The Red Cloud chief., 1880-03-11

the dress all made, and directed 70 Mrs
John Cragln.
Phebe, she comes flying over TO cur
place 10 show her dress and try II on;
and, IL you'll believe me there wasn't a
ws3akbs- tA@n,-aad yoa nesss 80 any
| thing 80 bS1smin'. She looked ii6Do
hdy, 70 shs did. -Ths5Ahhsre wasD
soft and 6ne, and made he hook 70 slim
and white-skinned. Only Il was Black
"Ob, Phebstn sSys ua5 ALMy, "he
orient a ept ahlack weddia' dreS; It's
unlucky.3Z
ms the perfies, thing ! ever see"
says Rhehe, j. With her baud:
Ard sAe - nd trndx bout jeLa.I
DO b'iieye Il hurt her fer Mary to saythe
dress he bought - Ss1neky.
Well, IL va. only two days after thai
that . man come ndin' down from
North's like bed kill the horse. fer n
doctor 70 come and sce John Cragin. IL
was thrashia' time, and he'd got
tbrowed in among the machinery some
way, and bout killed. won't say whe,h-
or it war the machinery or the horses
some says . Way, sope says another.
l low il was lone 30 quick and skeered
them all so they didn't know what hap
pened. For he was out betoye any
body could help him, and walked along
n few steps white and laughin', and then
he fell down and begin toblced at the
mouth.
One Of III boys come runnin' from
the store and told me, and l picks up
my sun-bonnet aud makes fer Abe
Carts, fer knowed If Phebe heard it
o~nprepared, il nd nigh about kill her.
But, laws, i'll news does travel fast.
! low n Of Abe's Young uns bad
been as quick asourn. She wa stand
in in the middle Of the door bulgin' her
eyes out at nothin', winter than the
dead. don't think the girl had no
sens left. She had the dish-rag in her
hands, and she commenced wipin' her
face with il, snd that nasty little Sary
Jane stood off and p'inted at her, and
begun To yell and laugh.
"Shut zap, you huzzy!" says |, giyin'
the young un a push; "you hustle
round here and look after your mother.
YourT Aunt Phebe has got somebody else
to look after now, besides sassy young
uns."
| didn't know how Mrs. Carl 'ud take
it, but | never thought about that till
afterwards. TT John was a-gd4n' 10
die, the quicker Phebe got to him the
better. l changed her clothes and put
her black dress onto her, pore soul!
And behold ye. rs soon as she stepped
foot out ~ house, there wa North's
buggy comm fer her full tilt, fer John
had sent for her, and | lowed they'd
need help, so l got in and went, toe.
Phebe, she seemed sort o crazy all
the way, and didn't do nothin' but
wiring her hands like she'dtwist EN- off,
and sort o. moan, "Oh, Lordi oh,
Lord" like she'd die.
There wasn't no p'tendin' between
them wo. Some girls I'D kind % belt
back from shown they thought so
much of IA man they wasn't married 10
fer fear folks nd talk, But don't think
she thought of nobody in the world but
John.
North's wasn't but a mild out %
town, and it 'peared like we got there
in a minute. And the doctor and men
folks was round him workin' with him,
and they wouldn't let Phebe go in.
She kept on her feet and walked around
jes' atwistin' her hands and sayin'
s.Oh, Lord" and me and Mis- North,
we cried like babies, and tried TO pacify
her, but it was like talkin' to a stone, SO
IL was.
At last the doctor he came out, and
tole rs we might take her in, but John
mustn't be excited. Aud | asst the doe
tor, kind % low, ef it wa very bad, and
he says there wasn't no hope; the man
was hurt in'ardly and wouldn't live but
a few hours.
l puts my arm round poor Phebe and
goes into the room with her, to kind o
hold her back from maxim Il noise.
But, laws! she slips along as still as
death, and, to my dyin'day, I'll never
fergit the look them two give each 9th.
er. lie kind 3, spread HIS hands and
she slipped down and put her arms
round him. Then they kissed each
other, and two of the threshers that
stood by the window wiped their eyes
on their shirt-sleeyes, and kind o crept
out o. the room like they's shamed o
themselves; and, before the sun went
down, John and Phebe they was man and
wife! He was bound to marry her. and
nothin' would've give her more satisfac-
ton, unless twas dyin' with him. He
didn't suffer much, his body was kind
o. numb, and we wouldn't thought he
wa SO dangerous by the way he acted,
fer he 'peared as clear and lively. 1t
was a mercy 10 Phebe, for every groan
he give I'D go through her like a
knife.
One o. the threshers gifts onto a horse
and goes for a preacher and a license to
Kokomo; and for a lawyer, too. John
said he wanted to make a will; and he
did, and left everythin' he had-'twas
only about two hundred dollars, and
how them Car'ls did fuss and try to
git that away from her!
The preacher he come and tied the
knot. l never seed such a solemn
weddin': Her kneelin' by the bed
holdin' his hand-it was a sofy-bed that
they'd fixed up quick in the %settin'-
room fer him-and her arm under his
others eyes like they'd die fer each
other. and the preacher stannin off an
askin', in a feelin' kind If voice, eff
they'd take one another fer man and
wife; and l noticed he didn't say till
death does you part, fer it looked like
they vas gittin' married fer t'other life.
Ole man North and old Mis- North
and me and the thrashers all stood by,
and to save my soul l couldn't keep
from crying; but it was the pertiest
weddin' 1 ever seed, and We all stepped
up and wished them much joy; and
John he answers pleasant, and says he,
IAN Of you be- good TO Mis- Cragin."
And we called Phebe Mis- Crsein. She
sot down on the floor beside of his
head, and never left her place that
night, andthey talked in whispers and
kissed one another till he kind of sunk
into a trance or sumpin, and laid that
way all the after part of the night, and
died about SUI up. stsid up to help
nuss him and look after her. We had to
change cloths on his chist and give him,
drops to keep him quiet, and ole Mis-
North she handled him like a mother.
[. don't think no one about the
house rally slept. He looked Is