Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1905-06-03

was WelI-Duut, StOChy lSIOW, dS
quiet, as he was good natured, as
faithful as he was Industrious, but he
made no progress.
1T was his habit to spend every
evening at the corner store. He
broke in on the conversation only to
say when one of his farmer acquaint
ances was incidentally mentioned,
Nice man; keeps whisky Some
times this would be amplified into:
Nice man; keeps whisky; barrel of
it in smokehouse; alongside barrel of
molasses; anybody can go in and
make his own black strap or take it
straight; nobody to NEEDLE or ask
questions; nice man to work for
Ben never made a remark on any
other subject His sole contribution
to conversation was to say Nice man;
keeps whisky when one of his favor
ties was mentioned.
Ben never was Intoxicated, but un-
deniably he liked drink. In the war
excitement of the early months of
1861 he was at the store every night.
He listened without excitement to the
reading of the daily paper, brought
from the railroad seven miles away.
and to the war talk. but never said
a word The night after Fort Sum-
ter was fired upon, when the young
men were talking of organizing a
military company, he wondered if
Squire Lambert wouldn't make a good
captain. adding: Nice man as ever
lived; keeps whisky; jug in fence cor
ner in harvest field; knows how to
treat men,
1.-THE young men went on with their
| talk, ignoring, as was their habit, all
| that Ben Beach said. At last some
one suggested that they put down
| their names as volunteers right then
and there. Two names went down
| and then there was a halt. Ben
Beach sauntered over to the counter
| and with great care wrote his name
in the book. This was a great sur
| prise to most of those present, and
Ben was cheered as he went back
| to the bench in the corner. There
were sixty names in the book by the
next meeting, and the men met tc
organize. Ben again made the sug
| gestion that Lambert be elected cap
| tain, and he was.
33In the trials and tribulations OF
| the three months service, when
| inconsistencies carried or more men
| than bullets, Ben Beach was a com
fort to many of the country boys. He
was not homesick. He was used to
| roughing it. He was not inclined to
complain, and he was not resentful
under discipline. but there was no
style about him. He could handle a
| spade or a shovel or a pickax better
than any other man in the company.
but he seemed afraid of a rifle. and
went through our first skirmish with
| out firing shot. When we were or
| dered to throw up breastworks in
| our first battle Ben went to work
with joy in his eyes. He worked I'M
der fire when other men sought shell
| ter, and worked on even after he
was wounded.
when he dropped from loss OF
blood the boys lifted Ben to a shell
| tered place and at the end of the
| fight, when the surgeon came up, Ben
was very weak. The doctor poured
| some liquor into a little cup and held
| it to Ben's mouth. The latter drank
with difficulty, and said quietly:
Nice man; keeps whisky by him!' A
| laugh started among the boys, but it
ended in a choking sob. Ben opened
| his eyes in surprise to see tears in
the eyes Of men STOPPING to lift him.
| He was in the hospital several weeks,
| in which the boys of his company
treated him with every respect, and
| he returned to active duty changed
man-with more brains, the boys
said; with more self-respect, the cap
| tain suggested-and he was good
| soldier to the end.''-Chicago Inter
| Ocean.
Gen. Marston's Dungeon.
The late Gen. Gilman Marston was
| one of the ablest New Hampshire
| men of his time, winning eminence as
| a soldier, lawyer and statesman. He
| was in congress when the war broke
| out, entering upon his second term in
| 1861. He, however, energetically be-
| gan the work of organizing the Sec
ond New Hampshire regiment, OF
| which he was commissioned colonel,
and in July of the same year led his
| gallant command into the battle of
Bull Run. He was the idol of his
men, and was assiduous in looking
after their welfare.
About the middle of February, 1862,
while in winter quarters. Gen. Naglee
| of Pennsylvania, an accomplished Of
fcer, was assigned to the First bri-
gade, Of which the-Second New Hamp-
shire was a part. He was a strict
-disciplinarian, and was soon unpopu-
lar with the men, who looked upon
| him as a tyrant. He thought the
| guardhouse of the Second regiment al
| together too comfortable quarters for
| prisoners and ordered Col Marston
| to build a dungeon, without so much
l. H.