Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-05-17
The Daily Short Story:
jim WARD.
BY FRANK Il. BROOKS.

Jim was the only blind man who en-
listed in the civil war as far as is
known.
He came out of the mountainous re-,
gion of Kentucky. When he was a
boy, he fell into a fire, and his hands
forever after We're deformed. He was
Slow of speech; his voice ran to song.
He was Il famous fiddler in his coun-
try. and he was a whistler as WELL
The notes of every bird he heard were
Initiated by him.
He went TO Missouri and lived with
his brother-in-law. n Mr.. Creel on the
latter's farm, some miles out from st.
Joseph. He travelled the road on horse
back or in driving Il team between the
farm and town and back with never
mishap. He had been told the topog-
raphy OF the road when he first went
Over it. His memory forgot nothing.
He met people on these trips who
knew him. When they spoke tOS him
he knew them by their voices andkcall-
ed each by name.
At one time in his career the brother
in-law of Jim Ward was appointed
jailer of the county. The structure
was not warranted to hold any prisons
or who had a feeling of unrest. The
jailer was frequently away from his
post, and az such times his wife and
daughter acted as custOdians. Then
Jim Ward was jailer.
He was acting In the capacity of
guardian OH the occasion of an at
tempted outbreak. He was alone in
the house-the jailer's house and pris-
oil being under one roof. An old fash
oil ha
Jim Ward had taken the prisoners
food TO them at noon. When he open
ed the outer door. the prisoners made
their dash. They had sawed off some
of the bars of the inner door. They es-
capped TO the jailyard instead of going
through the jailer's house. a high
fence inclosed the grounds.
With n blind mans quick Intuition
Jim Ward closed the door leading to
the jailyard and barred it. This con-
fined the jailbirds within the tinclosure.
1t gave Jim Ward an opportunity to
corral the birds, provided they did not
scale the fence.
With the same quick action which
prompted him to lock his prisoners out
Jim Ward ran to his room on the sec
, ond floor and seized a musket. Then
he threw up a window sash andafired
in the air. He quickly reloaded and
fired again. The two reports gaveNthe
alarm, and officials in the courthouse
across the street scampered out, led&hy
the sheriff, who forgot his jury
The prisoners had not succeededsin
| scaling the fence. but were huddling'in
n corner. The sheriff and his posse
went in through the gate and covered
the prisoners until Jim Ward returned
and unbarred the door
! One of the prisoners was highway
man and a murderer. This act of Jim
! Ward, blind as he was, with hands as
| gnarled as knots on n tree, was the
/ talk of the community for some time.
| But the county newspaper simply
| chronicled the fact that an attempted
break for liberty had been frustrated. ,
The civil war found Jim Ward n reb-
| ell He could never enlist as soldier.
/ That was what they told him. 1t was
! what he knew himself. But the fel-
lows determination helped him out in
this situation, as it had in others
There were a number of things a
blind soldier could do. He figured out
some of them and in the regiment
| which was recruited about the town
and in the county Jim Wards name
was on the roster. He was assigned to
the kitchen brigade at the coloners
mess. He had his gun and fiddle. The
| former was for use in case of any sud
den attack upon the mess. The latter
was used, as occasion permitted, in the
| evening for the amusement of the colo
mel and his staff.
Jim Ward was present at the bat
tie of Lexington, Mo. He was with
the sick and wounded in the hospital.
| As they were brought in Jim Ward
asked them about the firing line. When
Colonel Mulligan surrendered to Gen
eraI Price. Jim Ward took his fiddle
and serenaded the victor
The command to which Jim Ward
was attached, like all commands on
that side, became decimated by the
conflict and disease until few were
! left. That few got into Vicksburg-
Jim Ward was one Of them.
AS Grant drew his lines more closely
about the beleaguered city and Penn
berton began feeling the pressure some
information was wanted by the latter.
Only a spy could get it. Jim Ward
asked permission to so. He was COM
plimented for his pluck, but was told
that he could be of no service.
A few days later Jim Ward was miss
ed from the colonel's mess He was
gone ten days. When he returned, he
brought some information which only
"a blind cripple" could pick up in the
enemy's lines. But a blind cripple as
a peddler. especially one as distinctly
marked as Jim Ward, aroused no sus-
picion, and men were not careful what
they said within his hearing.
Unfortunately for Pemberton, Ward
was too late in returning to Vicksburg.
He got back on the night of July 3.
Vicksburg fell the next day.
Nobody knows what became of Jim
Ward, the blind hero. After the sur
render of vicksburg he started for
Richmond He was still loyal to the