Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-12-23

1t was in the days when the three
most westerly counties of the Ontario
peninsula were known as the West
ern District of Upper Canada, and
returned but one representative to
Parliament. was tagging it from
Windsor to London on a cold win
ter's day over one of the toughest
pieces of road, by the way, that thi:
country then afforded. Beyond Chat
ham the soil grew more sandy and
porous and consequently more trav
elable in bad weather, but from Chat
ham westward through heavy clay,
and then through spongy prairie
loan the roads were, during what was
described as an open winter, simply
undefnable in polite English. Such
a winter was the winter of IS-. A
prominent newspaper publisher wa.
the candidate in the Reform inter
est, and one of the bitterest politica
fights of ante-confederation days wa.
in progress.
had for a travelling companion OF
my seat of the coach a young woman
whose fair face, bright blue eyes ant
brightest of auburn hair was set of
to great advantage by the strong con
trast of her deep mourning attire.
Confined to the narrow limits of ar
enclosed coach, naturally the situa
ton was one in which to be sociablc
If there was anything sociable il
ones nature. In the course of con
versation learned that she was has
tening, as fast as stage coach meth
ods would permit, toI claim the bod,
af har father xyhn havtnn unpe eas'
to the Provincial metropolis for treat
ment for strange internal ailmen
that altogether baffled the medica
faculty OF those days, had growr
steadily worse and died on the wa.
home at the little town of St. t
| In the wretched state of the road
and the weather she quite despaircf
| of being able to get the body home
and deplorcd the prospect of havins
| to bury him among strangers. Will
deeply sympathizing with the bcrcav
| ed girl. could not encourage th'
hope of her being able to bring tn,
body home without great expense. 70
| which | assumed from our converse
ton she was not prepared. But sucl
assistance as I could give was yer,
earnestly proffercd my fair fellow
passenger.
Arriving at St. T in the cvcninr
in clustering. bcwildcring snow
storm. We there met the westward
bound coach and exchanged greet
ings. or rather commiscrations witt
its passengers. this being one of TIL
chief waiting places on the route
Among the company who were get
ting themselves thawed out aroun'
the big log fire of the hostelry I me
two sprigs of the medical fraternity
who were serving an apprenticeship
to the art of allopathic homocidc ir
the city of London: two opposing
| newspaper representatives,, both o.
whom had been commissioned t.
write up the campaign in the OLE
Western District in the interests O.
their respective journals. with the ad
ditional duty assigned to one o.
| chaperoning or managing n once bril-
liant but now badly battered old po
litical missionary. who had been en-
gagged to labor in the Tory intercs'
in the west. but whose love Of tho
flowing bowl made him a very uncer
tain quantity unless closely watched
over by someone of less convivia
spirit.
WHO do you call that old duffc.
along with those newspaper chapsE
medical friends. referring to. tn,
missionary" aforesaid.
"Why. that's old Colonel w
He's going down to do some politi
cal haranguing for his party in tn.
Western District. il he can be KEEP,
straight long enough"
Kept straight long cnoughT re
piled the embryo medico: why he.
more than half seas over now, and
he hasn't been in the house an hour
yet"
But he isn't more than half thcs,
roads over either. and III guarantee
that the rest of the ride will straight.
en- him out. no matter how drunk he
gets here: so the young fellow WIZ
is taking care of him don. rlini his
filling up now.
well, the reason ! asked ABOUT
him is because he so much resembles
a corpse we have out there in the
barn: strange case they couldn't un-
ravel in Toronto: died On the way
back to his friends and we've got
the body: fixed it up with the land
lord. you know, and buried box Of
bricks"
20! Striking resemblance to the
Colonel. ch? Taking him home for
dissection, Risky business. amt it,"
"Oh. no: got him fixed up: lots OF
chlorine used and all his clothes on
him. Couldn't tell him from Colonel
there in wagon load: all the differ
ence is that ones dead and the other
dead drunk"
An idea occurred to me that NOM
cnt, suggested by the medical stud
euts' remark. and the remembrance
of many stories of substituted per-
sons living and dead. I saw way to
help my fair friend in black OF the
DAYS travel. and I almost betrayed