Smyrna times., 1884-06-04
" Uncle Gales " Pension.

Thank the Lord thank the Lord,
it has come at last, and have waited
so long, so long"
1t was Il pleasant Spring evening,
and the loafers who were occupying
the outdoor benches in front of the
country postoilice of IL little agricul-
tural town in Penobscot county, Maine,
looked up to see who was uttering
such thanksgivings. An old man,
with long, thin, gray hair was coming
out through the door. holding in his
b0ny hands an envelope and several
papers bearing the official headlines of
the United States pension Office. After
nearly twenty weary years of waiting
old Caleb Woods, Uncle Gale" as he
was iamiliarly called by the younger
residents, had at last got pension for
his lost son and the documents were in
his possession.
Away back in the sixties Uncle Gale
was prosperous farmer, who owned
string of land running back from the
PenObscOt river toward the east. In
addition to lands, buildings and real
estate he had Il nice family of three
daughters and Il son. He thought
more Of these last than he did of money,
and when his only boy came home one
night and told him he had enlisted in
the Second Maine regiment and was
going to the war, the old man encour-
aged him with words Of praise until he
was gone, and then went into his little
room and vowed that the light Of day
and life itself were gloom to him until
} his safe return. And then came the
waiting. Johnny was an active, intel
ligent young man, and soon won his
way to commission. He went
through the first Bull Run and the
arduOus PeHinaular campaign under
: Mcclellan, without IA scar and un-
touched by the fatal hand of sickness,
that in those days killed more than
bullets. The regiment enlisted for two
= years, and when it had served out that
S time johnny and his comrades went to
. Washington to be mustered out and re-
2 turn home. Ii was while waiting here
e for his discharge that an officer at the
war department. who had become
5 acquainted with johnny in Virginia,
requested him to become bearer of
, dispatches to the Army of the Cum
+ bcrland. Johnny consented, drew his
r pay-sOmc S3OO-depOsited it in a
bank, and Lieutenant Woods started
{ on Il mission from which he never re-
turned. just before one Of the large bat
ties that were fought nj that time he
wrote "A letter to his father. saying his
= duties would end in ~ few days and he
would come hQmc to the old farm ia
stay. And that was all that was ever
heard Of him.
The father waited, he did not come
!. he wrote, they could give no informa
> ton. The time passed, as time will
pass, no matter who lives OF dies; the
days ran on into weeks the weeks
dragged by tu months. and the months
with their storms aud calms. passed
into year. and Uncle Gale watched n
the doorway and visited the postOlicC
in vain. No tidiug came. and all bu
2 the old man had given up the boy a!
ill one of the dead long ago.
The war was closed and Grant $ first
administration was growing to an enc
: when the father received letter from
the cashier of n bank in Washington
stating that there was n sum of money
- despOsited there payable to the orde
of his son and asking what he shOulC
i'm do with il. The boys death could no
III be proved and the money was with
held. All this time the old man wa
- growing teebler and less able to carr,
on the farm. His daughters had al
died but one and she had married
poor man, who could i'll afford to sup
port any one outside his own family
OF late years Uncle Gale had rente,
his large tarm house to Summer board
ers, and the money he made from this
with what little hay he could spare
were the sinews that enabled him t
-. contend with approaching poverty.
% Among the migratory birds Of plea,
ure that sought out this Maine farI
~ house for a retreat last Summer wa
one Mrs. Ness, Il middlc-aged lady frol
I'm Eastern Tennessee, who had com
n, north for the purpose of trying tn
effects of the climate on an invali
daughter, The simple, old-iashione
ways of the old man, with the chile
like prattle, were something new (
her, who was accustomed to the artif
% cal cant of society, and he intereste
- her so much that in Il short time sl
knew his whole story. When he tol
her how johnny had gone to the we
on a mission to Shermans army an
had never returned, she asked him no
his boy looked and what his rank wa
- As the father went on with his tale i
took out faded photograph from h
old leather wallet and showed it
nds her, saying: That's Johnny's picture
Jar he had it taken Just before he wrOt
"a his last letter.
,rk, She looked at it moment with
and puzzled gaze as if she were trying
,6m recall old memories: then she passC
&. Y. it back to him.
Il was with him when he died
said she, mechanically.
After the surprised father had b
come quieted a little she told him Il
story. Her husband was fighting
the confederate army and she was
and home with few servants. One da
on some negroes brought a dying UnC
ans soldier to her house. They had four
II him lying unconscious by the roadsid
From the delirious utterings of the sic
man she judged that he was trying
escape to the federal lines. On Il
next day he died and she got casll,
y ON. M and had him decently buried on lit
MD knoll at the side of her house. Meth
from his talk nor from any pape
el found upon his person could she leal
- his name or home, and she had nuI
-, bered him as one of the unknown dea
-, and the incident had nearly pass,
from her memory, when one glance
the photograph recalled his fresh, bo
IN ish features back from the sad pa
W. and caused her to remember the seen
! by she had struggled to forget
Acting on the suggestion of Nj
Ness, the old farmer set about esta
fishing his claim for the money, at tl
,,,, same time making an application for
ght- pouslu"' Aho piOoiS Wofo suuclel
and and the same mail that told UnC
Gale that his pension was allow
el. brought him a check, payable to
. order, for the money that Johnny III
Pay deposited, together with interest for
not tho infprvanino vaors Tho na;ch h.
Sex, were all glad for the old man. Il
time money would enable him to live wit
par ont work Spba,, cor,o Ia 20 ,,,,c,.o,
L.. L.. IL Ii L. - -.