The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-11-19

O wings, fiuttered before them like out
s riders, until the outskirts Of Sand
n Bar was reached, and the solitar
= cabin Of Tennessee's Partner.
e Viewed under more favorable cir
: cumstances, it would not have beel
S cheerful place. The unpicturesqu
sight, the rude and unlovely outlines
e the unsavory details, which distin
e guish the nest building of the Cali
;, fornia miner, were all here, with tn,
E dreariness of decay superadded. 4
4 few PAGES from the cabin there was {:
rough ennlosure, which, in the brie
! days of Tennessee's Partners mat
rimonial felicity, had been used as :
garden, hut was now Overgrown witt
: fern. As we approached it, we were
surprised to find that what we had
taken for recent attempt at cult
, walton was the broken soil about an
, open grave.
.. The cart was halted before the en-
closure; and rejecting the offer OF
assistance, with the same air of sim
pie self-reliance he had displayed
throughout, Tennessee's Partner lift
ed the rough coffin on his back, and
and deposited it, unaided, within
the shallow grave. He then laid
down the board which served as a
lid; and mounting the little mound
of earth beside It, took off his hat,
and slowly mopped his face with his
handkerchief. This the crowd felt
was preliminary to speech, and
they disposed themselves variously
on stumps and boulders, and sat ex-
pectant.
"When q man, began Tennessee's
Partner, "has been running free all
day, what's the natural thing for him
TO do g.! Why, to come hCme. And
| if he amt in a condition to go home,
what can his best friend do ? Why,
bring him home. And here's Ten
nessee has been running free, and we
brings him home from his wander
ing He paused, and picked up
fragment of quartz, rubbed it thought
fully on his sleeve, and went ON ''It
amt the first time that | brought
him to this yer cabin when he could
not help himself; it amt the first
time that l and Jimmy have waited
for him on yon hill, and picked him
up and so fetched him home, when
he couldn't speak and didn't know
me. And now that it's the last time
-why''-he paused, and rubbed the
quartz gently On his sleeve-''you
see it's sort of rough on his pardner.
And now, gentlemen" he added, alb
ruptly, picking up his long handled
shovel, "the funl's over; and my
thanks, and Tennessee's thanks, to
you for your trouble.'
Resisting any proffers of assist
ance, he began to fill in the grave,
turning his back upon the crowd,
that after a few moments hesitation
gradually withdrew. As they cross
ed the little ridge that hid Sandy Bar
from view, some, looking back,
thought thoy could see Tennessee's
Partner, his work done, sitting upon
the grave. his shovel between his
knees and his face buried in his ban
danna handkerchief. But it was ar
gued by others that you couldn't tell
his face from his handkerchief at
that distance, and this point remain
ed undecided.
In the reaction that followed the
feverish excitement of that day,
Tenncssee's Partner was not forgot
ten. A secret investigation had
cleared him of any completely in
Tennessee's guilt, and left only
suspicion of his general sanity.
Sandy Bar made a point of calling
upon him, and proffering various un-
couth but well-meant kindnesses. But
from that day, his rude health and
great strength seemed to visibly de-
cline; and when the rainy season
fairly set in, and the tender grass
blades were beginning to peep from
the rocky mound about Tenneessee's
grave, lie took his bed.
One night when the pines becide
the cabin were swaying in the storm,
and trailing their slender fingers over
the roof, and the roar and rush of the
swollen river were heard below, Ten
nessee's Partner lifted his head from
the pillow, saying ''It is time to go
to Tennessee; l must put my in
the cart y and would have -isen
from his bed but for the restraint OF
his attendant. Struggling, he still
pursued his singular fancy: "There,
now-stesdy Jimmy steady, old
girl. How dark it is !! Look out for
the ruts-and look out for him, too,
old gal. Sometimes, you know,
when he's blind drunk, he drops
down right in the trail. Keep on
straight up to the pine on the top OF
the hill. Thar told you so-thar
he is-coming this way, to-all by
himself, sober, and his face a-shining
Tennessee Psrdner -
And so they met Ocerlana Month
H.
AS winter approaches, the posi-
bility of snow bloekades on the
Pacific Railroad is suggested, and
in view of tie possibility of trains
being caught out on the prairie or
among the mountains, miles from
any station or settlement, il is urged