The L'Anse sentinel., 1916-03-11

lie down to sleep. stretched in long lines of any
number Of men, all curled up spoon fashion. as
close together as possible.
lay down on the end of the line one cold night
when soon poor fellow came and snuggled up to
me. Along in the early morning when he should
have turned to warm my back, he did not move,
got up on my elbow and pulled his nose. He was
dead. 1t was the most frightful experience ever
had.
Our dead were usually relieved Of any good
clothing they may have had on to be used by those
who were almost naked had still on what was
left Of shirt and pair Of drawers that had
worn for almost year. Can you realize or i'm
agine how little OF either were left? went down
to the dead line one morning and saw a body on
which was fine shirt Of blue cashmere cloth.
went to the gate and asked the oficer OF the Con-
federate guard. an old man. II might remove the
shirt from that body to wear myself.
my poor boy" he said. and gave permission.
with tears running down his wrinkled cheeks. to
take the shirt.
A red-whiskered, spindle-shanked low-down
fellow from Wisconsin that was cumming with.
and whom had kept alive by stealing grub for
him to eat, stole that shirt from me. lost silver
mine in Colorado years ago that sold afterwards
for three hundred thousand dollars. but it did not
hurt so badly as the loss of that shirt. :.
Shortly after this. there parole of sick and
disabled men agreed on by the governments got
out and walked aboard our transport at Sa-
vannah the raggedestIooking kid that ever left
that city. What few troops there were in that
transport just stood and cried when they saw our
boys This was the nineteenth of November, 1864.
AT Annapolis got my back pay, ration money
and clothing money for the time had been pris-
oner amounting to some $500. with furlough for
thirty days. l started for Detroit. I can't tell
you all that happened on the trip. but got home
broke after week or ten days on the road.
Father killed the fatted calf mother had 1t
cooked, and was made much of by everybody.
fnr 4 had l,aor, rtod Innu ovd lav
had preached memorial sermon for me, telling
what good little boy had been. l came home
and spoiled 1t all. After few days at home
went to dismounted camp at Harper's Ferry and
from the camp was returned to my regiment,
then in Washington waiting to take part in the
grand review. after which we were sent to Fort
Leavenworth Here was discharged and the
regiment sent out on the plains after Indians
Invent to Denver in the fall of 1865 with mule
train, before there railroad in the noun
tains. l returned to Topeka, Kan, with bull
trains enlisting in the regular army, went to Cnli
fornia by way of the isthmus. guarded surveyors
in Arizona from the Indians. and fought Indians
in Arizona with the First United States cavalry.
/ made trip into Mexico with load OF phoney
jewelry. Later was arrested as flibuster spy
in Guaymas and was shipwrecked on my trip
from Guaymas to Mazatlan. Two out of seven
were saved after floating around for thirty-six
hours. was shanghaied In San Francisco and
taken around Cape Horn to Dublin. which was the.
most adventurous five months Of my life came
back to my home in 1873, married in 1874 and
settled down to be decent
am now member Of the Michigan Sodiers'
home. Uncle Sam ID trying his best to make me
comfortable In my declining years But neither
he nor ali the powers that be can make ND
the ten years worse than lost from my twelfth
to twentysecond year. for what did not learn
thak vas rough IN that time have not Ieornad
sihcs end II 10 not IN the bookA