Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-11-14

HIS RAIDS.
As to the part taken by the great
|slave-dealer in the war--how fear
lessly and fcrociously he fought for
the institution which had made him
wealthy-I need not speak. For the
deeds of Forrest, have they not been
faithfully chronicled in the great vol
ume Of seven hundred pages, dedica-
ted to the dead troopers who made
famous the name of "Forrest's caval-
ry?" Such is, believe, the spirit of
the dedication. But as the funeral
passed down mourning Main street
and by the Gayoso house, I thought
of the daring raid made by the great
guerrilla general into Memphis on q
certain night in August, 1854, when
the town was full of union men; and
it seemed n strange coincidence that
the funeral was passing down the
very street along which FORESTS cav
airy had made their desperate charge
one gray morning, thirteen years be-
fore.
LITTLE DIFFICULTIES.
Even as q soldier, however, For
rests arbitrary ways were continual
ly involving him in difficulty with the
confederate government. He could
not brook being under orders, and
chafed under restraint of any kind,
and was always quarreling with some
other general who would rank him.
He ended usually by having things
his own way; but 1t is said that one
Of the officers of his staff was, during
the whole latter part of the war, en-
ployed only in endeavoring to "get
things straight" between Forrest and
the leaders Of the confederacy. There
are, Of course, various opinions as to
Forests military abilities. Some
aver that, had he been appointed COM
mander-in-chief, the war would have
lasted longer or ended differently !;
others allege that his lack of military
education untitled him for such pos
ition but the people Of Memphis usu-
ally speak Of him as the greatest
southern general of the war. Sol
diers who served under him never
seem to tire of talking about him !;
they will tell you how he could tell,
with a single glance along rank
of men, if the least thing was out of
order in accOutrementa, weapons. etc. |;
how he always rode first into an en-
gagement; how, when a piece of ar
tillery was mired and the troops had
vainly striven for hours to get il out
until the advent of Forrest resulted
in its removal within few minutes 4;
how he ruled his men so that they
feared him more than the enemy, and
yet confided in him as though he were
incapable of an error or fault.
/ IN THE CONVICT BUSINESS.
The war ruined him, and he set to
work rebuilding his fortunes. He
started in several undertaking.
among others the Selma railroad
and failed. (The road is still unfin-
ished, and the ties are lying along the
way just where they were placed
four years ago. Then he returned
to planting on the old system.
He bought an island plantation on
the Mississippi, below Memphis, and
contracted with the city for the labor
Of all her petty criminals at ten cents
per day per prisoner. lie put up
buildings and made the island re-
, formatory. There were few white
convicts sent there, however-nearly
, all negroes-and these for work-house
offenses only, such as would entitle
them in Cincinnati to sentences of
from thirty days to six months. He
planted eight hundred acres in cotton,
!, four hundred in corn, and managed
the criminals on the slave plantation
plan. No one was filter to manage
such place. Before his last sickness
he was on the point of making anoth-
err fortune, and was making more
than five hundred bales of cotton a
year, to say nothing Of other farm
products. The island was malarious,
!, but they say negroes are not affected
by malaria.
However, the miasmatic air of the
island poisoned the strong old man.
He recognized the presence of the dis.
ease and its source, but worked on
ffercely, as though in defiance Of pes
thence and fever; and the convicts,
doubtless, found his way just as arbi-
trary and his will just as strong as
ever. His inflexible will had always
triumphed, and he fancied, perhaps,
that it would conquer even his grow
ing weakness. But at last there came
to this grim guerrilla the grimmcst
of all guerrillas-the fantastic rider
of the pale horse, whose ways were
much more arbitrary and whose will
was much more stronger than even
the ways and the will of Nathan Bed
ford Forrest.
Il AN AWFUL TEMPER.
i do not think it can be said OF For
rest that he became less fierce as he
, grew older. His temper during the
last few years of his life was just as
ungovernable as ever. On one occa-
|, sion, for example, he had ordered a
suit of clothes from a well known
firm in Memphis. After the clothes
were made, Forrest allowed them to
, lie SO long in the store that the moths
got into them. When he did call for
, them at last and took them home, he
discovered the work of the destruc-
tive moths, and became fearfully en-
ragged. He went back to the store
and cursed the proprietor in terri
BILE and wonderful manner, and swore
, more awfully than any trooper of the
famously profane army in Flanders.
Of course the proprietor of the store
had to endure it under pain Of death
or most terrible whipping. He
, ventured to remonstrate ct last.
I, General" said he, ~ am sorry this
thing happened; we did not know
the clothes were moth eaten, and are
willing to make all the reparation
possible"
4 But the mans humble apology on
ly exasperated Forest the more. He
would have greatly preferred an an
CRY quarrel. He pulled out his pis-
toll and thrust it at the tailor's head.
"Why, General" exclaimed the
trembling man, "yon would not shoot
me for such trifie as that?
CD DIN pou yes" Ioared For
rest, I'D shoot yon like rat" But
he didn't shoot.
lie went home and thought over
the matter and saw it in the proper
light; for he had his generous Inn
pulses. Next day he apologized to
that man as hnmbly and sincerely as
any human being could apologize -
1t became actually painful to hear his
apology. But then he was often do
4 ing just such things and then apollo
giving for them, and all whom he
abused were not 80 forgiving - the
good tailor. Sometimes he
would get so ashamed of his conduct
that he would first send friend to
the person he had abused as q herald
OF apologies.
"Good gracious! general, )" exclaim-
ed one of these heralds one day, "can
you do nothing with that temper of
yours?"
/ "No; I'll be id if I cam" return-
ed Forrest, ON the point Of getting
mad again.
; ONE OF HIS ENCOUNTERS.
Perhaps his strange luck in all per-
; sonal encounters was principally due
: to the fact that he never suffered 4
quarrel to grow old or cold, and al
!. ways took the initiative in fight
whenever that was possible. Still,
J his luck was remarkable. lie was
blown up in steamboat explosion,
and shot ut from ambuscades, and
shot in hattie and shot in nr;v.%a