Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-09-11
Letters From Major Jack Down
ing.

Letters From Major Jack Down
ing.
WAsHNGToS, August lst, 1862
To the Filters Of Tile Cau.aShia
SuRs Il tell you I've had my hands
full sence | writ you last. Linkin has
been nigh about down sick with the fever
and ager OF course it wouldn't do tn
let the tel lic.gtaf git hold Of it, for it
would scare Wall street in spasms an
knock stocks down wus than the retreat
Of Ginneral Mcclellan. 50 St-nton pnt
his censorship on the news, an that was
the end Of IT, while ] went to work as
hard as ! could to cure the Kernel up.-I
You see the Kernel, for the last month or
so, has been very much broke Of his sleep.
Sumtimes he's mp nigh about the hull
mite consuten with ; Santin, an Hallick, /
an Seward, an the mite air has been too
much for him. The banks Of the Poto-
mick III July an August are mighty hard
on the constitushin, an cf there is any bill
yusness in a man it is purity sure to bring
it out. Linkin ses his constitushin is Jest
like the war, 50 far, nigh about all JUyus,
One day went into the Kernels room,
an seein he looked kinder blue about the
gilis, ses !, "kernel, what the matter ."
says he, "Maior, feel as cold as frozen
.turnip." Ses ], "Kerncl, amt Won get.
tin the ager ?" Ses he, NO, Maier.
don't think I'm gettin il, for I've got it
already" "Wal, "ses !, "Kernel, ei
there is eny fcller on earth who kin cure
the fever an ager, it's me-" oval, "ses
he, "Maior, | wish you would 60 ahead,
for | can't afford to be sick now. The truth
is, ef had a good AK an some chestnut
timber | could soon work off the shakes
myself. nsed to have them when | was
a boy, powerful bad, but | could Jest 60
out cny mornn an brake an ager in split
tin up hundred rails as breakfast sp. Il;
| but now s'pose must doze myself with
sum sort Of pizen doctor stnff, jest because
it wouldn't look well for the President to
split rails" NO" ses l, "Kernel, you
needn't take eny pizen stuff. I'll fix you
sum medecin which was a CRATE favori;e
with Ginneral jackson, an it will cure
you up as sure as my names Downing"
Ses he, "what is it ?" Ses /, 'it's elder
bark tea" So Jest went to work and
got the teller in bad close, who does chores
around the White House, to 90 out
around the sububs and scrape me sum
bark. told him very particaler how to
do it, and to be very kerful an not to
Scrapc it round about ways OF the woods
You see elder bark is the queerest stuff in
the world. If you scrape it down it acts
as tiec, an if You scrape it upwards it
becomes an emetick, while by scrapin in
round about ways it amt nuther one
thing nor tother, but jest raises young
arthquake, gripin an panein feller as ei
the cholery, an yaller fever, and kronic
rumatiz had all got hold Of him at once
Purity soon the fell = cum back, an l went
to work maxim the tea. After | got it
fixed went in an give it to Linkin, who
was shakiA away as ef he would fall apart.
"Now," ses I, "Kerncl, cf you feel ba
in the mite jest call me, an | will see what's
the matter" Nigh about mornin sum
one was rappin at my door like all pos
sessed. bounded out as spry as | could,
an down stares went. There was Link.
in a groaning an writhin, an lookin as
pale as ghost, an as lean an lanll as
rail. They had sent for Seward an STAN
tin, an all hands were in a terrbul excite
ment. Seward seemed to be awlully
worried. Ses he, "Maior, what would
we do il Linkin dies, for he's the only one
of us left that the peoples got eny faith
in at all ?" Stantin didn't say nothin,
but he was lookin around, thought, to
bn,,, tbn ,r,,al'y A.
soon as got a fair look at the Kernel, an
felt his pulze, began to suspect what
was the matter The lust thing | did was
to call the feller in bad close who got the
elder bark, and ask him particaler how
he scraped it. Cum to find out, the num-
skull had cut the bushes down, an then
scraped them around, Jest what had tell
ed him not to do. l compreheuded the
stuashln in iihy, Ses l, "Mr, Seward,
| understand all about this case, and ef
you'll stand back about four inches. an
do Jest as tell yo, we'll have the Kernel
all rite in no time" Then, turnin
around, ses |, "Stantin, | want you to
lend hand, too, and make yourself gin.
nerally useful, an don't run off an issoo a
proclamashin atore you know what is
what" "Now," ses |, "the feller that
got the elder bark for the Kernel, scraped
it the rong way, an the medecin won t
work, The only way to get it rite is to
roll the Kernel over fourteen times clean
across the floor. 1t is a tough remedy.
but desput diseases require desput reme-
dies" So teled Seward an Stantin to
take hold, an the way we rolled the ker-
mel over and over was caushin, 1t seem
ed as eff it might break every bone in his
body, for his frame is so sharp an so full
of angles that it Jared an iolted like roll
lin over wagin wheel wen there's no ieI-
lcrs on tho spokes. Finally, he cum to-
d. LII an in LIZ !