The log cabin Democrat., 1916-02-09
f THE ''ssE| LITTLE |BUGLER lN
 A SOLDIERS
 HOME TODAY

lie down to sleep. stretched in long lines of any number of men. all cured up spoon fashion, as close together as possible.
 l lay down on the end of the line cold night when soon poor fellow and snugged 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. It 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 left of shirt and pair of drawers that had worn for almost year. Can you realize or i'm agine how little of either left? went down to the dead line morning and body which fine shirt of blue cashmere cloth. I went to the gate and asked the officer of the Con federate guard. old man, If l 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 spindleshanked. low-down fellow from Wisconsin that was chumming with. and whom had kept alive by stealing grub for him to eat, stole that shirt from lost silver mine in Colorado years ago that sold afterwards for three hundred thousand dollars, but it did not hurt so badly the loss of that shirt.
 Shortly after this there parole of sick and disabled men agreed on by the governments. l got out and walked aboard transport at Sa- vannah. the raggedestlooking kid that ever left that city What few troops there were in that transport just stood and cried when they boys This was the nineteenth of November, 1864.
 At Annapolis l got my back pay ration money and clothing money for the time had been pris- oner amounting to $500. with furough for thirty days I started for Detroit I cant 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 it cooked, and was made much of by everybody, for had been reported dead long ago. and they had preached a memorial sermon for me, telling what good little boy had been. l came home and spoiled it all After few days at home l went to dsmounted camp at Harper's Ferry and from the camp returned to my regiment, then in Washington waiting to take part in the grand review after which sent to Fort Leavenworth, Here I was discharged and the regiment sent out on the plains after Indians
 went to Denver in the fall of 1865 with mule train, before there railroad in the noun tains. 1 returned to Topeka. Kan. with bull trains. enlistng in the regular army. went to Cali fornia by way of the isthmus. guarded surveyors in Arizona from the Indians, and fought Indians in Arizona with the First United States cavalry. l made trip into Mexico with load of phoney jewelry. Later was arrested fbuster spy in Guaymas and was shipwrecked on my trip from Guaymas to Mazatan. Two out of seven were saved after floating around for thirtysix hours I shanghaed in San Francisco and
 
 most adventurous five months of my life l came back to my home in 1873. married in 1874 and settled down to be decent.
 I am now a member of the Michigan Soldiers home. Uncle Sam is trying his best to make me comfortable in my declining years. But neither he nor all the powers that be make up the ten years than lost from my twelfth to twenty second year. for what l did not learn that rough in that time I have not learned since and 1t Is not n the books.