El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-28

simply. Il asked him to take my ashes
ana ne was the captain of a cruiser
snip Cap'n Wilfers was his name
When he found me there in the Jungle
and told me I was as good as dead I
wasn't goIn' to bother about Comquag
no more, but thinks, thinks I, PshaWi
II am 1alr to josephine not to make
sure OF things The Sally Ann amt
hardly sea worthy, and like as not she'll
sink before she gets home, and there's
no tellln' If that doctor of the Mary
Jane VIII ever bother to do what I
asked him but navy captain of the
U. ). A can be trusted So I asked
him and he said he would"
And did he?" asked Sim Perkins.
yes" said Uncle Ashdod. "he did.
So the next thing I knew I was in
Madagascar, in a hospital, and I didn't
Know who / was. I couldn't remember
nOthin' at all, but I had a watch, and
| inside the watch was the words, To
Cap'n AshdOd Clute, From his lovin'
( bride, Josephine, COmquag, Maine So
then sort of remembered dyin' a cOu-
pie OF times or so and Sendin' my re-
mains home, and I says to myself, If
I'm Cap'n AsndOd ClUte amt dead,
and if / amt dead it's a shame to cause
my wife sorrow by lettin' her receive
my ashes, but If I am dead, then I
don't know who l am, and the best
thing for me to do is to go home to
| Comquag, Maine, and find out the lay
Of the land, and fix things up nice and
tidy. 50 as soon as I was able I went"
Hope you was dead!" said Sim Per-
kins in a mean tone.
81 was" said Uncle Ashdod "Soon
as 1 got off the train at COmquag
seen o. S. cruiser in the bay and a
sallln' ship alongside, and one was the
cruiser brtngin my ashes home, and
the other was the Mary Ann with my
ashes aboard, and tagged onto the train
l had come on was a special car, and
IN the special car was the crew OF the
sally Ann with my ashes in nice tin
u q q ia
Of the Sally Ann to line up his men in
a procession up came the crew of the
Mary Jane IN one procession, and the
crew Of the cruiser in another process
sion, and we all met there on the sta
ton platform. And you better believe
that them three men was surprised to
see me. They was indeed. Wen, fell
lers,. says, I'm much obliged to you
all for fetchin my ashes home, but I
amt as dead as I thought I was and
I guess you can go away again"
and they did?' asked Sim Perkins.
NO" said Uncle Ashdod, they
didn't. The Mate Of the Sally Ann
about it That's all right for YOU to
say, he said, but I promised you be-
fore you died that I'd fetch your
ashes home and give them to your
widow. 1t may be your way OF doln'
th1nSS-tO change your mind about
bein' dead or alive just as you wish
out II amt my way. When L start
l deliver EN-. I've paid car rare, and
I've paid the crew extra wages, and
I've had lot of trouble and SO far
as I'm concerned I'm goin' to deliver
it you can lump it, When a man is
dead he ought to stay dead, and II he
don't that's his own affair so the
doctor from the Mary Ann and the
captain from the cruiser said the
same thing-they didn't care what
said or did they were goin' to deliver
the remains of the late Ashdod CUTE
to his widow They had promised to
do it, and they was gotn' to do II or
bust.
Then" continued Uncle Ashdod,
the Mate Of the Sally Ann and the
captain of the cruiser and the doctor
as to which had the authentick lot
Of remains.
$50" said Uncle Ashdod, they left
It to me to settle, and l says Boys'
you are all right. All three of them
lots of ashes is authentic, and II as
authentic as any. It amt for me to
decide. What we ought to 90 II 70
go up and let the widow make ner
own choice. She's got to be a WIDOW
to the remains and shed ought 70
have her pick So we did We lined
up and the three proseccIons ana
marched uD to Josephine's house
And which did she pick?" asked
Sim Perkins.
w ell" said Uncle AShdOd Slowly
"the fact is that when we got to the
house it was shut up and so spoke TO
neighbor lady. Where's Mrs, Ash
dOd Clute? L says She's gone says
the neighbor lady. with the funeral, to
the cemetery she says, TO bury heE
late husband, Cap'n Ashdod Clute.'
Wen, boys I says, come along! We
might as well bury the rest Of my
ashes and make one job of it So we
did. At first my widow seemed sur
prised when I stepped up to her and
told her who I was and that them
friends of mine had three lots Of my
ashes, but she got used to the notion.
And have you died the next time /
YETI asked Sim Perkins.
Not yet said Uncle Ashded- /