The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1896-07-23

side-wheeler that had seen much Ger.
vice. and as we sat on deck one of thu
members of the party told stories of thu
when they raced for all they wer1
worth and not infreqUently blew up.
"'This doesn't look like very safe
craft he added, and I'm glad we ara
going slow
suddenly there was a smothered
explosion between decks and then q
series of the widest negro yells that I
ever heard. Every man jumped for
the cOmpanionway. We were met by
the negro cook, who had lost no time
in getting up on deck. He was sight
to terrify anyone. His head seemed tn
be covered with blood and he yelled at
the top of his voice:
Jump. for de lub of Gawd. jump.
I'm killed and de boilers busted.'
Someone grabber the cook before he
could jump overheard and another di-
rected attention to the fact that the
engines were running all right. Then
the explanation of the explosion came
out in inStallments. 1t was simple
Cummings had brought down some
canned tomatoes and the cook didn't
know how to handle them. Without
opening the can he had placed it on his
range. When the tomatoes began TO
boil the can burst and the contents flew
over the cooks head. Perhaps Cum
mings has forgotten the incident, but
l know that he was frightened, and
so was the cook."-New York Sun.
Pension business.
The history of the Pension Bureau at
Washington would make highly iu-
teresting book. if it could ever be writ
ten. Tragedy and comedy would jos
tie each other in its pages. The New
York Tribune, in an extended account
of the business of the bureau. says that
great numbers of strange and anus
ing letters are received. Thus one
man wrote:
"One night on picket duty at the
siege of VickSburg l saw by spiritual
sight light shining on the side of my
face and the bottom of my feet. l was
sanctified, and what allied me was
Christianity. l have it in my head,
heart and whole system. and it troubles
ne most when l have the ague and at
tending church. / feel there is some
thing in my head which may run out
when it gets loose"
In the investigation of this case it
was shown that the claimant had suf-
fered severe sunstroke at the siege
of Vicksburg, and was insane. The
pension was granted.
Another man wrote to the Law Di-
vision of the bureau to obtain advice
on what was to him q very important
matter:
Il took my money" hs wrote, "aT:d
bought me pig and some seed pota-
toes, and / kept the pig all summer
and he has become n fat hog, and /
dug my potatoes last week, and now
John Jones has levied on my pig and
he wants to take my potatoes. l want
the government 70 protect me. Has
he n right 70 take government prop
erty?'
What reply the lawyers made to this
inquiry we are not Informed. AS an
example of the pains taken by the
bureau to get at the truth in all doubt
full cases, the Tribune cites the follow
ing:
A man applied for a pension for 4
wounded knee which he had received
near Lexington. Kentucky. while on
special detail The man was asked to
furnish the affidavits of some witnesses
of the occurrence: but as the special de-
tail had been taken from several regi-
ments. he did not know the names of
any of the persons composing it. He
only remembered that his comrades
had called one of the men "Possum,"
and that another was called Coon
a good illustration. by the way, of the
superior memOrability of nicknames.
The mans story was so straightfor
ward. and his claim apparently so just,
that in spite of the difficulties attend
ing a search for "Possum' and Coon"
the bureau went about it systematic
ally.
1t was found that there had been one
Kentucky regiment at Lexington.
the non-commissioned officers in the
detail were found, except one man by
the name of Adams. 1t was subse-
quently found that Adams had been in
Mexico. a letter was written asking
him who "Possum' was. The letter
was returned uncalled for.
1t was then ascertaired that Mr. Ad-
ans, who was an engineer. had gone TO
some mining town in Nevada, where he
was finally located. When he was
written to, it was found that lie had
moved again. hut 10 one knew where.
1t was developed, however, that he
had told some one that he lived some
where in the vicinity of Il certain small
village in Maine.
The postmast of this town was cor
responded with. and he informed the
bureau that family by the name of
Adams lived in the vicinity. One men,
Der of the family, he said, had been in
Kentucky, was a mining engineer, and
was expected home soon. A letter was
addressed to this Mr.. Adams in the
care of the postmaster. who delivered
it to him on his arrival soon after
ward.
1t subsequently appeared that this
Mr. Adams was 'Possum," and he de-
scribed the accident of the ammuni-
tion-wagon so clearly that the claim 10
question was allowed
Recovered His Saber.
Thirty-three years ago L. B. Perrine>
of PetOskey, Il Fourth Michigan Cav