The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-26
L1EUTENANr GREELY,s BoYHooD.
His Mothers Reminiscences-In Incidents Fore
shadowing His Character as Man.

Newburyport Letter in Boston Journal.
A bright cheerfulappearing lady with an in
teresting and somewhat peculiar manner, ready
at conversation, quick at answer and full Of
reminiscent anecdotes-this was Mrs. Greedy,
the mother of Lieutenant A. w. Greedy, the now
famous arctic explorer Norman would imagine
that she had sons whose years counted over the
fortes, for her features still retain the ylyaelty
of middle-aged matron.
The moment the name of Lieut.. Greedy was
mentioned she greeted the writer warmly. and
it was plainly evident from the first that II
mother ever existed proud of her son, that
mother was Mrs. Greedy She could talk OF him
increasingly his pictures and his chlldrens
pictures and his wifes picture-in fact, every
thing that related to her boy was brought out
and described with the utmost readiness. She
wished to show the room where Adolphus was
born, so, up one flight of stairs, in the medium
sized, old-fashioned, brown wooden house, at the
junction of Prospect and Parsons streets, she
led the way to the corner room, the birth
room of Lietenant Greedy. The walls held
portraits of the Lieutenant, taken at various
stages in his life, one as ayouthfu soldier, with
mustache only upon the face and no beard to
conceal the thin, narrow cheeks, another with
mustache aud whiskers covering the bullet
wound in his cheek, and still another with the
full English beard, parted in the middle, which
was worn just before sailing. Everything in the
room was cheerful and inviting, though not ex-
pensive or snowy.
Mrs. Greedy" said the visitor after the first
greetings We're over, now is IL ABOUT Gnab aueC7
dote of your sons turning the grindstone stead
lily two hours for his uncle and never giving up,
although the work was tremendous, because he
had declared he would accomplish the deedp
Mrs. Greedy laughed, laugh Indicative of the
pride and pleasure she felt at hearing the anec-
dote. WELL she replied II can't say about
thatparticular story. But guess it's true enough,
it's Just like him. He used to go up to Bartlett
to visit his uncle He was a smart boy, Adolf
phus was. One tune know he was UP there
w mo wit Zig
was only ten years old then and a little boy.
very slight of his age-when one of the school
committee came to examine the scholars. When
he came to my boy he was astonished at the
way his questions were answered He kept
asking them and Adolphus kept answering,
until finally the committeeman exclaimed,
We'll, what Is your name and where
did you come 'FRONT.' You can't belong around
here And then, after Adolphus had told him,
he declared: You are the smartest boy of your
age in the State of New Hampshire, shook hands
with the little fellow, and said he hoped to meet
him again"
our son was graduated from the Newbury
port High-school very young was he not Mrs.
Greely2" asked gentleman who was present at
the interview.
Eyes, he was Why, after he had graduated
he went UP in New Hampshire again, and they
laughed at him for saving he had graduated--a
pale, little thing like him. But he taught up
there at jackson one winter, and the best men
of the town have since told me that their boys
learned more that winter than they had ever
learned before. O, he was dreadful smart
boy.n
Il think his mother had something to do with
making him smart, didn't she9n
Again, Mrs. Greedy laughed as she replied II
guess did train him up. He never undertook
to prove truant from school but once, and then
when he told me he was going off with the boys
said to him, 'Adolphus, you must go to school
II have to whip you every step Of the way.
And he went
TT. 4 = q
determination and strict adherence to duty
which characterizes Mrs Greedy in the same
way that it now does her SON. Indeed, the
mother must have had much to do in giving him
the inheritance of pluck and faithfulness which
he has so often exhibited.
when he was at school, continued the proud
mother, rejoicing, as every mother does. at an
opportunity to describe the characteristics of her
boy, The always had his head in book. Why,
his friends, whenever they saw him coming to
their house, would fly around and hide every
book and paper they could find; for they knew if
he got hold of them they wouldn't hear q word
from him the whole time. One day, when he
was ten years old, he came home and said:
Mother, can tell you the salaries of every Off
Ger, from the President down to soldier And
sure enough, he could. He had a great mem
oryn
His pluck and grit is what every one speaks
OF, was the comment made by the visitor.
YES be is plucky And he always .cafries
out his work in spite of everything. Now, when
the Proteus was lost, General Hazen wrote me
note saying that all was right, and he told
John, my other son. that Adolphus wouldn't
start from the station to come south But /
knew he would; he was always after his bust
ness
That's true, added Mr.. John A. Greedy, who
was present, you could depend on every word
Adolphus uttered told General Hazen that
Adolphus had said he was coming down from
the station that fall and having said So he
would come. Adolphus did carry out his part of
the plan, relying on the government to carry
out theirs
plus, here interrupted the mother. another
tribute of praise coming to her memory II
want to tell you an incident of his thoughtful
ness and regard for reputation One time he
was visiting my sister, who lives in Portsmouth,
N. H. Her husband keeps wine for sale in the
store under the house, and officers from the
navy-yard used to come over often. When
some of them came and found that Lieutenant
Greedy was up stairs they wanted to be intro
duced. But Adolphus refused to go down stairs,
although he was asked three times Now was
angry, for of course those officers were much
ahead of him in rank; so when he got home
| just asked him what he meant by refusing
to go down. Mother, said he am young and
want to rise if i can. Now, ten years from to-
day, when the chance comes, some man might
say, mo; lieutenant Greedy won't do met him
in liquor saloon.n That wouldn't do, mother
You see he thought of all that, but didn't.
<Auoi PAuS AeNef Won1 lneo eiiaU SdlooIl anu WAen
my sister came to our house and tried to coax
him to get her some liquor for medicine he said
he couldn't and wouldn't
Your son went to the war very soon after he
graduated, hear, Mrs Greely''
8Yes, he was determined to go, even if he
never came back. Said he would be Ashamed not
TO go when all the other boys were going His
father and grandfather were both soldiers in the
war Of 1872 and his father was also Captain of
the Washington Light Infantry. Adolphus was
wounded three times His worst wound was
received at Antietam, when bullet went into
his mouth, cut out four teeth and then came out
of the cheek He went to the army hospital
and just,see his pluck Nobody would attend
to him there, 50 be travelled thirty miles to Har-
risburg, Pa, walking part of the way, to the
city hospital there He left that hospital
before he was entirely we'll Then he was
wounded in the shin and in tha ,sida