Sharp County record., 1878-02-15
left. Dayis's "reminiscences OF General
Harney.

HhrHoI'
The St. Louis Globe Democrat says:
Mr. L. U. Reavis, of this city, IS en-
gaged in collecting material for a life Of
Gen. Harvey. He has just received tae
following letter from Jefferson DAVIS,
late of the c. S. A: ,
MISSISSIPPI CITY, MISS, January,
| 1S7S.-SIR: 1t gives me pleasure 10
comply with your request OF the SUN
nit. for some "reminiscences in connec-
ton with my old friend, General w. ..
Harvey.
In the spring of 1929 I reported as a
Brevet Second-Lieutenant to the COM
manding officer at Fort Winneoago.
Gen. Harney was then stationed at that
post, and Captain of Company X, lst
United States Infantry. At that period
of his life he was, physically, the 1neSt
specimen of man | ever saw. Iall,
straight, muscular, broad-chested and
gaunt-waisted, he was one of the class
which Trelawney describes as "nature's
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
SOW6rGgaIet of the ''swift-footed, " for he
would run faster than white man, fur
ther 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
hound-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
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 it
would be needless for me to enter into
detail, but / should do injustice to the
subject of this letter if | did not call
your attention to the project Of treaty
| he made with the Sioux in 1855 or '56.
| [ 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 a 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.