or anything and appealing faith,
then all that was necessary was done.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE PILOT'S LAST PORT

In the old times a funeral was regarded in the Swan Creek country as a
kind of solemn festivity. In those days, for the most part, men died in
their boots and were planted with much honor and loyal libation. There
was often neither shroud nor coffin, and in the Far West many a poor
fellow lies as he fell, wrapped in his own or his comrade's blanket.

It was the manager of the X L Company's ranch that introduced crape.
The occasion was the funeral of one of the ranch cowboys, killed by his
bronco, but when the pall-bearers and mourners appeared with bands and
streamers of crape, this was voted by the majority as "too gay." That
circumstance alone was sufficient to render that funeral famous, but it
was remembered, too, as having shocked the proprieties in another and
more serious manner. No one would be so narrow-minded as to object to
the custom of the return procession falling into a series of horse-races
of the wildest description, and ending up at Latour's in a general
riot. But to race with the corpse was considered bad form. The
"corpse-driver," as he was called, could hardly be blamed on this
occasion. His acknowledged place was at the head of the procession, and
it was a point of honor that that place should be retained. The fault
clearly lay with the driver of the X L ranch sleigh, containing the
mourners (an innovation, by the way), who felt aggrieved that Hi Kendal,
driving the Ashley team with the pall-bearers (another innovation),
should be given the place of honor next the corpse. The X L driver
wanted to know what, in the name of all that was black and blue, the
Ashley Ranch had to do with the funeral? Whose was that corpse, anyway?
Didn't it belong to the X L ranch? Hi, on the other hand, contended that
the corpse was in charge of the pall-bearers. "It was their duty to see
it right to the grave, and if they were not on hand, how was it goin' to
get there? They didn't expect it would git up and get there by itself,
did they? Hi didn't want no blanked mourners foolin' round that corp
till it was properly planted; after that they might git in their
work." But the X L driver could not accept this view, and at the first
opportunity slipped past Hi and his pall-bearers and took the place next
the sleigh that carried the coffin. It is possible that Hi might have
borne with this affront and los