Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1911)
V ?—* j Washington STATEHOOD KEEPING LOWER HOUSE BUSY Saturday Session Is Held for Debate on the Bill Admitting Territories. Washington. May 22.—Expectation, of members of the House whose homes are within easy reach of Washington* that they might spend the week end with their families, wero rudely shat tered, when It was decided that therd should* be a session today. It wai the first Saturday session in many weeks, and the statehood resolution tc admit Arizona and New Mexico was the only business on the calendar. Th* measure will be constantly before the House until Tuesday night, when It will be called up for passage. The Investigations Into the depart* ments Of government Instituted at th« outset of'the democratic congress hav* begun to take shape and today plana for holding hearings with relation tc the state, postofflce, interior and trees ary departments were discussed by th« party leaders. I Thesff’wlth the special Investigation^ T Into the United States Steel corpora tion and- the American Sugar Reflninj ;ompany, It was declared, will undoubt rdly progress throughout the summer whether congress is In session or not The Senate was not in session today. Washington, May 2!.—What is prac tically an ultimatum was served od the Senate today by the democratic leaders of the House that there musi 9e a vote In the Senate at this sesslor >n Canadian reciprocity, on the farm* -rrs’ free list bill and on the revised wool tariff. Provided these terms arc met the House will agree to a reces# from July 1 to October 1. Otherwise the Senate will be held In contlnuoui lesslon throughout the ‘'dog days" b* tlie House refusing to adjourn. k Democratic advocates of free ran wool have completely surrendered, 11 was declared, when the House wnyt tnd means committee today continued the work of revising the tariff on wool tlembers of the committee who hav* oeen fighting against Chairman Under wood and Speaker Clark to place raw wool on the free list were said to havi • greed to the retention of a reduced Juty. a Though the exact rates to be as tossed on raw wool and manufactured xrtlcles have not been disclosed, the tentative bill to be submitted to thi Democratic caucus probably will be i 3at revenue measure, with, raw woo* rut about 50 per cent or more anfl manufactured articles reduced from 5C to CO per cent, dependent on the de cision of the commission as to how low the figure can go without seriously 7 impairing the revenues. A lively’- discussion of the till! la ex pected in the democratic caucus. IOWAN HIS L ' CAPITAL . Lieut. Franklin H. Drees, oj Carroll, Inhales Gas in Room in Washington Hotel. Washington, May 22.—Lieut. Frank lin H. Drees, United States marina corps, whose recent tests gave promise that he would win an enviable record in tlie service, was found dead thli morning In his room. He was from Carroll, la. A gas tube, running from an opet, Jet, was in Drees' mouth. His head was swathed in a blanket to conflm tlie poisonous fumes. He left no note nor had his conduct for the past three days, which lie spent here, seen in dicative of melancholy. His frlendi believe he was suffering from over ap plication to his work, nnd*it is said that only three months ago. when in took his examination for promotion he passed the- highest of any of the \ men of his rank. When Coroner Nevltt completes hii investigation, the body wih probably be taken to Carroll for interment Lieutenant Dre.es’ mother is now visit ing her soniniaw, also an officer In tht marine corps at the Boston navy yards and was notffled ' today of her son's death. Lieutenant Drees was born March 3, 1881. in Carroll. He was appointed fro it Iowa and accepted rus first commission March 10, 1308. During liiw three years service, he did duty in Annapolis, Pan ama. the Philippines, at Washington and at Portsmouth, N. H. PICKETT IS OPPOSED TO JUDICIAL R EC A Ls, Washington, May 22.—Renewed at tacks upon the recall provision of tin Arizona constitution from the republic an side and the democratic criticism of the unamendablo featuie of the New Mexican constitution held tlie attention of the House in yesterday's consider ation of the statehood - resolution. Representative Booher, of Missouri, democrat, said New Mexico was vir tually controlled by t(ie railroads ami large Interests and that the present form of the constitution Js such as to preclude the ijosslbility of being easily changed. He urged letting Arizona H have the recall for Judges.. Representative Picket, of Iowa! -criticised the principle of the recall as applied to judges. Following bun Representative Con nell, of New York, democrat, approved the pending resolution, declaring it ■was the only fair way to treat,the tv.-c territories. OAKLAND, CAL.—Tlie grand jury last night returned two indictment* ■against Henry Dalton, assessor of A in ineda county, who was arrested lata yesterday. The indictments charge re ceiving a bribe arid asking and agree ing to take a bribe. Dalton s bail was fixed at $25,000 for the first indictment and $15,900 for the second. The grand Jury heard testimony from tlie bpring Valley Water company, who helped ar •unge the trap for Dalton, and from clerks and minor county officials. SEWARD. ALASKA—Following a demonstration when the steamer Edith arrived with foieign coal for th3 Alaska Northern Kail • company, a H. Wheatley, representing the com pany, made a demand yesterday on Fr.lted States Deputy Marshal AVhlts Icy for the protection of the cargo. | AVliitosIey swore in a stiffl. lent number ' if men for this purpose. Tbc-re is afreet j talk of following the example 'if tlio 1 T'ordova coal party, which U-sniped j foreign coil overboard. r B * r ' i. Twenty years ago the average ilfo > me,.-ranee policy wu for i'JJfXi,: ncr |t t is mure than $3,000. I TO|D B | ITrvie Stories Appropriate to 1 _ _ _ _ VVUIPVWVIPtIVPVVIVHVVIWN AFTER General Grant had looked over the ground and said In that emphatic way of his. "The place must be :aken." there was nothing else to do but take It, of course. A column was formed, with General C. F. Smith’s division on the left and L«w wanace a on the right. One of the iur-. vlving veterans of that time says: "The ground in front of Smith was covered with ab atis too thick for a rabbit to get through, but old Smith rode right in front of the center, as erect as a ram rod, and, though I was nearly scared to death, I saw his white nustache over his shoulder and so went ahead. At the abatis the men fell In leaps. The Are was awful, and, seeing some wavering, Smith put his cap on its swond, swung It high In the air and yelled: ‘Come on, boys! No flinching low!’ as cool as a cucumber. Picking i path among the trees, our men fol owed their gallant chief up the hill and planted their colors on the breast works.” The Smiths were “in it” that day ture enough, for still another of the lame afforded a striking instance of coolness under fire. Wallace’s division was led by the Eleventh Indiana sou ives and the Eighth Missouri und»t Colonel Morgan I. Smith. As they set >ut on the ascent Colonel Smith lit a cigar and led the way until they reach ed the crest. Before they reached It, however, his cigar had been shot away, ind, taking out another, he asked for a ■natch, which was handed him by a Bol ster. “Thank you." he said. "Take your place now. We are almost up.” One of Custer’s Performance*. It was while Phil Sheridan was flght ,ng Wade Hampton at Trevilian Sta tion, Va„ that Custer, taking advan tage of the enemy’s preoccupation, slip ped up a road directly In Hampton's rear and seized all hia spare horses . and wagon trains. Just about the time he had got them some cavalry from Fitz-Hugh Lee’s column galloped up In the rear of Clus ter, and there he was. caught between two fires. But, al though he lost not only his captured wagon trains, but his own as well, and, though mother body of the enemy Immediately uttacked him from another direction, duster was equal to the desperate situ itlon, somehow extricated his little force Intact, straightened out his third ,lne of battle and held on until Mer ■ltt’s brigade charged through to his re lief. Uncle Sam Goes Eferyvere. “Where do you belong?” asked a Vir ginian of a wounded soldier who was taken prisoner on the field of Chancellorsvllle. "I pelongs In Bennsy lfanla," was the reply. "Then what In blazes are you doing down here in Virginia?" "Veil, I comes down here to fight," rays the u n f o r tunate man. ‘ I To fight, eh? | f Then why don’t you do your lighting in your own state?” The ‘Pennsylvania Dutchman” hought a minute, then replied: ‘‘Veil, I fights mlt Ungle Sam, und Ungle Sam he goes eferyvere!” A Victory l»y Forrest. It was General Forrest’s motto, so tradition states, to ‘‘get there fustest with the mostest men” and to sweep his opponents off their feet by the vehe mence of his on- _ slaughts. At one time, however, he was appar ently taken at a disadvantage when General Sturgis, with an army of 8 000 men, confronted Forrest when he had with him not half that numberof troop ers. He assail ed Sturgis on his own chosen position and was his leading brigade being hurled back with terrible slaughter from the breast work of rails and logs behind which were Intrenched his foes. Believing that, the time had come to advance and charge the Confederates, the Union troops had no sooner got outside their breastworks before Forrest was upon them like a demon, having a two horse "■aUery, the pieces of which were tharged with canister. He opened up it a range of only 60 yards. Sdch a ter •ible gap was formed that the Union nen were thrown Into confusion, taking tdvantage of which two Confederate irlgades charged hotly Into the mass md, quickly taking six guns, turned hem upon the foe. soon changing ap P ■f'.PIH u fV ■» parent victory for the Unions Into a pronounced defeat. This victory w« won by Forrest at Brice's Farm, Mis sissippi, and was the outcome of Stur gis' attempt to sweep him from Sher man's line of communication. i Those Foreign Markets. The United States government Im ported some foreign arms during tht flrst years of the war, speaking of some or wnicn a cer ~ tain officer re ( ported: “In pla ) toon firing with r» the Belgian mus kets I can al ways tell how * many pieces ^ have been fired by counting ths men on the ground. It’s a case of ‘fire and fall back’ flat. One of these Belgian muskets will kick like a mule and burst hum vim »* v»»» est facility. Several soldiers In our Il linois regiments have been killed In this way. The bayonet, too. Is a novelty—a soft Iron affair apparently designed to coll round the enemy, thus taking him prisoner." The Assault at Cold Harbor. When General Grant wrote In hts per sonal memoirs 20 years after the war, "I always regretted that the last as sault at Cold Harbor was ever made," he voiced the feelings of thousands who agreed with a LCICUnilCU BUULit ern officer that ‘ It was not war; It was murder!" This regret, how ever, could not save the lives of the thou sands who met death 0p,: or wounds on Mi ;; this occasion BO nor detract from HNf the valor of the Hp Confederates B|f who so resolute !y repulsed the glorious columns jgp v no.1 «ui|5 nmuiy to their death. AH that can be said of the fighting at Cold Harbor, declares a competent war critic, is that on the Fed eral side It wasa wild havoc of slaughter. Veteran officers set the example of gal lant exposure as though the hopeless ness of the situation could be relieved by godlike bravery. Scarcely 22 min utes from the time the signal was given the repulse of the corps was complete. Three thousand men had fallen. Among the officers the loss had been portentous. This Is on? of those awful military blunders that cannot be obliterated, rannot be forgotten. An Advance Without Orders. In recalling some of the stirring events of the war and some of the unique Incidents there Is one episode that should not be overlooked, and that Is the time when the privates took mat ters into their own hands and won a victory, me soi | diera of the Ar I my of the Cum J berland were or A dered to clear the rifle pits at the base of Mls slonary ridge. This they did, and then, ac cording to orders, lay on their arms and let the Confederates pop at them without reply In*. This did not suit the Union men, and soon they began to get uneasy. First one regi ment, then another, moved out and started up the ridge until Anally the whole Army of the Cumberland was climbing that hill, struggling over rocks and timber, but ever onward, without any orders having been given for an ldvance. The result was that eventual ly General Thomas' soldiers captured the ridge and turned the batteries, win ding a decisive victory. When General Grant saw the men scrambling up the ridge, he turned to Thomas and said, "Who ordered those men up?*’ "I don't know, but I did not.” was his answer. "Did you order them up?” asked Grant of Granger, who was standing near. "Not I,” answered Granger. "They started without orders. But no matter. When those boys get started, nothing :an stop them!" A Youth's Act of Heroism. The Confederate defenders of Fort Gregg, near the city limit of Peters burg, less than 220 In number, were sud denly assailed . ______ by several thou- 1 sand of the en- j emy and repuls- I cd five charges L in succession be- l fore finally over powered by num bers. When bul lets ran short, the riflemen hurled stones and bricks over the low parapet upon the heads of the daring as sailants and fought the un- , equal battle out until reduced to 4 less than 30 In number of un wounded men. After these were con vinced that all was lost a youth named Atkinson from North Carolina seized the tattered flat he and bis comrades ; l had ao bravely defended and dashed over the parapet, followed by bullets from perhaps Stt rifles, but safely as* caplng with the trophy of his valor. Colonel Mosby’s Rice. Colonel Jack Mosby w*a net very par* tlcular who he picked up on his raids around the country, but of course pre ferred a prisoner with straps on his shoulders to one without them. It Is told of him that one night In March, no ana ms men were prowl ing about the Union head quarters at Fair fax Court House, Va., and from a prisoner learned where General Btougbton, com mander of tho Infantry out posts, was sleep ing. Taking with him a few trusty men, Mosby stole up to the general's house. *- — ■» ana as ueneral Stoughton turned to face the intruders he was confronted by a bruce of re volvers. "You are my prisoner!” said the guer rilla "My name is Mosby—Jack Mosby, »t your service. Stuart's cavalry is all around us and Stonewall Jackson's be tween you and the army.” And Stoughton was so thoroughly de ceived that, though having an army o! several thousand within call, he allow ed the guerrillas to carry him off a prisoner. The Fighting Fifth Hew Hampshire. Where all were brave It might seem invidious to mention merely a few, but the limitations of space make this nec essary. The Union regiment accredited with the greatest number of men killed In battle la said i~ to be the Fifth New Hampshire, which emerged from Gettysburg "with only 87 men with the colors." It took part with re- j crulted forces In I the awful on- ■ slaught at Cold Harbor, where It lost (8 men In that brief morn ing’s work. Bounding over the parapet of a Confederate bat tery without flr- *— ■ " In* a shot, they charged the enemy's second line, but, having no support, were obliged to fall back on the bat tery, disputing every foot of the ground in a hand to hand struggle. The Con federate artillerists 'fell upon them as they retreated, but they beat them off, singly and together. The last to leave the scene of carnage was a captain of the gallant Fifth, who with a parting Mow split the head of an opponent from crown to chin, leaving the poor felloe nearly decapitated beside the gun hi had so bravely defended. It Made a Difference. When the Union troops were passim through Missouri In pursuit of Genera ix i ibOj a of nerroes earn out of some cab Ins to look a the soldiers, oni of whom asked "Boys, are yoi all for the Un Ion?" "Oh, yea mas sa, when yoi uns Is about w< Is." "And whei Price eomei you're all se cesh, arm’ you?" "tior*, ye* massa; we's al food secesl ■ - ———men. l.ku i de white folks to get ahead ob nlggen in dat way. massa.” ■and Sherman’s Army. It’s an old story, of coursa, but will bear retelling Just the same, of the man who la said to have saved Sherman's army from a great disaster, some say from destruction. On the morning of March 18, 1865, as Sherman was ._' marching to ward Raleigh, N. C., with his army In two col umn# on roads several miles apart. General Slocum, com mander of the right wing, dis covered a body of the enemy apparently In possession of the road. Ap pealing to Sher man for orders. lie was told to (_ I go right ahead, as there was nothing In front of him except a mere handful of the enemy, and he need not wait for Howard's left ivlng to come up. The great chief then rode away, and Slocum ordered an ad vance, but Just at this Juncture one ol his aids brought to him a young man in Confederate gray who claimed to be a deserter and wished to see the com mander. He was. he said, a Union man w ho had been kept a year In Anderson vllle and had enlisted In the Confeder ate army. He then gave Slocum the ■tartllng Information that there waa an my of 40,000 men In ambush In hla front. It was at first believed that he was giving false Information, but he waa recognized as a former Union sol dier, his advice was followed, and Gen eral Joe Johnston's careful plan went for naught. The Inc of the Shirt. "The shirts made by the patriotic la. dies of America,” wrote a soldier feel ingly from the front, "are noble articles as far down as the collar, but would not — do to use as an only garment. "Captain Mor timer de Mon tague of the ■kirmiah guard put on one when he went to the general's recep tion, and the collar stood up so high that he couldn't put his cap on, while the other de partment didn't <*ulte reach to 1.1. —.1.1 A . he entered the drawing room General Scott remarked very feelingly, ‘Ah, here comes another of the wounded heroes!’ “ 'He's net wounded, general,' re marked an officer standing by. " "Then why Is hbi head bandaged up so?’ asked the venerable veteran. “ 'Oh,' said the officer, 'that’s only one of the shirts made by the patriotic women of America.’ "In about five minutes after this con versation I saw the venerable veteran and the bandaged hero at the office tak ing the oath—with sugar In It—to gether.’* A Confederate Hero. "The grandest sight of my war expe rience.” declares a grlssled veteran whc yet treads the earth with martial step "was during Gordon’s grand sortie at Petersburg. The Union batteries on the flanks and rear of the breach made It so> hot for Gordon _____ that he sounded •retreat.' But the getting out ot a trap Is the hardest part of It. It was at this crisis that 1 witnessed that grand sight—a Confederate offi cer on a white horse riding at the blazing can non fall tilt. I stood near a gun in Fort Haskell which was do ing more tnan Ite share of slaughter when the commander of the battery called out to a knot of us, part of a rifle company, 'Shoot the man on the white horse!’ One after another our best marksmen squeezed In between the gun and the parapet wall and took aim through the embrasure. After sev eral had put In their shots the orderly sergeant tried it and came back crest fallen. Handing me his rifle, he ex claimed, with a laugh: ‘Here, you, Vet! Fetch down the man on the white horse!’ "With a reputation to sustain, I ac cepted the challenge. When I drew a bead on the gallant horseman. I saw that he was leading a band of men back from the main line direct upon our guns. Shells tore the ground In front of him or exploded overhead, and Invisible case shot cut down his follow ers, but he held his seat like a statue of war. Firing at random, I crawled back, banded the sergeant his rifle and said: •He Is too brave. Let him go!’ He was Anally shot dead by a bullet through the temple within 30 yards of our fort." Oatwltted His Captors. One of the distinguished captures of 3llmor, the rough rider of Early’s raid ing column In his famous dash, was Major General W. B. Franklin. Placed in a carriage, he was sent across the Maryland line Into Virgin ia under escort of a strong mounted guard. His captor was kept very busy scouting and raiding, and one night was away from his com - mand for sever al hours. Return ing at dawn the next morning, I he was dlsaust I ! ed to find the guard and all the prisoners except General Franklin sleeping soundly In fence corners and various places. But the general he could not find at all. It seems that the distinguished captive had an ample supply of liquor In his valise, which he was allowed to retain, and, being of a generous disposition, had treated hla guards to all they wanted—and much more than was good for them—with the result that freedom dawned upon him about the time that the fact of his es cape dawned upon Gllmor. Irishmen In Bine and In Gray. Honors were pretty nearly even the (Irst time that Irishmen In blue met their fellow countrymen In gray In the fight at rerry vtlle In October, 18G2. Those who wore the gray constituted the Fifth Tennessee, while those who cariled the Un ion banner were In Uytle's Tenth Ohio. The Ten nesseeans charg ed valorously across an open field upon the Ohioans, who were Intrenched behind a stone wall. The latter rsent a volley* *-*■ -* Jwbleh decimated cruelly the ranks of | I'-he former: bat. nothin* daunted, the I lennenrauM leaped tne oreastworae, and there eneued a "perfectly lovely shindy" which ended disastrously for the Ohioans, who were compelled to re treat. after leaving many men of their regiment on the fleld. A Sharp Saher right. It was not often that the opposing cavalry came Into each close quarters that they could use their sabers with effect, but It happened on one notable occasion in eaurt -i Tinniim ST years ago. Tea, > mere than a quarter century . has passed since Coleael E. M. McCook, at the head et a cav alry division from Burnside's army, met and charged upon two divisions of Le n gstreet’s men under Cap tains Morgan and Armstrong. While McCook led hla division at a galloping charge. La Orange, at the head of a demtbrigade. came upon a superior force of Mor gan's troopers around a battery, made a dash for them and sabered the gun ners as well as their cavalry support ers, taking two cannon and many pris oners. When the main opposing lines fairly met on open ground, there ensued one of the prettiest hand to hand combats ef the war, at the end of which the re doubtable Morgan was routed and his battleflag and escort were captured. This Happened at Shiloh. During the battle of Shiloh sm offices hurriedly rode up to an aid and In quired for Grant. "That's the man. with the fleldglass." said the aid. Wheeling hla horse about, the atran ger rode furi ously at the gen- ' eral and, touch ing his cap, ad dressed him thus: "Sheneral, 1 > vants to make one rebort: Schwarts's pat tery Is took." "Ah!” said the general. "How was that?” "Veil, you see, sheneral, der shecesslonlsts Hanked us, und der shecesslon corns in aer • rear of us, und den Schwarts’s patten vas took." "Well, sir, you of course spiked the Cline.” “Votl" exclaimed the Dutchman la astonishment. "Schplke dem guns! Schplke dem pran new guns 7 V’y, It would shpoll demit “Well,” said the general sharply, ’’what did you do?" "Do? Py tarn, vs took dem pack again I" Fighting Behind Movable Breast works. Colonel Mulligan, who did his best to defend Lexington In September, XSSI, attributed his defeat mainly to a clever inox or tne (con federates In us ing movable I breastworks on the second day of the attack. "They had,” be said, "construct ed a breastwork , of hemp bales, which they rolled In front of their lines up the hill, advancing unde# this cover. All our efforts could *■ ■ ■ " '■—*not retard the advance of those bales. Round shot and bullets were poured against them, but they would only rock a little and then settle back. Heated shot were fired on them with the hope of settln them afire, but they had been soaked and would not burn. By means of these movable breastworks the Confederates advanced so close to the lntrer.chmentg that they were enabled to open lira with fatal effect and finally won the day. The Doctor Ought to Know. A lady devoted to the soldiers was one day going through a ward of an over crowded hospital near the front In war time when she ___ rouna two con valescents ham mering and saw ing vigorously and Inquired what they were doing. J "What we do- ■ In? Maktn a M coffin—that's ■[ what." “A coffin? And I for whom Is it W intended?” | “W ho for?! That feller over I Lucie, pointing to a cot, the inmate of which was watching the proceedings intently. “Why," she said in a low voice and shuddering, “that man isn’t dead yet, and perhaps may not die after all. You had better not go on now." “Go on! Why not? The doctor, he told us. He said make the coffin. And I guess he know’d what he give him!" A Telephone Courtship. Boston Transcript: Bertha—Fred Hart is going to marry Bessie Light. Edith—You don't mean It! For mer cy's sake, what could be have seeu la her? Bertha—That's what I say. Do you know, I suspect he must have oourted her over the telephone. 1