The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-04-04
Annual Reunion.
Continued from lst page.

the real reStful WOuld-De gentry OF
this country, those who have aris-
tocratic aspirations. and who, in
their own opinion, constitute the
blue -blooded American nobility,
and who are so ia, above honest
toll that they regard il as debasing,
hence, they naturally prefer to rest,
rest in the shade while somebody
else does the sweating Tor their
tead and all the other vanities and
luxuries of their lazy good for. moth
j.. lives. If time permitted I'd be
:, Used to trace the fun and trouble
:. our first enlistment, for l got
.uuie of my greatest frights in it,
sud l claim to have been frighten-
td somewhat no matter what others
hay claim abont not being able to
get enough fighting. And while l
should be pleased TO enlarge upon
the cause and effects of the war l
must defer this matter and stick
closer to my text if l hope to trace
Our fun and trouble in Camp from
Camp Curtin to Appomatox in the
time allowed.
Now along the Line of fun and
trouble CHATS the text let me ask
comrades, do you remember the
fun John Shaffer and some Of you
had with the pie.women who came
to camp Curtin ostensibly to sell
pies and sew on the stripes Sc. for
our newly elected sergeants, corpo.
rails and musicians? "Oh. how
proud they stood before them in
their suits OF blue. How they VOW,
ed to them and country ever to be
true" Oh, my, how still the boys
had to hold lest the girls would
stick them. Some of the boys did
get stuck on those girls. But it
would not do to be invidious.
There is rule of law excusing us
from incrimiuating ourselves and
present company is exceptional if
not entirely excusable.
While Shaffer was a great tease,
as you remember, the pie women
were enough for him. They gener-
ally gave as good as was sent with
something added to turn the joke.
John was as full of good natured
fun and the Old Nick as were Jack
Karns and Pete McCommons. This
trio, as I'still remember them, came
near being the clowns Of our circus
during the war. How often home
sickness was cured by the studied
fun and jokes of the old boys then
-" ng and full of mischief and more
less recklessness which was cha.-
istic of our whole army and,
-ther in camp, on the march, or
III i'll battle, fun and trouble was
he natural consequence. I remen-
ber dancing jigs myself (long since
forgotten for want of practice) just
for fun in midst of trouble, trouble
untold, aye, trouble hidden. Com.
-ade;', we are not SO timber jointed
now; nor can we all sing I'm Old.
but awfully tough" To-day we
are neither SO tough nor so rough
as the war naturally made us, and
its all the better no doubt in view
of the honors now heaped upon us
by gratefu! and generous saved
Republic Government. This is true,
comrades. whether we fully appre-
ciate these honors or not. l hope
we do. We ought to.
A man during peace may be a
gentleman, scholar, and a good
judge as to whether whiskey will
kill typhoid germs. Bal in time of
war its different He don't stop to
philosophize nor experiment in
war. With the enemy after him
he hasn't time. And his judgment
is often warped and twisted through
prejudice that war engenders. II
he starts in as a gentleman and
scholar, and has nothing to drink
but commissary whiskey, and
stolen apple jack, along with ever
changing and dubious water to be
found on the march, why, his NOR
ais like his breath are soon apt to
become tainted by the deviltry nat
urally engendered through the
combined influence of war, rebel
apple jack and yankee whiskey.
They seem to have an overpower-
ing influence upon the best gentle
man and scholar that ever went to
war. Why even Grant felt their
demoralizing but exhilerating eff
fects. But he had no fear of any
brand of whiskey that was ever dis
titled and Lincoln knew it. If you
ask for the principal source of our
fun and trouble in camp and on
the march should attribute it to
commissary whiskey. 1t de-
moralized everybody except the
cha au5 tha o,,ly raoeo., Lo