Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-10-14
SOME ODD FUNERALS.
THOSE OF THE WILD WEST IN
THE FORTIES.
,T'cxas Jack" Laid Away With Met
Imposing Honors at Leadvilie-The
Minister Wore IA Uniform and
Carried a Sword.

feature in particular that serves as a
mark of comparison OF the Leadville
OF to-day and the mining camp OF
thirteen years ago. Leadville now is
respectable. staid and as solemn as a
mining city can be; but it isn't the
solemnity in the abstract that strikes
one now. 1t is n specific solemnity
which concerns itself with funerals
says the New York Advertiser.
In 1879 the town was wild Every
body carried gun" Not in his
pocket mind you-only the natural
born fool did and he rarely lived 10
repent it. The weapon was stuck in
his belt right handy for immediate
action. AS a consequence rarely
day passed without violent death.
Rev. L. j. Mackey was the most
popular clergyma in town at thai
time. He was loved by the good peo-
pie and respected by the gamblers
and miners. but o. at doesn't imply
that the miners were not in them
selves reputable people. Whenever
miner or sporting man died it was
Parson Mackey who was called in.
There was one day in particular when
the parson held four funerals and
that was the record. Four was fire.
quently equaled. but it stood as the
top notch for one clergyman.
Mr.. Mackey, who was an Episcopal
clergyman. held services in the Tabor
opera house. Fifty dollars day was
he rent and the collections never fell
hort 1t was necessary to close the
loers then long before the time for
the beginning OF the service TO keep
back the crowds This four funeral
lay was the day on which j. t. ONO.
hundro known all over the world as
Texas Jack" was buried.
Leadville never did funerals by
halves A brass band was regular
thing. No funeral was held without
one. The band attending upon Jack
was made up OF fifty pieces being Il
combination OF several lay Temple
toms opera company was playing an
engagement in Lealville then, and
Fay agreed to supply her company TO
act as choir. The colin was set upon
The stage, loaded With flowers, and
1owers were rarer than mines in
Leadville. and Rev. Mackey appeared
in his regimentals as chaplain OF the
Tabor Light Guards to preach the
uneral sermon.
As he proceeded whenever he made
l allusion TO any good quality OF
ack's the congregation applauded as
GENEROUSLY as though they were ap-
I'm nf nln
lere was no disorder. These people
ant it all. They wept at The
1achers words and stamped their
1T In approval OF his hope for jack
ances over there.
Before the service Mr.. Mackey had
on waited upon by the Tabor Light
Iards They recited TO him the
ct that all the senior officers but
he chaplain were absent from tie
ity. and told him that as he was
unking officer OF the day. he must
,on his regimentals and lead the
company. At first he demurred
'gorously. but finally. equipped with
blue and gold and sword that knew
not its place and the propriety of
keeping it he marched upon the
stage to help Jack along.
When the services were over he
found they had provided horse for
him to lead the column. The preacher
wasn't the most remarkable horseman
in the world. but he was gams and
he mounted and started away.
Directly the band struck up the Dead
March in Saul the preacher and his
steed became almost as prominent as
the corpse-or they would have been
elsewhere than in Leadville. Here
everything went The dominic waltz
ed TO the graveyard on his fiery
charger actually waltzed But
nobody noticed that That was Il
regular thing or at least not
striking innovation.
At Omohundro's funeral as at all
funerals in Leadville work OF all
kinds was suspended. Men and
women thronged upon the sidewalks
packed them. One could really
have walked upon the heads OF the
people and nobody would have
noticed it. In those days the under
taker took great pride in the turnout.
Riding in the carriage with the
preacher he would look back loving
ly and say:
.Ah. new. this is funeral that is
funeral. This is something like it
Look at the crowd parson. and we We
get seven more pieces in the band
than attended the Swede that Nc.
Closkey buried yesterday.
Undertakere were put to 1t some
times There is a tradition which
has almost enough substantiation to
it to be a truth. to the effect that at
enc time the ready revolver and the
active pneumonia entirely cleared out
the stock OF collins in Leadville. and
the undertakers were actually obliged
to rob graves at night not OF bodies
but OF collins Quite frequently
preacher was obliged to request
grave-digger to stop in his work OF
digging grave behind him for fear
OF topping over into it Besides it
disturbed the mourners. who could
not for the lives OF them help looking
earnestly at the digger to see il he
was turning up any quartz
Prolific Insects.