Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1897-02-04

idea. But lie WAS fond of the sight of the
sea. Only onco in awhile did he join in
the football game with the gang on the
parade ground. When he did, he always
kicked goal. On pay days some of US
used to go across the trail from the post
to III Waco, three miles away-and there
were lot of ugly locking black bears on
that trail, too, can tell you-and, we'll,
we'd load up on Jawbones' barharous
Siwash whisky. Jawbones was the half
breed Siwash who sold it. Wilson never
went along with us. He didn't drink. We
kind of liked him for that, too, for, with
big heads and sore stomachs, we were all
swearing off every pay day--after our
money was spent ut Jawbores
No, Wilson put in his of duty time
tramping through the pine and spruce for
ests along the beach, with a stick in his
hand, always alone. One day the tide
rushed in suddenly and caught him at the
foot of the cape. He had to climb the 600
foot rock, which was almost perpendicular
wouldn't have tried it for million, even
to save myself from drowning. He smiled
little when told him so. He'd been
aloft on ships, you know.
Well, this is the finish. 1t has been a
long time in coming, but you had to I'M
derstand what manner of man Wilson was.
One bright day the sentry up at the
lighthouse yelled down to the sergeant of
the guard that an American maD-of-war
was coming over the bar Candy is a salut
Ing station, so that men-of-war are always
reported by the guard. Wilson was walk
ing No. post, in front of the guardhouse,
and he repeated the lighthouse sentry's
call to the sergeant inside. When the old
guard was marched off, relieved by the
new one, Wilson went up to the lighthouse
with one of us to have look through the
glass at the man-ofwar He grew little
pale as he made her out through the coast
guard binocuIar but said nothing. She
was one of the cid black ships of the old
navy, and had dropped her mud hook off
Astoria, ten miles across the bay. Her
steam launch dancing on the rollers way
off in the distance, WAS heading our y
as Wilson looked through the glass. IS
tho launch began to come near W.. IN
went down to the little dock alone. he
officer Of the day and three men of the
guard were on the dock, waiting to receive
the naval officer in the launch, who carried
the conf iiHenlS of tho commanding o1li-
Ger of tho ship to the commanding officer
of our pest.
Yhe launch TulTed upalongside the dock,
/
looking young naval officer stepped ashore
He was the living imaec of Wilson, only
younger All of the fellows of the guard
noticed the resemblance instantly, but
! they did not STE Wilson, who had hurried
| ly left the dock when his counterpart with
the sword and the silver anchors on his
blouse COLLAR stepped from the launch.
| Tic young naval officer and the officer
of the day s"t into an ambulance and were
| driven tn the commanding officer 5 quar-
| tiers. Mess call went in Il few minutes,
and we were all marched in to dinner. The
| mess hall was on the floor below the sleep
ing quarters.
We had scarcely sat down and begun to
bully the kitchen police before we heard
a loud shot from the floor above. We made
q rush for the stairs to find out what the
matter was. AS we scrambled up, the am
bulance carrying the young naval officer,
returning to the launch from his mission
drew up out in front of the quarters. The
sea officer had heard the shot and was hop
ping out of the ambulance to investigate
We found Wilson sitting on the edge Of
his bunk in his shirt sleeves. His shirt
was soaked with blood, and there was a
big hole in his right breast His rifle lay
on the floor beside the bunk. He had tax
en- off his right shoe and pulled the trigger
with his great toe. He was very white in
the face, but smiling.
"Well," he said in q low voice as we
stopped over to examine him, "you fellows
can sit around the stove and have some
thing to talk about on rainy afternoons
now But it's all right-all right
Just then the young naval officer pushed
through the crowd of US around the bunk
| no I,tc i,It pfI ic hrpt hpr fap
he reeled, and one of us had to catch him
to prevent him from falling
Jack! OH, my God!' was all the young
fellow with the silver anchor could say. 1t
WAS easy for US fellows standing around to
see how his heart was aching under his
blouse.
"It's all right, Ed; all right We all
sneaked away then. Well no, can't say
that any OF Us tclt very hilarious just then
for IL fact
The little lieutenant of our battery went
in In "A few minutes he came out, just al
most carrying the young naval officer, a
man about twice as big as he was.
We all volunteered for the firing party
and the four young wind pushers who
! truInpeted for the batteries quarreled over
which of them should blow taps" over
the grave. We'd all spent many an after
noon cleaning our guns after firing volleys
to those passed from our outfit over the
divide, but that certainly was the-well
the breakingest up funeral that Candy ever
saw. Wilson brother was there in full
dress. But tho naino that was printed by
the post painter on Wilson's maidstone
was lot Wilson. 1t was the same name as
that of the Young naval officer. The Come
terry at CanLy is only Il couple of hundred