The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-04-29
A Spicy Memorial Tribute.
A Maine Mans Obituary Out of the Usual Order.
But Perhaps Quite as Good Nevertheless.


But Perhaps Quite as Good Nevertheless.
[Cherrytield Cor. Machias Republican.
On Sunday of last week there passed
away at an advanced age the most unique
character that has figured in Cherrytield
within the memory of the older portion
of the community. On that day John
Barber, or the colonel" as his towns
men were used to call him, exchanged the
little room in his weather beaten domi-
Gle for still smaller space in the narrow
house that awaits all of Adam race.
The colonel, who was a native of Sears
mont, Waldo county, took his first look
at this sinful world in May of the men,
orable year of 1872. His parents were
John Barber of Lebanon, n. H., and
Olive Davis Barber of Warren, Me-, and
the colonel was the oldest of their chill
dren-three sons and six daughters.
When the great tidal wave of speculation
was sweeping the State of Maine in the
thirties it broke the colonel from his
moorings in BLEEDING Waldo and final ?
ly landed him on the banks of the Nara
guagus.
Here he was inveigled into the matri-
monial snare by the invincible charms of
| Beckey, daughter of John Hanna, the vii
lage cobbler who was famous in all this
region for the fervency of his prayer
meeting celebrations. In his palmy days
the colonel was lauded by the red shifted
Woodsmen as the king of skid-teamSters.
| There was not goadsman on the Nara
guagus that could drive the twitch hook
more times day or burn more tobacco in
the time than the man from Searsmont.
Nor was lie less renowned as a log
driver. The wieldels of the hand spike
were few and far apart that could dis
tancc the colonel at sacking rear or dis
lodging jam. As an emergency man he
was well up among the best, for he was
all grit, like an emery wheel
In case volunteers were wanted for the
post of danger the colonel was on hand
with his accustomed response by
Jeese, John Barber II face the muster
Although his book knowledge would
hardly stand the racket of a civil service
examination, the colonel nevertheless
possessed some essentials that lore can
not bestow, for nature had endowed him
with fair share of good sense and
Timber tongue. When he threw the
switch wide open and let on the full cur
rent of his storage battery there was
hum and sizzle to his rhetoric that would
appall silver tongue orator. To get
mixed up with him in argument was next
to coming in contact with live wire.
The colonel's favorite pastime was
dancing and he must have been born
with that propensity, for it has stuck to
him through life, like burdock burs to
home-spun shirt. In referring to the past
he never left out the corn husking days
at Searsmont, when he and sister Ann led
the grand march in the may dance after
the barn floor was cleared for action. 1t
was as easy for the colonel to dance as it
is for person with a disordered liver to
growl. Whether in the logging camp or
river drivers tent he was always ready
to kick out sold Zip Coon.'' ''The
DEVILS Dream" or ''Charley Over the
Water
To the colonel the organ grinder owes
an eternal debt of gratitude, for when
ever the greasy Dago set up business in
the village square the veteran dancer was
always on hand. At the first twitch of
in an instant the spanking of his cowhides
upon the hemlook planks was heard above
the din of the Dagos groan box.
No sooner was tune finished than the
crowd would pool in for another, and by
this means they would dance the colonel
until he was knocked out from sheer ex-
haustion.
He was an authority on ball room Ell
quette, or ''marnners' as he termed it,
and many instructions has he given to the
young bloods on this subject.
Politically the colonel was Republi-
can, and a great stickler for protection.
eff ye want to do away with loaf
sugar and go back to black molasses and
pea coffee times vote for free trade,'' was
the argument he used.