The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-08-22
THE STORY SEQUEL.
: ! tie story. grandfather.'

Sf$4 Il I'll s 5ILIc SCuIy, SItnuldlnSI.ss
h The speaker was little maiden flax
an-haired and sy-cheeked, 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-
tiyal upon which the nation yearly
.honors it's dead defenders, and every
member Of the group carried some
wreath or floral token, with which to
decorate the graves Of departed soldier
friends @.i :. ,s
My dear, the story will Keep,'' an
swered the person addressed as
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
tion of the cemetery, you know, and
every tomb covers the body Of some
brave fellow Is By the way,
yonder is a grave without any tomb
stone mot a new grave, either. won
der who he is that lies beneath?"
He pointed toward where, near the
tconfne of the old soldiers section, an
humble mound of earth marked the
last resting place Of some warrior less
fortunate than his fellows. E. g
Come, children" continued Col.
FLANDERS (such were his name and
rank, Il 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
Tades, we must bring them over there.
Who knows but that some gallant lad
80, ~,
But 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 wreath and there
a fragrant snosegay, he told for the
twentieth time the tale demanded. It
made a pretty picture, and a tender
one Witha-this Of the old fighter, sur
rounded by his f1ower-laden grand
children, recalling times of storm and
stress, while he lovingly decked the
graYestones of comrades and kin.
Many 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:
onels kindly eyes in his direction. 4
This was q. lad of twelve or therea-
bouts, pale and pinched Of face, with
great dark eyes and clothing that was
even ragged.
Poor little chapy' commented the /:
kindly veteran. ..See how enviously
he eyes our flowers. Perhaps he has
got some relative buried here, too. I
must ask him. ~ ~
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. e
90 1t" vas at the seige Of Nicksburg,"
lie said, "and the fighting was fast and
furious. think I never, before or
since, saw war in all it's terror. or in
all it's glory ,as at that seige. =
We had captured a Confederate fort
ard held it from 10 o'clock in the
morning until 4 o'clock in the after
room, with shot ald shell rafting
about us from dozen different direc-
tons. AT 4 o'clock the Confedelates
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 q les-s
per,te struggle, driven out IT cur posi-
ton and back to the Federal lines. 1t
was only when we Iallied-with half
of olrsSsmen dead or missing-that a
d discovery was made dire beyond tell
ing to the soldiers ear. Our cOlors---
the tattered flag which had waved all
day over the fort-were in the hands
of the enemy. You have 10 idea. my
denTs, 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. Blu. wiser cOunSels pre-
vailed, end finally a man volunteered
to slip back into the fort, under cover
of the darkness, and, if possible, re
cover the flag.
t'That4 man was you, grandfather,
wasn't it?'' asked little haxen-h hair
The colonel nodded bis head gravely.
.'sYes. twas l." he said. 'sThere were
many volunteers, but / was chosen for I
the attempt At nightfall accordingly
i slipped past our sentries, and, by
'crouching behind mounds and even
creeping among dead bodies on the
battlefield, | succeeded in passing the
enemy's pickets and rea ching the ditch
below the escarpment of the fort Here
/ lay for some moments listening to
the steady tramp Of a sentinel on the
escarpnent above Then, knowing
that quickness Of action was every
thing, i c1amored up the bank, hand
over hand, and rolled into the fort.
Fortunately I fell upon pile of sack
ing, SO that my fall d id not disturb the
sentry, NJ hose gray coated back saw
in the moonlight sat some distance.
z - IN that quick look around I
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 Gawaiting orders from head
quarters, no doubt with the Confeder-
ate colors haunting above it. 3a Y Y ~ y
1T took me just a minute to dart across
The enclosure and wrench both flags
our own and our enemy rom the
pole. Then 1 sprang behind broken
gun carriage. Just as the sentry turned
and begun his return beat.
.sI can tell you, my dears, that Your
old grandfather's heart beat tattoo /
on his ribs while that sentry was pass