The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-07-26


Ing every naval and military command
err of bota the Northern and Southern
service whom he met to jot down in his
own words what he considered the fun
NEST and the saddest incidt ats arising
from the great conflict that had come
under hia 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 md Funniest.
1T was in a 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
same town, had enlisted at the same
time, and had never been separated for
a moment since they first donned I'm
Gle Sans blue uniform l am sure that
either woulo gladly have laid down his
life for The other. They had both been
| slightly wounded before, the one having
received bayonet thrust in the left
arm and the other having had the in
iex 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 a physicians
duty always to inform a patient of the
| true state of his case-he told them
plainly. but not without feeling, that
they both had but few moments TO
live.
Albright said one family but firm
| ", we will die together, as l always
hoped We would
~ want to go If Tom goes muir
INJURED tie other Give me your hand,
dear old boy he continued, and he
reached cut 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 want
the one that was partly shot away on
the battlefield
His comrade 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 l want he ex-
claimed, and raising 1t to his lips his
spirit passed without a 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, bit he had one fault, and that
was an overweening fondness for the
whisky bottle. or rather for its con-
tents. He had boon companion whose
name / never knew, but every one call
ed him Uncle 81 While in camp old
Jack was taken Ill of fever, and de-
spite the unremitting attention Of Uncle
81, died The corpse developed an un-
usual rightly after death and strange
tendency TO fly up into a sitting pos
ture Accordingly On the night before
its burial 1t was stretched out upon a
board at full length, resting upon two
wooden trestles. with its head and feer
tied down by ropes. Old Uncle 81 in
sisted upon watching the remains IF
bis dead friend. Shortly after midnight
he became very thirsty and stepped out
to 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 powerful blow at the pussy sitting
near the head. 1t missed its mark and
struck and severed the rope holding
down the head of the corpse, which i'm
mediately flew into sitting posture.
SEEKING the dead man by the shoulders
and forcing him back into recumbent
position, Uncle 81 exclaimed in an ag-
grieved tone: Darn -ye. 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
now recall came to my notice on
railway train which also bore as pas
senger the pretty young wife of brave
young soldier, who by daring bravery
had secured promotion from the ranks
to Confederate captaincy. The wife
was Pennsylvania girl whom he had
met while visiting in the North and
whom he had married and taken to his
Southern home just before the break
ing out Of the war. He was one of the
first to enlist in the Confederate army,
and to devote himself more completely
to the cause he sent his wife at the first
boom of the guns at Fort Sumter back
to her parents in Pennsylvania to re-
main until the great struggle was end
ed. Now, in 1866, five years after their
separation. she was on her way South
to rejoin her husband and place In his
arms their 4-year-old daughter, whom
he had never seen. 1t was not long be-
fore all the passengers on our car knew
the romantic story of the pretty little
woman and her beautiful child, and
there was not man among us who did
not feel tenderness for and protect
Ing interest In both. There never was
woman whose heart was more full
OF love and JOY. She could do nothing
but talk Of the Captain and wonder If
he had changed SO that she would not
recognize him, or If he wouldn't be
| ohIas 70 raco1uiza nar Than sha would