New-York tribune., 1899-12-24


ti, accounts straight until his rank gave III"
cl.rLs for that purpose. In recent years IT.
was about the only inspector general WHO was
i,,.,rialIv ACCOMPANIED on his tours 10y a c'eIN'
ON nulJic occasions General LaWton was aS
bashfuI as a girl When he came nome from
rura last year. it was found that ne had ga'I'"
no more self-possession than he cNhl''''' N"''
unwillingly lioniz d ten years before. IN l''
dent insisted upon his going to Alapiil'" WIN
linn when Tuskegee was visited Al Moh'F'''-
er. the President and General wheeler Sp'N'
and there was eloquence on all sides. flhaI''
the Governor Of Alabama introduced "e"'i"'
Iawton to the multitude as THE hero OF Sahtl-
aro" Iavton was forced 10 say something 1t
IS said to be the single speech OF his me fie
stood long time bowling to the wildly cheeri"s
crowd and after several attempts to hide hli
self only to be lifted TO his feet again NJ was
finally induced 10y the President TO make some
response to the applause. lie advanc. d TO tfle
front. and when he could be heard SAID SIMPLY
II am not a hero. | am just Regular
can't make any speech Thank you
Then he succeeded in hiding himself for the
rest of the tour. His last appearance IN WASH
,ncton was a great Gridiron Club dinner to the
Army and Navy. General Shaftor unroII'd
manuscript and read a few remarks; SchIey'
Inf. Sipsbee talked well amid cheers; General
prcl,irridee was as eloquent as usual; Out
,hon Iawton was called. he arose trempIhE'
and bov,inc. took his seat silently. No greater
,,.otfon was ever given a man than when MS
name was uttered. There were cheering anu
waving Of napkins for several minutes i"'
ruests all rose to their feet. while ne alone IT,
rnainod seated Aftcrward he declared IL WIS d
hundred times as bad as the assault on III
Caney.
Tavton's modcsty enabled him to live down
his fame as the greatest Indian heh''r ol llie
Army. lie refused to tell of his eXplo''S' mo
official rcuorts were colorlcss and meaer'' anu
tho most natterinC inducements from pupi'She'9
were refused by him. He protested against ~
hiviug the medal Of honor for glorious "oiA
\aforc Atlanta in 1864. and throughout HIS
,arccr avoided talking about himself and depre-
Gated all attempts hy admirers to give MN
,r,dit for his frequent acts Of heroism'
AN AUromoGRAPHIcM SKETCH.
I.ntu recently his closest friends in the Army
know, little or nothing about his boyhood except
,bat he did not like Harvard or any college
tnoucb to be graduated, and that his boyhood
tas spent in 50 many places that he never got
attached 10 any locality. Fortunately for his
tory. last August he was induced to write let
fer from Manila 10 a G. 4. X. comrade from
which the following extract is taken:
"In reply to your inquiries concerning my birth
nlaco. residence. early life, etc, the following
think. will cover all the facts you desire to
know:
"NIv father RS d d in F,rt Wayre, Ind. long De
fore / was born. be having come to Indiana AT
the time Of the building Of the Wabash ana
Erie Canal. l was born, however, on March H.
1913 at Manhattan in the state Of ONO Man
haitian now n suburb of Toledo is the point
near which the canal entered Lake Erie. Later
nv parents resided in Maumee city, ono ana
II is there my first recollectons began. at
tended the primary schools at that place, ana
at the age Of seven years my father went 10
California and |, with my mother, moved To
Lorain County Ohio; two years later, my rather
having returned from California, | went with
lim to the West, remaining something more
1an q wear in Iowa and about one year in Mis-
;ouri In lSIS ny father returned To Fort
WAYNE. and I entered the Fort Wayne Metho-
dist Episcopal College as a student Since that
time Fort Wayne has been my home. | re-
manned at college until the breaking out of the
war in April 1861, when enlisted in a com
panv ,rgAni2cd ~ Captain W T. Scgur, which
became part Of tha 9TH Indiana Volunteers. At
the close Of my term Of service in that regiment
! returned to Fort Wayne, and Immediately re-
enlisted with Captain .. -. Hurd, whose com
pany became part Of the :ioth Indiana Nolun-
tcers. At the close Of the war | returned to
Fort Wayne as colonel Of that regiment entered
the office OF Jud - Nindc ,Nnde Il Taylor) to
read law. In the sumner Of 1866, at the so.ci-
tation Of Judge NnGc. ! left his Office to take
a law course At Harvard University at cam
bridge Mass | was student at that institution
when | received an appointment in the Regular
Army, which | accepted