The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-29
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.
The True story of An ola Missouri
Slave.

From the New York. Sun.
When a man has been dead forty-six
years It is rather late to write tribute
to his memory. But this is an instance
where conjunction Of circumstances
crowded out the facts, and the good which
the man did was almost inferred with his
bones.
The writer recently made journey into
the country near Harrisonvlle, Mo-, the
county seat of Cass, the county adjoining
that in which Kansas City is situate. A
few miles from the county seat two graves
were seen from the highway. They were
conspicuous more from neglect than
otherwise. The man who was acting as
guide said, in a matter-of-fact manner, as
he coaxed the team:
zone is the grave of the mistress; the
other that Of her faithful negro man. He
was buried beside her, as you see, at her
request"
OF course, he explained, they died about
the same time. The mistress was told a
short time before her death that the old
slave was dead.
..Tbey were victims of the cholera" con-
tinued the guide, when that awful
scourge swept over the country. II al
most depopuated Harrisonville. Every
doctor in the town was stricken down, ana
then the only men in the town who sold
drugs or knew anything about medicine
dropped dead in their work. After that
those who were left died in their turn, 1t
seemed, and without any assistance. TWO
of the latter lot were those who are bur-
led in the graves we just passed. The wo-
man was the wife Of the Oldest and best
doctor in the town. John McReynolds.
"When the California gold fever struck
the whole country DIR. McReynolds caught
n and he Joined that long procession
which whitened the plains and crossed
the mountains. He took with him MS
faithful body servant, an old negro VINO
had been his property from infancy lie
had attended his master so long that the
master regarded him as necessary 10 MS
welfare The old servant often accompa-
MED his master in the calls OIL the latter
on his patients.
"When the doctor reached the gold coun-
try he gave up his profession and became
miner, and the old servant was his as
sisfant in that, as he had been In other
things in the states. They were success
full At the end Of a year the old doctor
had $4,000 in gold, and that was a fortune
then. But in the midst of his luck he was
taken sick and died His nurse, attendant
and undertaken was his faithful servant,
Asa They did not waste much time on
funerals out in that country In those days.
| After Asa had buried his master he owned
himself He was in a country Where
| there was no slavery, and had the entire
possessions of his master IN his own
| hands. No legal steps that might nave
| been taken IN Missouri could have reach
ed him. He was rich man.
Il have been told, but do not remember
the particulars. that some Of the people
IN the mines, who believed that DIR. Rey-
nolds left a fortune, undertook In various
ways TO get IT, But the old servant
thwarted them all and succeeded ia get
ting out Of the country. His journey back
across the plains was an eventful one. lie
was followed and tracked and often
forced to strategy 10 evade his pursuers
once he buried the fortune OF his mas
ter in the sand OF the desert when he was
hard pressed, and In escaping from a
band OF desperadoes he found himself a
captive Of Indians. What his fate would
have been you can guess II he had not
had a bit Of good luck about that time.
Some sort Of epidemic had broken out IN
the tribe where ne was held, and as Asa
was a sort of doctor from observation,