The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-04-29

With an official history Of almost half
century, portions OF which rival the most
vivid romances of the day, Mr.. Patrick
McEnany, of the middle division Of the
Pension Office, still gives good services
to the Government.
Born in County Louth. ireland. he came
to New York when q lad Of seventeen, and
entered business with an uncle, who had
resided there many years A mercantile
life not being to his taste aad wishing TO
see something Of the country of his adop-
ton, young McEnany enlisted IL the
Second United States Dragons, and was
Immediately sent to Fort Leavensworth,
at that time the extreme outpost of civ
ilizatiOn- After some time spent in guard
ing the frontier the Second Dragons we're
hurried to Nebraska on account of an IN
dan uprising.
After some scouting the small force Of
cavalry and infantry that composed the
expedition, numbering $50 men. were sur
rounded and attacked by an Overwhelm-
ing force Of Brule Sioux under Little
Thunder. Here at Ash Hollow young Nc
Enany get his first taste of Indian war
fare This was one Of the fercest and
most memorable conflicts between the
white and red man The BruIes, ycritabie
cavaliers OF the plains. disdaining the use
OF firearms, charged repeatedly upon the
thin blue line with their long Iances to
be net by whitening IRE from the rifles
OF the soldiers.
Orders to mount were given, and the
Second Dragons forming IN line charged
saber IN hand upon the foe, sweeping them
from the field
after recovering from the effects of
the fight this Plucky little band took up
the trail Of the fleeing Indians, and began
pursuit OF thousand mics. All through
the vigorous winter. with rations of mule
meat and paTched corn, the soldiers
pushed forward until spring brought them
TO the mountain fastness of the enemy
and peace was made.
Mr.. McEnany next took part with his
command in the famous expedition 10
Utah under Gen Albert Sidney Johnston.
and encountered many thrilling exDeri-
enees in the land OF the Mormous. Re
ceIFing an honorable discharge he be
came one OF the pony express riders for
the great tralScCnJinentaI mail service
then operated by a private company. From
Smith s Ranch On the Platte to JuIasbsIrg
was his route. trail infested with the
worst characters Of the Wild West but
never once did he miss a trip OF. cause the
loss Of d dollar TO his employers
AT the outbreak OF The civil war Mr.
McE1any re-enlisted in his old regiment
and came East After campaigning
through Virginia he was attached as chief
OF ordeTlies TO the headquarters of Gen
er1l Meade, and was with that commander
at the battle eff Gettysburg. Subsequently,
he was placed in charge Of a party of
scouts operating along the Potomac and
RapPahannock in Virginia. Here his ex-
per1ence as an Indian fighter came into
good use. for many q dark night he and
his companions would penetrate the enc
and
information would steal out again and
hasten 10 the nearest telegraph Office
with dispatches To the commanding gen
eraI
Upon one Of these expeditions 3lr. Nc
Enany received a very dangerous wound.
was invaded home and received an hen
orabIe discharge. He then entered the
general service United states Army and
after receiving his final discharge was ap-
pointed 10 position II the Surgeon Gen
erals Office. From this place he was
transferred to the Record and Pension
Once, and finally entered the Pension Bu-
Teau ten years ago. Few men in the
Government service have to their credit
such long and honorable record as Mr..
McEnany.
Ut. W \. BrockweH a native Of North
Carolina, who has read proof in the Gov
eminent Printing Office for many, many
years is gentleman Of the highest type.
he is an accepted authority in the big
'brainery.'' and therefore most competent
to answer the question, What must a
proofreader know?"
Yes, Mr.. Times man. I admit that /
am still a young man; that I am the
king 3 Of 81 Daougherty Post, No l.
which defeats and elects candidates for
Office; that I have had tar on my heels
and warts on my toes-emblems of the
good old days when a barefoot boy IN
North Carolina; and I might say that I
confess 10 better looks than 'Pard'
Bloomer, who is travelling on his shape
in his candidacy for delegatoTiaI honors
this spring. But this prOOfreadiHg prob
lem IS 50 complex, and there are 50 many
cid men like Frank Kidd, J. J. OttingeT,
Waiter Sharp. Bob Christian, Jimmy Hug
gins Henry Noyes, Tom Sawyer, and y.
A PETER, who think they know more
about the subject than 7 do, am
naturally modest about venturing upon
the broad sea OF criticism
About the best essay ever saw on
the subject in hand was written by
gentleman connected with the Baltimore
sun He said recently: The educational
requirements Of a good prOofreader are
alI-enbracing Besides the technical edu-
cation the printers trade giyss-a factor
Of prime Importance in the making OF
good prOofTeader-one must have a thor
ough knowledge Of the language Of his
native land These essential points &C
Quired, the novice has a foundation laid