Evening star., 1897-04-09
4 SOLDIER OF Truth.
An Ancient Veteran Contributes 4
Valuable Addition to Wnr Literature

From th, New York Sun.
AS the reporter was rapidly hurrying
past the door of a saloon he was met by an
old soldier. who suggestively tipped his hat
IF you will tell a story remarked
the reporter. accepting the tip. III pay
for the potations. L have a thirst for a
story: you have thirst for a drink. Let
US exchange.
The veteran was quick to respond. as the
parched soil responds to the grateful rain,
and opening the door. he bowed the re-
porter in and escorted him to a table in
Cuiet corner, where presently the potables
were served
Il don't think / could have earned what
I am row so greatly and gratefully enjoy
irg" said the veteran, with a glowing
check as he set down his glass after a
icng swallow. y ad it not been that today
1 me- IN old comrade from Kentucky, a
state. you will remember. which had SOL
diers in both armies. and good soldiers.
may add. This man, who is now mer-
chant and comes TO New York to buy
goods every year. in the federal army
ard he had a nephew in the same regi-
Tent with himself and another in the con-
federate army. The young chaps were
brothers, and they were mighty fond of
principles or patriotism or politics what
ever you may call it. so they agreed 20
disagree. and each go 20 the side he
thought was the right side.
IL was sad parting. for they had been
closer together than most brothers, and
before they separated they fixed up kind
of signal 10 identify themselves by, so that
If one was wcurded and left the field
he could rotify the other if 1t happened
they were the opposite sides in that
particular fight. 1t boyish kind of
a lotttry chance of one in million. but 1t
suited them, and that's all they cared for
The signal he a light
chain with a note fastened to it, and the
whole thing was 10 be fastened to the bull
let and dropped into the Old muskets they
had IN these days. This was TO be fired at
random up in the air to fall among the
soldiers of the opposite side to be picked up
ii might and taken 10 the man whose
address was in the note. along with other
instructions to be followed out by the
brother who might be in condition TO do it.
You see how childish and almost i'm
possible it was, but there was just that
chance in Il that made it attractive to tn.
boys, and they told each other goodbye
ard went Their ways. the one to the north.
the other TO the south, each bearing with
hun his chain and note Of Identification at
tGched "a the bit OF lead that some day
might bear on its wings the message ot
death"
The veteran was becoming poetic and
pathetic. ard the reporter suggested a re-
filling of the glasses. and the suggestion
met with immediate and pleased approval.
For the first two years" continued the
veteran. The boys hadn't any occasion TO
use their signals, for they had gone
through urscathed, and, besides, they
were serving in sections of the country
widely separated. but in 1859, in the fall,
they were with the armies fighting through
Tennes see. though they had lost track of
each other, except in a general way. Just
what they knew of each others where
sbOuts ] don't know. but enc night in No
vCmbeT there was sk.rTnisf somewhere
i,t the Eeighborhood Of Knoxville, in which
five or six hundred men a side were
engaged. without result. and both sides had
settlcl down for the night to wait and
fight il out by daylight There We're a lot
OF wounded men. and dead ones. too, for
that matter scattered through the woods.
where most OF the lighting had been There
was . corn field about a quarter of a mile
wide separating the woods. and there had
been some scrapping in this open ground,
though most of the fighting had been done
from cover, as these small. skirInsh line
fights generally are
Il was corporal of the guard that night.
and by 6 o'clock there was only an occa-
sional shot. az If each side quitting re