The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-29
GENERAL GRANT II WAR TIME,
His Personal Appearance When He
Took Command of the Army.

Took Command of the Army.
A description of General Grants per-
sonal appearance at this important
period OF his career may not be out OF
place here, particularly as up to that
time the public had received such err
roneous impressions of him. There
were then few correct portraits of him
in circulation. Some of the earliest
pictures purporting to be photographs
of him had been manufactured when
he was at the distant front, never
stopping in one place long enough TO
be focused" Nothing daunted, the
practicers of that art which is the
chief solace of the vain had photo
graphed a burly beef contractor and
spread the pictures broadcast as rep
resenting the determined but rather
robust features of the coming hero,
and it was some time before the real
photographs which followed were be-
lieved to be genuine.
False impressions of him were de-
rived, too, from the fact that he had
come forth from a country leather
store, and was famous chiefly for
striking sledge-hammer blows in the
field. and conducting relentless pur-
suits of his foes through the swamps of
the southwest. He was pictured III
the popular mind as striding about IN
the most approved swash- buckler
style of melodrama. Many of us were
not little surprised to find a man of
slim figure, slightly stopped. five feet
eight inches in height, weighing only
1875 pounds, and a modesty of mien and
gentlenesS of manner which seemed TO
fit him more for the court than for the
camp. His eyes were dark gray and
were the most expressive of his fea-
lures. Like nearly ali men who speak
little, he was a good listener; but his
face gave little indication of his
thoughts, and it was the expression of
his eyes which furnished about the
only response to the speaker who con-
versed with him. When he was about
to say anything amusing, there was
always a perceptible twinkle in his
eyes before he began to speak, and he
often laughed heartily at a witty re-
mark or a humorous incident.
His mouth, like Washington was
the lips forming nearly horizontal
line. This feature was of a pattern
in striking contrast with that of Ma
poleon, who had a bow mouth, which
looked as if it had been modelled after
front view of his cooked hat. The
firmness with which the generals
square-shaped jaws were set when his
preSsive of his force of character and
the strength of his will-power. His
hair and beard were of a chestnut
brown color. The beard was worn full,
no part of the face being shaved, but.
like the hair. was always kept closely
and neatly trimmed. Like Cromwell,
Lincoln and several other great men in
history, he had a wart on his cheek.
In his case it was small, and located
! n ha ri OH CT t1cf a s
the beard. His face was not perfectly
symmetrical, the left eye being a very
little lower than the right. His brow
was high, broad, and rather square.
and was creased with several horizon
tai wrinkles, which helped to empha-
size the serious and somewhat care
worn look which was never absent
from his countenance. This express
ion, however, was in no wise an indi-
cation of his nature, which was always
buoyant, cheerful and hopeful. His
voice was exceedingly musical, and
one of the clearest in sound and most
distinct in utterance that I have ever
heard II had singular power of
penetration, and sentences spoken by
him in any ordinary tone in camp
could be heard at a distance which
was surprising.
His gait in walking might have been
called decidedly unmilitary. He never
carried his body erect. and having no
ear for music or rythm, he never kept
step to the airs played by the bands.
no matter how vigorously the bass
drums emphasized the accent When
walking in company there was no at
tempt to keep step with the others. In
oonversing he usually employed only
two gestures; one was the stroking of
his chin beard with his left hand: the
other was the raising and lowering of
his right hand. and resting it at inter
walls upon his knee or a table. the
hand being held with the fingers close
together and the knuckles bent. so
that the back of the hand and the
fingers formed q right angle. When
not pressed by any matter of import
ance he was often slow in his move
ments. but when reused to activity ne
was quick in every motion. and worked
with marvellous rapidly He was civil
to all who came in contact with him
and never attempted to snub anyone
or treat anybody with less considera-
ton on account of his inferiority in
rank. With him there was none of the
puppyism so often bred by power. and
none of the dogmatism which Samuel
Johnson characterized as puppyism
grown to maturity.-GeneraI Horace
Porter in the Century.
The Cleveland Children.