Nebraska Newspapers

    THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
r m old solder
Or IDDTWE1
THE LITTLE BUGLER AS xjSSfY S5 PllX '
gJ I
er Xilliam h . J ohnston went to war at IMP' ft
Sod
the age of eleven years and be-
came a plains fighter afterward. His
reflections, here set down, point a
moral and adorn a tale V v
THE
LITTLE
BUGLER IN
A SOLDIERS'
HOME TODAY
Tills "human document" Is published na one ot
tho most remarknblo lotto wo over roail. It was
not Intondod for publication originally, but wns
written by Mr. Johnston, who lives In tho Michi
gan Soldlors' Home, to his brother, nn editor In
Nebraska.
" Y DEAR Brother Qcorgo:
fff Your lottor of November 27 la nt
1 I hnntl, and It warms my old heart
J. JL to think my llttlo brothor Is so intor-
cstod In anything pertaining to my
rather unovontful past. Of all things
I dospiso, 'tis an egotlHt. However, as
you wish to know Boinothlng about
t 11. Y- I I 1 - . ......Ik.
your uiuuiur uuiy a uuuy uajiumuiiuu,
don't boo how I can help telling.
I was born Juno 18, 18D0, In Detroit, Mich., and
whon tho Civil war broko out In 1861, I was going
i Tii it n nil Til i nniiiiir in . n v. m m. wni'ii mill iiiim lu
HHl IIII1VIM1 VI'Ill H 111 IIL'H I HIIITl llll III V HIT1
n mo mi inn Michigan inraiury, company u. P-
Hill JLIHLIIIH III IMlIIlIllll.il II. Willi '.11 WUH I J 11 ill 1U1 Uli UL
uii viiyiiu, jl cuuidu. i run uvuy nuui dwiuui
II I1IIIIML. 111111 III111IK1I WI1N HIIUIIML i:illV IU11U1U L11U I
unrr mv urn m wnuin nnr ninnr inn rrimiiii wiinn
n T"f ri 1 11 iv niifi i ii nil rrni niiri hii ninrn in ihimi mi 111
runt in ii nvur ii ih Knnn nun HiiiLiiicnn inn wilii u
leather bylt, ana told mo to bout It for homo and
11 1.I..1. V .11.1 t. . 1 11. (.1 . .
juiuur, wuiuii i uiu, i nuvu uiwujb uiuuhui my
father told them what to do with mo.
Well father whipped mo and mother cried ovor
mo, and as I l.ad got peppered with llco whllo
r inn mrr. i wnn mn m in nifinn in inn iinrii inr a.
week, until cleaned up. Hut tho lifo and drum
woro too mucn inr mo. ana in Juiy. wnon iwoivo
i . ii. i i .nun ,.. .. .. i
vpmo and enlisted in tho Twonty-fourth Michigan
infantry which waB quartered on the old fair
grounds In Detroit. I beat tho drum and played
tho dovll for ten dayB, when I woh again taiten
ti m i .1.1 Htm. II I
II I 1111 II II 11 1 11 1111U 11 1 111 1I1V1LUU LtJ Dltlll. It ILII UIU 111-
vltatlon wont some klckB and cuiib 1 have not for
gotten yot.
But tho boys woro not to ti'touo for tho rough
treatment thoy gavo mo ns my father had quietly
nut them up' to I', trying to mnko mo tlrcu of
soldiering.
My brothers and Bisters thought 1 was a hero,
father thought 1 was a dovll, but mother thought l
i . inn. vim 1 i il... 11.. i
was JUBI nor own nine uuty juhi uiu huiuu. uui
gO 10 BCIlOOl 1 WUUIU IlUll 1I1UIU wun luu uiu;u
attraction on tho Btroct, bo in Ocober, itz, my
motlior packed a llttlo trunk of clothing, and thuy
started mo for tho Lansing Agricultural collogo
Well things bogan to happen then. I arrived nt
tho school in tho afternoon ot Saturduy, October 9,
and was to have been examined and put into my
classes Monday morning. 1 might say this was tho
oxtont ot my collcgo education, nnd tho last of my
schooling.
Sunday morning Mr. Tlbbots, who kopt tho
boarding houso for tho school, and his wlfo, loft
for tho day to make a visit. Milton Ward of Do
trait, who was at tho school at tho tlmo, and my-
golf woro boon companions, having been acquaint-
I - il 11 n .1 .. . . IfMtn.. n.w1 T 1 . r. n 1 . . 1
CU lu UUllUll. auuuuy iuuiiiiiib, mill"" uuu iiuunvu
away, nnd went up to Ijtfising, nB I romombor it,
a couplo of nilloa away, Milt always had money,
and was four or ilvo years oldnr than I. Ho got a
big bag of candy and a bottlo of wlno. Vo wont
out to tho school for n lark. After dinner Milt and
X and uubthor boy and throe or four llttlo girls who
were visiting boya at tho school, got togofher in a
big room upstairs, and what a tlmo wo did have!
Mr. TIbblts and his wlfo enmo homo and found
tho lot of us all asleep; nomo on tho lloor, some on
tho bed, but nil of us tipsy and sick from tho wlno.
Was thoro anything dolus thon? I should say yes!
This wholo lark was laid at my door. 1 was locked
In a room to bo kopt until Monday, when I was to
bo sent back homo to my parents. I did not daro
go homo, as fathor would certainly havo tried, at
least, to whip Bomo of tho meanness out of mo, for
I had about used up his patlenco. So after tho
houso had got qulot at night, I dropped out tho
window and hiked for Lansing. Thoy woro thon
recruiting for tho Sixth Michigan cavalry.
I told tho recruiting olllcor I had no mother or
fathor, that 1 Bold papers and did odd Jobs for a
living, and sworo 1 was olghtcon years old. Suro,
ho know bettor, but thoy enlisted mo regularly as a
buglor, and assigned mo to Company Q, Sixth
Michigan cnvalry. I was twolvo yoars, throo
months and twonty-threo days old, and wns In my
third enlistment, but this wns tho first tlmo I wns
mustorod In. Alt Mnddon enlisted with mo.
I wns sont to Grand Rapids whoro tho roglmont
wns camped whllo being recruited to its full
strongth. Wo woro raustorcd Into tho service
thoro. Tho Ufo that wo led tho officers of Company
G was anything but plonsnnt.
In Washington, wo campod for a tlmo on Mori
don hill from which place wo mado our first hlko.
And wo tasted war, when we wont to Falmouth
nnd sklrmlBhod with Mosoby's guerrlllns. We had
tho opportunity of trading coffoo for tobacco with
tho Confederate pickets. A whllo handkerchief
on tho end of a saber was tho signal to stop
shooting whllo tho trado was bolng mado between
tho "Rebs" on tho Frodorlcksburg oldo of tho Rap
pahannock rlvor and us "Yanks" on tho Falmouth
sldo. I must say I novcr know ot any ndvantago
bolng taken to shoot a follow whllo tho trudo was
bolng mado. In tho early spring of 1863, no rogl
mont was kopt mora busy than tho Sixth Michigan
looking out for Mosoby and his mon, Wo always
had them, but novor got thorn to any great ox
tent. Mosoby wns n wonder.
From then to tho tlmo I was taken prlsonor
wo woro In olghtcon battles and minor engage
monts botwoon Juno 30 to Octobor 11, 1803. Tho
Llttlo Buglor novor lost n day, but did loao lota of
meals In that tlmo.
On Octobor 11, 18C3, nt Brandy station, my horsu
was shot from undor, mo, and I was takon pris
oner. Our roglmont wns charging through a rogl
mont of enumy cavalry that had got In botwoon
tho main column and tho rear guard, whon my
horBO was struck by a ploco of Bholl between tho
kneo and hoot, throwing mo hools ovor nppotlto
some foot ovor his head. I was cut and bruised
by tho foot ot tho charging troopers, who woro bo
hind. Whon I ilnnlly got up It was to look Into
tho barrel of what appeared to mo to bo n cannon,
but In fact was only n .45 Colt, .and n fellow In n
gray suit was tolling mo to strip! Ho took my
shoes nnd pants, and darn him, ho could not woar
either of thorn; he was bo much lnrgor than I.
I wns takon with n tratnlond ot other prisoners
to Richmond, Vn., but on tho way had traded off
my hloUBO for somothlng to oat. Wo woro divided
up In bunches after arriving at Richmond. Destiny
sent mo to old Llbby prison, and lator to Hollo
Islo.
I had no pantB, sHoob or hat. Ono ot tho oldor
mon had given mq, nn old coat. Tho guard would
Issue us a tow Btlcks ot wood in tho oveuing. Wo
burnod our llros as long as posstblo, and whon
tho fires had burnod out to coals wo scattorod tho
coals over tho ground to warm It, and thon would
ALL OVER NEBRASKA
SHORT NEWS ITEMS.
Ho down to sleep, stretched In long linos of any
number of mon, all curled up spoon fashion, as
closo together as possiblo.
I lay down on tho end of tho lino ono cold night
whon soon a poor follow enmo and snuggled up to
mo. Along In tho early morning when ho should
havo turned to warm my back, he did not movo
I got up on my elbow and pulled his noso. Ho was
dead. It was tho moat frightful oxporlonco I ovor
had.
Our dead woro usually rolloved of any good
clothing thoy may have had on to bo used by those
who woro almost naked. I had still on what was
loft of a shirt and pair of drawers that I had
worn for almost a year. Can you realize or lnv
nglno haw llttlo of cither woro left? I went down
to tho dead lino ono morning and saw a body on
which was a fine shirt of bluo cashmero cloth. 1
wont to tho gato and asked tho officer of tho Con
fedorato guard, an old man, If I might remove the
shirt from that body to wear myself.
"My poor boy," ho said, and gavo permission,
with toara running down his wrinkled cheeks, to
tnko tho shirt.
A red-whiskered, spindle-shanked, low-down
follow from Wisconsin that I was chumming with,
nnd whom I had kopt nllvo by stealing grub fot
him to oat, Btolo that shirt from mo. I lost a sllvoi
mlno in Colorado years ago that sold afterwards
for thrco hundred thousand dollars, but It did not
hurt so badly ns the loss of that shirt.
Shortly after this, thoro was a parolo of sick and
disabled men agreed on by tho governments. I got
out and walked aboard our transport at Sa
vannnh, tho raggedest-looklng kid that over loft
that city. What fow troops thoro woro In that
transport just stood and cried when thoy saw our
boys. Thla was tho nineteenth of November, 1804.
At Annapolis I got ray back pay, ration money
and clothing monoy for tho tlnio I had boon prtn
onor, amounting to some $300, with a furlough for
thirty days. I started for Uotrolt. I can't tell
you all that happened on tho trip, but I got home
broke after a week or ton days on tho road.
Father killed tho fatted calf, mother had It
cooked, and I was mado much of by ovorybody,
for I had been reported dend leng Ego, and thoy
had preached a memorial sermon for mo, tolling
what a good llttlo boy I had been. I enmo home
and spoiled It nil. After a fow days nt homo 1
wont to dismounted camp at Harper's Ferry und
from tho camp wns returned to my regiment,
thon In Washington waiting to tnko part In the
gruud review, after which wo woro Bent to Fort
Leavenworth. Hero I was discharged and the
regiment sent out on tho plains uftor Indians.
I wont to Donvor In tho fall ot 1865 with a mule
train, before there wna a railroad In tho raoun
tains. I returned to Topekn, Kan., with bull
trains, onllstlhg In tho regular army, wont to Call
fornla by way of tho Isthmus, guarded Btirvoyorg
in Arizona from tho Indians, and fought Indiana
in Arizona with tho First United States cavalry
I mado a trip into Moxlco with a load of phonoy
jowolry. Lator I was arrested as a flllbustor spy
In Gunymas and was shipwrecked on my trip
from Guaymns to Mazatlan. Two out of soven
woro saved ntter floating around for thirty-six
hours. I was shanghaied in Snn Francisco and
taken around Capo Horn to Dublin, which wau the
most adventurous llvo months ot my lifo. I cauu
back to my homo In 1873, married In 1874 and
sottlcd down to bo decent.
I am now a mcmbor of tho Michigan Soldiers
homo. Undo Sam Is trying his best to mnko mo
comfortable in my doclinlng years. But neither
ho nor nil tho powers that bo can make up
tho ten years vorso than lost from my twelfth
to twcnty-BOCond year, for what I did not learn
that was rough in that tlmo I have not learned
slnco and it Is not in tho books.
A two days' farmers' Institute will
bo held nt Wakefield Feb. 11 nnd 12.
Tho city of York Is preparing to
pnvo Ihlrly-cne blocks in the spilng.
Four und onc-hnlf miles of paving
wire completed last year.
I. J. Hioniseli of Minden, republl
cun, is the first to file nn n onndl
dato for office In Kearney county. He
filed for clerk ot the district court.
Twelve orphan children wore
brought to Soward the other day froii
Now York and placed in homes In the
city and surrounding country.
The Lancaster County Board of
Commissioners has purchased n suit
able building in Lincoln nnd begun
the manufacture of culvertu for coun
ty use.
A. V. Wortman, editor of tho He
bron Champion, and 13. H. Kendall
have purchased tho Hebron Register
nnd will combine it with the Cham
pion. Tho annual convention of tho coun
ty treasurers of Nebraska will be held
h: Omaha February 23 and 24. Pctor
Mcintosh of Adams county, is presi
dent of tho association.
Five thousand acres of Platte val
ley land will bo put into sugar beets
between North Platte and Keystono,
according to John Bryan, agont for
tho American Beet Sugar company.
Tho town of Hadar, located a few
miles north of Norfolk, has been in
corporated. -Hadar boasts of a popu
lation of 108 souls and those enthus
iastic over the Incorporation expect
to see a contlnuaous growth in tho
town.
Madison county's corn crop for 1915
is figured to have been 4,025,887 bush
els, or an average of 342 hushols to
tho acre nnd is valued at $2,012,944.
Tho county hud 11,489 acres in win
ter wheat, averaging 19.4 bushels to
the acre.
The village board ot 12ddyville has
granted Andrew Sutherland a twenty
Bvo year frnnchlso granting him the
right to conduct an electric lighting
system within the town, and has also
ordered that twelve street lights bo
Installed at twelve principal crots
lngs. Bayard H. Palno; of Grand Island,
has prepared hit! petition for one of
the nominations for district Judge and
will file tho same in the near future.
There are at present three candidates
fr the non-partisan nomination,
though it Is expected there will bo
others.
An agricultural short course will be
held at Allen March 0 to 10. This is
tho fii8t venture in a short course in
tho community thus far. In addition
to thfi work by the state workers sev
eral local features will bo added.
A concrete bridge of the latest style
of construction will be erected over
the I'latlo river at Kearney. It will
take tho place of the mile long wood
on structure now spanning tho river.
Application for Btate aid was mado
many months ago and not until lately
has tho matter been acted upon by
tho bonrd.
Joi W. Leedham, editor of the
Gordon Journal, has announced his
candidacy for the republican nomina
tion to tho ofilco of commissioner of
public lands and buildings. Mr.
Leedihnm is a student of the Univer
sity of Nebraskn and of Morningslde
college at Sioux City, nnd a natlvo of
Nebraska.
Birt Howard announces the sale of
tho Johnson County Journal-Tribunal
of Tocumseh, to Charles D. Blauwlt
of Arapahoe. Mr. Howard has been-
Intorested In the paper for several
years. Mr. uiauveit nas proviousiy
been in the newspaper business at
Arflpnhoe, selling his paper, tho Mir
ror, last fall.
The smallest known human mother,
Mro. Dolletta Boyken, and her two
chtldron aro in Fremont for n visit
with relatives. Mrs. Boyken, who
was a former Fremont girl, weighs
only thirty-six pounds and is twenty
seven Inches high. Her parents and
brothers nre normal sized. Tho llttlo
4-year-old son of Mrs. Boyken is
lnrgor than his mother.
City Health Commissioner Connell
of Omaha announced that he intends
to omploy several additional physi
cians as assistants In the health de
partment during tho prevalence of
scarlet fever. These aro to check up
"suspicious" canes, follow up quaran
tines and nld in Inspection of places
of public gathering. There nre nearly
throo hundred cases In the city at
this time.
Petitions were circulated placing
the nnme of Senntor A. D. Spencer of
Bnrnston In nomination for tho repub
lican nomination for penator from the
Fourteenth Uonatorinl dl&lrlct, com
prlalng the counties of Gago and Paw
nee, Both elevntors at Plymouth have
been turning away grain the past few
days, owing to tho shortage of cars.
The recent raiso in prices has had a
tendency to bring In the grain and
thero is much complaining over this
car shortage.
Mrs. Caroline L. Johnson, 90 years
old, widow ot tho Into William John
sou, and a real Daughter of the Rev
olution, perhaps tho only remaining
ono in tho state, died at Hastings.
Contracts on three new state-aid
bridges aro to bo opened soon. At
Sutherland, over Platte river, cost
limit, -$22,000; length, 540 feet. At
Gretna, over Elkhom; cost limit,
$25,000; length, 300 feet. At Schuy'
ler, over PIntto river; cost limit,
$45,000; repairs to steel bridge now
standing, 1,050 feet long, and 700 feet
additional of new steel spans
A Young Womane' OhrLitian Rtw
elation has boon organised at Hast
ings. The organization has started
ofi with a membership of nearly two
hundred.
Plalnvlew will soon have a Carno
glo library. The Carnegie board ha
allowed the funds for tho building
and tho city council has passed nn or
dliinnce to support It.
Gnuilm wns selected us the placa
of tho first annual exhibition of roc
ord swine, by representatives of the
National Swine Growers' nssociation,
who met In Chicago recently.
D. J. Wllberlon of Pllger sont his
first herd of fat stock, consisting of
forty head, averaging over 1,250
pounds, to the South Oniahn niarkot
the other day and got tho top price
of $8.15.
A. L. Mohler,' president of the Un
ion Pacific railroad, who was Borious-
ly injured when ho fell on tho ica
wlillo skutlng at Omaha, is much Im
proved und Is expected to bo nboul
soon.
Henry Bruckhnn - was burned tc
death nt his home twenty miles south
east of York as a result of the explo
sion of the contents of n can of kero
sene with which ho was starting tho
kitchen llro.
The McPlierson county board has
ordered a special election for April
18, to vote on tho proposition to issuo
bonds to tho amount of $4,000 for tho
construction of a now court house
at Tryon.
William Fisher of Beatrice was
killed at tho home of his sister,
Mrs. Henry Synoves, residing on a
farm near Belloville, Kas., being
caught In the fly wheel of a threshing
machine engine.
Directors of tho Mid-West Rotall
Implement Dealers' association, aftot
the annual convention at Omaha, de
cided to hold the next convention
also In Omahu, tho dates to be De
cember C, 7 and 8, 1910,
Several hundred delegates are ex
pected to attend tho annual state con .
vention of the Y. M. C. A. at York
February 18, 19 and 20, according to
officials of tho stnte association wha
are busy with plans for the meeting.
Two banks in Harlan county paid
their taxes under proteBt ponding the
supremo court decision on tho valid
ity of the new law that superseded
the Smith mortgage tax law which
permitted banks to escapo taxation
on their capital stock.
Machinery of all kinds for mixing
concrete will be in operation, turning
out the various kinds of useful and
ornamental articles made of this ma -terial,
at tho tenth annual Midwest
Cement show to bo hold In Omaho ,
February 29 to March 4.
Clerk of tho Platto county district
court, C. M. Gnienther, as referee,
sold at public sale at the court house
in Columbus, In tho neighborhood of
llvo hundred acres of Platto county
land, at an average price of $135 per
acre.
All records for a slnglo month's hog
receipts at the South Omaha stock
market were broken In January. The
previous record month for hog re
ceipts was February, 1912, whon tho
receipts for that month totaled
359,032 head. The total for last
month Is nearly 400,000 head.
Nebraska health officers at their
annual conference In Omaha, indorsed
a proposed Nebraska law for combin
ing tho pure food, hotel inspection
and various other health movement
under one head. Tho bill, to bo in
troduced in tho next legislature, will
also call for a sanitary survey of the
state. More than 100 Nebraska towns
were represented by their health offi
cers, Tho city manager plan Is being ad
vocated by many residents of Beatrice
at tho present time. Beatrice was the
first Nebraska city to adopt the com
mission form of government, nnd the
same interests behind -this move, aro
behind the city manager plan. It is
suggested as tho city election Is ap
proaching, three men enter the race
for the commission who will consent
K) servo without pay.
Fourteen thousand acres of irrigate
ed laud are ready for entry In tho
North Platto project and applications
may bo mado at tho Alliance land of
fice up to Mnrch 24. Drawings will
bo hold later, according to nn an
nouncement by the United States In
terior department. Tho department
says that the farms will contain from
forty to eighty ncre farms, and that
homeBtenders will find hoarly CO.OOO
acres already In cultivation in th6 vi
cinity nnd tho land is in tho center
of a rapidly growing country-
O. G. Smith of Kearney, director of
tho State Fair association and prom
inent stock miser, filed his petition to
he placed on tho republican primary
bnllot as a candidate for senator from
tho district comprising Sherman,
Kearney nnd Buffalo counties.
Edward Varner, editor of the Ad
ams Globe, h3 tho champion trnpshot
of Nebraska, according to the official
averages of the Inter-State Trap
Shooting association recently iBsued.
His avcrago for tho 2,090 targota shot
at during tho year was 92 per cent.
A dividend ot 10 por cent waB de
clared at the annual mooting ot the
Wymoro Fnrmors Lumber, Coal and
Grain company held at Beatrice The
organization has 150 stockholders.
It has boen decided by tho Burling
ton Railroad company to renew con
struction as soon as weather condi
tions make it possiblo upon tho Chal
co cut-off. Work waB temporarily sus
pended In 1915 on account of tho un
usual financial conditions throughout
the country. It is tho Intention novr
to complete tho line at as early a dato
as practicable.