The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-07-31


'amento river, I noticed in the cabin
If that boat a lady with FIVE children
'round her, neatly and richly dressed.
The face of that lady seemed familiar
20 me. 1t must be I had seen her
before; but where? She kept look
ng at me, and after time approach
I'd me and begging my pardon, said
She thought she had feen me before,
and would never be satisfied without
earning from me one thing. sR
: All this time / was trying to call
her up in my mind. oTs @H "4Ga /
Z She asked me if / were not in the
war and stationed on the Big Black
FLYER in Mississippiain 1868, and i'll
did not remember a young lady WHO
was captured in attempting to cross
the pontoon bridge. o24 aa' - Eia2
2 "Ida MitchelI!"aI almost yelled.
1t. is needless tolsay that scene
here followed and that there was la
commotion on that boat. 3asa. t2y
Ida, MITCHELL, now Mrs. Harry
Deering, was again before me. Oh,
how | regretted that Sergeant North
feet could not have lived to be with
us at that unexpected but happy
meeting, Mrs. Deering told me that
she had regretted a thousand times
that she had not taken our names
and addresses before leaving us at
the bridge, as she had often wished
to communicate with us and to know
that we had survived the war. The
tears rolled down her checks when l
told her that Sergeant Northheet
had been killed. 2'. q s. sS@
3 Mrs. Deering compelled me to go
with her to her home in San Fran
cisco. They haye"a beautiful resi-
denee on Bush street, adorned with
all the ornaments, elegance and COM
forts that wealth commands, and are
respected and loved by all who know
them. They have five children
three girls and two boys. 1t was a
happy family.
Mrs. Deering told me that after
crossing the bridge over the Big
Black river At our first meeting, she
made her way to the confederate
lines, was conducted to the head
quarters Of General Loring, and there
learned that Lieut.. Deering was in
the hospital in Jackson; that his arm
had been amputated just above the
elbow. He was in q critical condi-
tion when she Joined him, but she
remained by his bedside until his
recovery, when he was transferred to
Richmond and assigned to duty in
the War Department. They there
married. Her husband surrendered
at Appomattox Court House with
the army under Gen. Lee. @t
After the war they crossed the
plains, taking their first child, little
Ida, with them. Arriving in Cali.
fornia, Lieutenant Deering secured a
situation as engineer on the Central
Pacific. He invested his earnings
in stocks, and, like a great many
men in San Francisco, he became in.
dependently rich at that business
and now lives in princely style in
San Francisco, and is an officer In
one. fthe leading banks of that city
f. The eldest daughter, Ida, is the
very picture of her mother, and is
now fourteen years old. The boys
are twins, and Mrs. Deering laugh
ingly said, if she had known thu
names Of the two young men wht
helped her over the bridge on the Biz
Black, she would have named he
twin boys for them. M s'' ii4Ea
/ She visited her home and the Cen
tennial in 1876, and was joyful,
received. .f1a @
Her father: did not survive th
war. She is now happily situated
May heaven bless the remainder o
her days Louisiana journal.
! THESE are the days when til
woman of the house lights dow