The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-01-08
Did 1 Kill jerry ?

! der he was on the right flank, for he wa
by long odds the biggest man in th
regiment. There were one or two VIII
slightly overtopped his six feet three AM
half in his stockings, but they wer
spindhng nerveless, narrow chested tel
lows, whom "Jerry" could twist roun'
his thumb if it came to muscle
Where jerry hailed from original.
never knew. He enlisted in Nev
York in the spring of 1862, and, fancy
had at that time been staggering abou
among the Bowery boys and living of
the admirers of bis inetfable good mature
and unparalleled biceps But | have
never known to what section is due th'
credit of raising so glorious a specimen
of the physical man.
Take it all in all, believe Jerry Day
ton WAS the biggest man ever saw. /
was | who enlisted him, when | was a
home in New York, during March, 1862
the bearer of certain papers to Governor
Morgan, and when took him to the
surgeon for examination, | noted dowl
all his measurements as matter o
curiosity. Here they are:
Round chest, 4-& inches round shoul-
ders. 50 inches; round forearm, ii inch
es round biceps. Is! inches rounC
thigh, p inches round calf, Is inches
weight, 1876 pounds.
don't think any prize fighter ever
entered the ring that could beat that
And vet Jerry was not fat He was
rather the opposite.
When he was stripped, his muscles
stood out free from adlpose tissue, ano
showed their play when he moved, like
those of a thoroughbred after training
Added to these, bull-neck and good
looking, iovial face hands like the paws
,of IA gorilla, but small feet for his size
going look. which betokened mildness
and honesty, ana jerry Dayton gave one
the idea OF huge, inot1ensive elephant
have called Jerrys face goodlo looking
Perhaps it was more the good humol
which shone through its every pore tC
the dmiabie soul within that gave one
this idea. for Jerry was flush OF face, and
tealtully and wonderfully freckled.
He wore a very small yellow mustache
which seemed to be all he could grow
for although he never shaved, his face
was destitute Of hair save on his upper
lip. Nature had evidently exhausted
herself in putting together his frame
and had nothing left for beard.
Jerry never quarreled with any of bis
comrades Good reason why TO be-
gin with, he was too gentle to tyrannizt
or bully and altogether too burly for any
one willingly to come in hostile contact
with him. | never knew him to be al
odds with a single soul. He moved
about and attended to his own business
with much the same kind of consciously
superior indifference that a NeWtOund-
land exhibits among a pack Of terriers
No matter how much the boys teaseC
him no matter how much the terriers
yelped at his heels, as, owing to his for
bearance, they were very apt to do-he
would for an instant look IS if he We're
on the point of retaiating, but then, as
if feeling that he might do them harm il
he allowed himself to get angry, he
would check his rising ire and smooth
down his bristling crest with hal
deprecatory, half threatening, "Now
boys, look out and quit your toolln ~
Dayton was good soldier TO be
sure, he had not been in action yet, anC
so had not had a chance to show his
gallantry but lie was obedient and at
tentive to duty, intelligent and upright
He seemed sometimes to dislike to en-
force orders when the men made any OBJ
lection or resistance but this was only
of piece with his own lenient impulses
and never called Tor more than a passing
criticism. Take it all in all, he was or
the high road to success in the profess
sion of arms though it had been takel
up as only a temporary one.
Dayton was one of my tavorltes. He
was always willing, nay, eager, to be o
service to me. He would volunteer bis
help whenever there was any work to be
done about my quarters and besides his
enormous strength, he possessed steadi-
ness and aptitude at work in no ordinary
degree. He was handy, too, in little
things. His thick, coarse fingers coulC
seize hold of any little delicate job as
daintiy as if they had been as taper as {
womans. Nor did he ever seem to weary
in offering his services.
Before | knew wanted anything done
Jerry would have started to do it, anC
all manner of little cOnveniences, such as
shelter Of boushs in front of my tent
or an oven for my contraband to bake
bread in, or nice bunk, or a camp table
and chairs, grew uo around me whenever
we remained a few days in one place
under the deft hand and willing heart o1
Corporal Jerry Dayton.
AS a. rule .When men grow to such al
enormous size they lose in stamina what
they gain in weight. Little or middle
sized men, say of from five feet five t(
five feet nine in height, and weighing l2(
to 100 pounds, are gener lily able te
march farther, carry more weight anc
live on shorter commons than men who
get beyond these limits.
The greatest endurance have almost
invariably seen exhibited by small, spare
men not men who lack muscle, but mer
whose food goes to nourish bone, sineN
and muscle instead of turning into fat.
But Corporal Jerry Dayton was an eX-
ception to the rule that size and endur-
ance stand in inverse ratio to each other
In his case endurance seemed to have
kept pace with growth, and he and oul
petit corporal of the left flank, Ia five
teet-two ll5-pOund specimen) We'd with
each other who would first show signs o
tagging. But there was this difference
between them, that the Brobdgnagiar
could have picked the Liliputian up
load and all, and have marched off witt
him, while the petit corporal coulC
scarcely have done the same by Jerry,
Often have seen the big corporal witt
half-dozen muskets and knapsacks
slung in various fashions about his
brawny person, which he was carrying
along for some weary comrades, anC
laughing at the idea of being overloaded
A mighty man was Corporal jerry Day
ton mighty man of valor- yet untried
There were two of his fellow soldiers
who did not believe in Jerry's courage
One was the orderly sergeant, an ole
soldier himself, and the other a man who
seemed to have known something of Jer
ry's antecedents, though he never gave
any reason for his opinion. Both ac
knowledged Dayton's good qualities il
camp and on the march but
"You keep sharp lookout on him, loo
tenant, fust squall we git inter, an ef Jer
ry Dayton don't run, then Pll go beg biz
pardip for thinkin' some harm on him
Eff Jerry hadn't been Tilted, he'd ha
L. l., -,