Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1903-05-28

At recent impromptu campfire in
this city several old fellows. as usual,
had much to say of the civil war, par
ticulraly concerning events and cir
cumstances in which they either had
participated or were able to relate with
the soundest reasons for belief in their
truthfulness. Every man in the little
group had snuffed the odor of hostile
powder and each had hearkened to the
"rebel yell" as it came from trenches,
over fields. on mountain tops and in
the valleys.
On this special occasion incidents
more or less relating to the battle of
Gettysburg were talked about An old
clerk in one of the departments, who
carries with him constantly souvenir
of that terrific struggle in the shape
of an empty sleeve, told of certain eX-
periences that befell him after he be-
came hors de combat. He was resid-
ing in Green Mountain State when
bugles first called men to arms to save
the union, and though he had not been
advanced to mans estate, he enlisted
promptly In a Vermont regiment, and
from first to last had its full share of
fighting. His story, embellished with
many points of humor had yet con-
siderable pathos with It, and is given
as neatly as the writer can recollect,
in his own vernacular.
II received my quietus," he said, ION
90 1o - ott OIL
One thing recollect perfectly and that
is the day was a scorcher. I'm talk
ing about the caloric in the atmosphere
now, not about the heat of the fight.
Men on both sides knew all about that.
About four o'clock in the afternoon |
was kneeling on one knee, all ready
to take another shot, when all of
sudden l thought a hornet stung me.
Well, it was hornet; but it was made
of lead and came out of confederate
rifle. l soon found that out and report
ed to the rear In double quick order.
had been on the fighting line nearly
the entire day, and was perfectly fag-
ged out.
well, as l could show blood. l was
passed on, and swear that then l felt
as If I were on a vacation. l wanted
q drink Of good, cool water, for that
remaining In my canteen was as hot
as II 1t had been boiled: so l went on
looking for river, or a brook. or
spring, or any place where l could
quench my thirst Soon found one In
q sort Of little grove. 1t was just bub-
bling, and gurgling. and sparkling.
and thought 1t was one Of the pref
test sights / ever saw In my life. l
Just Lay down on my stomach and,
with my wounded arm thrust deep into
the water l drank my fill. L never
had such a refreshing draught In all
my born days. 1t put new life in me,
and remember to this day that l sat
down for long time and wondered,
among other things, If there wasn't
good trout fishing in the stream. Then,
after the long rest, resumed my jour
ney. I knew l was bound to pull up
somewhere, and l didn't care much
where.
Il hadn't gone far, when I met two
officers. They had boxes under their
arms, and it was not difficult for me
to recognize them as medical officers.
They were young men, both of them,
and after a short talk with me and an
examination Of my wounded wing,
they began to talk to each other about
modification and amputation, and all
that sort of thing. at the same time in
forming me that it was necessary to
cut my arm off then and there. They
assured me Of their regret that they
had nothing in the nature of anaes
thetics. l kicked, metaphorically and
physically, I wanted to go to hosp
tai, but they said nay, and the result
is here" and he held up what remained
of the arm.
zone of the doctors fixed me up ant
made me feel very comfortable, ant
the other gave me tie biggest drink
of brandy ever had in my llfe-tha
made me more comfortable.
And now comes the third scene IL
this eyentful tragedy"
Here the veteran waXed pathetic anC
grew poetic.
ut was nearing or quite sundowr
when the surgeons met me, and l en-
joyed their company for about hal
an hour when went my way ant
they continued on their journey. Abou
eight o'clock over little range of hills
l saw the big, round, yellow mool
flooding the country with light Tn
evening WAS growing cooler, and
was ready for all the repose l coulc
get l saw by the moonlight a BARI
or outbuilding of some kind, and
made for 1t. When l looked in tn
door l saw It was already occupied
but there was room for one more. Tn
temporary tenants were scattere,
around in all directions, some sittin
up against the wall and others supin
on their backs on the floor. They wer
all soldiers, and l noticed particular
one who was sitting down with hi
DusEpt between his knees He Uo