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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1910)
THMjfliom lBhts rtM wwfll MJ EUI I j-CiB An Embarrassment of Riches: JIdward B.CIevrk r I HE headquarters of tho Daughters of tho Amerl can novolutlon nro situ ntcd In Washington. Thcso , womon, who nro engaged In tho work of keeping nllvc patriotic memories, have hi a nearly complet ed form, ono of tho most ueaudfuL buddings In tho capital city. If the forming of tho many socio lies in which membership Is based on tho having of an nncestor who fought or did something else for his country a century or so ago serves no other purpose, It at least Is tho means of bringing to light soma moro than half hidden bits of American history too Interesting to bo lost cither to sight or memory. For tho last few years tho genealogy depart- , monts of tho Congressional llbrory and of tho roforonco libraries nil over tho country bavo boon moro popular with tho mnsBOB than any other rooms In tho buildings. Thoro aro gathered dally throngs composed to tho five-sixths part of womon study ing nwny for dear life In tho endeavor to find traco of somo ancestor who Fnw tho whites of tho British eyes at . Hunker hill or nt tho Cowpcns In tho Cnfollnne, . Tho discoveries mndo by thcso delv- ARNOLD ors Into family histories, If put into a volumo, would form a valunblo uddltlon to tho graver records of n government. Somo. mnttcrs touch ng Boncdlct Arnold, which wcro porhnps well onough known n century ago, but which hnvo lapsed Into forgetfulnoss, wcro found not long tigo by n 'revolutionary daughter" who for cor Join ronsons was trying to rind something to llghton Benedict's black history. When It Is once said with truth that a mun is traUor to his country tho; damnation Is deop enough ,to koop his contemporaries nnd a follow ,ing generation nr two from. any attompt to find anything .that might redeem tho traitor's soul ,n )xitSr blackness. Boutfdlct Arnold's name la blotted but or the revolutionary roll of honor, on the wnlhfortbe, chnpolat West Point. On somo monuments and qn,;manyfa pngo of history Ar nold's name appears, but nowhoro may It bo seen separated from tho tjtlo "traitor," Tho English, who woro to have profited by Arnold's treason, hated tho traitor after ho liod Joined tholr ranks. BrltlBh olllcors would hold no fellowship With hint mid his memory Is oxe crated In England today. Tho British loyalists who left tho colonies' nt tho outbreak of tho rovo lullonnry war and Wont their way Into Now Brunswick showed Arnold when ho nftorwnrd went to dwell among them that they hold him in nothing short of loathing. Arnold hns been lik ened unto Nero and Nero hns gained by tho com parison. Nero meroly fiddled ns Romo wont up In flames, whllo Arnold Is pictured as smiling exultantly at tho burning under his orders of his birthplace and at tho subsequent putting of many of tho surrendered Americans to the sword. It is told that when Now London nnd Qroton were attacked and burned Arnold, commanding .the attacking forces, had no word of reproof for 5 tlr',Qcer who, upon receiving the sword of Col. "Wllllm Ledyard, the American commander, in " token, of surrender, murdered the colonial soldier With the weapon which he ha'd presented hilt on to bla conqueror. This Is tho mid night scroll nnd that- upon it may np Pear n email tracing in lotters of light In a matter of Intorost, though It may do nothing toward tho redeem ing of a namo. It was n Dnughtor of tho Involu tion, Mrs. Ollbort W. Warren of lllon, N. Y., who brought attention to n woll-nlgh forgotten frngmont of Arnold's history. Mrs. Warren, who dlod recently, was a descendant of Col. William Ledyard, who was killed with his own Bwprd after ho had sur rendered it to nn ofllcer serving un der Arnold. Naturally Mrs. Warron would not bo moved by uny heredi tary lovo for Arnold to Btnrt her dig ging up nlco things about him. It happens, howovor, that Mrs. War ren's huabnud, who survives her, Is collaterally descended from Qon, Jo seph Warron, who fell nt Bunker hill. This fact led to tho discovery of something which was used ns a sort of ofTset to Arnold's trentmont of tho unlucky Americans who met his forces along tho banks of tho Connecticut Thames. Gen. Arnold had mot Gop. Warren In tho early spring of 1775 and had formed n strong personal liking for him, Whon Warren was killed It was found that ho had loft no meniiB for tho support and ettucntlon of his four children. Arnold bo caino deeply Interested In tho matter and brought tho ohlldron'a condition to tho nttentlon of tho continental congress, which promised to do some thing for tho Uttlo ones, but dilly-dallied over tho mattof. Arnold had nn Idea that tho congress might not act quickly nnd so ho wrote n letter of tender sollcltudo to Mercy Schollny, who wns caring for tho Warron children, tholr mother hav ing died Bomo tlmo boforo. In this letter Arnold, nearly Impoverished himself, sent an order for SGOO with Instructions thnt ho should be drawn upon for moro ns soon ns It was needed. This contribution of tho traitor Bnvod Elizabeth, Jo soph, Mary and Richard Warren from destitu tion. Arnold was not satisfied with this, but ho wrote spurring letters to Sam Adams nnd John Hancock, of tho committee which had tho pro posed congroBalonnl appropriation in hand. Then ho sent homo somo money nnd said: "Send Rich nrd. who Is now old enough to tho best school that can bo found, clotho htm handsomely, give him nil that ho needs nnd call upon mo for any futuro exponso." How much food for thought mny bo found In ono of tho lcttora of Benedict Arnold, traitor, written to Msb Schollny Jiist boforo his troason. Ho had sont moro money nnd had congratulated tho children on tho prospect thnt tho money from congress would bo speedily forthcoming. "A country," said Arnold, "should ho over gratoful to the patriot who lays down his llfo in its de fouEC, 'Greater lovo hnth no man than thlB.'" What surging thought must hnvo whelmed this man's brain aa ho wroto these words. That lotter was received Just at tho time that Arnold began negotiations with Clinton. School histories say that after tho revolution Arnold passed" all his tlmo In England. Ho lived, however, for a long period In St. John, Now Bruns wick. Thoro ho engaged in commer cial pursuits, Bonding out trading ves eels to tho West Indies. Ills neigh bors, though, ns hns been Bald 'ycro largely refugees; had stood by king nnd crown. They gave Arnold to un derstand that they did not llko his company. Thoy hanged him In effigy onco or twice, taking enro that the cftlgy bore tho word "Traitor" In largo letters. Ono night Arnold's nlaco of business burned. It was heavily Insured. Tho companies re fused to pay, openly charging that either Arnold or his son had acted tho Incendiary Tho case went Into tho courts and tho -insurance com panies finally pnid. Arnold pocketed tho "money and loft tho town, tho oc casion of' his leaving being made ono of tremendous rejoicing, by tho lnhab Hants throughout all the land. It will bo Interesting to note wheth er in tho now chapel which is being erected nt West Point the namo of Gen. William Hull will appear on th wall with tho names of other officer?. who served In tho land forces of tha United States during tho second waar with Great Britain. Gen, Hull surren dered Dotrolt to tho English and aft erward was court-martialed for do ing it. Tho Society of the War of 1812, It Is understood, will hnvo charge of tho work of placing tho tablets in West Point's new chapel. Tho offi cers' names. Uko tho names of those officers who served In tho revolutionary war and which hnvo n placo oh tho wnlla of tho old chapel, probably will appear in letters qf gold upon a black basis. School histories as n rule, in giving an account of tho Detroit surrender, atato simply that Gen. Hull's action was considered cowardly. Tho fact that ho was tried and sentonced to bo shot for cow ardice is generally omitted. Hull was ordered to go to his Massachusetts homo and there nwalt tho oxocutlon of his Bcntonco. Old ago "oxecuted" htm many years afterwards. It is probablo that tho commemorating society will content Itsolf with simply omitting Hull's name from its list, by which Hull's conduct, characterized ns cowardly by n corapctont court, could bo mado to stand nu a warning to all the generations of young soldiers. : Occupying a consldorablo part of tho wall spneo of tho beuutlful old West Point place of worship thoro aro already many black marble memorials bearing tho names of all tho genernl ofllocrs of tho revolutionary war from Artemus Ward of Con nectlcut to Georgo Washington of Virginia. Upon ono of these tablets tho cadots ns thoy fllo In on Sunday seo somothlng which tells better than tho words of trumpet-tongued eloquenco of tho black Ignominy which attaches to the nnmo of n traitor, On ono of tho slabs occupying n placo between two honored names there appears n black blot. Abo,vo and below It show tho tips of gold letters. Enough of tho lettering is vlslblo to let the ob server know after a moment's study that which It Is intended In tho main to conceal. A black block" of marble set In transversely across tho golden capitals blots out forovor from tho roll of honor tho nnmo of Boncdlct Arnold, traitor. Touching on tho troason of Benedict Arnold, thero Is n little-known story which had for tho scene of Its action tho four years of tho war of secession. In response to tho first call of Abra ham Lincoln for troops a young man appeared at a Detroit recruiting office and enlisted. He went to tho front and In the courso of six months was made a commissioned officer. Ho was of a retiring disposition, always courteous to his fellow officers nnd Just to his men, but he sought no closo friend ships. He wns noted throughout tho command ns n inatuwhoso dovotlon to duty amounted to n pas sion, Ho onco sought and secured a change In command In order to hnvo n moro frequent hand In tho heavy fighting. This soldier roso to tho rank of a major. Ho was offered at ono tlmo n colonolcy. Ho declined. Ho fought In every battlo of the later Richmond campaign and was In at tho end at Appomattox. Tho major headed his battalllon in the great pa rade of tho returning, victors up Pennsylvania nvo nuo. Thon thoro enmo tho Jlnal mustering out of to troops. Less than a month afterward tho colonol of a fighting regiment received n letter bearing n Toronto postmark: "I served all through tho war under an assumed name. I trust that I did my full duty. I wish you to know that I did what I did in order that I might in somo way innko ntonpment for the deed of ono of my family. Sir, I am a Canadian by birth and my name Is John Benedict Arnold." By MAHY C. PADEN (Copyright, by Short tortca Co.. Ltd.) The atlldcnt crazed with hnwihinrml blue eyoB nt tho lawyer. Tho lawyer repeated: "Eighteen hundred thout snnd dollars in your own, unlimited right. You lucky dogl" Tho student seemed to bo weighing tho lltornrv VnlllO nf lin nhi-nsn "Innlfv dog." Porsonnl application of nny thing scfimcd out of hla line, bo tho Jmpa.tlent lawyer began to think. Tho Idea of n yountt man tnklnir nuch nn announcement in such n way! "I should not know whnt to do with It," tho student Bnld Hlnwlv. with nl. most n frightened look, which raolll- ueu mo lawyer. "That wouldn't worrv mnst vnnne men; It wouldn't worry mo." "What would you do with It?" "Why. I'd nh. Til hnvn n t.nrA time. ' It renllv Wfln nnt en onov n specify, at n b'renth'a nnHrn whnt ono would do with eighteen hundred thousand. Ho frit drdnmy youth. "But WOUld that menu thn iflmn to any two people having n good tlmo?" Really, the young man had a way Of asking niinatlnna tulmn ha n.nt. awakened. "No-O." said tho Inwvnr iln,i).t full v "To old Boozo over there, it would menn all tho bad whtnW im pour in; to young Snob yonder, n tru io mo Millionaires' club, and London, fashions: to AT tan TVflnnfnc sealskins, dlnmonds and her coach; to me, pernnps, after I had had a Uttlo ordinary fling and had lot tho good wife burn n few greenbacks, tho pro fessional honors I hnvo missed; to Von, I SlinnOBO." clnnol general shnbblnoss of things to tho few books that even he, a Phlllstino, tuuiu noi nut seo were rnro and precious of dato. hi nil Inn nti1 nut h ship "moro books." "What Would hnnkn hn tn- mi. tl.. I merely boucht with mv ,,nnt'o grudged money? Adopted children, dear perhaps for their merit; but tho uookb i nave nro flesh of my flesh, bono of my bone, blood of my blood 1" "But ho didn't grudgo It. Only for mo iubi warus, iney would nover havo uuesseu your existence." What did ho say?" This was. at least, hn tho lawyer grow confidential. . Ho said: 'No, no will, I've had the good of my monev In mv wv io fool of a, nephew, Soarlo Kynett, havo it In his. Ho'll spend it patenting n uuw way io umu books or in digging up Billy Shakespeare's rent receipts, perhaps; but if thoro Is any blood in those watery veins of his, it is my own brother's, Lot him hnvo It!' Not very comnllmcntarv. h knew his way. 1 mention It for tho hlnr It gavo his administrators of n rolntivo. They traced vnn to thia it' nnd tho odd namo and hint at your iuoius um uio rest, i Having tho honor of bringing tho 6earch to this nh happy conclusion." "Yes," tho student musedr "1 knew his way. Ho wanted to help me, but WO COUld hot OCroo. Ho sunt fnr to order his library. I would have glVCn him Ono fit for Rnlnnmn .. -what ho wanted was binding to match mo cases anu lurnituro of n barbaric moucrn ennmuer or upholstered hor rors, nnd he wished tho 'popular' nu tliors! 'Didn't earn rnr f.ni,0 i bonks or persons.' bo snld." Tho lawyer sighed. The student nitultl "You find mo n troublesome client, I realize thnt I am unllko nthon men. I dori't say that In a Pharisaical mnnncr;" ho hastened to ndd, 'Tm not better, but I supposo I'm queer" Theu ho, too, sighed. After ten days of fruitless thought tho problem was but little nearer so lutlon. Tho student cried despairing ly: "I ennnot simulv amount and havo n preposterous In como tumbling upon mo In successive shocks, llko Tarnola'a hrnmintu i cannot nnvo my solltudo nnd study uroiiuu uy specious pleaders with their worldly schemes. have Uttlo understanding, even wero mey mosi pracucni. I shall bo forced to leavo oven theso obsnnrn io,ii,.o slnco there is but ono wnv nf imnJ nnd no escape from thcso harpies." Tho lawyer grinned. There was a chnnco for his assistance, after all. "Send them to mo, my dear boy." "Find mo a place, a retired placo yet safe, with many doors nnd win. dowB; n placo suitable for for books." Jones found tho nlaco vi jv l t V. It to his client. "Bnt, do I understand thnt thn wnm. nn sells to mo outright, or " "SIlO iS n Widow Of GO nn.l .... said tho lawyor deprecatlngly, "si,'c is nuaenca io nor tiomo. You would bo obliged to havo n lioiiRnifoon,, ah sho seeks Is n Uttlo sulto of rooms that you would not need, rent-free and she will undertake to keep things' cleanly, and, If you wish, to prepare your meala and do anything neces sary. Sho understands that you re quire solltudo nnd nulot. nnd win obtrude. You havo each an ontrnnnn and Btalrcaso. separated by tho screen partition, and you need ic Ing of her presonco." "Very good. Women are are try. Inn. you know." recalllne n tni,, .i...m scolding voice thnt had punctuated his overturning of trensuro-trovo on book- counters, to order shallow, effusive much begllt nnd crimsoned book-por-: Eonnlitlcs, llo turned suddenly on poor Jones with n desperation that startled that good mnn: "Find mo a good, gcnulno usd for this money within 30 days; or, after paying you for your trouble and set ting nsldo bnroly enough to eccuro mo bread and water, n quiet roof and,' decent disposal of my body, I swear, 1 shall convert this pllo into green hacks, and, not in tho vulgar Idiom ofJ tho day, but actually burn them, anil sit down to peaceful study without this nightmare of responsibility I Then Lawyer Jones found It was not easy to placo ono million odd In Just tho right pjnec. Lawyer Jones hegnu to feel a vicarious irritation. He, too, wished to slash tho Gordlan. knot. Mrs. Jonca thought she snw1. tho simplest end to pull, unraveling It all. "ir he would Just marry I" sho said oracularly. Ono particular evening Kynett had enjoyed extraordinarily n dnlnty toa nwnltlng him. served aa Invisibly hb a prisoner's when his back was turned or ho was In another room; also, an extra handful of coals In tho yawning grnto. "This won't do!" ho said, suddenly1, recnlllnc hlmBelf. "I ohnll turn cour. met ntid sybarite, ""caught myself Dnvni-nl ,1... . i . : ""''' which iu-uay turning irom-my book and wen to wonder, whnt dalntv would be served mo this night, and wnat dellcatd mending, ns of u hand Worthy to tool n ilollmtn rftvor I should-find Jn my hitherto neglected cioinoB-uasket." . i't f'0, Granny, whnt n wizard nid rinnf. fry is!" this with familiar lovo, not Irreverence;' 5,Hbw ho' knows thn spirit of. sprlngahat stirs tho restless heart In all or us and makes us. long to go and Krow nnd nnrl lin' nml enjoy"' ; : . Was that what nlled him, too tho restless spring? asked Kynott, ;And had he needed a girlish volco to trans late ono of his Mastors'?- An older volco answered: "That is tho way of youth, dearies. To us it brings memories." "But It Btlrs you, too!" This im pulsively. "I saw it in your eyes; it thrilled In your volco." "You nro restless to-night, dearies. What alls you?" "Oh, I wont" She throw' her 'fair arras over her head, tho sofLJaces falling away from them. ' ' What' ethereal boon did this' an gollc soul cravo? Somothlng tingels nloho could grant,- surely I "I want monoy!" Tho hidden door creaked again be hind tho portiere. "no I What to do with It?" "Do? I'd nover stop doing. I'd nover stop to think what I'd do. I wouldn't trouble to plan; Just start a river or good and keep it going. Do? Well, to start, I'd seo that thoso hands of yours rested" eight hours a day. I wouldn't slnvo In that bindery but spend oh, all tho tlmo I could Bpnre from doing good In n book shop. I'd see that poor Mr. Kynott hnd thrco good meals a day and a few pair of socks that wero not pepper boxes for holes, and other things. I'd oven buy Billy little Mlmetto 100 yards of ribbon of nil colors Rfnnn atin loves ribbons. I'd" But Soarlo guiltily slid tho door Into placo and retired to his dull qunrters. Ono morning ho remembered what It was Lawyer Jones had said liked. - Ho hnd thomrht It twvini nf tho time, but wns delighted to recall huw BL-uiBKin, uiamonns, a couch.. no went to tho crent furrinro selecting a small Bnleswomnn, ordered tho most magnificent cont they, had, Uo fit ono of her build, nnd nnioro,! sent, spite or tho season. "vvhon? ti Kravely dictated, amid tho smile's or uio saleswomen: Deurle. care of Widow Gray. Thoro wns amazement on tho' other side of the curlohouso that night slnco there wns no clow to tho sender of the magnificent gift. Next morning, a grave coachman stopped n flno pair of horsoB, with an irreproachable turnout, at tho Qrav door, and ho and tho footman report ed to "Miss Dearie." The widow questioned to somo pur pose, In tho confusion following her announcement that there was no stnble. Sho went to Mr. Kynett, "Let one be built," ho decreed, as Ilaroun might, ' Then the widow declared sho must send for Lawyer Jones. The jrravo coachman suggested a commission of SuSgfy8!10' DCart P "Tho poor fellow Is only ovor. worked nnd und'ornourlshed. We win take enre of him and bring him through." s mm Searlo submitted to this role until tho two good bou a thmwh effected a cure and-WlVcoZnte! 7 . I . . ol '"Bher Iteraturo with him, when hlu 'liiure Jjced footing. " u,u 1101 Then, alas! ho hnd the diamonds camo r " rv'"J ,'80' ?" the method , hls ma4ne? en mnoou into unnnppy periods. Ilia I made clear to nil and nt iv. .B9?n only other oxner encu of thnm .. r : '""a' 01 tho nanny - . .. " wm ""ti. iuumer Jones nniii. a i,v imuuu UU jjenumea creatures i " told you it wohm ii - . who had brushed by him in , his eager J If ho would only mSJJli! ome r,sUt ft