Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1909-03-18

padre From what the boys had told
when they came out for the grub, that
man was a white man all the way
through, an while don't go much on
sky pilots I'll take off my hat 10
the kind of sky pilot he was In any
county | meet him. II amt the kind
OF pious talk a fellow puts out. Doc,
but the way he lives IL that keeps the
herd straight, an the padre showed
down-that's what he did. | just got
TO him in time to grab him as he col
lapsed. He was clean played out, an
bein a sickly kind of man, was no
way fitted to do all that he did do be-
fore he got word up to Ell Paso.
II picked him up and carried him
down TO the creek an sprinkled water
on his face, the first luff fetched some
chicken broth in panniken an
hustled OFF to the medical chest-we
did our own doctorin' in the Rangers
in those days--for some whisky. i got
few drops down his throat an in a
few minutes he opened his eyes an
said somethin' about bein' called away
from his sheep when they needed him
most. | don't know just why he called
them Greasers sheep. cause a Greas-
er's Greaser, an if | was goin to
call him any other name, I'd call him
a snake. But it seemed to worry the
padre heap. an then he said he'd
hate to die without the consolation of
the rites of his church.
We'll. | felt pretty durn bad myself,
Doc, cause you see, | was sort of in
the dark about the rites of his church,
an so | couldn't make an offer of put
tin him over the divide the way he'd
like to go, so | says: If you're dead
sure you're goin' to cash in, padre. I'll
stand by an do anything for you that
white" man can do
He didn't say anything for few
minutes. Then, reachin' inside his
cassock, he pulled out picture, an
holdin my hand. told me he wanted
me to find the woman of that picture
an give her message from him. |
gave him little more whisky an
broth. an motioned away some of the
boys what had gathered around He
rested a minute after swallowin' the
broth, an then began to talk in
weak voice.
He told me the woman had been
his wife some years before, an instead
of raisin' a family as a decent woman
should, she'd just raised the devil, an
wound up by skippin' out with a cattle
rustler takin' the Kid with her He
could get no trace of her anywhere.
an broken-hearted, he had Joined a
brotherhood of priests that were tryin'
TO keep the Greasers straight along the
Rio Grande. For years he hadn't
heard of her until just before the
smallpox hit his. town. when he heard
she had come back to FL Paso an was
runnin' a joint that wasn't in the Sun
day school line-not by jugful. He'd
made up his mind to get the boy away
from her an was just ready to go to
the courts when the smallpox hit his
town an he had to tie down there. He
gave me a message of forgiveness for
her an to tell her to bring the boy up
decent an try an make white man
of him.
We'll, the good padre didn't last
long. He was just worked an worried
to death. His heart went back on
him along toward sunset an he died.
with his crucifix against his lips. an
smile that was just like a mothers
blessin'. We buried him alongside his
church, in a shady spot where the
birds he used to feed could sing to him
all day long.
Not havin' any Catholics in the
bunch, eight or ten of them bein' Prot
estants an the rest heathens, we were
kind of stood up as TO the proper kind
OF send-of to give him, until Jim
Thomson, the first huff. said Dog
gone II, cap, he was a Ranger of the
Lord, warn't he? Wen give him a
soldiers funeral. An we did. with
three volleys an taps at the wind-up.
The doctors an nurses came a few
days later an we pulled our freight
for FL Paso. ! hunted up the woman.
an she was siz2ler all right. Must
have been fine-looker in her younger
days but what with booze an a con-
tinual raisin of the devil she made a
mighty tough showdown when |
struck her trail
She laughed in my face when
gave her the good PADRES message
about the Kid an said she'd raise him
any way she burned please. an when
! pointed out TO her that it's be con,
siderable difficult TO keep a boz
straight IN the bunch she was runnins
with, she laced into me with all kinds
OF abuse. ! never laid my hands on a
woman yet Doc but | came mighty
near it that day an I gave her some
mighty plain Texas talk
Wen. that's about all Doc. 'cept
that one of the fellows that's gone
down TO the calaboose is the PADRES
son. He'd kept the picture | carried
to El Paso years ago, cause there
was some writin' of his fathers on the
back. The boys kept straight in spite
of his mother. an older heads led him
into the hCld-up affair I've had a talk
with him about his father an If YOU
should hear a fellow hittin' the breeze
for the county line about moon-up to-
night. forget it. cause he'll be on the
sheriff's best broc an / sortr think
Twill kindr please the padre TO know
he boys been given a chance"
The sheriff looked off toward the
aow-capped hills, as he finished. and
aid, meditatively: "A Ranger of the
Lord; yes, siree-that's what he was
an his smile was just like my dear
ola mothers blessin' that's stuck to
me all these years"
The doctor looked at the sun
drowned. square- iawed face and caneb,