The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-29
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Courage possesses a man completely
at one time and at another does not
even find him. 1t may be too much 10
say that the quality called nerve is
mood, but there are many distances
that go to show how strong a man
may he on one occasion and how wo-
N,anlsh on another.
A regular army cavalry officer, one
of the men to so down with bad
wound in the first fight before San
tiago, had proved his valor in Indian
campaigns when he was wearing his
first shoulder straps. He had been
witness of many scenes of violence on
the frontier, and he fought well and
hard before Santiago. Hc has always
been known among officers and men
who have sndiered alongside of him
as intrepid. \ few years ago, when hr
was commanding his troops down in
one of the Arizona cavalry garrisons,
one OF the soldiers of his outfit shot
himself in a fit of remOrse after
protracted spree. The soldier waited
until ness call for dinner. Then he
got his carhne out of the rack, put
bail in it, pulled oft his right boot, and,
working the trigger with his toe, sent
the bullet crashing into his head, dy-
ing almost instantly. The commander
Of the troop, the officer of proved cour-
age. was on hand in a few moments.
lie passed through the crowd OF troop
ers. and took one look at the dead
man. Then he put his hand to his
head, reelcd diZzily, and, in a dead
faint, fell into the arms Of a couple of
soldiers He was unconscious for fully
ten minutes, and it was the sight of
the blood that did it. There had been
no comradeship between the officer
and the dead soldier, such as often
springs up between enlisted men and
officers who spend manv years togcth-
er in the same outfit or post for the
suicide had been recently transferred
tU the troop. 1t was pure case of
whiting at the sight of blood on the
par. Of the officer. although he had
been used to violent scenes since his
earliest manhood and he could afford
to- and did acknowledge it freely
WHEN GRIDLEY WEAKENED.
Cant GriGley. who died at Hong
KonG, WhithCi he was carried very i'll
after he had done his share OF the
fghtipE with Dewey in Manila Bay.
had similar experience when he was
commander. He was in some of the
had hghting jobs of the civil war, and
was conspicuOusly brave and cool
headed man. When he was promoted
to tho rank of commander his first ship
had as a member of her crew a Jack
"a. '.tha-dust who was a heavy drinker
but so valuable man that the officers
overlooked a good many bad breaks.
a jack -the-dust is the striker" for
the paymaster and the peymaster's
Neuman, He holds the rate of sea-
man, and is assigned as Jack the
dust to dish out the provisions to the
ness cooks and to act as general fac
tutum for the pay office aboard ship
Gridley had been in command Of the
ship for a month before the Jack~o'-
lherdust went on a spree and had to
be put In the brig over night. Grdley
had been shipInate with the man ,On
and of for twenty years and liked him
and hated IA see him in trouble. So,
when the Jackie -the-dust got sober
enough Gridley had him brought aft to
the cabin instead of jawing him at
the stick" ana gave him as clever a
n-to-m2n sort of talk as a blue
Jacket ever listened to. Then, instead
of Furnishing him for his spree, he
| turned him loose. This was on a
monthly muster morning. The re-
! morseful Jack, on whom Gridley's
kindly talk had pressed heavily, got
his mastering clothes and appeared on
deck all right for muster, When the
men We're dismissed he went below to
stand in one of the paymasters store
rooms until the skipper had finished
! inspecting the ship Gridley made a
very thorough inspection Of the ship In
| company with the executive officer,
| and the inspection was 10 wind up
| with the offices and storerooms in the
| after part Of the vessel on the berth