Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-04-21
STRANGE EXPERIENCE.
A Corpse Hauled Twenty Three
Miles Without a Coffin.
The Trouble Montgomery Countians
Were Put to in the Great Missis-
sippi River Bottoms.

Hauling corpse through the Wes
Tennessee bottoms is not the mos
cheerful duty In the world at best
and when bed quilts are used for 8
coffin the duty is made all the more
gloomy. This was done, however
by two Montgomery county men,
one of whom is a promint mt bust,
ness man of the city at the present
time. A little colony of Montgom-
cry countlans settled in Dyer county
and one of the families had adopted
an orphan boy. The little fellow
was bright and attractive and soon
won the hearts of his foster parents
and neighbors. He began, however,
having chills, accompanied by con-
gestion. A physician was called in
and put the little fellow under treat
ment. He rallied and was pro-
nounced out of danger by the ply
sician. He took a child, however,
one morning; congestion sat up and
he died before medical aid could be
secured, as the nearest physician was
some ten miles away. The good peo-
pie who had adopted the child
wanted to bring the remains to
Montgomery county for burial.
There was no quicker way to get
coffin than to drive to Dyersburg,
twenty-three miles away, over rough
roads, and bring it ouf in two-horse
wagon. The family and friends
knew that if this was done there
would be little likelihood of reaching
Clarksville with the remains before
decomposition set up. A council was
held and it was agreed to take the re-
mains to Dyersburg and there place
them in coffin. A feather bed was
placed in the body of the farm wagon
and thereon the corpse was laid. Ten
der hands placed the body in a secure
position, so that the jolting OF the
wagon would not disturb it, and a
quilt was then spread over the life
less form to shield it from any one
the wagon might meet en- route to
Dyersburg. This solemn funeral
procession started on its lonely trip
of twenty-five miles about IL o'clock.
The roads were rough and the Weath-
er bad. They reached the river and
carefully descended the bank. The
ferry-man was true type, so far as
outward appearance went to show, of
the uncouth river man of the great
Mississippi bottoms. The gentle
man soon found, however, that be-
meath the checked cotton shirt, a
heart full of good impulses, and the
elements of true manhood, lay
concealed. They told him their
mission, and it seemed that
he handled the chains and machinery
about his craft more silently than
was his wont. IIo deftly ferried the
party over the river and saw them
safely on top of the bank. One of the
gentlemen handed him fifty cents,
the usual fare for ferrying a two
horse wagon across the stream.
"No," he replied, as he brushed a |
large tear from his eye, "the old
boat would sink If were to charge
for ferrying the dead across the
river" That man was diamond in
the rough.
The party reached Dyersburg after
dark and here they met trouble.
1t was at the time the whole country
was excited about yellow fever, and
express companies were very careful
in receiving corpse for shipment.
In fact they would not receive one at
all unless accompanied by iron-clad
testimonials from physicians as to the
manner of death. No physician had
attended the boy on the day of his
death, but the one who had pre-
scribed for him few days before
gave certificate as to the diEease
that caused the death. This certifi-
cate was written on piece of FOOLS
cap paper, and because the regulation
printed blanks were not used the
over -ohicious agent refused to take
the remains. A straight talk, how
ever, with the bark on, brought him
to his senses, and after coffin had
been secured, a way.bill was made
out and the first train brought the
party to Clarksville, and the remains
were inferred on the south side, near
those of his parents.