Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-10-15
STORIES Of IHE VAR.
A Weighty Havsrsack Which an
Old Captain Carried on the
March.
Playing POkerin the Army-Vast
Sums Of Money Rapidly Made
and aa Rapidly sPenr.
Albany Press.

stage demanded cannon balls, piece
| Of shell stained with blood, cartridges
taken from Rebel cartridge boxes, sho
gus, squirrel rifles taken from To,
bushwhackers, swords aud the mucl
talked OF toothpicks, but this frenzy
| finally exhausted itself and the relic
passion found expression 10 rings ant
ornaments made from camel coal anC
muscle shells and pipes made fren
mountain laurel. At the time OF tn,
capture Of Fort Donelson everybody
was in the first stage. The officers
aud men first TO enter the rebel lines
first selected artillery sabres as the
best mementoes. Then they threw
these away and took shotguns, with
the thought that they had been in &C
ton and would be Of use at home
Then, after a day or two, they threw
away shotguns and retained the small
est bits Of exploded shells.
One old Captain from Northern
Ohio had q worse attack than the or
binary man was afflicted with. He put
IN day after day collecting guns,
swords, cannon balls and all sorts Of
things from the battle field. When the
orders came to move the Captain was
IN a quandary. He solved the prob
lem by swearing at the government
for not providing adequate transpOr-
tation. He retained only large ar
tillery sack handsomely made Of
leather, which he proposed to use as a
haversack. He laid in a supply Of
chickens, butter in a teaoup, biscuits,
crackers, a bottle Of pickles, ground
coffee for extreme cases, pepper and
salt for fresh meat, and arranged ell
in order 10 his roomy haversack. lie
vas proud of the institution, aud ex
amined it frequently, each inspection
making him the better satisfied with
the whole arrangement. While the
hsversack was hanging on the gun
stacks, just previours to the start,
some fellow picked six pound cannon
ball from the Captains rejected col
lection Of relics and dropped it in
among the chickens, butter and bis
cults. The march commenced. The
Captain lost faith in his haversack. He
changed the strap from the right
shoulder to the LETT and back again,
and finally supported it with his
hand. When the halt for dinner
came he was as glad as any private
weighed down with a knapsack. He
retired to a proper distance and Sc
lected a seat with great dellberation
on log,
He opened his haversack with puck
ering lips. His butter cup was broken
and butter and chicken add bread and
pickles were one conglomerate mass.
The Captain was sstounded. His
| first reach into the mass detected the
cannon ball. He drew it out, hurled
il against a tree, and sWore SO as to fix
the standard Tor the regiment for the
war. He was outraged. After be
had finished his dinner he thought
better OF the cannon ball venture, and
declared that as he had carried il so
far he would carryit farther. And he
did, and it is now displayed as a me-
mento Of the war at Defiance, o. This
ended the relic gathering OF the com
pany.
INcIDEETs OF THE DRAFT.
| The provost marshals during the
war brought to the surface many rich
stories, and these stories were enioyed
Immensely by the soldiers in the Rsld
10 southern Ohio lived good Mrs.
Blank, a woman whose husband had
left her years before, writing TO her
from New York that if he was not at
home within three days she could con-
slider that he was dead. If alive he
would certainly be at home in three
days. He did not come, and without
understanding the mysterious illusions
his wife and all his friends considered
him dead. He was never heard Of
aiterWard. The widow had two sons,
one a stalwart young man, the other a
cripple. When the first enrolment
for the draft was ordered a widow was
allowed to exempt one son from the
draft and to elect which son. She
elected to have the healthy son remain
at home, knowing that the cripple or
Invalid could not be drafted. This
gave her both Of her sons at home.
Everyons foresaw that she would do
this, and the provost marshal met her
with: Before you can claim this ex-
emption, Mrs. B., you must
present satisfactory evidence that
your husband is dead " Said
the a5tonished woman: ''Ofcourse he's
dead, and can prove it; | have let
ter from him in his own handwriting
saying 30. And to the very last the
woman could not understand Why
this repeated declaration should cause
a laugh.
A SPINE IN THE BACK.
In another case . backwoodsman
wrote to the same officer, about az
follows / think / ought to be exempt
from draft because | nave at home a
child that has been sick for two years
The little thing has a spine IN the
back, and il has il very bad, and it
takes all that can make 10 keep il
comfortable. II went TO war the
child would suffer, and | hope you
will excuse me This letter IS yet
90 file, and the man evidently thought
he had written terribly impressive
letter.
POKER IN THE ARMY.
1T was during the war that / learn.
cd to play poker, said Sergeant Smith.
Yes" said Zimmerman, that's