The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-11-09
THE SOLDIER BIRD.


Skv. Chippewa Indian living in the
northern wilds of Wisconsin, captured an
eagles nest. To make sure OF his prize,
he cut the tree down, and caught the
eaglets as they were sliding from the
nest to run and hide in the grass. One
died He took the other home, and buiit
it a nest in a tree close by his wlgwatn.
The eaglet was as big as 4 hen, covered
with soft brown down. The red chill
dren were delighted with their new pet;
and as soon As it got acquainted, It liked
to sit in the grass and see them play
with the dogs But Chief Sky was poor,
and he had to sell it to a white man for 4
bushel Of corn. The white man brought
it to Eau Claire, little village alive
with white men going TO the war "Here
a recruit said the man. An eagle,
an eagle ~ shouted the soldiers. ''let him
enlist" and sure enough. ne was sworn
into the service with ribbons round his
neck, red, white. and blue.
On n perch surmountcd by the stars
and stripes. tle company took him =
Madison. the capitol of the state As
they marched into Camp Randall, with
colors hving. drums beating, and tAe
people cheering, the eagle seized the
lag in his beak and spread his wings,
the scene. Shouts rent the air: The
bird of Columbia the eagle of freedom
forever The state made him a new
perch, the boys named him "Oll Abe.
/ and the regiment, the Eighth Wisconsin.
j was henceforth called .,the Eagle rcgi
ment' On the march it was carried at
the head of the company, and every
where was greeted with delight At
St Louis a gentleman offered five hun
dred dollars for it. and another his farm.
/ No, no, the boys had no notion parting
nth their bird. 1t was above all price,
an emblem of battle and of victory,
Besides. it interested their minds, and
made them think less of hardships and
of home.
/ l cannot tell you all the droll adven-
lures of the bird through its three years
of service, its flights in the air, its fights
with the guinea hens, and its race with
the darkies. When the regiment was IN
summer quarters at Clear Creek in Dixie,
it was allowed to run at large, and every
/ morning went to the river half a mile
OF, where it splashed and played in the
water to its hearts content, faithfully
returning to camp when it had enough.
Old Abe's favorite place of resort was
4 the suffers tent, where a live chicken
4
+ rations got low. and for two days Abe
/ had nothing to eat Hard tack he oh
jected to, fasting was disagreeablc, and
/ Tom, his bearer, could not get beyond
! the pickets to a farmyard At last, push
/ ing his way to the colonel's tent, he
4 pleaded for poor Abe. The colonel
/ gave him a pass, and Tom got him au ex
/ cellent dinner
| One dav rebel farmer asked Tom to
/ come and show the eagle TO his children.
( Satisfying the curiosity of the family,
Tom sat him down in the barnvard OH
what schreeching and scattering among
the fowls for what should Abe do but
pounce upon one and gobble up. another,
to the great disgust of the farmer, who
declared that was not i'll the bargain.
Abe, however, thought there was no harm
in confscating, nor did Tom.
Abe was in twenty battles. besides
MANY skirmishes. He was at the siege
of Nicksburg, the storming of Corin' h,
and marched with Sherman up the Red
river The whiz of bullets and the
scream of shells were his delight. As
the battle grew hot and hotter. he would
flap his wings and minglc his widest
notes with the noise around him. He
was very fond Of music. especially Yam
kee Doodle and Oh John Brown Upon
parade, he always gave heed to ''-Atten
tloa With his eve on tue commander
he would listen AMI obey orders, noting
time accurately. After parade he woaid
put Off his soldierly air, dap his wings.
and make himself at home. The rebels
called him Yankee Buzzard,' ..Old
Owl" and other hard names: but his
eagle nature was quite above noticing
it,
The rebel General Price gave orders
to his men TO be sure and capture the
eagle of the Eighth Wisconsin; he would
rather have it than dozen battle flags
But for all that he scarcely lost feather
only one from his right wing. His tail
feathers were once cropped by 4 bullet.
At last the great rebellion came to an
end, and the brave Wisconsin Eighth.
with their live eagle and torn and riddled
iaIs. were welcomed back to Madison.
They went out thousand strong. and
returned little band, SCARED and toll
worn, having fought and won.
And what of the soldier bird ? In the
name of his gallant veterans, Capt. Wolf
presented him to the State. Governor
Lewis accepted the ilustrious gift. and
ample quarters are provided for him in
the beautiful State house grounds, where
may he long live to tell Us
.Wh., heroes from the woodland sprans,
When through the fresh awakened land
The thrilling cry OF freedom rang
Nor is the end yet. At the great fair in
Chicago last summer, an enterprising
gentleman invited Abe to attend He
had colored photographs of the old hero
struck off, and sold $4,000 worth for
the benefit of poor and sick soldiers
Has not the American eagle done its
part: K.