The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-01-17
JEFF. Dayis's "reminiscences Of General
Harvey.

The st. Louis Globe Democrat says
Mr.. l.. U. Reavis, of this city, is en-
gagged in collecting material for life of
Gen. Harvey. He has just received the
following letter from Jefferson Davis,
late of the G. S. A.:
MISSISSIPPI CITY, MISS, January,
187S.-SIR: 1t gives me pleasure to
comply with your request of the 3Oth
ult., for some "reminiscences in. eonnec-
ton with my old friend, General w. S.
Harvey.
IL the spring of 1929 reported as a
Brevet Second-Lieutenant to the COM
handing officer at Fort Winnebago.
Gen. Harvey was then stationed at that
post, and Captain of Company X, 1St
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
gaunt-waisted, he was one of the class
which Trelawney describes as natures
noblemen," 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 his
SOubriquet of the 'swift-footed," for he
would run faster than white man, fur
Their 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 paragraph, requires the
recital of an anecdote. Capt. Harvey
carefully attended to his company gar
den, which on the frontier was neces-
sary for the comfort as well as the health
of the men. The beds had been care
fully spaded and raked, when one of his
numerous dogs-a half-grown mongrel
houEd-came walking across the care
fully prepared ground, and the Captain,
storming at him in tones and in language
not suited to the pulpit, frightened the
dog so that instead of going out by the
walk, he ran across the bed towards 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 Captain
cleared the fence at bound, which
brought him a jump nearer to the dog
and then began an even run up the long
slope which led to the Fort, before
reaching which Harvey mastered the
dog, and ''Rosa" suffered in proportion
to the length of the chase. Capt. Har-
ney was also bold horseman, fond of
the chase, a good boatman and skillful
in the use of the spear as a fisherman.
Neither drinking nor gaming, he was
clear of those rocks and shoals of life in
a frontier garrison, and is no doubt
indebted to the abstinence for much OF
the vigor he has possessed to his pres
ent advanced 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 exhibited in his
military career. OF the incidents thus
generally referred to, you have so many
other sources of information that 1t
would be needless for me to enter into
detail, but / should do injustice to the
subject of this letter if l did not call
your attention to the project of treaty
he made with the Sioux in 1855 or 80.
| think it constituted the best basis for
an arrangement between the United
States Government and an Indian tribe
that has ever been devised, and if carried
out would impress the Indians with their
responsibility, and bind them to more
faithful observance of it than ever did
any of those verbose, miscalled treaties
which are to be found spread over the
records of the United States.
Yours respectfully,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.