The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-06-26
SAM HEAGY, OF GETTYSBURG.

WINS tikuI Caul WINS tols W.
and handsome; but he did not seem to have
any springs of action. He looked as II he
might be q man of achievements: but for
some reason he never was. The simple
minded villagers. who had never had the
good fortune to read PISS Geological novels
aud get their attention turned to the mys-
rerious workings of tho human soul. did
not know what to make of Sam. They
realized In their dim way that the spirit OF
inertia had ruled over him from bis child
hood up, but they did not perceive that
Sans weight was going TO count for some
thing when hereceIved a push big enough
TO start HIM going. OF course If any one
had known that, he Tor she-its generally
She would have tried TO give the push.
In those calm and beautiful days before
the war there was nothing tor any one IN
Gettysburg TO be excited about. In fact,
Gettysburg never realized that it had any
place or part in the revolution of the earth
until about 1870 on the morning of July
/. 1868. General Buford's cavalry can
tered through the streets and went into
camp west of Seminary Ridge. There had
been a skirmish on June 20, and q Gettys-
burg man. a member of an independents
local cavalry COMPANY, a pOOh an hAce
10 fall under the fire of GOrdon's men.
But the soldiers has passed on. and Gettys-
burg slipped back into it's old state OF tran
auillity until the morning OF July /, when
the Muse OF History entered with the
Union cavalry and took possession of the
town. But before that it was a quiet place,
cut off by the South mountain from most of
the vIllainy and turmoil of an uneasy
world. Happy and free from care asa
child on a car pc ted floor, the town rested
in it's fertile. undulatIng plain, while its IN
haDitants added little TO the sum of hu-
man thought, but multiplied peacefully
among themselves.
sam Heagy was n carpenter by trade. but
q tinker by nature. lie 1t vas who did
the odd jobs e. mendIng about the town
and who could c0ntrlve 10 make O days
work out OF The insertion of . new stat In
O broken shutter. The older women shook
their heads and said it was o great pity
that q big. strong youth like Sam Heagy
did not have more energy. but what was
the use of talkingf Even when Sam wasa
boy he never cared much about games that
required dash. and could play mumblety-
peg much better than prisoners base. In
deed. IN the latter game he was usually
content to be a captive so that ne mlxnt
lean against n tree and watch the purple
hadows slide down the bosky sides of
Round Top. Sam was taken TO task more
than once, when he had reached the
stature of @ man, for not bestirring him
self. But he said:
There amt much 10 do in this town. l
don't see notbin' 10 git in o hurry about.
or mebbe I'd do it,"
And until the war broke out it continued
to be impossible for Sam to discover any.
thing TO "glt in q hurry about" He did
not even git in a hurry" about Molly
Culp, and. of course, that was where he
made a mistake. Ii Is a pity, but the truth
must be told: Sam Heagy was a laggard IN
love. He WAS in earnest. There could be
no doubt that he was thoroughly possessed
with o desire TO have Molly Culp tor his
wife. But be did not enter upon
the siege of her maiden heart
warmly recommended by so high an au-
thority on the tender passion As Lord BY
ron. On the contrary. sam hesitated and
doubted. and that caused Molly also TO
hesitate and doubt. She was a simple
minded, honrst-hearted girl. and she had
n0 notion of coquetting; bnt sometimes she
thought she wanted Sam Heagy and some,
times she thought she did not. II sam had
gone ava for q month, she would probably
nave decided in his favor at once. But he
had DO thought of going away. He just
loitered around on the outskirts OF an act
i've existence. and the girl was deeply
troubled with doubts.
Then there Was Henry Crawford. He
was q moving complication. He was not
60 tall as Sam and not nearly as handsome.
But he was u person with motives. He was
q doer. He was a transitive verb with both
hands. When he was o boy and played
prisoners base be always caught sam
Hsagy and stood him up against the tree.
Now that he was y man and had become a
brick-layer ne did more work In an hour
than sam did In a day; more than that, he
WAS q good talker and Laughter; and he gen.
orally whistled lively tunes while he
worked. To lie sure he never aazed at You
30 steadily and Rraveiy as Sam did. but
rather let his merry gray eyes dance about
from place to place like restless swallows.
rs became a man of energetic spirit.
And he also wished TO nave Molly Cnlp
<nr a uffa He DanA har AWARE hlf "a
much as Sam Hesgy did, and he made a
good deal of n stir about il. He did not
appear TO fancy the idea of q long siege.
but started right in with q determination
TO carry the fortress by assault. Now in
all kind, of warfare assaults are ticklish
affairs, and Henry Crawford found to his
dismay that he had aroused the garrison
to unexpected resistance. TO tell the truth,
holly was almost as much surprised ct the
resistance az Henry was. after the first as
sault was over. She really did not know
why she bad repulsed him with such
dreadful loss The more she thought
about IL the more she became convinced
that she had no good reason to refuse him
unless it was Sam Heagv. But then he
was q very poor reason. Why, he couldn't
support n wife If he had one. while Henry
could. and very we'll, too. let
somehow Sam Heagy was more to her
taste and s~he-well, che wnsn't going to
marry q slow witted, lazy man because he
wac handsome and had such a serious way
with his eyes. She ought to accept Henry
Crawford. an honest. sober. industrious.
Eood-tempered man; and she decided to do
30 the next time he proposed TO her.
But she didn't. Nor the third time,
either. And about that time Sam Heagy
uttered u reflective and disOlrited prODO-
sliion. And she refused him. 100. After
that she went upstairs and had a good.
soul-comforting cry. The tears cleared
away SOME of the mist. and she more than
half believed that she loved Sam Hcagv.
If she did love him, she had no right to nc.
cept Henry Crawford. On that point there
was not q moments doubt IN Molly's hon
est soul. But she was not so very sure
about the love yet. So she waited. And
while she was waiting Fort Sumter was
fired upon and Abraham Lincoln called
for 5000 men TO crush = rebellion.
That was che time when Sam Heagy
FASTENED. The day after that call was
heard IN Gettysburg he lett the town, and
was not seen again till the war was over.
Henry Crawford did not GO quite SO quick
~. in fact, he did not seem to care much
about going ut ell. but Molly Culp said:
Il don't soy as llI nave You. Henry
Crawfd, but | do say that | won't marry
fghtin' goln' on"
And Henry wanted her 40 very badly that
he went and enlisted In a regiment OF Penn
eylvania infantry, comforting himself with
the thought that il would be for only thrre
months. Unfortunately for Henry his en-
tire regiment re-enlisted at the end of the
three months. aad be did not have moral
courage 70 back out. though he wished
verv much TO do so. Therefore he content
ed himself with writing letters containing
glowing accounts of the heroic dolngs of