Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-07-03
AFTER THE BATTLE.
A VETERANS STORY OF A TAssELeD
TURKISH FEE.

Dying Request.
"Wheneyer 1 see n tasseled Turkish
fez," said Confederate veteran whose
attention had been attracted by a
smoking cap of that pattern in a Canal
street window. 81 am reminded of a
curious and rather grewsome incident
of my campaigning days. 1t was on
the morning after the second battle of
Manassas" he continued in response to
a request, for the story. land several of
us from my company had gone over to
the field in the hope of picking up a
few things that we badly needed and
for which the dead had no further use
,-waterproofs, for instance, and sound
canteens.
During the previous days engage
ment you may remember that n regi-
ment of freshly recruited New York
| zouayes held the crest of a hill and
Were charged and almost annihilated
| by Hoods brigade. They were moved
down like ripened grain and fell so
| thickly that their corpses literally car
peted the earth. l dare say ii was as
awful a slaughter. considering the
number engaged, as occurred anywhere
in the course of the war.
"Well, we hadn't gone very far when
we came TO this hill and began to get
among the dead men. The poor fellows
had been mustered into service less
than n week before, and they were said
to be the most gorgeously uniformed
military troop ever organized. They
| wore scarlet Turkish trousers. blue
jackets embroidered with gold bullion
Ir.ofd nj
ent tassels.
"Being just from the outfitters. all
this fine regalia was perfectly fresh
and new, and somehow or other it
added to the ghastliness of the specta-
Gle on the hillside. The corpses were
in all sorts of strange postures, and
their fantastic costumes gave them an
air of horrible grotesqueness that 1
couldn't begin to describe in words.
However. TO come TO my point, /
had picked up fez to carry away as a
relic and was about to leave the spot
when 1 happened to notice a much
handsomer specimen on the head of n
little zouave stretched out, stin and
stark. few yards away. with a hand |
kerchief over his face. stepped up to
make n swap but had barely touched |
the tassel when a. low, sweet toned |
voice under the handkerchief said, |
Please don'tp
''For a moment" continued the veter- |
an, that unpleasant protest. coming !
from what l had supposed to be a
corpse, made my hair bristle on my |
head. Then 1 lifted the handkerchief |
and was shocked to see the delicate, |
refined features of u boy not over 10. |
He was pale as death and evidently |
desperately wounded. but he looked at |
me calmly. My God l exclaimed, |
what n lad you are TO be here" I'm
afraid I'm dying unless ] have help
he replied. DO you think the surgeons
will be around pretty soon? The Lord
knowsP / groaned, for the boys cour-
age touched me to the heart. Your
surgeons have all run away, and we
only have n few, with more wounded
than they can attend to- Then l guess
all can do is to lie here quietly and
die he said I'm the same gentle voice.
Can you get me a little water before
you go?
81 took his canteen and hurried down
to a branch at the foot of the hill,
where the first thing l saw, by the
way. was the corpse of n Zouave float
ing in pool. went up the stream far
enough TO get out of the horrible death
zone. filed the canteen with pure wa
ter and was soon back at the boys side.
L gave him a drink. and he thanked me. !
is there nothing else can doY asked
because l knew our COM
pany was under early marching orders
that morning and that it would be i'm
possible for me TO linger much longer.
Nothing at all, thank you.' he replied.
No message to anybody No; moth
ing, thanks
81 turned away most reluctantly and
had gone only a few yards when l
heard his thin voice calling me back.
Excuse me- he said, but l want you
to accept this as a present. and he
handed me his fine purple fez. No. no.
/ exclaimed, greatly embarrassed; L
couldn't think of taking it. When L
started to a little while ago. 1 thought
Thought l was dead. of
course he interrupted. We'll. / soon
will be, and that other fez will do me
just as well. Please put 1t on my head
and take mine / saw that be would
be hurt unless did as he desired, so
took the fez and went away.
''In less than half an hour our COM
pany was OH the march, and. needless
TO say, never heard anything more OF
the little child zouave. He was badly
and undoubtedly died where
l left him. kept the fez long time"
added the veteran. but 1t was finally
lost, with other odds and ends. in the .
general confusion following the war.
I'd give some money for it today
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
The Good Effects of apple Eating.