Omaha daily bee., 1893-08-06
AN HISTORIC CHAIR.

General Alfred Suliy's Camp Stool Slowed
Away IN Drug store.
An interesting relic of bygone days is
just now lying in the back room of
Nash's drug store in Sioux City, says the
Journal. 1t lis an old oak and carpet camp
chair, with arms on it made of couple
of stirrup straps, the whole SO hinged
that it can be folded away in very small
space. The chair was owned by General
Alfred Sully, having been made tor him
by private soldier when he, as q raw
lieutenant from the United States mill
tary academy, first joined the Second in
fantry in 1872 the regiment then being
engaged in the Seminole war. With the
close of this war the chair went with
Sully to the great lakes, along which he
was on garrison duty till the Mexican
war. After Vera Cruz had fallen Sully
was sent north on recruiting duty, finally
landing in California. and it was in this
same chair that he sat when ne received
his commission as captain in Febru
ary, lS49. Four years later Sully was
ordered to the aid of the governor of
Oregon in his campaign against the
Rogue river Indians, and through many
a night in the forest wilderness the old
chair served as his couch. for it is 50
constructed that it may make fairly
comfortable cot.N In Dscenb3r 1853,
Sally was ordered to New York, and it
was on his voyage thither that he was
first separated from the old chair.
While coasting along the southern
California coast the ship was wrecked
in gale, and it was not until he came
to Sioux City in 1888 that the rude but
comfortable bit of furniture was restored
to him along with his other effects 1t
followed him through his campaigns in
,tn ,I,p .,ly md III.
was with him during his operations
against the Cheyenne Indians. The
civil war having broken out in the
meantime, Sully was ordered east. and
in 1851 left the old chair with j. Nj.
Bacon of Sioux City until he should
return. James river, Fair Oaks, NAL
vern Hill, the Virginia and Maryland
campaigns we're fought before he re-
turned to the west as commander of the
Department of Dakota, having earned in
the meantime the rank of brigadier
general. 1t was then that the
people of Sioux City presented the
formerly occupied the site of the old
Chase residence on Douglas street, and
here the chair found an honored place.
Then came the expeditions against the
Sioux and the Pottawattamies. In these
Sully gained signal distinction as
frontier fighter. The records of White
Stone hill, Ta-kah- -ha-kuty and the
skirmishes in the Bad lands earned for
him the rank of ma jor gene-al. Through
all these campaigns the old chair passed
without scratch, and today the oaken
legs and back, hardened and polished
with long use, look as If they might out
last many generations more of soldiers
and savages.
On his removal to Vancouver General
Sully left the chair with Mr.. Bacon, who
previous to his death promised it to A.
+. Nash. The other day when the Bacon
stock was removed the chair was turned
over to Mr.. Nash.
An old volunteer soldier who followed
Sully through his northwestern cam
paigns was looking the old chair over
yesterday. "Yes," said he, that oak
and carpet concern could tell many u
story were it gifted with q tongue. |
can see the old man now (for we liked
him and always called him the old mani.
can see him with his legs stretched out
after long days march or a particu-
larly trying bush fight with the reds,
the old half-gallon jug sitting
on camp chest at his side,
tumber in hand and his elbow
resting on one of those strap arms. Sully
never took his whisky in homeopathic
doses His hat was as apt to be under his
feet as anywhere, and his good blue army
shirt thrown open at the neck when ths
weather was hot. He had profound
antipathy to anything like dress parade
in actual service, and his curtness to
many of his subordinate officers was
largely provoked by their foppishness
and assumption of superior airs toward
the private soldiers. 1t was remark
that Sully made while seated in that old
chair that got me into the guard house
one day.
II was at the generals tent consulting
with him about the building OF some
fat-b boats that we needed for transport
purposes, when in walked a Lieutenant