The morning times., 1895-12-01

the commander of the Union forces pres ssed
me into service to run train out there.
and when we got TO the place and the firing
comnencad IL scared ne nearly 10 death,
and have been suffering every since from
heart dise3 80.
.sTh. man had never been in the army
but IN, verify believed he had good case
Il once knew q man." he continued, VINO
proved that he lost an eye while IN the ser'-
ic. in each of illree different ways
.'Of course he did not mean to multiply
his foundation stones. but the result came
from a separate examination oI tue VIII
nesscs. and, strange as II may appear each
of his comrades seemed 10 be honestly pos
sessed of belief III The occurrence as cecn
remembered il. The loss OF the eye was uh-
disputed, while the circumstances at
tending the loss were not recalled ahk" ps
the witnesses.
According to The evidence. tho sight OF
ihccyc wastiestroyed through the explosion
of shell in an engagement while ten hun
ter was aiding through Virginia: the orb
was next proved to have been eXtln-
CuiShed by the hot scales from an anvii
while claimant was assisting the black
smith To repair wagon. al one stage OF
Hunters retreat, and again when cleaning
his revolver In a tent. while the same com
mand was resting from the fatigue OF hard
marching in the direction OF The Ohio River.
a fragment from Il cap pierced the eye.
'.But that was not The most singular
phase of the case. for two OF The witnesses
remembered distinctly that the soldiers
eye was put out ny an explosion Of pow
der in a col mine prior to his enlistment.
This was however. afterward disproved.
though the applicant did not get the COW
eted Increase in pension. He finally admit
led that lie had been persuaded to advance
the proposition most susceptible OF PROOF,
and am of the opinion still that If he had
told the. truth he could have maintained
his claim
THE MATTER OF NAMES.
Another one of the ecceDtricities devel
oped in the Investigations Is in the matter
of names and the most singular case ever
brought under observation perhaps. is that
of an Indiana applicant 1t was a widows
claim whose three children. beginning with
the eldest were named ''Thereismore,"
"Yetmore" aud 'Nomore" respectively.
Thesurname was Withheld from the press )"
but the fact stated can b. easily verified.
Like SIlas Wcgg some claimants readily
drop into poetry" and many literary
gem lies buried in pension jacket fath-
oms deep, so to speak.
It not infrequently happens as well that
through some delusion or other, the claim
ant believes his photograph If placed on
file under the Commissioners eye will
serve a good purpose. and these contribu-
tions to the 'papers In the case" would
fill mauy large albums. The latest known
Instance, '.outside OF the Pension Office" :"
is where u hopeful veteran not only sent
photograph of himself, but added one of
his wife, aud also one Of each of their nine
children.
Pension claimants. most worthy. a. the
rightful heirs must be conceded to be. OF
the nations bounty, have nevertheless
within their ranks the chronic of all classes
of hypocil ondriacs, These dwell upon their
infirmities and brood over their misfor-
tunes while bewsiling the delay in adjudi-
cation, and it must have been one of such
from whom was quite recently received a
letter, briefly worded, which closed with:
IF you dou't believe my feet are bad I'll
send you a toe-nail that dropped off yes
terday."
poor. Illlteratc dweiler in hut on
Pennsylvania hillside richly deserved q
pension by reason of i pronounced dsa-
bility incurred through hard service with
a regiment of the Keystone State reserves.
He filed his claim, but couldn't substan-
tate 1t, and he silently wandered away.
The case rested on a queer Incident which
could be proved by one man only. and that
man be did not knew. Tile claimant was
oD detached service. and necessarily away
from his immediate associates. The assist
ant surgeon of a regiment from ncighbor-
ing State was the missing witness.
RESTORED TO STRENGTH.
After receipt of the injury that came near
ending his life the private soldier, senses
numbed and body broken. was restored to
comparative strength, but in horribly maim-
ed condition. by the surgeon, who did not
know his name nor the command from
which he came
When the case, made special" was
placed in the hands of an examiner, with
instruction to make a thorough investiga-
ton, lie had but one clew, aside from the
original declaration, and that was the name
of the state from which the surgeon hailed.
To get at the facts it was necessary first
Ia obtain the number Of his regiment, and
this was done by inquiry as I" what par
ticular command was encamped on the
particular date given at specified To-
raiity. This was finally reached by a cir
cuitous route. the right one of two assist
art surgeons then serving with that par
U,1Ilar regiment was ascertained, and he
was locafesl hundreds of miles away. Did
i,r reiarnhcr the case? Yes, fortunately he
i',.dr kept accurate data of every case he
a 1. Gated, ana this one, from the peculiar
,ircamstances. impressed him specially. His
statement of facts. made under oath. with