Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-05-31


~ young officer as there was in
ID the Legion Of the West" as
49, the western division Of our
army was then called When Aaron
Burr made his first dashing expedition
down to New Orleans in 1905 at Fort
Massac or somewhere above on the
river he met, as the devil would have
it, this gay, dashing, bright young fell
low at some dinner party, | think.
Burr marked him, talked to him, walk
ell with him, took him a day or tWO,s
voyage III his fatboat and, in short,
fascinated him. For the next wear
barrack life was very tame to poor
Nolan He occasionally availcd Of the
permission the great man had given
him to write to him. The other boys
in The garrison Snccred at him because
he sacrificed in this unrcquited affec-
ton for q politician the time which
they devoted to m0nongahela, sledge
and high-ioW- jack Bourbon. cuchre
and poker wore still unknown. But
ore day Nolan had his revenge This
time Burr came down the river not as
an attorney seeking q place for his Of
fee, but Is disguised conqueror. 1t
was rumOrcd that he had an army be
hind him and an empire before him.
1t was great day-hiS arriyal-tO poor
Nolan. Burr had not been ut the fort
an hour before he sent for him. That
evening he asked Nolan to take him
out in his Sliff to show him cane
brake or a cottonwood tree, as he said
really to SpAuce him-and by the time
the sail was over Nolan was enlisted
body ana soul From that time
though he did not yet know it, he lived
IS "a man without q country
What Burr meant to dol know no
more than YOU, dear reader, 1t is none
OF our business just now. Only when
the grand catastrophe came some OF
the lesser fry i'll that distant Missis-
sippi valley to while away the mono
tony Of the summer at Fort Adams
got up for spectacles a string Of court
martialS Oh the officers there. One
and another Of the colonies and majors
were tried, and, to fill out the list, little
Nolan, against whom, heaven knows.
there was evidence enOugh-that he
WIS sick Of The service, had been will
ing TO be false TO it and would have
beyed any order to march anywhither
18th any one who would follow him
,.ad the order only been signed, "By
command of His Exc \. Burr" The
courts dragged on The big flies eS
caped-rightly for all | know. Nolan
was proved guilty enough as | say. yet
you and / would never have heard Of
him, reader, but that. when the preSi-
dent of tn, court asked him at the
close whether he wished to say any
thing to show that he had always been
faithful 10 the United States he cried
OUT III tit of frenzy:
d the United States. l wish I
may never hear of the United States
again.
suppose he did not know how the
words shocked old Colonel Morgan,
who was holding the court. Nolan
hau grown up in the west of those
day in tie midst Of "SpaniSh plot.
"Ornans plot" and all the rest. He
had been educated on q plantation
where the finest company was span
ish officer or I French merchant from
Orleans. His education. such as it
WAS. had been perfected III commercial
expeditions to Vera Cruz and ! think
he told nae his father once hired an
EngliShmHn to be a private tutor for 4
winter on the plantation. He had spent
half his youth with IN older brother
hunting horses iii Texas. and, in = word.
TO him United States WAS scarce
,Iy reality Yet he had been fed by
"Uuitpd states for all the wears since
he had been in the army. He had
sworn on his faith rs 4 Christian TO be
true to United States 1t was Unit
ed States which gave him the uniform
he wore ana the sword by his side.
do not excuse Nolan. | only explain TO
the reaGer why he damned his country
and wished he might never hear her
name again.
He never did hear her name but
once again. From that moment. Sept.
Us, 1907, till the day be died. May II,
1853, he never heard her name again.
For that half century and more he was
% man without a country.
\ Old Morgan. as | said. was terribly
lshocked. He called the court into his
private room and returned in fifteen
minutes with a face like a sheet to
Isay:
Prisoner, hear the sentence of the
Icourt The court decides subject to
1.-THE approva of the president, that you
never hear the name of the United
Estates again."
Nolan laughed. But nobody else
laughed. Old Morgan was too solemn