Evening journal., 1897-03-25
\ SULDIhR OF TRUTH.
q VETERANS VALUABLE ADDITION
TO WAR LITERATURE.

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 me a story, re-
marked th> reporter accepting the tip
"rll pay fer the potations. 1 have a
thirst for story; you have thirst for
q drink. Let us exchange.
The veteran was quick to respond, as
the parched soil responds 10 the grateful
rain, and, opening the door, he bowed
the reporter in and escorted him to ta-
bic in a quiet corner, where presently
the potables We're served.
Il don't think / could have earned
what l am now so greatly and CRATE
fully enjoying, said the veteran, with
a glowing cheek, as he set down his
glass, after long swallow, had it not
been that today l met an old comrade
from Kentucky, a state, you will re-
member, which had soldiers in both
armies, and good soldiers, may add.
This man, who is now merchant ana
comes to New York TO buy goods every
yenr, was in the Federal army, and he
had n nephew in the same regiment
with himself and another in the Confed-
crate army. The young chaps were
brothers, and they were mighty fond of
each other, but they were fonder of their
principles or patriotism on politics, or
whatever you may call it, so they agreed
TO disagree, and each one go to tine side
| he thought was the right side.
. no.
been closer together than most brothers,
and before they separated they fixed up
a kind of signal to identify themselves
by so that if one was wounded and left
on the field he could notify the other if
it happened they were ON the opposite
sides in that particular fight. 1t was a
boyish kind of lottery chance of one
in a million, but it suited them, and
that's all they cared for The signal ar
rangement was to be light chain with
q note fastened to it, and the whole
thing was to be fastened to the bullet
and dropped into the old muskets they
had in those days This was to be fired
at random up into the air to fall among
the soldiers of the opposite side to be
picked up rs it might and taken to the
man whose address was in the note,
along with other instructions to be fol-
lowed out by the brother who might be
III condition TO do it, You can see how
childish and almost impossible it was,
but there was just that chance in it that
made it attractive TO the boys, and they
told each other goodby and went their
ways, the one to the north, the other to
the south, each bearing with him his
chain and note Of Identification attached
to the bit of lead that some day might
bear on its wings the message Of death. %
The veteran was becoming poetic and
pathetic, and the reporter suggested Q
reflling of the glasses, and the sugges
ton met with immediate and pleased
approval
For the first two years, continued
tho veteran, "the boys hadn't any occa-
sion to use their signals, for they had
gone through unscathcd, and, besides,
they were serving in sections OF the
country widely separated but in 1868.
in the fall, they were with the armies
fighting through Tennessee, though they
had lost track Of each other except in a
general way.
Just what they knew Of each Others
whereabouts don't know, but one night
in November there was a skirmish some
where in the neighborhood Of Knoxville,
in which 500 or 600 men on a side were
> engaged, without result, and both sides
had settled down for the night to wait
and fight it out by daylight There
were a lot of wounded men, and dead
ones, too, for that matter scattered
through the woods, where most of the
fighting had been. There was a cornfeld
about a quarter of a mile wide separat-
ing 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 slsirmish line fights
generally arc.
II was corporal of the guard tha
night, and by o'clock there was only
an occasional shot, as if each side wal
? quitting reluctantly and by inches.
= am not positive, but it seems 10 me tina
heard the last two shots before still
ness settled over all What the detail
OF the romance, OF the tragedy, or what
ever ycu want TO call it, are l don
know. i know, though, that during tin
. night We had re-enforcemonts, and whel
4 we began to cautiously peep around, a
9 soon as the day began to break, we dis
covered that the enemy had by som
7 hook or crook taken alarm and departe'
= in the night, leaving their dead on tn
i field, and among them, when we sen
. out our burying party, we found one o
I those boys with a bullet through hi
lung and another, bearing a chain and
/, note, buried in his brain. On our sid
. we found the Other nephew with bot
legs broken by a ball and a bulle
, Though his heart, with chain an
note attached TO it. "
= The reporter threw up his hands j
amazement, not to say double
! don't try TO explain it, " the veteI
al FASTENED to say apologeticaliy. 90
u. know it is hard 70 explain. It is eve
hard TO believe, but what is a man Z
do or to say when he secs such thing
with his own eyes:"-New York Sun.