The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-06

master regarded him as necessary to his
welfare. The old servant often accom-
panied his master IN the calls of the latter
on his patients.
"When the doctor reached the gold
country he gave up his profession and be-
came miner, and the old servant was his
assistant in that, as he had been In other
things in the States. They were success
full At the end of year the old doctor
had 900 in gold, and that was 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 country where there
was no slavery and had the entire pos
sessions of his master in his own hands.
No legal steps that might have been taken
n Missouri could have reached him. He
was q rich man.
81 have been told, but do not remem-
Der the particulars, that some of the people
in the mines. who believed that DR.. Nc
Reynolds left fortune, undertook in
va ious ways to get it. But the old
servant thwarted them all, and succeeded
in getting out Of the country. His journey
back across the plains was an eventfuI
one. He was followed and tracked and
often forced to resort to strategy to evade
his pursuers. Once he buried the fortune
of his master in the sand of the desert
when he was hard pressed, and in escap-
ing from a band OF desperadoes he found
himself a captive of Indians. What
biS 70 70 poiobt hava haop won con OUaeS 9
he had not he'd a bit of good luck about
that time. Some sort of an epidemic had
broken out in the tribe where he was held,
and as Asa was sort of doctor from OBJ
servation he experimental on the sick
reds with such success that they regarded
him as special dispensation for their
benefit from the hands of the Great Spirit.
In this way he regained his freedom, re-
turned to the place where he had buried
the fortune of his master, resurrected it
and resumed his journey without further
molestation.
HE reached Independence, Mo-, and
called upon a man who had been patient
and friend of his master. This friend
accompanied him to Harrisonville, and
was the messenger who gave Mrs. Nc
Reynolds the first information concerning
the death of her husband Then the
friend told her about her faithful servant
Asa; and this was followed by calling in
the old servant from the negro quarters,
and he rendered to his mistress an ac-
count of his stewardship, with the larger
amount of his master fortune.
II have been told by some of the very
old sinners that Asa was the first colored
man who ever received anything like an
ovation in Missouri When Harrisonville
heard of the old negro's return he was in
vited to the homes OF the people, and had
greater glory than any white man who
has ever lived there since.
"His mistress gave him his freedom and
some of the money; don't know how
much. But he remained her faithful
servant. He refused to accept his free
dom as long as his mistress lived.
s'The cholera came, as l have said, and
one of the victims was the mistress of Asa.
He cared for her and was her attendant
until he was stricken himself. When he
failed to respond to her call she suspected
the reason and then it was told her thai
he was dead. She knew her time had
come and she hardly had time to request
that his remains be placed besides hers,
and it was done. And there are their
graves. Only a few people living know
even the names of the dead, and not many
know the story have told you. If were
a rich man / would put monument over
the grave of that colored man, and would
Just have a few words on it after his name
something like this:
Faithful unto death.