The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1886-01-14
ga DREADFUn BUSINESS

An old Mobilian was talking to :
| crowd of younger citizens about the
''old times in Mobile" when he was
more of 3 boy than at present You
know most old folks like to talk about
bilian was no exception to the genera
| rule.
YES" said he, ST well remember
quite q scrape one of our medical stu.
dents got himself into very soon after
! the establishment of the Alabama Medi-
cal College at Mobile -
Chow was that?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, those
first students of that medical college
were rather . rum set; that is to say,
little wild. and not very particular as
to the legality of all their performen-
ces, every time.
t'In the case referred to three or four
of those said students had taken it into
their heads to 60 through the anatomy
of q subject in some private room out
in the city, all on their own hook with
no professor to modest or make them
afraid. They had learned that q very
desirable subject had just been stored
away in a little country graveyard
about one mile away from the city linn.
slift;' so having hired old Sam, cold
ored ca st, to follow them with his
vehicle, they provided themselves with
a bag. etc. and late at night struck
out for the country.
'The arrangement made was that
Sam should stop his cart some two
hundred yards from the little grave
yard, so that its tracks might not be
seen Whereabouts; and when he heard a
keen whistle up about the gate he was
to proceed thither on foot where, Just
outside the fence, he was to find some
thing tied up in bag. He was to
shoulder the bag, without questions,
carry it to his cart, haul it to q certain
house on st. Louis street, deliver it
over to his employers, who would meet
him there, and receive his pay.
1.-The students reached the grave
yard in due time, but could not find
what they were looking after. 1t was
evident that they had gone to the
wrong graveyard, but where the right
one was they could form no kind of
idea. 1t was lost BALI with them,
and chop-fallen they were about to re-
trace their steps, when one of their
number, having been struck with a
bright idea, exclaimed:
40 L say, hold on, boysi Let's not
give up in this dry kind of a way, no.
how. If we can't find our subject,
let's at least have little fun. PI go
into the bag and you can tie me up and
leave me by the gate. Hide around,
and when old Sam comes think we'u
have good thing of it.
1.-The others voted it q capital hit,
and Immediately the first speaker was
tied up in the bag, and when the others
had planted themselves out of sight
along the fence between the gate and
the cart, the promised whistle was
sounded.
soon after this old Sam was seen
approaching the gates with a some.
what unsteady step, caused doubtless
by an overload of fear and trembling.
The bag with something tied up
in it was there as per agreement, and
Sam shouldered it With wool erect
he started off in long strides toward
his cart.
"Wawm yet, as dis niggah livep'
murmured the old darkey between his
Gathering teeth, as he hurried on.
'Specks dis pusson hain't been dead
long, nohow. A dreadful business, dis
"a dreadful business. wishes to de
good Lawd dis heah niggah'd q had
nuthin' to do wild hiti Wonder whar
dem doctor boys am by dis timer
'Spose dem ar nearly to town afo'
now, leabin' de ole niggah all alone.
Dreadful business to be away heah all
alone in dis fix
s.By this time about half the space
intervening between the gate and the
cart had been overcome. when the ears
of old Sam were suddenly greeted witht
Say, Sam-ain't heaVyP'
"'Oh, de good Lawdi Who dat
speaksr exclaimed the negro, coming
to a sudden halt. Sounded mowtal
like hit came right out'n dis heah bag,
but den ! guesses not, cause de mans
done dead already; an If dead man
can talk he's no 'quaintance OF mine,
an wouldn' a knowd my name was
Sam, nohow. Reckon twas somebody
else. A dreadful business dis-a dread
full business
Upon this Sam redoubled his exer-
tions to reach the cart. Only q few
steps moro and the object in the bag.
which up to this time had remained
entirely stiff and straight, relaxed its
sineWs and came down with q flop
iack-knife fashion, giving the darkey
a pretty good jolt both front and rear.
This was too much for the nerves OF .
superstitious individual like old Sam.
Not taking time to pitch his burden
from his shoulder, he simply ran out
from under it. He was fully ten feet
away moving in. Decline for town
when he heard it strike the ground
with chug. Cart and everything else
was left behind, and the students along
the fence almost dissolved themselves
in laughter, as they heard old Sam
pounding the ground with his great
feet and even on after his footballs
were out of hearing, as they stood and
traced the course he was taking
| through the suburbs by the sudden out
bursts of dogs along his line of retreat.
".But where was the man in the bagP
| They had well-nigh forgotten him
Harkl Groans! Investigation. An arm
badly broken, poor fellow!-a dreadful
business. sure enough. And SO the old
negro had not brought his cart for
nothing-they found use for it. -
Prof j. P. Steele, in ArtaHsGa0 Traveller.