The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-19

fE67$E3SA drunkest man I'm town
was the heretofore model
young minister. But il was not his
fault. You, too. would swallow A flask
of liquid lightning in five frantic gulps
IF, when walking deep in thought YOU
were grabbed from behind bv four of
the strongest men in Kiowa. the hot
ties neck forced between your set
teeth, and-but 1 am travelling ahead Of
my story.
A year before the Rev. John Ashton
Kent had been graduated from an east
ern preacher factory" as Paddy called
IT once, had timidIy bid 119 pounds of
pretty goodness goodbye and had an
SWered a "calI' in Kiowa. Things had
gone slowly for the Rev. Asbton-EIeDt
in Kiowa, though in every other vav
the city had surged with life of the
frontier.
Every Sunday morning. 2 O'Clock to
the minute, the school house bell an
bounced that the Rev. Mr. Kent was
puiHng the rope. Then followed a real
j. eloquent and scholarly sermon to the
Jew who gathered to hear him Sun
day evenings, Wednesday evenings. at
al times did the young minister labor.
but in vain. That duh soul discour-
aging thing that men call Indifference.
all his zeal, faith, prayer had failed to
overcome. Clearly the Rev. John Ash
on-kent. with his somewhat effemi-
nate, precise ways. was not popular i'm
blowa- Neither was he unpopular. XII.
ova simply tolerated the gentleman.
Hes harmless" Erinned Paddy.
\iowa fed and rooted him, some mis-
Flonary society paid his extremely
modest bills. But one day KioWa was
thrown into commissions.
old Niger Sue" who did washing
Tor % cents dozen, and lived in a mis-
"iaple Shanty on the outskirts. had
smallpox incidentally half the SoiIed
clothes in KiOwa were in the polluted
SNACK Now, your fTOntierSman fears
not the bullet nor the knife; but small
powell, that IS another matter.
however. il all ended by the Rev John
Nshton-kent, with a huge basket of
provisions, some medicines and a few
books going to live i'm the hut for ten
days When the laundress died. Kent.
llnaided. dug a deep grave near by and
buried her with simple but appropriate
ceremonies Then the young divine
carefully SprinkIed kerosene over the
premises and applied the match. IN
rdentally, kiOwa's sOiled linen was
consumed The young man went off
;nto the wilderness Of Andy Wilson's
pasture and lived alone in tent for a
month. No signs of the disease appear-
ing. he again burned his domfcile and
contents, including the slothes on his
back
After a rundown with water strong
with chloride of mercury in a SANDY
pool of KioWa creek, not overlooking
his hair. the minister donned new raj
1ucnt, the first he had known since
leaving college. As it was Sunday
1uorninE, he proceeded gently To the
school house. The bell rang for the
trst time in six weeks. In ten min
uteS the room was crowded.
The pent-up feelings of six long, try
ing weeks pealed forth. The Rev. John
Ashton-Kent pleaded for a church. It
was in the spring. Every one was short
of ready money. But S269.4O was what
the tin pail contained when services
were over
1T IS nest egs,' said the Rev, Mr..
Kent.
But brave deeds are not uncommon
IN and around kiowa- They never are
3u the cattle country Slowly Kiowa
forgot
once more only a dozen or more gath
cred every sunday in the little school
house. 4 am almost discouraged
JTay for me- was what a pair of tear
dlmmed blue eyes in Boston read Then
The Rev John Ashton Kent got drunk.
He compounded matters by being found
IN Widow DawsOn's hen house. When
discovered in his retreat by a commit
tee bearing forty feet of half-inch rope.
" no wanted to know what had become
"t the S269.40 church fund. the Rev.
John Ashton-kent had uttered a war
Whoop and opened a Calling fire on his
ing hens nest. Then, swinging a
squawking Brahma rooster by the neck.
ne beat his way to liberty. The chicken
lost innumerable feathers and its life.
Yelling like COmanche. the Rev. John
Ashton Kent, his shiny black coat
Rimmed with feathers. had raced down
The main street Of Kiowa.
close behind the flying preacher came
the committee with the roDe They
s"ayed and stumbled. yelping like
coyotes In front of the drug store.
Andy Wilson's roam COW horse stood
united. after the manner of all good
GOV horses. Whipping the trailing
lines over the cayuSe'S head. the Rev.
John Ashton-kent scrambled into the
saddle. With a whoop he sDed out of
kiowa, on route direct for Kansas CITY.
400 miles away. The committee stonned
aEhast. Horse stealing They solemn
j. seated themselves i'm the middle of
The street and watched a bewiIdered
roam COW horse with n rolIickine figure
I'm block on his back disappear i'm q
halo of dust over distant ridge.
Without rising, the committee hftchcd
around into a ring. put their heads to-
Ecther and consulted. The committee
urose.
What's 70 done? Don't Yer see
Lifted the church Doodle blew it in.
went sneaking round Widow Dawson's
Tor no good purpose. Looks like il
don't it? Found 'em in the hen coon.
stole my roam and lit out. Where's
Sob Steele? Hey, Bob, Here YOU
brand new policeman, you, why don't
Nou catch the hOrSethief2 Chance to
polish your star" hiccoughed Old Man
Mitch. evidently the leader, as he car
ried the rope.
steele demurred. He had not vet
been sworn in" etc. Makes no diff
ference. That's my horse Jim-Roan
Jimmie-Sir. the best horse OF a rope
ln Ebert county. sir. and you've got a.
Kit him back for me Didn't We 'teCt
You 10 do that very thing"
There was no answering the last ar
Eumcnt. Leisurely Bob Steele Saddled
q raugcy bay, borrowed a winchester.
and trOtted away 10 the east. He knew
that drunken rider on Roam Jim
would take many an hour to catch: for
that bronco. next to his own dappled-
gray beauty. Silverheels. just then in
training for coming races, was the best
traveller on the divide, On a long chase
the horse that starts slowest goes fur
1hest. And good rider on n poor horse
VIII run down poor rider on "A good
horse.
Two days later, i'm the sand hills.
some MY miles east of Denver. two
men were wandering Both were con
/, stunned with "A burning thirst one had
: the throat that only y dcbauCh wills "a
q fool lie was ON horsebsc< dressed
A