Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-07-20

during Cne war MADE a practlce or ask
ing every naval and military command
er Of both the Northern and Southern
service whom he met to jOt down in his
own words what he considered the fun
NEST and the saddest incidents arising
from the great conflict that had come
under his observation. The greatest
men in the nation complied with the re-
quest at various times and some Of the
stories have been put together by the
collector and are now published The
last story in the collection came from
Gen. Sherman only a short time before
he died. Each is reproduced exactly
as written:
Gen. Grants Saddest and Funniest.
'It was in field hospital, within
whose canvas walls many of our brave
boys lay wounded and dying; among
them were two comrades who were
more nearly like Damon and Pythias
than any other two men l ever knew.
They had been born and bred in the
time, and had never been separated for
moment since they first donned I'm
Gle Sans blue uniform. I am sure that
either would gladly have laid down his
life for The other. They had both been
slightly wounded before, the one having
| received g bayonet thrust in the left
arm and the other having had the in
dex and middle fingers of his right hand
shot away. Now they lay side by side,
however, their injuries were of much
more serious character. The surgeon
looked very grave, and he turned from
one to the other, and the gravity Of his
expression deepened as he concluded his
second examination. Then, as was his
custom-for he held it physicians
duty always to inform patient of the
true state of his case-he told them
plainly, but not without feeling, that
they both had but a few moments to
live.
"'All right said one family but firm
ly, we will die together, as 1 always
hoped We would
81 want to go If Tom goes muir
INJURED tie other. Give me your hand,
dear old boy he continued, and he
reached out his left hand toward his
comrade The dying man grasped the
extended hand, but finding it whole and
UNNAMED, he cast it away from him,
saying, NO, no, not that hand. I want
the one that was partly shot away on
the battlefield
His eomrade extended his wounded
hand, and Tom, his eyes fast glazing in
death, clasped it and felt for the stumps
of the missing fingers.
""This Is the hand / want he eX
claimed, and raising it to his lips his
spirit passed without struggle. His
friend, by great exertion, raised his
head and looked at his comrade See
ing that he was no more he uttered
loud cry and the two friends were re-
united.
There was no better, more fearless,
or more loyal soldier than old Jack
Dublin, but he had one fault, and that
was an overweening fondneSs for the
whisky bottle, or rather for it's con-
tents. He had boon companion whose
name 1 never knew, but every one call
ed him Uncle 81. While in camp old
Jack was taken i'll of fever, and de
spite the unremitting attention Of Uncle
ST. died. The corpse developed an I'M
usual Rightly after death and strange
tendency to fly up into a sitting pos
ture Accordingly on the night before
it's burial it was stretched out upon
board at full length resting upon two
wooden trestles, with its head and feet
tied down by ropes. Old Uncle 81 in
sisted upon watching the remains Of
his dead friend Shortly after midnight
he became very thirsty and stepped out
to a neighboring suffers to procure
drink During his somewhat protracted
absence Two stray cats found their way
to the tent containing the remains of
old Jack. When Uncle 81 returned he
was naturally indignant at seeing these
felines sitting on the corpse-One at the
head. the other at the feet. Selling a
billet of wood from the ground he aim
ed a powerful blow at the pussy sitting
near the head. 1t missed it's mark and
struck and severed the rope holding
down the head of the corpse, which i'm
mediately few into a sitting posture.
Selling the dead man by the shoulders
and forcing him back into a recumbent
position, Uncle 81 exclaimed in an ag-
grieved tone: Darn We, old man, lie
down and keep quiet; I'll attend to the
CATS"
Gen. Joe Johnston's Yarns.
perhaps the most touching incident
arising in connection with the war that
I now recall came to my notice on a
railway train which also bore as pas
senger the pretty young wife Of a brave
young soldier, who by daring bravery
had secured promotion from the ranks
to a Confederate captaincy. The wife
was a Pennsylvania girl whom he had
met while visiting in the North and
whom he had married and taken to his