Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-01-16
WAPELLO JANUARY 1s73

"a. WAPEI,IO cor
BIsHIOP POTTS. :
NE Flees fFsm Morr. onaom and E.s.r
. NaEsery. -
BIZ MAX ADELEK.
Bishop Potts, of Salt Lake CITY, wa
the husband Of three wives, and tn
happy father of fifteen interestin,
children. EARLY in the winter tn,
Bishop determined that his little one
should have . good time on Christmas
60 he concluded to take trip down I,
San Francisco, to see what he coult
find In the shape Of toys with which
to crafty and amuse them. The go0t
Bishop packed his carpet-bag, elm
braced Mrs. Potts one by one, anG
kissed each of her affectionatcly and
started upon his journey.
| He was gone a little more than 8
week, when he came back with fifteen
beautiful mouth organs in his valise
for his dnrlings. He got out of the
train at Salt Lake, thinking how 10y
ous and exhilerating it would be al
home on Christmas morning, when the
whole fifteen of those mouth organs
would be in operation upon different
tunes at the same moment. But inst
AZ he entered the depot he saw d group
of women standing in the ladies'
room, apparently waiting for him. AS
soon as he approached, the whole
twenty Of them rushed up, threw their
arms about his neck and kissed him,
exclaiming:
"Oh, Theodore, we are $3.50 glad
You have come back Welcome home
Welcome, dear, dear Theodorel We'll
come once more to the bosom of your
familyp and the entire score of them
fell upon his neck and cried over his
shirt-frOnt and mussed him.
The Bishop seemed surprised and
embarrassed. Struggling to disen-
gage himself, he blushed and said:
Really, ladies, this kind Of thing is
well enough-it is interesting and all
that; but there must be some kind of
a-that is an awkward sort of a-ex-
cuse me, ladies, but there seems to be,
about the-Pm Bishop Potts."
"We know it, we know It, dearest I"
they exclaimed in chorus sand we
are SO glad to see you safe, safe at
home. We have all been right well
while you were away, love-"
ut gratifies me, !" remarked the Bish-
op, ito learn that none of you have
been 9 prey to disease. i am filled
with blissful serenity when contem-
plate the fact; but really / do not un-
derstand why you should rush into
this railway station and hug me be-
cause your livers are active and your
digestion good. The precedent is bad I:
it is dangerous"
ooh, but we didn'tp they exclaimed
in chorus. eve came here to well
como you because you are our hus-
band.'
"Pardon me, but there must be some
little-that is to say, as it were, ]
should think not. Women you have
mistaken your man.
"Oh, no, dearest !" they shouted, 1--WE
were married to you while you were
away"
"What!' exclaimed the Bishop, "you
don't mean to say that"
eyes, love. Our husband, William
Brown, died on Monday, and on Tues
day Brigham had vision in which he
was directed to seal us to you, and so
he performed the ceremony at once by
proxy"
"Th-th-th-undcr,' observed the Bish-
op in general sort OF way,
"And, darling, we are all living
with you now-wc and the dear chill
"Children! children!" exclaimed
Bishop Potts, turning pale, "you don't
mean to say that there is q pack of
children, too?"
"Yes, love, but only one hundred
and twenty-five, not counting the eight
twins and the triplets."
"Wha-wha-wha-w what d. you say 2"
gasped the Bishop in cold perspira-
ton; Zone hundred and twenty-five!
One hundred and twenty-five chill
dren and twenty more wives! 1t is too
much-it is awful!' and the Bishop
sat down and groaned, while the late
Mrs. Brown, the bride, stood around
in q semi-circle and famed him with
her bonnets, all except the red-haired
one, and she, in her trepidation, made
a futile effort to fan him with the coal
scuttle.
But after awhile the bishop became
reconciled to his new alliance, know
ing we'll that protests would be una
vailing; SO he walked home, holding
as many of the little hands of the
bride as he could conveniently grasp
in his, while the red-haired woman
carried his umbrella and marched in
front of the parade to remove obstruc-
tons and scare off small boys.
When the bishop reached the house,
he went around among the cradles
which filed the back parlor and two
second story rooms, and attempted
with much earnestness to become ac-
quainted with now sons and daughters,
that he set the whole l25 and the twins
to crying, while bis own original fif-
teen stood around and joined in the
chorus. Then the bishop went out
and sat on the garden fence to whittle
Q stick and solemnly think, while Mrs.
Potts distributed herself around in
twenty-three places and soothed the
children. 1t occurred to tho bishop,
while he unused ont there on the fence,
that he had not enough mouth organs
to 60 around among the children az the
family now stood and so rather than
seem to be partial, he determined to 60
back to San Francisco for LA more.
So the bishop rcpacked his carpet
bag and began again to bid farewell to
his family. He tenderly kissed all Of
Mrs. Potts who WarA nj hama and
started for the depot, while Mrs. Potts
stood at the various windows and
waved her handkerchiefs at hm--all
except the woman with the warm
hair, and she in . fit of absent-mind-
edness, held one of the twins by the
leg and brandished it At Potts as he
fed down the street.
The bishop reached San Francisco,
completed his purchase and was just
about TO get on the train with his LA
mouth organs, when telegram was
handed him. 1t contained information