The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-02-07
A WonAerful Ola soldier.

exen pts-few, II any OF us memUers oe'ue w
der forty Eve years Of age, and many OF them
over eighty. Take them altogether they are
: band Of hardy veterans, whom the engen-
cies Of the situation" have hred WITH zeal
Gus patriotism well worthy OF imitation py
Younger men, But the most remarkable mem
her Of this regiment is . private in company h,
named Curtis King, whose history and descrip
teou is truly curious He is over eighty one
Years ofaee, Elk feat two inches in height, Of
6rsvny and stslwart frame, barring his DO .
som to the cold winds ofwiater without endan,
eerine his health, And moving inkis rounds Of
Of duties with the celebrity Of . youth Of IL!
Owing to his great age, and the fact Of his
being blind Of an eye, he found great difficulty.
when the regiment was forming, in getting
permission to enlist, two or three companies
refusing to take him; but he was 1t length
successful, and since the regiment has been on
duty he has proved one Of the most efficient
men in it. He is, and has been from his youth,
Democrat of the old Jsckson school, and even
now INDUCES industrious invectiyes against
the Abolitionists, He Was bern in Culpepper
county, Virgins, and claims to be linesl de-
scendsnt of Pocaho ntas; and this statement is
verified by his physiognomyyW which betrays the
eharicteristics Of an Indian. He has been
twice married, first when only IS years Of
ass.) and 10 the father of twenty one children,
one Of which was, two weeks since, only ff.
teen months old, when it died, He claims to
be Able to repest every word Of the Bible from
the beginning Of Genises to the end Of Revela.
tiops. and I'm neither read nor vrits-s dsugh-
ter having read the book to him, his wonderful
memory enabling him to retain it after COM
m:tting il to memory. The daughter eommsnc-
ed her readingto him at Eve years Of age he
being then twenty six. In 1916 he emigrated
to Ohio, resided there twenty Eve years, and
then removed to Wspello county, Iowa, where
his home now 10. and where he enlisted. Mr..
Kings family is somewhat celebrated for Ions
eevity, his mother having lived to the age Of
q 1O3, and one grandfather to los years, sd j.
g The history Of this country il familiar to him,
and his citations of historical points and the
connection with them of great men who -four
ished during the latter part Of the last century,
q are wonderfully misunderstanding, - be
does, Washington. Jefferson. Randolph. and the
Adamses, &c. He has often seen Washington,
and remarked as characteristic of the "Fsther
Of bis Country" that he never saw him smile;
thst he seemed to have little sympathy in the
enioyments of other men. The father Of Nj. King
wac q soldier of the Revolution,
About twenty of Mr.. KS grandsons aud some
four or five great grands0ns are now in the o
8. service, and the old man induges alandsble
pride in the fact that not one OF his family is
disloyal. Eleven Of his grandsols responded to
the Grst call of the President 70, volunteers
One Of his daugt tiers, who resides IN Ohio, weighs
326 pounds. He himself never took dose Of
medicine from doctor. nor did any one of his
family while they remained under his control, be
being what lie called ''root doctor" and having
done the physicking for bic own people by the
use of herb and root teas; his "practice, too,
=. Was euccessful. ,,Og,4gssb b.,a gbt~ nd 9, ,r
The opinion Of this sged veteran upon the war,
though he gives II in I some what hto,niely and
antique figure Of speech, 10 not 10 b ignored a.
devoid Of good foundation. When asked his
idea 40 to the result of the struggle, he replied:
swell, think the longest pole will knock the
persimmon. 1t may take . long time; but the
North has got the most men and the most money,
and it is bonnd 20 come out FIRST best in the end.
And" he continued, IF the young men will do
a intend to do, the rebellion will be put down,
for am in for war, as long Is last. The
cheerful and contenteds disposition Of this old
man might we'll be taksn for an example BY
younger soldiers, to say nothing of his strict %:
servance of discipline, or the efficiency aud value
Of such men to the service. % US"
THE FREscH Policy IN AxERlcA-LErrEl
IRON TIE ExPERoR NAPoLEoS 70 GRN FoREY,
Among the documents in the .'yellow book
Just communicated, to the French Chamber, is
. letter from the Emperor Napoleon to General
Forey, commander Of the French troops in Mex
leo, in which we read: 3Via@.ifisa baa N'.@ +l
"There will not be wanting people who will
ask you why We 60 to lavish men and money fol
the establishment of . regular government in
Mexico. In the present state Of the civilization
Of the world, the prosperity Of America is no,
. matter Of indifference to Europe, for it is she
Who feeds our manufactures and gives life 70 our
commerce. We have an interest in this-tbat
the Republic Of the United States be powerful
and prosperous; bat We have none in this-tha,
she should seize possession Of all the Mexican
Gull, dominate from thence the Antilles, a. veil
a. South America, and be the sole dispensary oil
the products of the New World. We see nov
BY ssd experience how precarious ID the fate oi
an industry which is reduced to seeking its CHIEF
raw material in one market alone, to all the vi
cissitudes of which it has to submit II, on the
other hand, Mexico preserves is independence,
and maintains the integrity Of its territory if q
stable government is constituted with the sssis-
tAnce of France, we shall have restored to the
Latin race on the other side Of the ocean its
strength and prestige; We shall have established
our bene6cent influence in the centre ofgAmeri.
CO, and their influence, by presenting immense
Opeulu&e IOT our COWIueICe Will pEOcure Ub Tue
materials indispensable TO our industry. Nexi-
co, thus regenerated, will always be favorable to
Us, not only from gratitude, but also because her
interests will be in harmony With ours, aud she
viii find powerful support in her good rela-
lions with the European Powers. To day, then,
Our pledged military honor, the exigency Of our
policy, the interests Of our industry and Of our
commerce, all make it 8 duty to march upon
Mexico, and boldly plant there our flag; to es-
tabish either monarchy, if it is not Incompatible
With the national sentiment of the country, or,
At oil events, a government which promises some
stability" f ~ starsf -...s s.,--ts ynacat 4.
ESaLIsH Corros susrLY.--L.te British pa
pers announce the arrival at Liverpool d ship
ment of cotton from the Cape Of Good Hope,
the staple having grown from Sea Island seed
Its of very fine quality and the climate Of Afri.
ca Is said to be peculiarly adapted for it's
growth. Portugal has also sent cotton towards
the relief OF the wants of the Lancashire mills.
These sources Of supply are new and their i'm.
portance is not magnifed by the Liverpool pa :
pers, which show the efforts to become indepen.
dent of the United States. Asia, Africa, and