The long-winded husband who was left behind

It was a sunny but cold early February morning back in 1875 when the farmer and his wife, accompanied by a neighbor, loaded produce --- cream, butter, eggs and more --- into the back of their spring wagon out west of Lucas and set off for Chariton to do some trading.

By the time they crossed the Whitebreast bridge just east of Lucas, the gentleman's feet were cold and he concluded to warm them up by climbing the hill on foot as his wife and their friend drove on.

What happened next was reported in The Chariton Patriot of Feb. 14, in  a dispatch signed "observer," and headlined: "Long Winded --- How a Jackson Township Man was Forgotten by his Wife."

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One day last week, Mr. A., a gentleman residing in the western part of Lucas county, concluded he would take a trip to Chariton. Mrs. A. and also Mrs. B. were to accompany him. They were to do considerable trading, and were in fine spirits. They got on very well until they came to Whitebreast, when Mr. A. concluded to walk up the hill to warm his feet.

It so happened at that moment that they met an old friend, and of course Mr. A. had to talk a few moments with him, but the wagon and women moved on. Mr. A. at length moved on until he reached the top of the hill, when he saw the team a half mile ahead going at a lively trot. All the stories of men losing their wives in mysterious ways rushed through his mind, and he would have become frantic had he not remembered that there was no one along but Mrs. B. He however determined to overtake them if possible, and started in full as lively a trot as the horses were in, and alternately gained and lost distance on the wagon, which clattered along up hill and down at a uniformity of speed equal to perpetual motion.

It is strange to think what a man can endure while excited. Mr. A. would have been completely fagged out in running half a mile, but now he has run at least three miles, and not once thought of being tired. The women were in the meantime so engaged in talking of what they would buy, the neighborhood news, &c., that they never thought of poor Mr. A.

At length (after they had gone about four miles), Mrs. A. seemed to miss something and told Mrs. B. she believed they had lost something. Mrs. B. said she had not missed anything. they concluded they would stop and look over their produce, while the horses rested a minute, to be sure that there was nothing wrong. They were about starting again when they heard a puffing which they thought was the railroad cars, but on looking around they saw Mr. A. with tongue out and coat unbuttoned and hat gone. He never stopped till he had the lines in his own grasp. He thinks women will do very well in their place , but don't think they were intended to have much power. Knows Mrs. A. will not drive his team again if his feet should freeze.