The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-02-23
PLUCK.
BY MEDICUS Glorious.
Written for This Paper.1
nREsIDENT GARFIELD or som

tue possessed by different individuals.
Some are plucky, some are pluclier, and
some pluckiest. We never know the
quality or value Of our courage until
it has been tried. Pluclly people are not
weak characters. They can stand
shock without fainting; they don't
NOPE around with camphor and a smell
ing bottle; they don't run when leaf
rustles; they don't run from ghosts, but
investigate, and the ghost runs. They
don't boast of their indomitable cour-
age before the battle, nor very much
afterward.
Courage without wisdom is only rash
boldness. really brave man never
needlessly exposes himself to danger,
nor is there any need to do Sc, for real
dangers come to us often enough with
out seeking for the display of courage,
and we have heroic men, brave women
and plucky children, in everyday life,
whose noble deeds challenge our adj
miration. The lad who sprang between
his little sister and the vicious dog,
and when asked why he did not run, re-
piled: "Yes, could have run; but if l
had he would have bit my sister," was
a plucky hero. The little girl, Emma
Carroll, of Evansville, Ind, who ran
through the burning oil, and at the ex-
pense of her life rescued her baby
brother, proved that the gentler sex
may be as brave as the soldier, the en-
gineer or the fireman, who surprise us
by their deeds of stout-hearted dar-
ing. A lady asked colonel in the late
war if in time of battle the officer in
command always went before his regi-
ment. He replied: ooh, surely, always,
in the picture" 1t is mistake to sup
pose that brave people have no feaA
and do not see dangrs. They face the
dangers and suppress their fears.
Gen. Dick Taylor, whose bravery no
body but himself ever disputed, says
that his legs trembled and wanted to
run in every battle, and he tells of
brave soldier who had to talk to his
legs to keep them steady. He would
lecture them after this fashion:
snow, just look at you; gone to
shakin' again, with the enemy mile
off. What are you in such hurry
about? Can't you wait until they begin
to shoot at you, you miserable towards?
Now you stand up" And he would
smite his legs with his sword as if he
was ashamed of them.
Some are courageous, even though
they have the name and reputation of
towards. In the second days fight be-
fore Richmond a captain by the name
of Coward saw the sergeant shot down
20 Il hoo
flag and waved it high and forward
with a shout. A cannon ball came
whizzing along and took off his arm
and the colors fell again. He caught
them with his other hand and kept on
until he fell himself. This man always
signed his name, ga. Coward" and when
asked why he did not sign his full
name, said his first name was Adam,
and when he used to write it that way
at school the boys persisted in making
two syllables of it with the accent on
the last, and he often had to fight to
prove that he was not that kind of a
coward.
But we all claim to have pluck. Of
course we should kill the bear, shoot
the Indian, make the highwayman
hold up his hands, and euchre the con-
fidence man, and we should like to
catch a burglar in our house; we would
give him a lesson; we are too smart
to be afraid; we would make porous
plaster of his cuticle, well, we would.
This, as President Lincoln used to say,
reminds me of a story. My story is not
founded upon fact, but is fact itself
In this thrilling story, the writer is
perhaps the hero, yes, perhaps; but
will tell it to you and try to have the
courage to abide your verdict as to who
was the plucky one when we were
burglarized.
1t was years ago, when 1 was in nv
prime, if l ever was, that I removed
with my little family to small pros
porous city in the Hoosier state. NY
family consisted of my wife, for man
without a wife is only half man, two
children, for family without children
is failure, and house without them
is too still and empty, and myself, the
man of the house, the protector of the
family, the perhaps hero of this start
ling tale.
The only suitable house which at the
time could be secured was across the
railroad track, and was not in the most
aristocratic part of the town. Many
laborers dwelt there, and among them
the Emerald Isle was well represented
A friend, to emphasize his regret that
we could not locate in more desirable
part of the town. volunteered the proph-
ecy that the Irish would carry us off
some night, but we were not afraid,
and SO we took possession of the house.
Our goods were piled in promiscuous-
1y, leaving the front room nearly empty
In the evening we scrubbed the floor of
this room, put up stove, and started
fire to dry the floor, spread some
beds on the floor of back room, and,