Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-06-14
The SIMPLE LIFE OF A COMMON[R
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

stories as happy as they can be
Billy" my boy, has Just joined
them. He is Major General of al
the young darkies in the camp. They
congregate around my tent and gen.
orally stay there. serenading me, un.
til have to go out and drive them
off.
IN am decidedly in favor of the
PRESIDENTS proclamation. 1t is made
for the purpose of raising troops to
fill the places of those mustered out
next spring. Keep up your spirits,
for / think we have great cause to
rejoice at the success of the Federal
arms so far. The war must go on
till the last armed Rebel is con-
4 quered. IS 1t is the duty
CT every American citizen to stand
by his country in adversely as well
as in prosperity, and any one who
will not do this is unworthy of the
name OF an American This is a war
1 for God and humanity, a war for
Human freedom. The world has nev-
er Witnessed war of such vast. i'm
portance to humanity Why, it were
better to spill every drop of blood
on this continent than that the re-
bellion should succeed"
The winter of 1863-64 is said by
the natives to have been one of the
coolest ever experienced in the
South. At Pulaski the streams froze
lover so that ice formed of sufficient
thickness to bear heavy weight and
was improved by the soldiers, who
delighted to sport themselves there
on. OF course the extreme cold was
laid at the door of the Yankees, who
We're said by the southern people to
produce chill wherever they went,
though am of the opinion that they
sometimes made 1t warm enough
even for the hot blooded southern
ers. During our stay at this place
the monotony of camp life was brok-
ZEN occasionally by a ball game be-
tween the Fifty-second Illinois and
the Second Iowa. A select number
of players were chosen from each
regiment and under rules which
We're made for the occasion, the boys
"got into the game" / remember
those games the more clearly for
having been an active participant on
the side Of the Second Iowa. 1t was
my part to play the important role
Of catcher for our side, which l did
to my own satisfaction at least, for
| IL no other honors accrued to me,
there is at least one which can new
er be taken from me. l carry to
this day broken finger on my left
hand, received in one of those en-
gagements at Pulaski; an honorable
scar caused by the impact from a
pitched ball. which | could not fairly
guage on account of the sun which
shone in my eyes causing temper
airy blindness. Many years afterward
in an address at New Hampton,
Iowa, took occasion to speak in an
incidental way of those ball games
SO many, years before, when to my
| establishment, at the close, of the
address, gentleman in the audience
stepped up to me and said: II was
very much interested in your account
of those ball games at Pulaski, for
/ was the catcher for the Fifty-sec-
ond Illinois" Then / showed him
my finger and we enjoyed a good
laugh together over the crudities of
those lhndisciplined ball games in
1863.
And now / come to an event which
plunged cur family into the depths
of great sorrow; a sad tragedy
which to this very day / cannot re-
call without deep feeling of chas-
tened grief, although It occurred so
long ago. One afternoon toward the
end of December, 1868. a member of
the company came to my tent with
copy of the Lyons Mirror, a news
paper published in our town, which
he quietly placed in my hands and
left the tent without word. Upon
opening the paper, my attention was
at once directed to a column an
nouncing the death of my father.
and containing lengthy account Of
the painful manner in which it had
come about.
My father. who possessed but 1T
tie of this worlds goods, had, in
the absence of anything better, been
employed during part Of the winter
as night Waterman at a. distillery
owned and operated by a man Of
The name of Hawn, who was Ken
tuckyian, but who had been a resi-
dent of Iowa for some years. II was
the watchman's business to guard
the property from the time OF the
night closing TO the morning OPEN
ing when the business OF the day
began. One bitterly cold night be-