Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-03-15

Charley aud he fell TO the ground
with n cry of "th. mamma" Down IN
the cellar the mother heard the cry of
her wounded bov. and in moment she
Was kueclIng by his side 1t was SAT
sight for mother 10 look upon. The
Crlcl piece Of iron with lis ragged edges
had stripped n great piece Of flesh from
the back If his ankle upward. completely
sevcring the cord and laying bare the
bone. lie was living upon his face, and
the blood was already staining the green
grass where he had fallen Speaking
words Ui encouragement she removed
his shoe and the fragment of stocking,
and hastily bound up the wound with
strips torn from her clothing In this
way she >tanChe / the flow of blood and
Vuieted his fears. though she could not
alleviate his pain.
Now. harley. must 90 up to Mr..
Persons nv self. for shell may strike
the house, aud then Mary and Robby
will be- burned. III put you behind that
tree. and you will not be in much
danger
But you'll run. mamma, won't yOu!"
And the tears triCklcd down Charley
checks. though he tried very hard TO keep
them back The tree was a large chest
nut. and its generous trunk afforded
pretty ample protection against the
shells two OF which had struck near by
while Mrs Caves was binding up the
wound Arriving at Mr. Persons, she
dispatched him in great haste to the fort,
while she. with swift feet, returned to
Charley. Becky and Bcrty PiersOn. aged
II and II. with true glrlish heroism, re
turned with her notwithstanding the
bursting shells On the way they passed
several negroes sheltered behind stumps
and stones. and Mrs. Cages vainly begged
them to follow her and assist in the re.
moval of the wounded boy. They found
Charley behind the tree, and he
said ~Oh mamma I'm so glad you've
come back He could not walk at
all. and he was weak from pain and loss
of blood so his mother and the two
girls carried him in their arms as best
they could lown the hill half blinded
by the awful explosions. slowly moved
the strange pro, ession. They waded the
little stream in the hollow, stopping
moment TO battle Charlcys face and
hands and carried their burden up the
hill to Mr.. PicrsUn house.
BY this time Mr.. licrson had reached
the fort and the firing ceased. The other
children were sent for and in Jew mo
ments the r. gimental surgeon and hos
pltal steward came ga'lOping down TO eX
press their sorrow at what had happened
and to render assistance. The surgeons
proffered services were most gladly &C
cepted When he was reIdy 10 examine
the wound the mother saId.
Now, t harley, it will hurt you TO have
the wound dressed, but it must he done,
and you must try and bear IT. II vii!
soon be over.
I'll try. said Charley. If you'll be
sure. mamma and not let my leg be cut
of.
She pressed him TO her heart. and as
surcd him with loving words that there
was no occasion for SO serious all opera
ton
sing 10 me- mamma, Sing TO me-
Why. Charley y-l-l-don't believe |
can sing now. She faltered
lou must mamma. you must, Please
sing 10 me just the same as you ALWAYS
do, and Ill keep aw.ul still And he
reached up and put his arms pleadIugly
around her neck There was a silence in
the room as the little sufferer persisted in
his strange -IucsL Then the mother
closed her eyes and tried 20 sing Her voice
was trcmuluus II first. but by mighty
effort she expelled from her mind every
thought save the remembrance Of her love
for her wounded child. and she was soon
able 10 sing To him almust, as swcetly aud
softly a. it i'll her own quiet home. The
boy arms gradually relaxed and he lay
back again quietly upon the blood stained
bed. with his head resting half upon his
pillow and half upon his moth r lap.
Ills eyes were closed and his palid fac
had lost something of the roundness and
fullne>s which marked it in the morning
The mother was bending over him with
one OF his hands in hers. On the other
side of the bed sat Herty PiersOn tanning
CharlIyS face At the foot stood the
surgeon and the steward Clustered
around the room were half a dozen
ncighbOrS looking on with sympathetic,
awe stricken faces
When the mother began 10 softly sing
the song she knew he loved, there was q
solemn hush in the room, and every eye
was filled with tears Even the rough old
surgeon, as he cut away the bloody band
ages. was seen 10 turn away his head and
hastily draw his sleeve across his eyes a
number of times, and the steward was
hardly able TO distinguish his instruments
Under the soothing effect of his mothers
voice the boy allowed the wounds to be
dressed and the cruel stitches TO be taken.
Later in the day he dropped asleep and
evoke considerably refreshed He was
accomplishing through it all and the
fortitude with which he bore his suffer
ings excited the admiration of every one.
In the cool OF the evening Charley was
taken home in an ambulance, sent for
that purpose from the fort The OIL
cars did everything in their power to
atone for the suffering they had 20 care
lessly but unintentiOnally caused. The
SurppOnS and his assistants attended him
tenderly and carefully until he was well
The surgeon offered TO procure his mother
pension. but Mrs. Cayes declined. say.
ing that she was too thankful that her
boy was alive to think of asking aid from
the government Charley was soon able
~ walk with the aid of crut, hes, but
could not dispense with their use for sew
cral months.
Mrs Gayes, now an aged woman, loves
to tell of those peril0us times One of
her daughters. lady of rare qualities.
nils one Of the highest positions allowed
TO her sex in the government depart
ments in Washington. She has in her
little cabinet at home the very piece of
shell which did its cruel work that day.
1t is rusty, and when picked up was
blood stained Charley is florist and
brings his flowers regularly to one of the
Washington mar els He limps little.
and will ways have cause TO remember
the summer morning when the New 1Ork
regiment in Fort Smith bombarded his
mothers house.
Concerning George Francis Train.
Next tn Il safe being removed or cellar
dug, | don't know of any metropolitan
tlat