The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-08-30
A BRIGHT Blaze.
Fire MithoutEoals, .ButlRfhGreat
Enthusiasm.

n bRlOnI DLnZE.
Fire MithoutEoals. ButaElfh6r
Enthusiasm.
John S. Marsh Post, g. A. r., had
camp fire last wednesday evening.
The embers Of patriotism burned
brightly all the evening, and kindled
new patriotism inthe sons and daugh-
ters Of the revolution, and the old vet
erans' cheeks glowed brighter than
ever as he listened to the narratives Of
his heroic deeds. The women of the
civil war were there. and so were their
daughters, and they too spontaneous
" gave forth their patriotism IN tears
and smiles.
The camp fire shield in the opera
house in the evening. The stage was
occupied by Adjt. Mertz, of the Min
nesota Department, Reva. Smith, of
Bird Island, Hanscom and Sinclair, of
r. dwood Falls, Post Commander E.
D. French, various members of the
Post and the w. r. G.. It was decor
ated with the flags of the Post and the
w. r. c., and to the front were musk
cts properly stacked. A life size pic
ture enacting the scene of the girl |
left behind me in Held By the Enc
nay" was prominent feature of the
decoration and true picture of one
of the events of the war.
Promptly at 7:45 the local post,
headed by the Redwood Falls band,
marched from the post headquarters
to the opera house. Upon arriving
there music was furnished by male
quartette consisting of Messrs. Charles
and Lewis Buxton, G. r. Tanner and
Dewitt Martin. An invocation by
Rev. John Sinclair followed, after
which Judge French introduced Rev.
L. L. Hanscom as the first speaker of
the evening. Mr.. Hanscom started
out by saying that he was merely
there to draw fire. Bigger guns
would follow and the audience would
hear the report. He spoke of the lapse
of 80 years, the wal, which seemed but
the war of yesterday, and was real
istic panorama before the minds of old
soldiers. He pointed at the "Held by
the Enemy" picture, and said that
Rev. Sinclair deeming that a sweet
heart was dearer than anything else in
this world, could appreciate what it
was to leave one behind him, and this
brought forth tremendous laughter
at the expense of the bachelor minis
ter. He gave his experience of army
life, eating, foraging, catching the
rooster, drinking the oth,and giving
the meat to the officers, and, he re-
marked, Il believe it was mistake
for it was the old fellow that crowed
when Peter betrayed his Master" In
closing he eulogized the Women's Re-
lief Corps, and asked God to bless it,
as the members were necessary dur
ing the war.
A song by the quartette followed,
when Rev. Smith, of Bird Island, fol-
lowed. As relic he showed a bugle
which he played while in the band of
his old town, and which was used by
his father in the Birch Coolie battle.
He spoke of the Spirit Lake or Ink
pa-du-ta massacre, which Judge Elan
drau is narrating in this paper. Com
rade E. B. Hale sung "Mary's Little
Lamb" with the chorus of "Marching
Through Georgia" in which the audi
ence joined.
Assistant Adjutant General Mertz
was the speaker of the evening. He
opened his speech by speaking of the
charitable acts of the G.. A. R., and
stated that the organization has never
let the right hand know what the left
is doing, or the public either. He
spoke of the comforts it has brought
to hearts, to widows and orphans. He
said that comrade, a Democratic
member of congress from this State,
misrepresented the people of his dis
trict by saying that the old soldier
had got all he earned, on the floor of
Congress. He read statistics showing
the number of soldiers shot down on
the field of battle, the number that
died in rebel prison pens, the number
disabled by wounds and the numbered
out on account of poor health brought
on by the hardships of camp life.
"Every old soldier has duty to
perform" said Mr.. Merit. eThat is to