The National tribune., 1899-08-31

member him; that he had always known
he would die on the 9Th of June (but he
| mentioned no year,. He supposed he
would die prisoner; that his death would
be easy; he hoped it would.
He did not care where or how he was
buried, or what became OF his body aftei
death. If he had ever done any wrong
to the boys (meaning members of the com.
pany, l suppose) he hoped he would be
forgiven. He closed by writing in line
by itself-all the other was in a single
paragraph:
"This will be found after my death"
Apparently he had intended to date it.
written, Macon, May. June, but had drawn
his pencil through both months; then there
was blank space sufficient for the figures
denoting the day of the month, followed
by 1862 in figures. twas probably writer
several days before death.
| He knew the time was approaching
he was not sure of the date of the writing
and l think did not care to ask, because
| that would have enabled him to find out or
| just what day he would die. and evidently
he did not want to know that or as the timt
| approached he would have asked for the
date. and / could not find that he had evel
asked about any date after our arrival al
| Macon, though he had several times asked
before that.
His entirely unexpected death shocked
| the members of the regiment greatly, and
was the talk of the camp for several days
The story Of his previous prophecy, with
sundry additions, was soon heard by
everybody. / found that he had told sew
eral members of the company that ht
would die on the 7th of June but he haC
never pretended to know from what cause
or where he would die.
1t seems that he did say to some that il
would be a sudden and painless death
| fla hot ha hnl toll
after enlistment; others had not heard il
until after capture; but none remembered
| his ever having mentioned it after We
reached Macon, and none of them had
thought the matter of sufficient conse
quence TO watch him as the time approached
Indeed. they all claimed to have forgotten
it until the fulfillment of the prediction
| the death itself refreshed their memories.
In some respects it is the most curious
| case | know or ever heard or read OF. Ii
| all other cases the party could tell some
thing of how or when the impression was
received-give some sort OF an explana
4 ton of it-or a hint, from which an ex
planation might be constructed or imagined
But he claimed to know nothing of how
or why he knew he was to die at certain
| fixed time.
There is this slight discrepancy in his
| several oral and his written statements
In the writing he said he had always
|
while his oral declarations were that ht
had known it for long time; or that ht
had known it for years" Always known
| we may suppose to mean since he knew
or could understand anything. 1t would
| be hardly just TO insist that always" as he
used the word, went beyond that; so, after
all, the other expressions are modifica
| tons of the first, but may mean as much
| as it.
know that he did predict his death, and
| fixed the day two full months ahead.
] know that he died on the day he said
| he would, and that SO far as he predicted
the manner Of death-that is, that he
would die in his bed, natural death
| that, too, proved true. =
! can not think ,fhat,,he made the pre-.
diction in sport. !, believe he was thor
oughly impressed With the solemn truth
| that he would die on the 7th OF June. 1862.
/ am as sure as am of, my own existence
that he did not comIpit siIicide, and that he
was not killed by the dct Of any human
being. I'can not explain or even imagine
cause for his death.
can offer no explanation of any Of the
facts have related. :
Who can explain them?
CThe end)