The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-01-25
LETTER FROM JFEF, DAVIS.
His Opinion Of Gen. Harvey as the veter-
an Appeal Many Years ago.
[St Louis Globe Democrat

Mr.. l.. U. Reavis, of this city, is en-
! gagged in collecting material for life of
Gen. Harney. He has just received
| the following letter from Jefferson Da-
Wis, late of the G.. S. A:
"MISSISSIPPI CITY, Miss, January,
1S7S.-SIr: II gives me great pleasure
to comply with your request of the 30th
| ult., for some "reminiscences in cOnnec-
ton with my old friend, Gen. w. S.
| Harney.
am the spring of 1929 reported as
a BreVet Second Lieutenant to the
commanding officer an Fort Winneba-
go. Gen. Harney was then stationed
at the post, and Captain of Company K,
First United States infantry. At that
period of his life he was, physically,
the finest specimen of a man | ever
saw. Tall, straight, muscular, broad
chested and gauntwaisted, he was one
of the class which Trelawney describes
as, natures nObleman,' against whom
the plague in the East never made an
attack. Had he lived in the time of
homer he would have robbed Achilles
of the SOubriquet of the swift-footed,
for he would run faster than IA white
man, further than an Indian, and in
both showed that man was organized
to be master of the beast. To elucidate
the last clause of the preceding par
agraph, requires the recital of an anec-
dote.. Capt. Harvey carefully attended
to his company garden, which on the
frontier was necessary fOr-the comfort
as well as the health of the men. The
beds had been carefully spaded and
TaSed, when one of his numerous dogs
a half-grown mongrel hound-came
walking across the carefully prepared
ground, and the Captain stOrming at
him in tones and in language not suit
ed to the pulpit, frightened the dog so
that instead of going out by the walk
he ran across the bed toward the gap
in the fence. The Captain started in
full run after the dog which had to
jump on the fence and then off it
fatal disparity to the dog, for the Cap
tain cleared the fence at a bound, |
which brought him jump nearer to
the dOg-and then began an even run
up the long slope which led to the fort, |
before reaching which Harvey mas
tered the dog, and Rosa suffered in |
proportion to the length of the chase.
Captain Harney was also bold horse |
man, fond of the chase, a good boat |
man and skillful in the use of the |
spear as fisherman. Neither drink
ing nor gaming, he was clear of those |
rocks and shoals of life in a frontier
StiIIlSOll, anu Is ITO uOuDJ lDu6DJeu 10 |
this abstinence for much of the vigOr
he has possessed to his present ad-
vanced age. BY long service on the
Indian frontier, together with that
practical sense which tests all theory
by actual observation, he had acquired
that knowledge of Indian character
which was often conspicuously ex-
hibited in his military career. OF the
incidents thus generally referred to,
YOU have SO many other sources of in
formation that it would be needless for
me to enter into detail, but | shOulddo
injustice to the subject of this letter if
| did not call your attention to the
project of treaty he made with the
Sioux in 1S55 or '5G. | think it con-
the best basis for an arrange
ment between the United States Gov
ernment and an Indian tribe that has
ever been devised, and if carried out
would impress the Indians with their
and bind them to Il
more faithful observance of it than ev-
er did any of those verbose, miscalled
treaties, which are spread over the
records of the United States.
Yours respectfully,
JEFFERSON DAVIS"