Bisbee daily review., 1910-12-22
MAN WITH A WooDeR LEG.
One Of the Best Civil War Stories
 Ever Told.


 n ID CRoPoNE. as he was called. walked on cFutch after he lost
 leg in the civil war. One day he was at the Macaroni club in Bos- ton and was prevailed upon to tell the story of the missing member. He be- gan by relating that there was bunch of Union men, some of whom had lost leg in the same battle and one had lost both. They were remov- ed to a southern mansion soon after the battle.
 "One day" he went on, "word was brought that a woman had crossed through the lines and would visit us that day. It Is wonderful how wo- mans visit will spruce up low ebb courage in a sick man. There we lay watching the door, and at last sine ap- peared. She carried on her arm a basket filled with little packages which she distributed to the cots as she came along. meanwhile talking to each in valid. She wasn't what you would call a pretty woman-in fact. she would be called plain-but the lnflu- ence of the hour and her presence made her appear to me angelic. l could hardly wait for her to reach my bed and hear her low spoken words of comfort. Her progress was very slow. and the poor fellows kept her talking to them as long as they could. l got to wondering what it was that she gave each of them as she left the cots and from the size of the package guessed that it might be tobacco.
 At last she came to me. l thanked her in advance for her kindness and told her in my plain words how cheer ing her presence made us feei-that if . we took new lease on life We owed it to her visit.
 "She held her finger up to me in warning and said she had orders 10 do all the talking and not to tire us out. Then she began:
 "'Sometimes trials are given us for purpose Who can tell? It may be that the wise Creator wishes to soften our hearts and cleanse us of our sins. 1 Ifardships come upon us-sickness. blindness and lameness-and they all mean reinstatement of the carnal spir- ] 1t. You are all on the road to recov- cry. and when you once more reach your loved ones at home it will not be an easy s:.at1er to resist the pleasures 1 that have been denied you so long. I want you to promise me something before l leave your camp. If you do 1t will quite repay me for the risk and trouble r have undergone to be wtrl1- you now
 Il was ready to promise anything. sight unseen Who could resist a wo- man in tears with sob in her throat. especially under such conditiensi But she interrupted me again:
 "sYou cannot promise my request until you know what I am going 10 ask you and not until you Fave frfsy understood its significance. saaii leave this little token with you and return in an hour Then you will know. A pledge 10 me is sacred and should never be given unless with the intention of keeping it
 She left the room solmeniy. and fell 10 my package with all due haste. It was tied with a blue ribbon, and the first sentence on its printed page struck me with amaZement l was hit in a vulnerable spot The sin she was allsinG me to blot out was one loved dearly. yet l knew before she ! returned to that room that I should 1 give her my pledge"
 l The old mans crutch fell to the floor with crash
 What was she afterT' we yelled in i chorus.
 Her crusadefwas against the Evils of Waltzing' promised her then and there that l would never dance again. That was thirteen years ago, and ! have kept my word. John Mason in 1 Associated Sunday Magazine