The Red Cloud chief., 1881-08-11
used: a rusty pen. a bottle Of cloe.ed

used: a rusty pen. q bottle Of cloeSed
ink. aDd a bit OF paper. In another
room (this one being carefully io-ked
lest some one ~intru9e). she sat down -
write a letter. aftor the following
fashion:
Mis- MARY Haven ! send you your dead boy.
I'd ba sen; him alive. II I could 70 done IL
nut twas to- late. You arU h s-lFor ere crsi
time Deb redec1eiths; "dsy.iss fankes" "a.
not sii one word, and wrote ouIy y snkee;
bat when ! heard him call hts nnotEcr 1 prom
lsef bun Id help n.ln gt q Ger. Here ne &.
God hep you. aeobe my own ICY IL up toeEs
n SOL DO - Richard Feis from HulEs
Corners. virginia ! We SO. 10 tske your bDys
body nineteen miles in cart and what III DO
then don't know: tut promised Tim and
Rich might &c calling for M ZONE day. Oh, 1
want TO see hin go. dsal or alive
She signed her name. rubbed her
sleeve across her eyes. and prepared -
take bret rest and reircshrnest- At
four next morning Tom harnezsed the
pale horse, whIc5, Ike himself, had
more force than WAS apparent To-
gether Den and he got the burden into
the cart again. and had much trouble
TO de -idc upon 4 load not heavy. not
good enough 10 tempt plunderers, 10
mean enough 10 excite suspicion. She
was OF at last Oh her long, strange ride.
The horse was now al lis best A
weaker. perhaps 4 better. oma would
have been frightened ba k. She met
rough travellers, she stood sharp cues
toning-just what she did. as a whole.
no one ever knew. Old Tom sax her
return on horseback the following night,
her strong. hard features travel sta ned.
Old Prince the worse for wear; the cart
had persisted by the way. lie longed
much TO know her experiences, but she
told no stories, then or after. She vas
a rebei. vet she entered the Union
lines. Hundreds of mothers we're long
ing for the bodies of Their sons, and
N ght not even be assured they would
have bural To send the body of u
private away to Massachusetts,, Who
would lis en- To the proposal? But
somebody did, aud at the interce-sIOn
of Deborah Fcils. So il was that one
day a siivery-haired Little lady in a
beautiful! home under the great hills
opened a rough box To Ind her boy
Will. in his biOod-dabbled coat, with
! Dcb's grcasy letter on his breast.
Before many weeks the South began
To see the hopeless ,ness of its struggle.
I Deborah could not be more bitter than
she had been on any general principles
of patriotism; but her personal griefs
wore ON her BODY and mind. The
gaunt form dropped, the sa!low cheeks
became hollow. Nowadays TIE slave
/ heard her rail, not only At the Yankee
army. but the women at home. Cruel,
cruel words she uttered.
One hot day she sat on the old door
step. The horse was rear by, but the
dog had died of dependency; the hens
had vanished One by one. Tom had
gone on an errand To the nearcst set
Element, and rs she sat there broodIng
over her troubles he hobblcd back,
bringing a letter. When he made her
understand what ne had. she snatched
and tore it apart in a second, reading
there:
God bless you. Deborah Fe.ls, as | do, anl
far more heiPiuily. / have spent time,
money. efforts without ceasinV. to lind your
son. Last week I { unI him in Camp Doug
las. lie WAS alive aud kindly cared tor. lie
ttlkci long AMI lovingly OF MS mo bir. The
prisoners are soon 10 Ice exchanged How
muca I longed To- help him back 10 YOU We
tod him what Il brave, good deed you did, an
ne WAS very proud 81 You Bhi. poor
mother. iy heart knows hoH yours mus; aChe
nrr; yoIr Richard can't x nome To greet
Won. lie Ia, goE q away from caTih. He was
near death wnen we found him. not from
wounds. bat n 10" FEVER. lie deI to-iiy,
with your name on his ip1- II will not h.
ca To send you Richard body. bat. AS you
salt. if il can be done. II shall hc done.
Doubtless YOU received nay other letter IDeb
never had You must apply ut too same
place now Tor more information
Then followed some directions.
For the first time old Tom saw Deb
weep. and her head bowed, great sobs
shaking her whole frame; but when she
re read the letter later. "A certain new
reace was in her face that soltened
strangely over a few words. not seen be-
fore: When / kneel on my boys
grave | pray Godto bless you, my sister;
! love and thank you for Wills sake,
too
1t was the strange, the out-of-order
that was accomplished in those DAYS.
Private effort brought TO pass what the
public voice declared impossible. VIII
Ravens widowed mother. in her own
rare, womanly way. and by a generous
OUTLAY, did what Deborah Fclis had
done in her wild, lawleSs fashion, and
the Southern mother saw her boy once
more. She expected him in the old
rough clothes; and, in truth, he too came
in his own colors, but with clean, dainty
touches. Kind hearts had done better
for him than evenhispoor mother could
in her d~esolstion. What was best, over.
under. and all about the dead were
sweet Northern flowers. They filed the
coffin, their lovely faces Ike messengers
of peace, Deb saw them, and her heart
was like Il little child $. The tears
rained down her cheeks, but not for sor-
row. She had felt for months that
her son must be dead, but how good
that Northern woman had been, She
felt the soft lining of the coffin with her
rough finger; she smoothedthe blacs hair
OF her boy: then she sob5ed. God
bless her, She knew what it was
Deb is an old woman now. Her heart
is the heart of a Southerner still, but
from that day. when she saw the
Northern flowers around the dead
Virginian boy, she never again made
Yankee a compound word--Annttt
Lucille Noble, ia Christian Union.