, 1874-07-15
LIEUT.. WOODRUFF.
A Noble Sun III /. Nohle n5otllcr.

'fFHs "0 A'tH' 1F+fhH6 f-tCHHHHtt bHH IVA
When tho yellow foyer broke ont III shreyc-
nort last summer, mud 20 fcarfnlty scourgel
tlat unfortun4to place, Lieut.. Woodruff, Of the
United States Enyil,oer Corps, waa tonpo. .srlly
mud difficult work Of clearing away tho great
Rod llivor ratt-a work wAiuh llo lal been OH
gaBol In for somo months. md which, unlor
hiH auspices aild through lis Bkillful ,loyces,
was drawing Btoatlily to successful eluso.
No sooner waH tho apa1!ing uasuro of tho Cpl
donlo III Shreveport avi1ont than t,ts young
oilloor-impellcd by hlgh Hsnsu ot duty, d goil-
crous sympathy will, Ills Hui1ering fe1loW-men-
promptly volunteered hss aorvloeH 10 the llarl.
prosaed, ncwsy:prganzed Hpwnra AHhoolatioii,
and booa,no ut once one Of itH most notiye n,ht
Zoalolls AssHtntts. lie knew f,lll we'll that hin
post Of duty was not IN Shreveport; TINT ho
was ttilaoclinato1; that ho was exposing his tifo
every hour Of thu day and night. 1or strangers:
and TINT he lad T. perfect right to leayo
tho infected town and ro1oln his party at the
raft. whero tlore wAH no siaknoss mud llo
danger, Not onco DID !,e faltor, however, in hin
mission Of disintoroatod humanity aud charity.
objuct Of eynry attention fru,n skilIfn! nhyAt-
caus, assldnous 1illtsos and devoted friends;
and, whom he tsioti, though a!nost eYery house
hold In shroyepors was mourning over lis own
S soss young 'sS sodor s es se a i o
deop royrot, aud. despite tllor d'su SORROWS, tho
survivors of tic post oyon now recall, from titno
to time, tlo eaa fate Of Tho yo,tng strangor who
1oAt big lie iu their hqhu1f, inlpeled aolosy by
moral courage aud senAo Of duty rare indeed i'll
modern annals.
Our renarks arise. naturally enough, after tho
porunal In tho Shreveport Ii1aes Of tho follow
Ing letter from tho mother Of tho la,nontcd
Woodruff. 1t is dated Independence, 1a.,--
at Shreveport.
The Times we'll eays: "Wh1le wo doubt il
tho writer would cnre for hor sorrow to bo thuH
nude public, wo yet claln ~ interoat In what
nIt
sysnpathize with the mother III hor dnop aalc-
tloIl.. And to tllB noble mother tho son MAS
peculiarly deyotpv-sl'pak,nY Of hor almost cot-
stantly III his last lnomcuts.''
MY DEAR MIss -: How cnn express my
thanks for thu Times containing MI article relating to
my dear so. At this time 60 back with deep rosrat
to coma homo to mo and gladden. lis I'LL with l!a trar
prcHenco. 81 bright, 80 joyous wore those days My
NO welcome him. lad beon thinking for sonlo tl1no
last that would write you, aud any that waiting
until Ills ntars ahunld be quito solrd In Shreveport,
Very precious Is thnt spot 10 mo- and hail Hoped to
vstt1s llad 1t becn possible to aye had tho lvnr
it done. but hayo great ropug,anco to llsinter-
nont, ahd preferred, under tho circumstances that
they should reinain whuro ho fell yletu, to tlat
NY .lcar yonig FRIEND cannot describe to you tho
agony which eoastauy slntes ME whom think anl
moro noly ap Il on the Aell Il s,ast!a. was il
great !noqe.lre dependent on him. an1 therefore ar
Wlat WINS my surprise to lnd my application denied,
and upon tue plea that my dear son " was not u thu
tlcea Of hs death. In ono scnso 1t is true but In
point Of fact a station" NJ reported by Maj IIow
e & was In Shreveport lis ony male vists to tho
what was needed for lilo working force.
But Government officials are not ton1or-hearted or
apprecatiye Of nons luedH. Communities sometimes
md Much the cttizbua Of HHrGronort. /