The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1901-05-25
wEnr nRAvELY ID III.
courarsons Act % N Army omeor
s-ntsnesd 60 Die as . DosoFtuH
fgnariaI Leffer1


Especial Letter.
The man who can face death With
out a tremor and even giTa the com
mand which Is to result In his body be-
ing pierced By q dozen bullets may
without question be considered Is pos
sessIng bravery Of . high order and
when TO this Is added the fact that his
executioners are all friends and SYM
pathiEers the case seems al the more
unusual. An instance Of this nature
which occurred during the civil WarfiS
related By a Southern soldier, who, AZ
though he had witnessed violent deaths
without number and had become
Injured TO scenes Of carnage, had last
ing impression made upon him By one
ohcer's heroism. He told the story a.
follows:
zone morning left my command
for a walk and had gone but short
distance when I ran into little body
OF men. Two Of them had their eyes
blindfolded and their arms tied behind
them. The first fellow couldn't have
been more than %. He was tall.
straight as an arrow, with dark, curl
ing brown hair, and his face was the
handsomest and the saddest ! ever
saw. He was walking quietly and
steady. I couldn't see his eyes, but
not a muscle OF his face was twitehing,
and his feet were planted fairly and
squarely on the ground. noticed that
he wore the uniform OF q captain.
The second fellow had to be held
up by four men. Every few steps he
would fall to the ground perfectly limp
and, # seemed. lifelesA When the
men would get him up he would
scream and cry like q scared child.
He was a great, big. raW-boned Norb
Carolinian, and his terror would hav
been disgiBting IL It hadn't been .
pitiable.
Il followed the little procession for
a hundred yards to where the line Of
crosses stood. The captain was to Be
shot first. As they placed him with
his back to the cross he said: Men,
you know me. I've led you In thirty
fights, and you've never seen me shy
from a gun muzEle yet. have you? I
just want you to take this bandage OF
my eyes, and as long a. I've got to
die, let me die like q man. I've given
you the order to IRE many q time, and
I'd like to give my last order, II you'll
let me- The lieutenant hesitated, and
then he said: Jack, III do It, II get
shot for It.
They unbound his eyes. He
straightened himself for a minute,
took a long look all about him, and
then facing his men, said in a. steady.
a voice as ever listened to. Ready!
Aiml Fire.
They fired, and he pitched straight
forward his full length. dead before he
struck the ground. Then they tried to
bind the Tar-heel to the cross, but he
writhed and moaned and twisted away
from II like a snake with q broken
back. They gave 1t up, and he was
shot while he was crawling along the
ground, screaming out prayers for
mercy.
Il heard 'afterWard that the captain,
hearing that his old mother was dy-
ing. had asked leave to 90 to his home,
which was only twelve miles away.
We needed every man then, and the
permit was refused. He slipped away,
but before he got back Grant made one
Of his attacks on our lines. The cap
tEin's company went into action for
the first time without him at the head
Of it. He returned for a court mar
tial. Deserving had become too COM
mon for any excuse to be taken for II,
and he was ordered to be shot the
next morning"