San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-04

Guntef Hotel where the unofficial
sessions of the Confederate Reunion
are being held, very lively place
Dixie" "The Bonnie Blue Flag,
''The Homespun Dress" Driving
Oxen" THE Yellow Rose of Texas
Sweet Piney Woods" The Boy:
Won't let Me-" and Have You Got
ANY Good Thing Saved?" are only q
few of the old favorite tunes whose
hearing is more potent TO stir dim
memories than any spoken word could
be.
The tunes are played on two old
yiolins in the hands of two of the
soldiers from the Confederate Home
at Austin. ID. d. Page. who eases his
crutches TO the floor before he sits
down and picks IN his beloved fiddle
says that good things saved" is one
OF the best tunes there ever was. par.
ticularly if you're not Methodist
Nobody can keep his feet from sort
of itching TO move If he hears that
tune. | played it all through the
war, and that and the yellow Rose
of Texas" WIS about or flvoritI
tune in the army. I've had this violin
at least GO ycsrs, and she's Strad-
ivarius. made in 1I24. He of course
didn't use her none dlr,ng the
war. The army's no place for good
fiddle.
Rescued the Fiddle.
Il was the drum ma ior in the band
in our regiment-the Nineteenth Tex.
as Infantry. Put il down. T. V. J.
We weren't conscript nor drafted nor
nothing like that. We were all
straight volunteers in icy company
When i first went in the army band
l played the fife for about six months
before / got promoted TO be the drum
major. | WIS with the Texas In.
fantry all during the war and fought
wherever the rest of them did. but
don't remember the names of the bat.
ties specially, except Vicksburg. where
the Yankees trimmed me up SOS |
been walking on crutches ever since.
That was more than GO years ago, and
I'm used TO walking that way by this
time.
Il got this fiddle by way OF a man
| used TO know who had TO pawn it
before he got into trouble. After
he died in the penitentiary. I went
and got his fiddle out o fjawn, be-
cause | knew he would like for me to
have it and play the old tunes on it
again. A fiddle needs lot of playing
TO keep it in good shape. This one is
a Stradivarius, and was made in 1924.
but I've got a Cremoni, too, that was
made in 1920. Hasn't she got nice
tone?"
A One-armed Fiddler.
Mr.. Page is surrounded by n circle
of admirers gently rocking and patting
TO his tunes, until at times the music
gets too lively when old-fashioned
scottish and Jig steps are attempted,
and occasionally n very expert double
shuttle is attempted. At times the
figures Of almost forgotten quadriles
are called bv some old soldier sitting
near. and Turn her, boys, step lively
there" and Change partners, all"
coming from white-bearded lips, does
not seem incengruous at all.
The other fiddler, III. J. Bracll. Of
the Thirteenth Texas Cavalry. Bur-
netts regiment. is confident that he is
the greatest one-armed fiddler in the
world and his many admirers who
join in with him. singing and whistling
to the tunes he plays will surely agree
with him. Mr.. Brack says he fought
all over Louisiana-fighting the
damned carpet baggers and the bal
ance of the niggers. At Pleasant Hill
where | lost my arm, we captured all
the guns the enemy had and GO pieces
of artillery. and then fought the
Yankees with their own guns. We
lost half of the company here and
30 commissioned officers. Ill be 81
il l live until November. but that
fight at Pleasant Hill is the liveliest
time l ever had in my whole life
long"
Uses His Knees.
Mr.. Breck's right arm is gone up
beyond the shoulder socket. He plays
his violin by holding the bow clamped
between his knees ard moving the
violin UP and down across it, while
he fingers the strings with his left
hand. He does not seem handicapped.
particularly, and shows the pleasure
he takes in the music he makes. 'Some
people would have thought l never
could play again after / lost my
right hand, but i never though so. !
knew 1 wasn't going TO quit. There's
a lot more WAYS of killing a dog than
choking him TO death. If you can't
do a thing one way you can another"
Mr.. Brack lives at the Confederate
Home in Austin. and likes it very
much. "They give you everything
you could need there and just about
everything you want, too, which is
another thing.
Fit All Over Kentucky"
James NJ. Reynolds who was with
the Alabama Light Artillery, in Cap
tain Waddell's company. says it is
hard for him TO tell just how many
battles he was in. I'VE fit all over
Kentucky in 1862, and / was at the
battles of Bakers Greek and Vicks-
burg. The Yankees call Bakers Creek.
Champion Hill but We drove them
back from there twice and, held our
guns there for four days after Vicks-
burg had surrendered on the Fourth
Of July. 1868. We had six guns.
underground mausers. After they
drove us back the first time. we at
tackled again, and brought off three
of our guns. with only four horses
apiece. They should have had SIX horses
a piece. but all the rest of them had
been shot. We lost 90 men and half
our officers. After we had TO sur
render. they kept us prisoner for four
lays and then parolled all our com
pany. l stayed with my brother-in-
law who was wounded bad. and when
he got better. / carried him home to
Alabama. No. ! never was wounded