Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1888-02-08
BURIALS ON THE BORDER.
SOME THAT WERE SAD AND SOME
THAT WERE LAUGHABLE.

Digging a Grave for Man who Ro-
fused to Die-A Funeral Party Loses
the Corpse = Pathetic Story - with
Their Boots on.'
Many of the border burials were Datbetic
in the extreme, but connected with some
Of them were circumstances so unexpected
that their relating almost resolves itself
into kind of humOr. One of the first
funerals to occur at Great Bend, Kan,
possessed unprecedented circumstances
enough to make it humorous, if the unex-
pected is an attribute of humOr.
An old and somewhat disliked man.
Turley by name, had been confined to his
bed for several weeks by a disease which
batfled the skill Of the would be physicians
who attended him. He seemed to grow
steadily worse, and his death was hourly
expected. Then the cold weather. which
had continued for nearly q month, was
broken by few spring like days. The
citizens of the little settlement took Tur-
ley's case in hand, and decided that as his
death was certain to occur in q few days
at most, it was better to take advantage
of the mild weather and dig a grave for
him than to await his death and the prob
able return Of cold weather, when grave
digging would be extremely difficult. The
grave was accordingly dug. Turley was
so full of wrath at having his grave pre-
pared in advance that he rose from his
bed, and the same day left town in dis
gust. 1t appeared that he had been
shamming all the time, in order to obtain
free victuals and care. Regrets were ex-
pressed that he had not been buried with
out waiting for the usual preliminary of
death.
The pleasant weather was soon followed
by a severe storm of snow and sleet. Dur
ing the first night of the blizzard a bibu-
lousy inclined attorney, Godfrey by name.
being, as was his wont, in an advanced
state of intoxication, lay out all night in
the snow. Two days later he died from
the effects of his freezing His relatives
were telegraphed for, and responded that
they would come Immediately. The storm
increased in violence, and, lasting nearly
week, blocked the avenues of travel in
every direction.
A few days after GOdfrey's death nearly
the entire male population of the settle
ment cOngregated at the combined post
office, saloon, grocery, etc, to swap stories,
eat crackers and imbibe whisky. When
all hands were pretty well warmed up, the
subject of Turkeys shameful deception
and unOccupied grave was freely discussed.
1t was decided that such a good grave
ought not to be wasted, and that, in order
to make use of it, Godfrey's remains
should be speedily inferred in it. This
met the approval of all present, and with
the rude coffin in one wagon, as many as
could crowd into another, and a number
of horsemen at either side, the funeral
cOrtege started in falling snow.
Several times on the way a dog belong
ing to member of the party started a
jack rabbit, and each time the horsemen
assisted in the chase. The further the
procession got from the starting point the
more of the mOurners jumped from the
wagon and aided the hOrsemen and dog
in chasing the rabbit. The grave was
reached and found to be partially filled
with snow. Then another attorney, who
differed but little from the one in the
coffin, except that the latter was dead,
proposed, as there was no minister OF the
Gospel present, to do his best to deliver
a funeral grafton. He had hardly cot
more than well started when some one
shouted that the dog had started another
rabbit.
Away went hOrsemen, fOotmen, orator.
mOurners, and all in pursuit of the rabbit
and dog, leaving teams, coffin and corpse
to take care of themselves. The chase
was long and exciting, as the dog, while
always seeming about to get the rabbit,
failed to do it.
Left to themselves, the team got tired
Of standing in the storm and ran away
toward home. When the crowd struggled
back the snow had filled the grave and
Obliterated the wagon tracks. As the
cemetery consisted of only that one grave,
and had no other marks to distinguish it
from the rest Of the prairie, they were by
no means certain of its Location in the
snow. So they trudged off home in the
snow, and arrived to find the team there
before them. The "tailboard' was ont
Of the imprOmptu hearse, and the coffin
had disappeared. 1t was not recovered
till the snow partially melted, more than
a week later
Then the relatives arrived and took the
body east with them, and T'urley's grave
went untitled till COW broke her leg bv
falling into the pit. The grave was then
pronounced public nuisance and filed
up with dirt
There is little world of pathOs in the
simple story of the first burial at Law
renee, Kan. Moses Pomeroy arrived
from Illinois in 1854, and set bravely to
work to make home for a dear one left
behind. By dint of much labor he i'm
proved his homestead considerably. and
erected a tiny but comfortable house.
Then, full of high hopes for the future.
he wrote for his waiting sweetheart to
come.
The journey, mostly by stage and
wagon, was long one, and when she ar
rived the girl found that her lover had
expired but the day before. He'had been
stricken down by a disease much like
mountain fever shortly after writing for
her, and during his illness had had no
thought but for his coming sweetheart.
lie was praying man, and his constant
petition was that he might live long
enough to see her. but this was denied
him, and he died literally with her name
on his lips. The ueXt day after the girls
arrival the body Oh her lover was borne to
the tomb. The rude coffin had been taken
to the grave in advance. Laid on a bed
Of fragrant prairie flowers, the body was
carried in a lumber wagon to the little
cemetery. The head of the dead man
rested in the lap of the living girl. who
shielded the form as well as possible from
all jar that came from the passage of the
springless wagon over the unworked
roads.
The first burial in Cloud county was
that of Mrs. Mcneil and her child. This
occurred in 1861. The little settlement
consisted of only six houses, and there
was not lumber yard or spare piece Of
board within fifty miles. From those six
houses the least necessary pieces of lum-
Der were taken, and a coffin large enough
to contain mother and child was con-
structed. One man contributed the door
OF his little house, and stopped the OPEN
ing for a month thereafter by hanging a
buffalo coat over it.-New York Sun