Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-05-29

firm mouth and hollow cheek. Tall
over six feet certainly, loose-limbed,
with long arms and large Tapping
hands, dressed in shining new black
cloth suit, he balanced himself IN
easily on his feet. AS he took step
to meet me with outstretched hand
there came a most pleasant expression
and kindly honest look into his eyes
"You are welcome What a squeeze
that was! My fingers tingled after
wards. But was avenged at the first
reception, when a many-handed mon
ster-2,000 at least-had as many
shakes out Of the Presidents hand.
AS 1 was leaving, Mr.. Seward said
to me: "You are invited to dine with
the President tomorrow. 1t is an &C.
casion. It is his first dinner with his
cabinet ministers, and you will meet
them all-no one else but ourselves !"
When l called next day on Lord Lyons
and excused myself from dining with
him that evening at the Legation, be-
cause | was invited to the White House.
he looked surprised. THAT is great
honor they do you" All the same, the
honor rather troubled me, for the Sc
cession controversy was not ineligible
to me, and to these keen practised poll
ticians it would appear very presump-
tuous in me to write about them. was
uneasy. Sam Ward called in the morn
ing. "You will find them ordinary
foil ocf Of
Chase is a remarkable man and worth
talking to- He won't praise all his col
leagues. Cameron is as cute as any
Yankee alive or dead. Smith and Co.
are just respectable people"
Senator Sumner, large man with a
fine presence and imposing manner,
also favored me with visit and talked
good deal about opinion in England.
He broke out with an emphatic ''Nev-
er!" when I spoke of the possibilities
Of armed conflict between the seeding
States and the government "Never !!
They are too crafty! Bullies! Brag-
CARTS! They would be assassins, some
of them, if they dared, but fair fight
never!"
The most difficult Of the politicians,
Of whom I met many every day, was
| Senator Douglas, not that he was am
biguous in speech, but that he was so
subtle and overfowing. A small man
with a large head and flashing eyes
| full of energy-'the Little Giant" as
| he was called. Just returned from a
political tour, he was full of his theo-
| ries-totus in illis-but he was an all
| round man and one of the finest speak
ers in America.
The news Of the bombardment, to my
! utter establishment, seemed to give the
| utmost satisfaction at the Eutaw House
| in Baltimore. Next day, at 2 p. M, l
! hurried on board the steamer for Nor
folk and arrived early next morning,
and put up at the Atlantic Hotel. Eyes,
sir Fort Sumter has surrendered! The
| Yankees are prisoners Have a drink? p
Telegram after telegram-a rush from
every room as each was put up. There
| was one man in the coffee-room next
morning at breakfast. I sat at the same
table and exchanged some remarks with
him, but he was not inclined to talk
with stranger about events of such
| import. 1t was only when / saw his
portrait later that l knew it was Gen
eral Robert Lee!
We came out at last, passing an
awful Slough of Despond, called Lake
| Drummond, on a miserable land No
more alligators or turtles were visible,
but notwithstanding people, exceeding
pale and tall, "thin and ribbed like the
sea sand" were gathered at the sta
tons in riotous spirits. There were
myriads of very frisky pigs everywhere,
often on the line. ''These pigs are very
| thin," said l to the engineer. Don't
you know that it takes three North
! Carolina pigs to make a shadow
| quoth he. That engineer was rabid
| secessionist-also an ardent sportsman.
| He wanted to draw a bead" on "Abe, "
| Sumner, and the lot of them, and he
| impaired to me at intervals curious in
formation about wild turkeys, deer and
bear, to which l paid Indifferent atten-
| ton, as L was ANXIOUS he SuOulu not
neglect his driving. At Blackwater Sta
ton some thirty or forty men in vari-
| Gus uniforms, fine fighting material to
look at, the Jeff Davis Guards" were
going on to glory and Richmond, and
preparing for the journey by copious
libations. And so on, though North
Carolina had not seeded there were
militia or volunteers on the warpath
at every station. Were bound to go!
Hurrah for Jeff Davis!''
AS the train progressed southwards
the country and the people improved in
| appearance. The enthusiasm for Jeff
Davis" was unbounded, especially
among the women, who waved Confed-
crate flags from the log houses in the
little villages.
At Goldsborough the insurrectionary
Juror was at it's height. North Caro-
lima was arraying her forces to seize
the Federal forts on her coast-an
armed mob. bands playing "Dixie's