St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-04-27

any manuai laDOf ABOUT lt. / glle0
he'd have been a minister IL the wa
hadn't come along and spoiled it all
In the fall of 1862 there was Q wa
meetin' in the town hall, and Eliial
Cutler make speech urgin' the mel
folks to come forward and contribut,
their services-their lives. if need te-
to the cause of freedom and right w,
were all keyed up with excitement, fo
next to Wendell Phillips and Henry
Ward Beecher, guess Elijah Cutie
was the greatest orator that ever lived
While we were shiverin' and waitin
for somebody to lead of. Conky Stile.
rose up and says: First Kings. 10
20. says he, and with that he put OF
his cap and walked out Of the mectin
"Let me. l pray thee, kiss my father
and my mother, and then will follow
thee"
That's what Conky sailor as goot
as said-and that's what he meant
too.
He didn't put off his religion wher
he put on his uniform. Conky Stiles
soldier or civilian. was always a-livin'
walkin' encyclopedy Of the Bible. a
human compendium of psalms and
proverbs and texts: and I had that
confidence in him that I'd have bet he
wrote the Bible himself if l hadn't
known better, and to the contrary.
We were with Mcclellan long spell
There was a heap of sickness among
the boys, for we weren't used to the
al 70 0nl xNf u
comforts of home. Looking back over
the thirty years that lie between this
time and that see one figure loomin'
up, calm and bright and beautiful in
the midst of fever and sufferin' and
privation and death. I see a homely.
earnest face radiant with sympathy
and love and hope, and l hear Conky
Stiles voice again speakin' comfort
and cheer to all about him. We all
loved him: he stood next to Mr.. Lin
coin and Gen. McClcll an in the hearts
of everybody in the regiment.
They sent a committee down from
our town one Thanksgiving time to
bring a lot of good things and to see
how soon we were going to capture
Richmond. Mr.. Hubbell, the minister,
was one Of them. Deacon Cooley was
another. There was talk one time
that Conky had a soft spot in his heart
for the deacon's eldest girl, Tryphena
but l always allowed that he paid n
much attention to the other daughter,
Tryphosa. as he did to her eldest sister,
and I guess he hadn't any more hank
erin for one than he had for the other,
for when the committee come to 60
home Conky says to Deacon Cooley:
"Well, good-by deacon" says he, ''Ro-
mans, 1912"
We had to look it up in the Bible be-
fore we knew what he meant
"Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who
labor in the Lord''-that was Conky's
message to the Cooley girls.
He wrote letter once to Mr.. Carter,
who was one of the selectmcn, and he
put this postscript to it: Romans,
1856" You see Mr.. Carser's wife had
been Conky's Sunday school teacher.
and Conky did not forget to greet
Mary, who bestowed much labor on
U.S.
Down at Elnathan Jones' general
store the other day I heard Elnathan
tell how Conky clcrked it for him a
spell and how one day he says to
Conky: That Baker bill has been
runnin' on for more'n six weeks We
can't do business unless we get our
money. Conky, Iwish you'd just kind
O. spur Mr.. Baker up little"
So Conky sat down on the stool at
the desk and dropped Mr.. Baker 3
short epistle to this effect: Romans
liza; Psalm 22:ll; Psalm 1896" Next
day who should come in but Mr..
Baker, and he allowed that that
letter had gone straighter to his con-
science than any sermon would have
gone, and he paid up his bill and
bought a kit of salt mackerel into the
bargain. SO Elnathan Jones says.
l could keep on tellin' things like
this, day in and night out, for lots Of
Just such stories are told about Conky
all over Hampshire county now; some
Of 'em doubtless are true and some of
em doubtless amt; there's no tellin':
but it can't be denied that most of 'em
have the genuine Conky favor.
The histories don't say anything
lbout the skirmish we had with the
rebels Mt Churchill's bridge along in
May of "a, but we boys who were
here remember it as the toughest fight
n all our experience. They were just
desperate, the rebels were, and-well,
We were mighty glad when night
.ame, for q soldier can retreat in the
lark with fewer chances of Interrupt
ion. Out of our company Of one hum
lred and fifty men, only sixty were
eft! You can judge from that of what
he fighting was at Chnrchill's bridge.
When they called the roll in camp
lext day, COnky Stiles wasn't there.
Had we left him dead at the bridge,
Y was he wounded, dying the more
wfal death Of hunger. thirst and neg
ect?
.By y-m says Lew Bassett, ''lct's
o back for Conlkyw
That was the only time I ever heard
n oath without feelin' Of regret
A detachment Of cavalry went ont to
Only the ruin of the pre-
eding day remained where the boys
ad stood and stood and stood-only to
e erepulsed at last. BluecOats and gray
oats lay side by side and over against
ne another in the reconciling peace of
eath- Occasionally q MANNED body
just remnant of lie was
ound, and one of those crippled bodies |
'as what was left Of -Conky.
When the surgeon saw the mimic hole |
ere in his thigh, and the saber cash |
ere In the temple, he shook his head,
nd we knew what that meant
Lew Bassett, a man who had never |
cen to meetin' in all his life, and who |
Ould swear new and awful WI
very time-Lew Bassett says:sNA
onky Stiles amt goin' to die, .eNSi
hant let him." and he bent ovefeN
eft up Conky's head and held n,A
nd wiped away the triclxles Of blooA Il
nd his big hard hands had the teiden
ess OF = gentle, lovin' woman'x III
We heard Conky's voice once,
My once, again. For when, just
he last. he opened his eyes and 81