The Washington weekly post., 1900-09-04

Went Whooping Down the Road.
post-office crowd and made big hit. He
had the number of fires and the losses
In the United States fur the last fifty
years, and he showed how a fire COM
pany kept down taxes. reduced insurance,
and was the handspring OF liberty. He
! pictured the town OF Jericho in ashes fur
the want of sunthin' To squirt out a con-
| fiagration, and when he went on TO de-
scribe widders lookin' into the ember5 fur
| the bones of their husbands and husbands
| shovelin' over hot Goals In search Of the
remains Of wives and children even Joe
( TruelOve was seen to wipe a tear from
/ his left eye. Fur once everybody seemed
( to be agreed, and when Reube was nam
! ed fur foreman of the company nobody
kicked Before the meetin' closed it was
resolved to buy two more pals and an
J other ladder and that the company should
. be uniformed.
/ Jericho woke right up. Real estate be-
gan 70 lump. Tom BigeloW put down six
rods If new sidewalk, and Homer Lee re-
! painted his barn and put new hinges on
/ his gate. People who came over from
Dobbs Ferry and witnessed the speerit Of
enterprise went home jealous OF the toWL
and q lightnin' rod man said that the
hustlin' reminded him Of the early days
] OF kansas OltN ana ltEkET. II WASH -
week before the Wilder Taylor smoke
house got a-fiTe AT midnight. and Peleg
Scott rung the alarm bell in a way To
! turn the hull town bottom side up in five
1 miniis. That fire company went at that
| COnflagratiOn to conker or die, and in sew
| enteen minits the red-tOngued flames of
| destruction had bin doused out. and Jeri-
| chO was safe. In a leete speech which
] iollered the fire Squar' Danvers said THAI
| Rome in her palmiest days never eQuale'l
| ~ acfC nd phftaI4tG Tnhngan IL
clared that the thanks Of Congress would
| be poor reward fur such herOism.
The day the tiremen got their uniforms
| Jericho got up on her hind legs and howl
ed There was sich excitement in the
I lowe that soft soap was allowed to boil
over, bread was burned up in the ovens,
ana most folks forgot 10 feed their hogs.
Some idea of what sort OF royal jubila-
/ ton ii was kin bs gathered from the fact
/ that one grocery alone sold sixteen lem
1 ons and seven cocoanuts durin' the day
I II was Reube HOldfasI'S Idea that ii fire.
man should always be on duty, and he
advised every meI1ber of the company 10
wear his uniform day and night When
| the first thunderstorm came along the
/ fire bell rang, and the company turned out
and stood ready 10 rush to the spot il
| lightnin' hit anythin'. Ii there was a dog
/ fight in front OF the town hall the COM
/ pany come rushin' up, and If anybOdy's
team ran away or kitchen stove got red
| hot there was dash of red-shirUed
heroes. Jericho was bOOmin' but Reube
| wasn't satisfied with her progress He
| got his company out and marched them
! TO Sunday church and 10 Thursday eVenin'
! prayer meetin' There was a lawsuit over
! 2 COW between Jim White and Aaron
! TOmpkins, and the fire company was pres
ent in full uniform. Old Mrs. Hopkins
was taken sick, and The doctor said size
must CO. and Reube felt il his duty n
march the company up TO her house and
bid her last farewell. Her sickness took
turn for the better. and she begun 10
get well, and Reube marched the COM
pany up ag'in 10 give her three cheers
After month there was only one
thing lackin'. The fire company had
turned out fur eyerythin' but a funeral.
but death had obstinately refused TO gin
il a show. There was a lot of Old folks
with asthma and liver complaint and q
Let of babies with Whoopin' cough and
measles. but none OF EN- would die
| RtuDe used to 90 around aChin' fur IL,
and he'd drop into the post-ofiice occa-
siCnally 10 say TO me:
Pap. if some one would only die Ia
turn out the boys in a way 10 Jump Jeri-
cha 100 years ahead. Them red pals and
axes and ladders would jest be an Offset
To the mournin', ana the way the bows
would stand around on one leg and look
solemn would be picture 10 beat an old
master. How's your heart disease PAM"
Better. thank YOU
1 was III HOiitS IL was wiSS. ThaF'S
wuss men nor You, Pap Perkins. but IL
you II only die our fire company will gin
ye d send-OfT TO make Yer wilder proud
fur the rest OF her days."
Reube was on the watch day and night
for a funeral and he'd almost made nm
his mind 10 turn out the company fur
the next COW that died OF holler horn
when a crisis come like a fash Owi1'
10 his lame leg lish Billings hadn't fined
the fire company, but he was an old and
F.En-cfen citizen who FQnld
body in town at game of checkers
TharfOre when the news come that his
well had caved i'm on him and buried him
under ten feet of airth the fire bells rllng
and red shirts went whooDin' down tbe
road Mrs. Billings didn't seem 10 care
very much whether they got Lishis body
or not bein' IL was already buried bur
they was determined 10 hey IL fur a
funeral.
They worked all the AFTERNOON and all
night, and at intervals Reube had the
Dells told fur the dead. Nobody in Jeri-
chO slept. The we'll kept Gavin in, and
the firemer kept workin' like heroes 10
clear IL out. II was O'Clock next mornln'
when they found Lish's old hat. As "
was passed up 10 Reube he shed tears and
turned his head away. Pkiletus Johnson
was jest rem8rkia' that Lish's loss was
our gain or Sunthing of that sort and
the diesers down In the well were lookin'
fur arms and legs. when Lish himself ap-
peared in the crowd He seemed 10 be n
good health and spesrits. and he care
lessly remarked 10 the fire mompany that
he was much obleeged fur savin' him a
weeks work Suthin' was said fur ABOUT
mint. but presently Reube Holdfast
wiped the tears from his eyes and asked:
''I!sh whar you bin since yesterday
no0nT
Upstairs In the house" says Lish.
What was your obieckT'
ITO boom Jericho by gettin' up a fu-
neral. Thar's my old hat, and you kin
take IL along and bury II in good shape"
Reuoe called OF mis- company. and they
marched hack to town with solemn tread
They hadn't put away their red water
pals before folks was laughin' az EN-
and before sundown the doom OF the FIRE
company was sealed. lash Billings bad
thrown 'em down. and the public was
guyin' and ridieulin' When the o'clock
mail had bin distributed Reube stood I'D
ln the post-office and said:
"Feier citizens. wharas this ere town |
Cf Jericho don't seem 10 appreciate enter
Prise, vigilance. hcroism and booms and
wharas she'd ruiher be- AT the mercy OF
the FIRE fend than TO have her disastrous
confiagraiions squirted cut, now tharfore
resolved that this band OF heroes BE- dis
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