however, managed
to get aboard, and ere long Johnny Ms
body was again marching on. At the Relay
House the corpse was transferred to the
Western train, but two or three of the
mourHers were too far gone to get out in
time, and so proceeded to Baltimore, while
the balance of the party with the corpse
were hurried on with extra speed West
ward.
At the points along the road where the
engine stopped g to water" the mourners
stopped "to wet," and not being up to
time, quite as invariably brace or more
were left behind at each watering or wettiug z
place, and by the time Grafton was reached,
where the corpse was to change cars for
Petersburg, but few of the mourners re-
manned with it, these were so bewildered
that they failed to get it in the proper train,
and Johnny's corpse went on to Wheeling
without them; from thence by some means,
t'SN
thus having got into the wrong train, and the
mourners being scattered through Maryland
and West Virginia, and along the line OF
the Baltimore, Wilmington and Phladel-
phia, and Camden and Amboy Railroads.
By this time the telegraph was put into ex-
citing operation, and various messages were
whisked over the wires in various directions
in regard to the corpse and scattered mourn
ers, making confusion doubly confounded for
awhile.
From Grafton an anxious mourner in
uuired, - Where in the devil is the corpse p
This inquiry was crossed on the road by d
loud inquiry from Columbus as to the owner
ship of a stray corpse arrived there uncon
signed. A Baltimore mourner telegraphed
to postpone the funeral till | get there, y
and a squad of scattered mourners by the
New York train were sending wildly con
fused messages to Parkersburg, Relay
House, Grafton and Washington, all help
ing to intensity the prevailing muddle.
The corpse, meanwhile, had resumed it
travels, and, like poor Joe, not being want
ed in any locality, had kept moving on
until it arrived at Little Miami depot wher,
it created no little excitement, being with
out any mark for Identification, and fou
play being at once suspected. A coroner
inquest was held without throwing any lgh
upon the mystery, which was, however, clear
ed up by a telegraphic dispatch for the miss
ing corpse.
The railroad officials got the corpse movin;
Eastward, and the mourners headed West
ward. and finally, after the most eventfu
history of any corpse or set of mOurners oI
record, Johnny's body was duly committed
by them to the mother earth, where we trus
it may rest in peace.