The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-04
How Colonel Tom ochiItree Brought
Christmas Cheer to Old Friends.
Washington Post3


Now that Tom oehiltree Is dead"
said a Texas man. who is now sue
cessfully engaged in business in Wash
ington, Il don't mind telling a little
story that has to do with him that
/ could never tell while he was alive.
''I'll begin by saying that Colonel
Ochiltree knew my people and my
wife's people in Texas long before
either of us was born. He spent so
much of his time in Europe about the
time that / was coming to manhood
that 1 did not often see him, but when
ever 1 did meet UP with him he would
corral me for a talk OF hours about
the people we knew down in the Lone
Star country.
7 came along here to Washington
thirteen years ago. when the eleventh
census was being organized. and
caught on for one of the special agent
billets- 1 sent for my wife later on,
and we went to housekeeping and got
along pretty smoothly. But l didn't
know as much then about saving a
dollar against the rainy day. as I do
now. so that when 1 was suddenly let
out of the census in the fall of 1891,
owing to the completion of the work
of my branch of the outfit, l was so
near broke that there wasn't ANYTHING
humorous in the situation
The first thing that had to happen
was the giving up of our house in
the northwest section. and my wife
and l took d couple of small rooms
way over on New Jersey avenue and
began that species of pent-up misery
known as light housekeeping I wasn't
TO n -s+s
down in Texas for funds. and / wasn't
going to let my wife do anything of
the sort, either We were both pref
" young then, but we were as chestv
as you please, and we went right on
sending EN- enthusiastic letters about
what grand time we were having in
Washington, when, as matter of
fact, there were often times when the
problem of how to pay for the rent
or those two dinky little New Jersey
avenue rooms had me guessing hard
i managed to pick up bit OF copy
ing work at the patent and pension
attorneys offices. but when the winter
closed in and Christmas drew nigh
things were still pretty skinny with
me- l was just about picking I'D
enough to barely enable US to get along
with the most amazing economies. but
the Christmas proposition sure had me
out on a limb when Christmas eve
came along, as it has nabit of do
ing.
My wife knew that there couldn't
be any possibility of ANYTHING doing
in the gift line for her from me. but
the little woman took it all cheerfullv.
pretended that she didn't mind il a
little bit, and made out as if the sit
uation actually had. funny features.
The best l could do was TO fioure on
Christmas dinner. I had So soaked
away in my watch pocket for that pur-
pose.
Well, on the afternoon of Christ
mas eve / put the dinky little market
basket on my arm and my wife and
| were just starting out for the mar
ket to buy the Christmas dinner. when
We heard a great commotion down in
the dark little hall. Then. out of the
darkness and the commotion came a
voice, CHEEKY as peal of bells. that |
knew we'll
voice '1 '-ie
Il made the bottom Of the stairs
in couple of jumps. lit the hall gas.
and was shaking hands with Colonel
Oehiltree. He was covered I'D in a
fur coat that almost reached to his
heels. I didn't even know that he
was back in this country from Eu-
rope, where he had been for a couple
of years.
Colonel Ochiltree had with him a
couple of husky darkies, each of them
carrying a gigantic market basket-it
was just about all they could do to