Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1896-03-06
TWO FAMOUS POEMS.
PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER
WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN.

Old Captain John Dubie and His Bundles
Of Faded and Time Worn Papers That
Recalled Interesting Memories OF the
Long Time Ago.
Old John Duble, the doughty captain
of the Ohio river gunboat Conestoga ana
the commodore Of the feet which helped
repulse Bragg and Kirby Smith when
they laid siege to Cincinnati, is suffer
ing from the infirmities Of his fourscore
years at his home in this city. Though
his sea legs have gone back ON him to
some extent, his mind remains clear and
active. called upon him the other
evening and found him engaged in rum.
maging through several packages OF
timeworn and yellow papers, which ne
said were notes that he had kept for
years before and since the war. Picking
up clipping upon which were some
verses. he laid it in my lap with the re-
mark, Ibid you hear how that was
written?"
l examined the clipping and saw that
it contained the verses of General ".
Fl. Lytle of Ohio, who, while fighting
with the Army of the Cumberland, lost
his life near Chickamauga. Who has
not read II Am Dying, Egypt, Dyings
"I'll tell you about that piece, con-
tinued Captain Duble. II knew Lytle
long before the war, when he was
young man studying law in Cincinnati,
He was inclined to be a gay youth and
spent too much time over the flowing
bowl. One night he was taken to the
Hammond Street station for safe keep
ing. AS he sobered up he called for a
pen and ink. Then and there he wrote
that poem. 1t immortalized him.
Years after Lytle became Union
general and participated in the battles
Of Tennessee He was killed at Stone
River. When the rebels examined the
body and found the poem, which estab'
lished his identity, they tenderly
wrapped him in the Union flag, for
which he had SO bravely fought, and
sent him across to the Federal camp, nc
companied by guard Of honor. That
was one of the prettiest things ever
knew the rebels to do. and our boys ap'
preciated it too.
Here's another story Of how Buch'
anan Reed came to write that dashine
poem, .Sheridan's Ride, with which
every one is familiar. Reed was on my
staff at the siege Of Cincinnati. He had
J been living in that city, but he came
originally from Pennsylvania, and wa
! as much at home in Philadelphia, New
, York, Boston, Rome, Dusseldorf, Lon
! don or Paris as in the county Of Ches
ter, which gave him birth. He went t
J Cincinnati as tailor's apprentice, then
} became student of sculpture unde
! Clevenger and carved angel faces upoi
! freestone monuments. Abandoning
sculpture he took up art and mental cul
ture. When / knew him in 1869, he ha'
been all over the world and had lived il
all of the large cities. He had writer
, quite o number of war poems.
Sheridan's Ride was written th
q ist Of November, 1864. Murdoch, tn
$ actor, was to be given an ovation i
Q Pixies Opera House. Murdoch was read
j ing Harper's Weekly that morning, an
s upon the title page was the thrillin
!. picture Of Sheridan's ride to the front
q A friend suggested that there was
t poem in the picture, and asked il b
8 could not have one written for the acto
a to recite at his ovation. Murdoch e1
It pressed his doubts at being able to men
! orize the piece in time. But the frien
+ sought Reed, who enthused upon seein
| the picture, and during the afternoo
o the poem was finished. Before the in
10 had dried on the paper Murdoch wi
d committing the verses to memory. Th'
% night Murdoch inimitably interprete
that poem, and peal after peal of enth'
siasm punctuated the last three CLOWN
verses. Both Murdoch and Reed wei
70 called before the footlights to recei'
N congratulations. Reed afterward gay
:, me the manuscript Of that poem. II
ID author told me that he took nothing
III his room save pot of black tea,
es which he slipped as he wrote. 'Th
{, poem, with its faults, said he, can
N from no inspiration Of the bottle
q, would like to have corrected some
ar those faults, but Bayard Taylor advis'
p me not to allow the least change
Is emendation, but to let it stand as wri
II ten. 1t now stands as the muse ga
q it. Washington Cor. Cincinnati L
OF 0uirer.