New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-28
THE COLONEL.
STORY OF AN OLD SOLDIER.
, :, hos become Of Lenolrf


sfes, Mat of solid business men, comprising
Tne f tho membership of Garfield Post, No. 3,
the pun Army of the Republic, had regarded as a
Grannrcht grievance call to attend meeting for
a. transaction of special business apPontea AZ INC
very ihed responded TO the order under protest.
aIsn part in the proceedngs with an abstraeted
air. ttnasously consulted their watches with the
osatr of men who were Degecting important en-
saseuents and when the meeting as dS nd hd an
louaIn SETTLED down for comfortable chat and the
a anu of old Army "reminiscences.
feT Tha first speaker, jim Brewster, was lumber
ar m who had acquired extensive tracts of
iand covered with forest growth second only to
The big trees Of the Calaveras and MaFposa groyes
IL IL name had become identified with the natural
product he ruled in the commercial world. and he
Sad gained the sobriquet of tue Prince OF Redwood.
ns had lately purchased large piece of land at the
loot of Sixth-st.. including within its boundaries
that unsavory but classical region ON the banks OF
T.aIan &c avengers had from time mmemOrial depos-
tsd fhe contents of their carts, and raked the putrd
and decayng masses of paper scraps OF old IRON and
tber articles of commerce, well as the pieces OF
Mate beneyolently dropped into the ash barrel by
careless servants. Mission Creek, at high tide. is
for a considerable distance navigabe stream, and
= was generally conceded that Brewsters branch
ward was a shIewd venture and would soon turn
he tide OF traffic from the saa cd
felt all the glow Of prudent mans Sn
interview in TIE underwriters Office that uosn had
disturbed the serenity with which he had hitherto
viewed his new acquisition. Meeting some old com.
rades men of his own regiment, who had 1ought
side nv side with hun through the four years of the
civil war; he cast aside the perplexitles OF the gay
and plunged with eager zesi .I an corsa of wbioh
he made the inquiry that heads this chapter. The
question repeated by an eehoing chorus ,.
Lenoir I" The speaker who volunteered reply
vas a member of that very agreeable and highly
entertaining class of individuals who are commonly
accredited with tho possession OF universal KNOW,
ul,oca info tiOu1 g n
;sysct as the average encyclopedias of biography.
aIenor's wife died just before he was mustered
out in 65 Broke hun an ~ 1Sr wne ph p a ae
orange grove and lives on the fat Of the land"
He was an odd fellow enor." remarked a
eray- bearded veteran who endeavored to reconcile
his prediection for powder and cold steel by keep
ing shop in Bush-st.
aOddl there wasn't pobler fellow in the service.
ia was hero If ever one existed Brewster spoke
With such unwontsd energy that the Others lsoked
at him in SURPRISE for he was generally regarded as
Rns;ness relations He cooled down a little as he
ohseryed the sensation his remark had created, and
exchanged his snthusiasm.for dry argumentatlve
wy You know I was a mere boy whenI enlisted.
Some of our folks knew Lenor; my mother spoke
10 him the day We marched and-veil, eould tell
vou q tbinr or two about the Colonel that none OF
Won ever knew. Tm not going to gush over the
man, but you NAV be Interested to hear OF little
remember July. fs6, when we marched through
fhe mountains and camped in narrow dehls they
called Rationale Pass By GesFss snail an meyer T
steep rocky walls loose sand underfoot not green
leaf or blade of grass to BIO seem outside OF scant
fr;cLled along one side l noticed such things and
cared more about them than the older men. When
Joined the Army / was just turned eighteen, and
cbnck full Of patriotic fire, raving over the justice
of our cause ambitious to earn distinction greedy
for carnage and bloodshed. One year had cooled
bays gone to thunder for all cared that night. /
would have reinquished the gorest battle that ever
was fought to be back again on our meadowland
knee deep in the long, cool grass, driving the cows
home from pasture. ] was ravenous for taste Of
home cooking, and would have forfeited all the
epaulettes in the country for one OF my mothers
%ince.nies. They put me on duty that night !;
posted sentries at the entrance to the to keep
sharp lookout for the enemy for If they had como
on ma nnawares they would have caught MS like rats
in a trap NV heart sank when my name was called,
and If Il hadn't been for the fridicue. Pd have tried
to F' a,s Sf a by she long MARCHES the
rations and the heat and the homeslckne,s The
bot sand clocged my steps and burned my bstered
feet the rocks seemed to radate the heat they had
stored no during the day; the air was dry and
charged, with dust. kept up my beat v Wne ana
iiberately lay down and shut ny eyes TO go to
Fine thing If one of the officers had caught you.'
sPreeiseiy what happened was sliding off into
a delicious slumber when heard movement near
nv I opened my eyes and saw Colonel Lonoir.
t6oueht the day Of doom had come for me- for there
was hardly week passed that we didn't hear OF
some poor fellow being shot for sleeping at his post
was 40 stupid with fatigue and drowsiness that
couldn't somehow quite mako out where was
Everything was jumbled up in my mind. The cows
coming homo from pasture. the mince-pic on the
table. an open grave aud a boy standing up as a
target for a line of soldiers. my mother III tears
Brewster stopped abruptly. and somebody asked
eagerly what happened next; WHAT the Coohci
aLenor had not known good nights rest for
weeks He had been twenty-four hours in the sad
dle,' said Brewster, slowly and imprcssiyely: He
was worn out physically and mentally. he had
directed his man TO call him at day break The next
morning But he took my musket up from the rock
where had placed it, ordered me to lie down again.
and did duty for me two hours while slept" -,
There was no comment on Brcwsters story. The
account of a noble deed sinks quietly into the heart
without parade or flourish. After few moments OF
silence. some one put query in which lul ked a
sIenor acted finely at Andcrsonville. to,. didn't
he, Brewsterf" , ,
his watch and rose to go: Despite the self,depre;
citation of his narrative. all were aware that no had
been one of those noble specime1s OF American nc l1
awful experience. and finally emerged an emacinted
wreck of humanity whose heroic devotion to noble
principle will resound throughout the everlasting
ares But no could never be betrayed into any
laton of his prison experience. He pulled en- his
driving gloves nodded cool adicux to tho score or
more of lOnngers and was soon driving at quick
pace ND Market-st and out Sixth For the first few
blocks the we'll paved street was lined with hand
buildings and asG bs be
buildings dwindled in stature and were OCCASIONALLY
aternated with a handsome comfortable residence,
and the pavement grew uneven. Half a mile
further the street abandoned all pretence at smart
ness. trailed humbly between one-storled ware
houses leapod a railroad track. lost itself in maze
ofswitchcs and resumed existence in the guise of a
wagon road terminating with n dismal wooden
structure standing in desOlate region AMI lanked
on one side by tall lumber piles. The clerks and
day laborcrs were filing away and the nght-watch-
man, quiet-nannered man, with an unlit lantern
In his hand. stood on the steps.
1Well, Martin what successp
IL gave them warning, sir, to clear out early this
morning, and kicked their houses over after they
that is all but one"