The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-08-22
THE SlOBY'S SEQUEL.

~ Il t+s f
The speaker was little maiden flax
gn-haired and rosy checked, one of a
party which had gathered beneath the
shade of a sheltering maple, in the
heart of the great silent cemetery. It
was Decoration day that unique fes-a
'tival upon which the nation yearly
ahonors its dead defenders, and every
member of the group carried some
wreath or floral token, with which to
decorate the graves of departed soldier
friends. &8
My dear, the story will Neep," an
sWered the person addressed as
4 grandfather a tall, grizzled veteran
with medals on his breast; '''let us first
of all place our flowers upon the diff
ferent graves. This is old soldiers sec
ton of the cemetery, you know, and
every tomb covers the body OF some.
brave. fellow = By the way,
yonders is a grave without any tomb
stone-not a new grave, either. | won
der who he is that lies beneath?' e
a He pointed toward where, near the
econfine of the old soldiers section, an
humble mound of earth marked the
fortunate than his fellows. s.
Come, children continued Col.
FLANDERS (such were his name and
rank, II have a fancy to lay an offer
ing on that poor deserted graye.If any
Wreaths are left when we have dec
Grated the tombs of my dear COM
rades, we must bring them over there
Who knows but that some gallant lad
lies beneath that nameless grave|
11But the story, grandfather! Tell us
the story as we go along,'' insisted the
faxen-locked little woman who had
first spoken.
Col. Flanders shrugged his Shout
ders, still broad and straight as in
campaigning days. He knew that it
was useless to contend against this
tyrant in short dresses and so, as they
wandered from monument to monu-
ment, leaving here a wreath and there
a fragrant nosegay, he told for the
twentieth time the tale demanded. 1t
made a pretty picture, and a tender
one withal-this Of the old fighter, sur
rounded by his fower-laden grand
children, recalling times of storm and
stress, while he lovingly decked the
graYestones of comrades and kin.
Many a passer-by stopped to look after
the little procession with smiles bright
or Wistful, and one spectator especially
stared so hard that he drew the col:
oneis kindly eyes in his direction.
This was a. lad of twelve or therea-
bouts, pale and pinched of face, with 4
great dark eyes and clothing that was
even ragged.
Poor little chap commented the
kindly veteran. 5ss.See how enyiOusly
he eyes our flowers. Perhaps he has
got some relative buried here, too. I
must ask him." t5} E..
But the boy, as though divining his
purpose, had turned, and was already
Fastening down the gravel walk. Col
Flanders sighed and continued his
story. s#5ss[ TX s
''.Itl;vas at the seige Of Nicksburg,"
lie said, 'and the fighting was fast and
furious. I think I never, before or
since, saw war in all it's terror. or in
all it's glory las at that seige. =
We had captured a Confederate fort
ard held it from 10 o'clock in the
morning until o'clock in the after
loon, with shot ald shell rafting
about us from dozen different 'direc-5
lions. At 4 o'clock the Confedel-ates
came down upon us in force. Our men,
fought like, the stanch hearts they
were, but we could do naught against
numbers, and were finally, after ues-s
perate struggle, driven out Of eur posi-.
ton and back to the Federal lines. 1t
was only when we rallied with half
Of olIssmen dead or missing that a
discovery was made dire beyond tell
ing to the soldiers ear. Our colors---.
the ia altered flag which had waved all
day over the fort-were in the hands
of the enemy. You have 10 idea, my
denrs, Of the disgrace brought by the
loss Of his regimental colors upon the
soldier. Some of our men, when they
heard the news, actually sat down and
Wept like babies; others went almost
mad and wanted to storm the fort then
and there. Bu. wiser cOl1nsels pre-
vailed, end finailya man volunteered
to slip back into the fort, under cover
of the darkness, and, if possible, re-
cover the flag
1'That man was you, grandfather,
wasn't it?' asked little fiaxen-hair.
The colonel nodded his head gravely-
ayes, twas /, he said. There were
many volunteers, but was chosen for
the attempt AT nightfall accordingly
i slipped past our sentries, and, by
1crouching behind hounds and even
creeping among dead bodies on the
battlefield, succeeded in passing the
enemy's pickets and reaching the ditch
below the eScarpment8of the fort. Here
lay for some nloments listening to
the steady tramp Of a sentinel on the
escarpment above. Then, knowing
that uuickness of action was every
thing, I clamored up the bank, hand
over hand, and rolled into the fort.
Fortunately fell upon a pile Of sack
ing, SO that my fall did not disturb the
sentry, whose sra y-coated back / saw
in the oonlight sat some distance.
In that quick look around 4
saw something else as well. Our dear
flag had not even been torn from the
staff to which it was nailed, but still
hung there laWaiting orders from head
quarters, no doubt with the Confeder-
ate colors Haunting above it. 55:'sS =
1t took me just a minute to dart across
the enclosure and wrench both flags.
our own and our enemy from the
pole. Then ] sprang behind broken
gun earriage Just as the sentry turned
and begun his return beat.
81 can tell you, my dears. that your
old grandf theirs heart beat a tattoo
on his ribs while that sentry was pass
! ing. Would he see me? Would he no