Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-05-27

FIRST inquiry in the morning aud
throughout trse day from the occupants
Of the cots was: How is Houghton?
VIII he pull through
'Tt happened that my injury necessi-
tated lying on my left side. and so,
separated, as our cots were, by little
more than an arms length. l was priv
ileged to watch. TO study, to pity and
to love this man. On the night of
April 6 there came n serious crisis in
Houghton's case through a secondary
hemorrhage of an artery of the ampu-
tated limb. Surgeons and nurses
worked until daylight to assuage the
flowing lifeblood. All in the ward
were deeply interested. and there was
many a sigh Of relief from his COM
p~gniavs when in the early morning
wor vent down the line of cots that
the artery had been taken up and there
was yet ground for hope.
President Is Announced.
About 9 O'Clock of the following
forenoon the doOr which l lay facing
opened. and from the surgeon in charge
Of the corps hospitals, DR.. Mcdonald,
came the command: Attention! The
president of the United States.' To
myself and probably to most of US
this was unexpected, for we had not
known hat President Lincoln had been
visiting the army.
Raising my eyes to the doorway, 1
had my first sight of the president, and
it was not an impressive one. His
clothes were travel stained, i'll fitting
and very dusty; his hat was an i'm
mensely exaggerated type of the
stovepipe variety, his neckwear was
awry. and his face showed pressing
need Of the services of a barber. In
short. his whole appearance seemed to
justify the ca~ricaturists Of those days
in their worst cartoons.
"Unescorted, except by the surgeon,
the president. bowling his tall form to
enter the low doorway, stepped in,
turned a step or two to the right and,
tenderly placing his hand on Hough-
tons forehead, stood for an instant
looking into his face; then, bending
w IL W llC lON ~ do a OlL hOhlNL
to her child, he kissed Houghton's
white cheek.
/ "In voice so tender and so low that
only my near proximity enabled me to
hear, he began to talk to him, telling
him how he had heard from DR.. Nc
Donald all the story of his bravery in
battle, his heroic fight for life and
I,,s14 1@A-fI,N- =, IorAs4n nn1 nf
the sad happening of the night.
Poor HOughton could only reply
with faint smiles and whispers that
were too low to reach my ears, but Mr..
Lincoln heard, and a smile came to his
grave face. Turning to the surgeon,
the president asked to be shown the
majors wounds, especially the ampu-
tated limb. DR.. Mcdonald tried to
dissuade him by saying the sight, es-
pecially after what had just taken
place, would be too shocking, but the
president insisted, turned down the
light coverings and took a haSty look.
Strengthening up, with a deep groan of
pain, and throwing up both his long
arms, he cried out, oh, this awful,
awful war; Then, bending again to
HOughton, with the tears cutting wide
burrows down his dust stained cheeks
and with great sObs shaking him
he exclaimed: Poor boy! Poor boy.
You must live! You must!' This time
the majors whispered answer, 4 in
tend to, SIR was just audible. (And
here, let me say in parenthesis, he did
live many long and useful years,
With a tender parting hand stroke and
a God bless you, my bOyv the presi
dent moved to the next cot in line anG
to the next and soOn down the right
and back on the left side of the ward
with a warm hand clasp and a simple
kind, fatherly word for each one. Their
he passed cut. But for us it was a diff
ferent place. We had seen there the
soul of our ~chief.'-WaShington Post.
m ~ AIn Ih 7rBIr ~uHIHE RnIh~