Johnson County, Indiana - The whole text, 1913 (part 2 of 11)

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Point Lookout, Ud., April 24, 186-]. We are again under marching orders - we are ordered to report at ^^inip Hamilton - near Fortress Monroe; a division of colored troops is be- formed there - and I suppose we go to join it. V/e were flattering our- 'plves that we would have an easy time this summer, but unfortunately, for »'n Col. Duncan is a great favorite with Butler and he is now in command ^' a brigade there, and wants us with him - it can't be helped, I suppose, 'o it's no use to fret. We expected to embark this afternoon, but it is now 0 p- m., so I guess we won't go before tomorrow - it is now raining most lustily and is as black as Egypt and quite a number of the officers have 1!^;- wives here - they would be in a nice predicament if we were ordered eu; tonight.

I suppose you remember Rev. D. D. jSIcKee, one of the Directors of Hanover College. I accidentally made his acquaintance a few days since- - he remembers you well - says he corresponded with you - he was ' appoiiuc,; Chaplain a short time since and ordered here - said I might tell you "he" would keep an eye on "me."

The "Galvanized Regiment" - as it is called here, left for Fort Monr^ yesterdays - the regiment is composed entirely of rebel prisoners, who h?.\\ taken the oath and enlisted. It is called the "ist U. S. Vols." - the ofiicu;.- come from our side; they haven't been aimed yet arid I think had better n. be; they will probably be used for fatigue purposes - unloading vessels, Scat Norfolk and Ft. !Moni^..e. Guarding the prisoners pleases the darkiv greatly - they get off some anuisir.g expressions - "\\''cl!, Sam, you guard;;-^ JNIassa over dah, eh? Got him penned, up like a drove o' pigs - dat's a li- ! of a note ain't it?" &c, and they make the Johnnies toe the mark, too. Several of them have been shot lately for bciiig too saucy-- thcj, tliiuk the daikiLare sotne. Gen. Kinlrs was relieved a few days since and orderf.-d to Tx Monroe - I understand quite a heav\- force is g;itliering tlicre - and at Yorktown--! suppose it is to co-operate with the arm}- of the Potomac. Troo;'-^ are arriving from Gilmore's Department. Seven barges, loaded with artillery, passed down from \A'ashington a day or so since. Grant is mak'iir.; a step in the right direction. We have 100,000 men scattered along ihc coast who are just so man\- deadheads - let tlicm be brought here where they v."i!l be of some service. . - -

Camp Hamilton, N"ear Fortress iNIonroe, Va., April 30, iS6.^. We left Point Lookout last A.Ioiiday and reached this place next day: found a division of colored troops here under Hinks. Gen. Hinks v,-a^ in command at Poin.t Lookout and was ordered here two or three days before .we were; he comes from Mass. and I guess is a good officer- - at least I hoar of no dissatisfaction. Ori landing here we were Immediately put into our old brigade with the 5th S- 6llr. - Col. Duncan commands our brigade; there are three brigar'cs of infantry, two regiments of cavalry and two battened of artillery in the division. Gen. Wild commands the ist I think, and Col. Hohnan of the ist U. S. C. T. the 2nd. I met Lieuts. Beaman and Thompson in the ist: they helped orgaTiize th-c 4t!i at Baltimore and are fine fellow^- We have had orders to turn over all surplus caiu[) equipage and reduce o'lr

"KrKina' baggage to the minimum allowance. We arc undoubtedly going <-'..} active service and I suppose will form part of Bakl_ Smith's peninsular i^^xf One of our cavalry regiments left for WilliamsL ng last night. It - oil! Smith has a force of 50,000 at Yorktown, but it is probably nearer }ri\i that number.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Cily Point, Va., May 7, 1864. We landed last Thursday, taking a Lieut. & 40 men prisoners. We anifiienced fortifying immediately, and have quite formidable works now. iXir brigade (three regiments) is here alone. Yesterday my regt. made a -t^.^niioisance within 6 miles of Petersburg - saw some scattering rebel cav- >';-\-, nothing rnorc. Beauregard is at Petersburg, with 10,000 men. Smith i'-. ! ll.itler are farther up the river - heard cannonading yesterday; think wc will remain here for the present if things work right.

Camp Hamilton, Va., May 3rd, 1S64. 1 write you just on the eve of our departure - we arc ordered to be in ; ;;c by 9 o'clock in the morning. Where we are going is a mystery to all. t\\\A the few "knowing ones." The general supposition is that our Fort larlii g is our destination. We are going on transports somewhere and I it must be up the James river; perhaps we will land at City Point and for Petersburg to cut the railroads south of Richmond. Of comse \y-s c^n't be done nor can Fort Darling be captured without hard fighting; ''"xl must be shed, and perhaps my life may be required; my earnest hope lli.'ii. T may be prepared and may be enabled to say cheerfully, "Thy will bd ' I feel that I have the earnest prayers of my parents and friends, is a very consoling thought.

^Ve are still at City Point ; heard quite heavy firing up the river today, ' Ft. Darling; also between the Apporaatox and James. Smith is Ti'rating in there between the two rivers and it is said has cut the railroad -^twten Richmond and Petersburg. Had quite a fight over there yesterday. - 'nulerstand we held our position - nothing more.

Marching orders agin. An aid-de-camp just here brings us orders to at three o'clock in the morning. H^ says Smith and Gilmore are to a big fight tomorrow and it is the supposition that we make a diversion - -ward Petersburg; I think it highly probable we will have a fight. Must '-'t ready to move immediately. I almost forgot to state that I rec'd "Spe-

Spring Hill, Near Petersburg, Va., May 13, 1S6.1. I last wrote you from City Point and just on the eve of a reconnoisriiK^ we marched. up the Appomatox, accompanied by three or four gunboaii, i, this place. Near Fort Clifton, a rebel work on the other side of the liv,; opened on tiie gunbo.iLs and prevented us going any farther; from a Lli.;; on this side I had a magnificent view of the fight. The "Johnnies" Lie-. one boat up and disabled another, by putting a hole through her boiler; boats hauled off and we returned to City Point; the ''Johtuiies" tos:=C(l .-. couple of shells at us, but they fell wide of the m.ark. Yesterday our r^.;. ment and the 6th with four pieces of artillery, occupied this place again, a- ! we are nov/ fortifying - v/orked all last night like beavers and are gi^iiir..; up quite formidable works. We are on the bank of the river, four miles fi-:.. Peter.sburg, and can see tlie city very plainly; gunboats are laying in t':c river to assist us in case of an attack, and Baldy Smith is'ju;-t across tr.;; river; a wharf is being built and I understand a depol for supplies is to I. established here. Smith's forces are still between the Appomatox and Jai.x rivers; he has succeeded in cutting the railroad bct\7een Peterslmrg vaA Richmond, and it is reported he has cut the Danville road also; our cava!;} linder Kautz cut the road betwee;i Welden a!id Petersburg, leaving most c' Beauregard's army south. I do not kno.v what Buller and Smith are doi:-.: or intend doing. Don't think any serio.is fighting has taken place for several days. This evenii:g I hear one very heavy gun up the James occasior..''.!- ly; perhaps our monitors are waking therii up. I sav.^ a paper today of tiv' lith. Grant has had terrible fighting, and although Lee seems to be fal'ii;^' back, I can't think the nev.s favorable. Grant, I fear, is crippled so ba'''ly that he can't pursue. Gen. Wads^vonh, I see, was killed. I fear our boy-' have suiTered severely ; please write me the first intelligence received fror." them. As yet we have had no fighting, but our time vvill probably socrcome. I hope to go through honorably and unscathed, but Providence ruleand directs and my life may be required as others have; if so, I hope to rno'-'* you all in Heaven above. Nothing but a last desperate resort will, I thin-'. induce the ofTicers of tliis rcgimerA to surreiidcr - we will not, if possil.'le t'"> "prevent it, give the rebels an opportunity to repeat Fort Pillow. '

-,.. Our position is naturally strong and our fatigue parties working from ; ,,!r o'clock in morning till eight in tlie evening arc daily making it more Our force comprises two regiments of infantry, four pieces of arl;!!crv and one company of cavalry; besides four gunboats are laying in the river near by, to assist us if necessary. On last Wednesday, just in the r:d>t of a big rain storm, our pickets were attacked and driven in; the long x-:A\ was sounded and the men in line in rcmark-ahly short time ready to give the Johnnies the best we had, but the attack did not prove serious; it was a ioTcc of cavalry and artillery sent out, I suppose, to ascertain who we were ir.d what we were doing. After driving our pickets back, they ran up two -j.icccs of artillery and gave us a few shells; our artillery and a gunboat up ;:;c river opened on them an enfilading fire, which soon caused them to ske- .!.-\ildle; since then we have ii.ot been disturbed. We had one man wounded, our pickets emptied three rebel saddles, and our artillery must have done 5o:iie damage; citizens just outside the lines say the rebels had eight killed i::d wounded. Our position is an important one and I can't imdcrstand wtiy we have not been attacked - unless they have all they can attend to in f.'-onl of Butler; we are intrenched cm a high bluff in a bend of the river, jvsi the left flank of Smith's Corps - -a rebel battery planted on this bluff would compel Smith to vacate his present lines and form new ones. Don't know much about how things progress over the river, only that there is more or less fighting daily and nightly. Gilmorc has fallen back from Fort Dar- ':;ii; and our forces^are now entrenched from the James to the Appomatox rivers; I am satisfied v»'e will wait for the result of Grant's operations before attempting to advance imless the rebel force in front is withdrawn or nuich diminished - Kautz and his cavalry are in again - you will see the re- >'ilts of his raid ere you get this - he is a daring officer.

Camp 4th U. S. C. T., Point of Rocks, Va., May 30, 1S64. I suppose you have seen an account of the fight at Wilson's wharf; 1st & loth colored troops whipped Fitzhugh Lee handsomely - the rebels f^iide three charges on the works - after making the second charge, Lee -cnt in a flag of truce, saying if they would surrender they should be treated prisoners of v/ar - Wild refused and the rebels charged the third time; 'hi? time the repulse was more bloody than previously and they decamped, Iea\-ing twenty-five dead bodies on the fieid and some wounded and six prisoners in our hands. Major Breckenridge - a Captain and Lieut, were left them on the field. Last Thursday my regiment marched back to City ^oint; we remained there until yesterday, when we moved across the Ap- pomatox to take the place of troops sent from here to reinforce Gen. Grai.- - I think about 20,000 have gone to join the army of the Potomac - c;r.. barked yesterday and will probably land at West Point or White Hou;;;. I suppose Grant thought Butler had pla}ed out and his troops could be u-i,; to advantage in the A. P. against I.ee - the first part of my supposition 1 know is correct - Butler's campaign is the biggest failure of the war - he 1- a good executive, can write famous orders, &:c., but he is not a Grant. 1 ha.ve not heard an- officer or man speak of him lately but in derision - Genciai Gilmore remains here in command of our lines. Ferry's Division of the lOth Corps holds the right and Kautz' cavalry (dismounted) the left. Oi;r brigade forms Kautz' reser\-e - the invalid officers and soldiers of the iStli Corps are also under Kautz. I judge we will remain on the defensiw and the rebels I suppose have sent most of their force to join Lee - so we probably won't have much fighting at present.

Our forces occupy the same lines and everything remains as quiet now as when I last wrote; we have been attacked in small force several times, but bear the Johnnies back easily; in one of these attacks my regiment took quite a pronfinent part. On last Tuesday the Johnnies attacked Spring Hili. The 4th and 5th were sent over to reinforce the 6th, which was garrisoning the place; the 4th was sent out to "feel their force''; we marched out of tlic fort, deployed, two companies as skirmishers and made at tlicm; we soo!! ran against a heavy skirmishing line of cavVilry, supported by a section of artillery, and a lively little fight took place. Our skirmishers advanced steadily and rapidly and w-e drove them nearly half a mile, and were preparing to charge their artillery, when we received orders to retire; we forced the rebels back so rapidly that they Iosl a carbine and half a dozen saber;. which we brought oK wlih us. The Mfjor had his horse shot and was himself struck by a spent piece of shell, and three men were severely wounded - none killed; it was a small affair and I write so much about it because it was our first fair trial. Officers from old regiments (white) who were watching us say they never saw a skirmish line do better than ours. We are still the reserve for Kautz' line; heavy details, both white and black, are daily strengthening our lines; we have the most formidable line of works 1 e^-er saw. If we defend them with proper spirit we can beat back ten timeour force. I don't think there is any danger of a serious attack here as long as Grant pushes them on the other side. Wc have heard Grant's guns for

Nothing new transpiring here; we occupy the same camp as when I U^l wrote; they occasionally get up a brisk artillery duel along the line and i..nictimes picket skirmishing is quite spirited. Our pickets and the rebel '-ckets in some places are not more than 50 yards apart. Colored troops of toiirse are not put on picket in such places. We have not been on picket !.r;ce we came to this side the Appomatox. A brigade of Ferry's Div. and -,'.x 6th Colored Troops, on the right of the 4th, went over the Appomatox in direction of Petersburg. I understand the object was to destroy the M.iroad south of Petersburg - don't know what success they are having. Grant has been very quiet fjr the last week - hear his guns occasionally. ! )iir monitors on the James ha\e been firing some this p. m. - -suppose old !.>-c thought he saw something. Lee's reputation is about on a par with i'.va'xt's.

It is now 10 p. m., so please excuse my brevity and scrawling writing - i Mil now on Col. Duncan's StafT - have been detailed as Acting Assistant .\'ijiitant General. I have not yet been mustered in as Captain. I have the :;:j)<ointment, but not the commission- - owing to the Active Service - I went ; > >ce Maj. Davis (Butler's A. A. G.) and he promised to send it in a very :-,v.- days. ,

On the 15th Brooks and Hinks Div. advanced on Petersburg. Of course met the "Johnnies." j\iy brigade (four regiments) made two charges; ':i the first we took a line of rifle pits and one piece of artillery; in the second captured a strong Chain of Redans commanding each other and six pieces artillery. My brigade took seven pieces altogether. The darkies behaved Baldy Smith witnessed the last charge and said to Col. Duncan, "This make the old Army of the Potomac open their eyes - no nobler efifort been made and no greater success achieved than that gained by the Col- Troops today." The killed and wounded in my brigade will number '' 600. We are still two and a hali" miles from Petersburg; the whole ir.iiy of the Potomac with Grant is here and I doubt not we are confronted niost of Lee's army. I rode over to the 5th Corps this p. m. and saw what was left of our boys; saw Capt. Jeffery, Sam, Jno. H., John IIc:ul-. son. Uncle Orion and John Miller. They look a little rough but tough.

I wrote you a day or so ago, giving you a slight account of our opcr,-;- tions around Petersburg. The next day \vc were again near the front as a support to our first line. In this position we lost about 40 rnen, killed v.v.i wounded; our whole loss in the brigade is about 600. Our success has niac!-.- quite a stir in the army here; it was providential I think; the works we carried were exceedingly strong and had the rebels held them with their usu;:' obstinacy we might not have succeeded so well. I merely mention tliis tin'. your expectations may not be raised too high. Yesterday v/e came froiU; we are now betu^een the Appomatox and James near the former; wc caif;-.- here that we might assemble and reorganize the Di\'ision. The rebels hcIi.'. Petersburg ?.t n':;on yesterday, but tl:c town is completely commanded by o:;- guns and can be destroyed at any time we choose to open on it; there Irji heen but little firing since; I think it likely we have possession; I haven't had an opportunity of seeing l'Uv boys, but ouce, don't kuo\v \.-h:ih:r - have been engaged here or not, but judge they have. The entire Army cf the Potomac is here with Grant. The Nor foil; and Pete-sburg Railrotid :i being repaired; this looks as tb.oagh Gratit expected Lee to blockade tie James. I received my comn.'ssion as Captain todr^.y from Butler. Headquarters 2nd Brigade, Ilinks Div., Near Petersburg, Va., June 23, 1S6 ;.

We are again on the south side of the Appomatox and near Petersbur,;. Our troops seem to occupy about the same lines as v/hen I last v/rote you; the Johnnies still hold the town, but it is completely commanded by cur gv.s and can be destroyed any time we choose to open on it. Grant is tr^^ing b;> favorite Ranking process and the rebels must evacuate soon or run tlic ri-k being gobbled. I understand Burnside's Corps and tlie otb.ers are crossii;;.: . the Appomatox three miles above tlie city. If true, and I think it is, \'C will have something decisive in a .day or so. We have not been on the frC'iit lines since returning to this side of the rive.r- - -have beeti in resen,-e - con.-cquently have not lost any.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, 3rd Div., iSth A. C, July 3, 1S64. Affairs have been very- quiet for some days. On Thursday nigh.t an assault v/as ordered to be made by a Div. of the loth Corps, which is 'ttached to our Corps tem.porarl'y; the rebels soon discovered what v/as up

.- .i the attack was postponed. They are now busy mining and 1 judge expect .,. <!i" the Johnnies out. Picket firing and artillery duels continue. From ;.v.:r headquarters we have a splendid view of the rebel batteries on the --.j.^lits over the river; our guns usually get the best oi these duds; in one ,c5tcrday a rebel caisson vi'as blown up. A large number of heavy guns jr.>i mortars are being brought up and mounted. It is the general impres- V iW ih^'t we will celebrate tomorrow (the 4th) with one of the biggest artillery fights on record; the country is very open and gives us a splendid ch-^nce for its use. Our artillery men have discovered the rebel magazine i:; ! arc trying to blow it up. The R. R. bridge has been injured by our j.-,:ns, so as to prevent trains crossing.

Headquarters 2nd Brigade, 3rd Div., iSth Army Corps, July 8, 1864. Along most of the lines the troops have ceased skirmishing and our ?:;.-;n and the rebs quietly watch each other; in other places skirmishing is IiM-lv, and particularly so in front of the position we now occupy. INIy brigi'ic now forms part of the 2nd line of Turner's Div. of the loth Corps. TW\i Div. (temporarily attached to 18th Corps) lies in front of Reservoir's .'ii'i, which is said to be the key to Peter J>urg. The rebs realize this fact i'; well as we do; consequently there is an incessant popping to prevent <.;!kt party from strengthening their works. \\'e are so well protected by i^.'ii'.b-proofs that we have but few casualties; this is our third day here. I ;.rfsuine we will be relieved in a day or so. Our Division it is thought will Ic broken up. Gen. Hinks had to relinquish the command on account of his (.!'] wounds and now commands at Point Lookout, Md. Col. Hohnan of '-'^e 1st is temporarily in command of the Div.; 4 regiments of the ist Bri- »;.''o iiave been sent over the Appomatox to a camp of instruction. Don't «:;o\v what disposition will be made of our Brigade, which is the only one for active service, but I think it probable that we will be transferred to Kerry's Div. (colored) of the 9th Corps - all surmise as yet however. 5 p. m. - iiiice writing the above we have had a big alarm all along the line. It --"^s'nated on our front and in this wise: Alx)ut 75 Johnnies crept up un- ;':!'':eived near our skirmishers, and gave them a volley. The rebs then ^:e for cover, and our front line rose up and gave them a full volley. supposed the rebts were charging, and artillery and musketry -r^ned along the whole line. Shell and shot whistled merrily for a half hour - -::"t many hurt - all quiet now. Cap't Jeffery and Lieut. Adams from the *'"'"> were to see me last night, they bringing the sad intelligence of Samuel's -<-.:th. He saw the announcement of his death in the Chronicle. I pray it tiiay not be so, luit fear it is too true. Sam was one of our bravest and a good Christian, and while we bitterly mourn his loss, let us remember our loss is his gain.

"All quiet in the Army of the I'otomac" can as truly be said of the anm now, as when it rested on the banks of the Potomac. in '61. I'ickett's Div. of the 6th Corps has gone to Washington to look after the "raiders" - they reached there as the papers speak of "the fighting 6th deploying.-"' Thr 2d Corps were under orders to go, but tiie Rebs made a demonstration towar.l our left, and the order was countermanded. The raiders, I see, arc within 5 miles of \\'ashington, slashing around ludtimore, etc. Last evening we were relieved in the trenches, and ordered to the rear to "prepare for inspection." Had been in the trenches eight days. Some interpret the orders to prepare for inspection, as an indication that we go to Washington - bosh of course.

What think you of the situation nt)\v. I have no opinion to express, no surmises to make. I have made up my mind to take what comes with as good grace as possible. ' . -

Headquarters 2nd Brig. 3d Div. iSth Army Corps, July 14, 1864. -- ' It has been very quiet along the lines for a few days - scarcely any firing at all. Tlie line of rel)el works captured by us (a portion of it) has been leveled within the last two or three days. Some interpret it as a sign of evacuation. Others say it means another change of base - that Grant is going to come the flanking process on them again by moving around south, etc., but no one seems to know anything. Tlie Gth Corps is the only Corps, I am aware of, that has been sent to Washington. Why Grant is lying here idle, when nearly all of Lee's army is in ^Maryland, is more than I can say. I confess I don't understand his tactics. Our Brig, went to the front again last night - they occupy their old position, form part of Turner's second line. Col. Duncan was unwell and did not go out. I remained in canlp with him. Expect to go out in the morning. I haven't seen any of the 7th In^ys lately. They are three miles to the left of us.

Headquarters 2nd Brig. 3d Div. i8th Army Corps, July 26, 1864. You ask why we haven't taken Petersburg - .simply because we couldn't. It is too well fortified and too stoutly defended to be taken from this side. The 19th and .6th Corps are arriving at Bermuda Hundred and are assigned

.,, r.i!ticr'.< command. This force, 1 suspect, will be thrown between Rich- .iinii'I and this city and thus compel the e\-acuati(Mi of this place, but this is all c..:Mectnre, but if the movement o^-er the river is to be entrusted to P^.utler, I h.TVC nu faith whate\er in it succeeding. He is the grandest humbug (I v.ould say it were I a civilian) the war has thus far produced. Burnside is -iiiniiig - we may attempt another assault. The mine is but a short distance to tlu' left of our brigade; it runs out a distance of 450 feet, then branches to the right and left under their works like the letter "T." They intend to use 16,000 pounds of powder in Ijlowing it uji.

}low are the electiions going this fall. I fear Grant's want of success, fireelcy's intrigues at Niagara, and the cnniing draft will make a deal of thunder for Copperhead oratf)rs. How do the people receive the proclamation for 500,000 more men? 1 suppose the "hundred day" men will be home ill lime for a chance with the rest - it would be too bad to slight them. My health continues good, in fact provokingly good, but I am thankful that such i- the case. I haxe known some officers, by a little expert management, to i;et a leave of 20 days, during this campaign, whose health was probably as ;;M()d a> mine. .

Headquarters 3d Brig. 3d Div. iSth .\rmy Corps, Near Point of Rocks, Va.. August 5, 1864. Grant's promised "startling combinations" have pro\-ed another startling taikire. Our brigade occupied the front line on 30th during Burnside's fight. We were just to the right of the mine, but did not form part of the assaulting Column. JIad a good view of the day's operations. I was asleep wdien the mine went up, but saw it before it went down. The affair was a most Inimiliating failure; everything worked splendidly at first and with proper nianagement we would not only ha\-e taken Peter.sburg but the most of the rebel force this side of the river. The blame I presume will be shuffled on to iho colored troops, because their color happens to atlract notoriety, but I ^;now that they behaved as well, if not better, than the white troops. Their r.inic was caused by Bell's Brigade of Turner's Division '20th Corps giving ^«ay in utter confusion. This brigade was advancing to support the colored and broke 10 miiuites before the colored troops did. I understand on good authority that Gen. Turner admits this. I am coniident tliat the luuu the matter is investigated the less the blame will be attached to the C. T. Iis reported that the 2d and 3d Divs. 9th Corps refused to advance. I fear tha: there is some foundation for the report. The colored troops advanced into ?.r. exceedingly hot and scary place, and as they had never been under fire prc- A'iousl}-, it was unv.ise to say the least to put them in such a place.

About dusk this evening, there was heavy firing over the river (wc <-irc now on P'utler's front) it lasted about half an hour; don't know the cause <.>\ it - all quiet now. Our Division is now commanded by Gen. Paine. Gen. Carr had command about a week; the Division has been reorganized, and v>c are now in the 3rd Brigade; the 4th, 6th & loth rcgiinents from the Brigade under Col. Duncan. I am still A. A. A. G.

Col. Thomas of the 19th U. S. Co!. Troops on the 31st during flag of truce, got ratlier near the rebel lines, and was taken in. He was taken to 'Bushrod Johnso!i; when asked who lie was by Jolmson, he replied: "I am a Captain in nth U. S. Infantry, Colonel of lytli United States Colored Troops, Commanding 2nd Brigade. 4tli Div. 9lh Army Corps, Army of Polomac." *'Eh, we hang such fellovvs dc>wn l;crc." Tliomas demanded his release, said that they had violated tlag of truce, etc. Johnson said he must keep him, and sent him to jail. Thomas demanded paper, and v\rote a remonstrance of 14 pages to Gen. Beauregard. While awaiting Beauregard's reply. he made friends with the provost marshal, and traveled all over Petersburg:;. Beauregard ordered his release, which he owes to his audacity and impudence.

Near Point of Rocks, Va., Augu-t 21, 1S64. - The 2d and lotli Corps recrossed the. River James yesterday and today aud passed to the left. They could not accomplish anything - in fact I judge it was only a feint to cover more important movements on our left. The 5t}i Corps moved out and seized the W'eldon Road; this morning tliere was a furious cann.onading in that direction. I suspect they have had a big t'lgl't. hnv,' it resulted, I can't say.

Out Head Ors. are still near Point of Rocks, but only one regiment of the brigade is with us. This one regiment has been h.olding a half mile of Butler's line for the last four days. This P. M. we v.'ere re-enforced by tv.o regiments so that we now feel tolerably secure again. During the operations of the 2d and loth Corps over the river, Butk-r's line was almost entirely stripped of troops; it v/as an e.\cceding!\- fortunate thing for us tliat tiie

'...'uiifs didn't know our defenceless condition. Two regiments of our > ri:'ade are at Dutch Gap, covering Butler's digging operations. These two :c"iincnts and the i6th N. Y. H. Art. had a little tight near that place with the rcl'S a day or so since. The i6th (white) broke and scattered like sheep. 1 he darkies stood up to the work manfully. Our two regiments are the only jr.iops now at that point. The Howlett Battery is on one side of them, a bat- -.crv in front, and one opposite the Howlett Battery. The consequence is they ir-'ike Dutch Gap an exceedingly hot place. At the present rate of progress ij will require two months to complete the canal - the distance from bank to Liiik is about 130 yards, and the bank is about -jO feet in height - the distance ar(.)und'is from 5 to 7 miles. Just now I hear the cars whistling on the i'ctersburg & Richmond R. R. Judge the rebels are running reinforcements ilown from Richmond to look after Warren. This is the first train I have iu-ard on this road for some time.

We are having stirring times here now. Grant seems to be at work in earnest again. Yesterday and day before, hea\y firing took place on the W'eldon Road and report says it resulted very favorably to us. The 2d, 51I1 and 9th Corps are in that vicinity; the lOth and i8th Corps now hold the line from Deep Bottom to beyond the Norfolk R. R. Yesterday morning at ahout 3 o'clock, the rebs made an attack on Butler's line. We were awakened ly a yell and volley of musketry. They made a charge on our picket line, i'ut finding us prepared for them soon fell back to their old position. One ilivision had been sent over the Appomattox the previous evening, which the Kcbs had observed, and supposed Butler's line was being evacuated, and I the attack was made to satisfy themselves on this point.

Gen. Wm. Birney arrived from Florida a few days since, with the 7th, J^ih, & 9th U. S. C. T., and the 29th Com. Vo. (Colored). You may remem- 'x.T that he organized our regiment at Baltimore. He was at our Head Qrs. a few evenings since - took occasion to say that he "believed he used to have to compliment me on the good trim in which I had my company." He has l^een assigned to the loth Corps - had command of a division of four brigades, diree white, in the operations of the iSth Corps at this place a few da}-s since, lie is to have command of a Division of Colored Troops, and is very anxious to have our brigade in his division. But as Gen. Paine is one of Butler's pets, I have no hope of his succeeding. I should like very much to have the trans- C31) fer effected, for there arc six regiments in tlie Div. at present raised in liij; Dept. under Butler's regime that reflect no credit on the Division, or colore i troops in general, and I should like to cut loose from them.

Headquarters 3d Brigade, 3d Division i8th Army Corps, Camp at Deep Bottom, Va., Scptemhcr i, 1864. We arc still at Deep Bottom and without a command. The 4th am! 6th regiments are still at Dutch Gap, and the loth regiment at last accounts at City Point doing guard duly. So Col. Duncan is left with no commanj except that Head Ors. Guard. Consequently we are making matters easy as possible. We had two little alarms since coming here, but neither of them amounted to anything. We are on the extreme right of Grant's line, consequently know nothing of Avhat is transpiring on the left. There has been hard fighting on the left, in which the 2d Corps was somewhat worsted. 1 .see the 7th Indiana was engaged, but saw no list of casualties.

Affairs remain quiet here. The work on ''Butler's canal" progresses the rebels keep tossing mortar shells regularly during the day at the working parties - of late their practice has been much better than usual Yesterday three men were killed and two wounded. Butler has lately erected .an enormous "signal tower" about 140 feet high near us, at which the Battery" sends her iron compliments. So far they have missec^ their mark and the shells whistle over us a half mile to the rear. I will add -for ma's information that our Head Ors. are sheltered from this battery, o - at least so concealed that they can't discover us.

Last evening a sad accident occurred by wMch one of the members (jl' our staff lost his life. About 7 P. M., Lieutenant Kingsbury went over to the Head Qrs. of the 6th Reg. While there, a shell tvhich had been thrown during the day exploded accidentally, a piece struck Liieut. Kingsbury on the forehead. Pie lingered unconscious until 2 o'clock this morning, then died. Today we had his body embalmed, and sent home. No news from the left - guess Grant is waiting for something to turn up... Recruits are said to be arriving rapidly at City Point.

Johnson Countv, Indiana

W'e are still idle here. I am confident a move will be made very soon, i-.:t ju-^t how soon I can not tell. In the 2d Corps, the Quartermasters have orders to have clothing etc. issued by the 28lh inst., and are nuw in the :c:'r ready for orders. Probably Grant will aim to strike a blow here about tr.o time Sheridan reaches Lynchburg. We ha\'e had a splendid success in. - he Valley, haven't we. ' The Shenandoah is no longer the Valley of Ilumiliatiiiii The Richmond Eiiquirer of yesterday acknowledges a defeat at FishrrV Hill - says they lost 12 pieces of artillery, but predicts that we will get Aliipped back again, when we reach Lynchburg, as Hunter was. Sheridan is ;v.t Hunter.

Our brigade is still at work on the canal - think it is about two thirds *-i>inpleted. The rcbs shell us furiously as ever - they disabled the dredging ivnchine we had to work, so we must now dej-end on pick and shovel. If any Mtl'.cr man than Butler had charge of it, I think it would have been abandoned I'Ug since. Presume Butler wishes to leave it as a nionument to perpetuate Vis name and fame - it will require something of this kind. I think ]\Tc- Clcllan has few friends in the army here. Among the oflicers of our Brigade, 1 iiave not heard of a single McClellan man. Little Mc was very popular with t!ic soldiers when he was relieved, but his affiliations with Copperheads since !i;!s ruined him. If we meet with no reverses before the elections, I have no fears but what Old Abe will succeed.

The final chapter in the life story of Captain VanNuys is found in a letter to his father, John H. VanNuys, from Lieut. Z. F. Wilber, Acting Assistant Quartermaster of the Third Brigade, written from Dutch Gap, Vir- .sinia, October 2, 1864. It is as follows:

"My Dear Sir: It is an extremely painful duty for me to write you. ^ou have undoubtedly ere this received by dispatch announcing the death -^t your son. What can a stranger say to comfort those nearest and dearest ?o him. But of one thing I can assure you, that you and your lady have heartfelt sympathies of every officer left in our Brigade, for Van as w^e ^^^Hed him was universally esteemed as a man and a soldier. He has no ^'icinies, but many friends, warm friends. It could not be otherwise with of his fixed principles, strict integrity and kindly heart. The death of no officer in the 4lh reginvjiit, or of this brigade, has created svich a sensali. ; and we who were his daily companions will rniss him sadly at our mess la!/. and 'at our little circle around the camp fuc.

"Col. JXuican was wounded at the same time, and has been sent to i!.-,- hospital, he will probably lose his foot, but before he went, he desired nic i . write you and what I have written I know to be his own as well as my fecliu-.

"As to his death, you have learned from the papers that the forwar '. movement commenced on the 29th uH. As Quartermaster I was and still a:;; at our old camp, with our baggage, teams, etc., but have the facts from oflic^r of the staff who Avere eye-witnesses. Col. IDuncan's Brigade was ordert-f] t charge a line of rifle pits about two miles from Deep Bottom. It was abMi;! 6 A. M. He had but 600 men of his brigade with him at tlie time, but a; ii they went. They got within ten yards of the rebel works. Van's horse bad been killed under him a few moments before, but he kept up with tlic colu i;:: on foot, not w ith the column but at the head of it. W'e were driven back, i',-,. slaughter was terrific.

"On the retreat. Van was l)enind the column, nearest the eneni}-, aia! while in the act of lor)king back, a ball struck him in the throat, severing ihc artery, and on tliat beautiful morning he yielded up his life, another on -.lir long list of Martyred Patriots.

"The affair did not take but tifteen minutes, but in that brief space vi time, out of 600 who had started, 390 were dead and wounded. Col. Dun an took with him three staff officers; of the^e your son fell, Lt. Pratt lost a \\u. and Col. D. was wounded, and four statT ofticers lost tlieir horses, 14 offutr^ out of 20 of the 6th U. S. C. T. and 6 out of 9 of the 14th were killed "T wounded.

"Within twenty minutes our forces rallied and took the ground, hut while the rebels held the ground, they had stripped your son of everytbin^: except shirt and drawers. Pie had on his person a Avatch and Si 75 belonging' to Lieut. Kingsbury, who was killed 3 weeks ago, these the hounds got. Your son was ordereid by Col. D. to take charge of Pt. K"s effects.

"After the fight, hearing that your son was killed, I took an ambulance and got his body and took it to the emljalmers who have emljaluied it and i'- will start tomorrow. I have waited a day in hopes that Mr. Ditmars wouM arrive.

"Ths coffin is only a plain gov't one as I did not feel that you would warrant me in going to the expense of a fine one here as their prices are enornioiv-; I should not have put you to the expense of the steps I have taken, but he ^ani

"In conclusion, sir, let nie say thai 1 deeply sympathize with you. I i passed through severe afflictions, and know what they are. Only a "-iiitli aq;o, J received word that my only child, a bright, beautiful babe of ii r-.-.irulis had passed to a brighter clime, and even as Dear \'an symiiatliized ;.:;!) nic then, do I with you. If he died young, he fell a patriot, and may the v'.,i,l of his young heart poured forth so lavishly at his country's altar help !,,;.!n(l together again our Union stronger thyn e\er."

In a little envelope postmarked "Old Point Comfort, Oct. lo" came a -c\\ days later the last message from the son., with a postscript in another's ' andwriting. It reads : .

"This testament belongs to Captain S. \\'. \'anXuys, Acting Ass't. Adj't. tl-iicra! 3d Brigade, 3d Div., i8th Army Corp-.. Should I die upon the field oi l>attle, for the sake of a loving mother and sister, inform ni)- father, John !1. \'anXuys, Franklin, Indiana, of the fact."

The postscript reads: "Mr. John II. Vanings : It is my painful duty :-> inform you that your son was killed on the 29th of the last month near t h'iftins farm, Va. I ha\e his testament. I will send if you wish it. From }o\.ir enemy, one of the worst rebels you ever seen.

Chapter Xv Physiclans And Medical Practice

The first comers to Indiana were mainly drawn eitl'cr cireclly fru;r, Pennsylvania, the Carohnas or Virginia, or were of the fa.- .ir.. ting band o; hunters and frontiersmen of similar origin who had only a :": -" years ear!;-.: begun the redemption of Tennessee and Kentucky from savn^::'/.

There were descendants of the old English colonists, So.::h and Sco'Ji- Irish in abundance, Gennaiis from Pennsylvania, sturdy l].!l:vr.ders, Swi:.-. and last, but not least in quality of excellence, French Huguc:-.::s, inspired ly traditions of noble blood and of heroic struggles for liberty :.:-.J conscicr.cc's sake. No finer race evxr lived thaii those that builded the Nc :'"..Aest. "Fifu yea-s after the defeat of General St. Clair the s!;eletons of it Kentucky su!- diers killed in that battle v/ere exhumed and out of more tr..^:i seventy lake;; from one gra\e two only were of men that had been loss -.'van six feet v.: heighc."

The pioneers that came to stay and to build homes ar.J cities were vy. less robust and sturdy than the soldiers that had preceded i'r.nn. They were tlie flower of the communities from vvhich they came, and h:.d both the \vi,^ and power to subdue the wilderness. Woods nor wild bca.^ls, nor swami'-S nor storms, nor cold winters had any terrors for tr.cm, nor had any toil or peril that could be grappled with or subdued by brawn or physical bravery or effort.

In fact, when in health they usually enjoyed, with a sor. of rough goo i nature, their hard and barren life. Comir.g to the new region, and building their homes on the high places near the streams, leading active lives, dwellingin houses that were of necessity well ventilated, znd eating a nutritious foe!, they Vv-ere immune to many of the ills that affected older communities.

- Tuberculosis, which now slays its thousands, had not yet followed tl.-' pioneer to the frontier. Diphtheria and cerehro-spmal meningitis were t!'.-'- unkj-iown and innuea^a and typhoid fever were scourges of the yet distnn. future. But all the country save the southwest pa^rt was a great majsh o^.^^^- which the dark shadow of a forest, dense and gigantic, had hung for ^7-'-

.'-.'id in the insidious miasmata and noxious exhalations from the swam.ps ,j;,i stagnant pools the brave pioneers had a powerful and invisible foe that j:.ile upon them unaware and was more to be dreaded than all the tangible jnd physical dangers with which they could have been surrounded, for strength and bravery could not prevail against it. Intermittent fevers in all {';cir stubborn forms seized upon the people and endured. Whole communij:<;s fell victims to the tmiversal malarial infection. "So alarming did the f.iortality become that by an act of the General Assembly passed December ^i, 1 82 1, Friday, the second day of the following April, was set apart as a ('.ay of public prayer to 'God Almighty, that He may avert the just judgments iiupending our land and that in His manifcld mercies He will bless the country v.'ith fruitful seasons and our citizens with health and peace.' "

"That same year, 1821, an epidemic of intermittent and remittent fevers set in the latter part of July in the new^ town of Indianapolis, and continued lituil some time in October, during which nearly every person was more or !cS5 indisposed, and seventy-two, or about one-eighth of the population, died."

"The fall succeeding the first settlement in the spring the scourge broke ov.i on Blue river in Johnson county and prevailed to such an extent that there hardly enough well people to attend (0 the wants of the sick ones."

For more than fifteen years after the fust settlement of the country there no abatement in the severity of the orevailing fevers. It is imi)OSsible to describe the sickness of those times u\ colors sufficiently dark to give a t.orrect idea of the universal distress. From the first of August till the first "i" October all work and business were given over to tlie care of the sick. t- hills and fever were universal. Many persons recovered promptly, and ^"ine there were that remained in bed only v/hile the paroxysm lasted. Parents sometimes had malarial "chills" or priroxysms every second or third day i'jr weeks, with no appreciable increase in the severity of the seizures. But -It times the mildest cases seemed suddenly to become malignant and dangerf'U.-;. Two or three very light paroxysms were sometimes followed by the *"ilden and alarming development of a congestive and peniicious type that fnded in a "sinking chill" and death. Whenever such a grave condition manit't^ted itself the patient was at oiice sustained by the most heroic treatment '-ninvn at that time. Fxternal applications of mustard were freely used, and and brandy given without stint. Sometimes a quart of brandy was ftfjuired to brace the failing heart and reUore mobility to the stagnant blood.

It was some years after the first setilement of the country before physi- <"'^ns came, and when they did at last arrive there was so much illness, such widespread prevalence of disease, tliat many patients in distant and inaccessible parts of tlie country were unable to procure their services. So the sick were largely treated by domestic remedies, a belief in the efficacy of whicli was not based on scientific knowledge or research, but was the result of tlic crudest fancies.

The secret recesses of the forest, where ferns and niaidcn-hair grew on the mussy banks of streamlets, where the dog-woods and wild roses bloonicil in beauty, and the breath of modest violets and crabapple blossoms filled the air with fragrance, those recesses of the forest so exquisitely adorned for man's pleasure with the beauties of form, of color and of fragrance, were the repositories of a botanical wealth of rare therapeutic virtue aiul power. However deficient the venerable and aged men and women of thai day might be in all the learning of the schools, they were all deeply versed in the occult materia medica of the woods, for in the leaves and roots and flowering plants that had been scattered by the hand of Providence in such generous profusion over all the earth, they found a balm for every human ill

Boneset and burvine and quaking aspen and wahoo were used in chill.-. and fever with the greatest faith and efficacy. In the languid springtime, prickly ash, burdock, sarsaparilla, pojilar, dogwood and wild cherry barks. made up in whiskey and taken in the form of "bitters." lent in\aluable aid b> the lancet in cleansing and quickening the foul and sluggish current of the blood. In order to be effective, these barks had to be gathered from the north sides of the trees. Tansy bitters were a favorite morning dram and were held in high repute for their power in warding off the malarial miasmata of the times and strengthening one for a day's labor in the swam[)y woods.

Bleeding' was universally practiced by the pec)ple in the beginning ot febrile attacks, followed by a severe emetic and cathartic. As an ernctit, lobelia, a plant that grew in the woods and fields, was considered quite the most effective agent to be had. There was a shrvib called prickjy sumach that. in the opinion of the pioneers, was effective either as an emetic or a cathartic, according to the manner of its preparation. If an emetic effect was desired the roots were uncovered as they grew and the bark thus gathered was prepared and given to the patient, and the results were said to be most prompt and thorough.

Despite the widespread skill in th." preparation of these botanic remedio-^, the malignancy of the malarial fevers showed no abatement. During the sickly season people died by scores, and the land wa.s filled with' mourm'ng. "The sick therefore readily fell in with any promised relief. Sappington's pills and

Joiixson Coun-Jy, Indiana

with big names, heralded by a long host of curative virtues, found a ,. i.iv sale. Against the walls of every cabin, suspended from nails, hungry,... u!' three dozen small bottles already emptied of their contents, but with if atiy realization to the sick of the promised relief." Charms and i:;.ii!cts and remedies the most absurd were sometimes resorted to as means J arresting the progress of the terrible disease. But the mystic power of ,';..irms and amulets, the empiric mixtures of expcrinicnting pioneers, the ! .'.lulv vaunted nostrums of designing cpiacks, and the time-tried remedies of -j.'tifSt medical practitioners were alike of no avail. Changeless and hopeless, Vx pestilence held sway through all the long and weary days of summer. Hiilv when the storms of autumn had swept away, with breezes of delicious {:L>!iness, the pestilent air of summer; only when'the beneficent genius of the ir..-t had touched the woods with flame, and scaled the pools with ice, could :!ic afllicted people hope for health and life At last, when the kindly frost !,.i(l come, bringing the benediction of health ; when the sad, despairing season .>[' sickness, like a gloomy nightmare, had passed away, the stricken ones came -'-irtli again, bearing the aspect of sorrow for tlie dead, or with pale faces and wasted in their long struggle with, disease.

The sick in those days lacked many -^f the comforts that assuage the differing of their descendants in aflliction. There was then no quiet, restful >ii;ire room where the weary sufferer could stretch his aching limits in peace. Often there was but one room to the house, and the sick were kept where the :r^t of the family lived and slept, in the room where the meals were cooked U fiire the fire and where the babies played in noisy glee. There were no soft air cushions for the tired back, no ice-caps for the aching head, no cooling 'Irinks nor ice to ciuench the burning thirst, and no chloral hydrate to woo the Mveet forgetfulness of sleep. Chicken broth was a favorite invalid food. \\';.ter, when tolerated at all, was carried from some nearby spring and was !!riuik from a gourd. Some of the remtdies used to combat malaria have '>x-n given. The remedies used in other diseases were fully as various and interesting. Mullein was one of the favorite remedies of our forefathers. \ri infusion made of the seeds and lea\es was used as an expectorant in C'.>iighs and bronchial affections and as a demulcent and astringent in the sumnicr diarrhoeas of, children, and in the ei)idemics of dysentery that were so 'atal in those times.

A salve was made of poplar blossoms for the healing of wounds. The ''' »>soms as they fell were gathered and ]iut into an earthen jar. Over them lard, was poured and the resulting salve was used to dress cuts and wounds, that were sometimes inflicted by the woodman's ax. Hcniorrhav from such wounds was a serious matter and tlic pioneers attempted its e^;,. trol in various ways. Sometimes spider's web, gathered from grimy rafu-i and ceihngs, and filled with the accumulated dust of montlis, was bound uvc: the gaping wound, or it was filled with soot gathered from the black throat ui the big chimneys of the time, or sugar or strong soft soap was used for a \\kpurpose. If a "iiarmless necessary cat" of sable hue chaiiced to wander iica; some sufferer frum freshly inflicted wounds he was promptly sacrified t>. Aesculapius, for the pioneers believed that a libation of black cat's blooi! . poured upon a recent wound was an offering of greatest efficacy, insuring ii thenceforth the watchful care of all the powers that heal, and guarding i. from all danger of erysipelas or any kindred ill. The ax or edged tool wifi; which the wound had been inflicted was at once an.nointed with hog's lanl aii>! carefully guarded in the chimney corner, for if a bit of rust perchance thruugl; carelessness should gather on the blade, dire consequences to the patient's lifi.- were almost sure to fcJlow.

Puff balls, a kind of fungus growth found in the woods, were used l.<> staunch bleeding wounds and their contents were sometimes snuft'ed up tliv nostrils in cases of obstinate nose-bleed. A metallic door key suspended dov.ii the back from a string around the neck was reputed to have stopped case-. of nose-bleed when all else had failed.

Buckeyes were carried in the pockets as a safe-guard against rheumatisu'.. If a case of rheumatism assumed a chronic form, an Irish potato was al^" carried in the pocket in addition to the buckeye. If faithfully carried until it shriveled and turned black in the pocket, it was said that no case of rheumatism was ever known to have such idiotic obstinacy as to resist the doul.)l<- charm.

- In the good old times balnes were in everv household in the lantl. Though sired by lusty manhood and though nourished at maternal bosoms that were blessed with perfect health, yet these tender buds, despite their rich heritage of health, suffered then, even as babies sufter now, with all the trying" ills of teething. Young mothers that felt for the first time the divine joy of motherhood, who felt not only its raptures, but its tremulous anxieties and ceaseless cares as well, were at a loss how best to gi-ide the tender feet along the perilous pathway of the first fe^v months of life. But experienced /^ matrons, with their broods of eight or ten, were all aware that if a moles foot were dried an.d suspended from a string about the cherub's neck, the teething age was at once bereft of all its terrors, and in the homes where sucli

Johnsoh Coiintv, Indiana. ' - 49I

Frogs have always suffered at the hands of viviscctors and experimenters for the good of man. Nor did they escape in grandfather's time, for he believed there was no remedy so cl'ticacions to relieve a painful case of quinsy as a hull-frog bound upon the sufferer's throat until the frog was dead. I'eople i.elieved these things with implicit, childish faith. They could not much be lilained in days when there were no books nor schools, and when papers never i(ju;id their way into the woods.

Letters rarely written traveled slowdy by stage or pony, across bridgelcss rivtrri and over roads of bottomless mud. Sometimes a month elapsed before j.veoulc in the wilds of Indiana heard of the death of relatives only a hundred miles away.

There were but two feeble medical colleges then in existence west of the Alleghany mountains, one at Lexington, Kentucky, and one at Cincinnati, Ohio. They were but sparks of light, whose feeble rays did not far penetrate the boundless gloom. Thus deprived of skilled medical help, the people were, compelled to depend upon their own meager skill for relief in sickness. Every neighborhood had its own herb doctor and its lancet. Bleeding was a universal practice. The people believed that their blood grew foul and sluggish ill the dull and sedentary days of winter and that it must needs be shed like a garment when winter was gone, that in its place new blood might course with the life and joy o^ springtime in its current. People were bled for every ill. If a man had a chill he w^as bled; if a fever occurred or headache, a spell of biliousness or indigestion, an attack of dizzinebS, a fainting fit, or even a to'ith-ache, the every-ready lancet was applied. Not only people of full and plethoric habit, with plenty of blood and a tendency to congestive troubles ^vcre bled, but those that were pale and emaciated with long continued and wasting diseases were subjected to the same ordeal. Finally, if there was nothing whatever the mater, it was still a sacred duty to be bled, that the many ailments of those days might thus be warded off.

In the year 1824, Arthur Bass came from the Carolinas and found a ^'Onie in Johnson county. With memories fresh in mind of boyhood rambles among the mountains and pine woods of his native state, he shunned the sv.-ampy regions and sought a home among the bold Iiills bearded with trees. <-iat rose southward of the rapid current of Indian creek. There he lived, j-'ir from even the slender thoroughfares of travel of that day, and far from towns where doctors later came, in a region that was often inaccessible

Dentists were then unknown, so tliose that suffered the agonies of toothache sought relief of Arthur Bass and his turnkey. Hervey Vories vividly times, that more than twenty-five years elapsed before they succeeded in win- 1. niug much of the obstetrical practice from the hands of midwives. In thuse women were never nervous nor morbidly curious, so their presence at such times was due to the genuine, effusive heartiness and robustness of their

,-. ri'Kitliv of their cheerful, healthful presence. Accidents rarely occurred. i> women of those times, sturdiest daughters of the Kentucky and Vir- :.i.i hills, were the very flower of physical perfection. Like the hlack-eyed ,li',:''liter.'^ of Israel, they were lively in labor and scarce needed even the , :;ii<trnli(;)ns of the midwife.

Of many midwives that flourished in the country, two were especially c.. iiicnt in tlie Indian Creek neighborhood, INlrs. Roberts and Mrs. Titsworth. .Mrs. Roberts came to the county in the earliest days. She was a woman of ;-:cat energy and force of character and of most commanding presence. Like .1 L^rcat Amazon, she towered six feet high, and she had a face and furm of ;: isculine strength and singularity. Neither storm nor darkness, nor wild a'iimals hafl any power to daunt her courage. She was always ready for vrvice and went gladly, in rain or snow, night or day, through the bottomless ',v,v.i\ of forest roads or over the frozen hills of winter. \Mien she sallied t 'ith on her errands of mercy, mounted astride like a Rough Rider, she .:. idled so furiousl)- through the woods on starless nights that all the witche? ui .Mlowaykirk could ntit have kept pace with her.

When physicians finally began to receive calls of necessity in such cases .1^ baflled the meagre skill of the midwife, they encountered an air of distrust ll'.at unnerved all but the boldest spirits. They had not yet gained the respect .111(1 confidence of the people, had not yet learned the open sesame to all homes :nu! were not accorded the cheerful welcome and co-operatiun that now awaits thoni everywhere. Instead of that, their every word and act were closely v'.;itched, and if their practices in unimportant matters failed to meet the approval of the venerated midwi\es and old women of the communities into «hich they happened to be called, their reputations suffered a permanent and hopeless eclipse. Consequently they were called only in the most desperate

Dr. William H. Wishard graphically describes a case that occurred in 'lis practice as follows: "I was stimmoned (in the year 1S43) to the bedside '-'i a woman who had been in labor eighteen hours. The midwife had kept the grave nature of the case concealed from the friends, hoping that something ^vould come about that she might be able to deliver the won^an witliout the of a physician. At last she was compelled to report the alarming sympf''nis of the case, and it soon became known that professional aid was sent although the night was cold and a terrific snow storm was prevailing, ^'^hen I arrived, I found the family livir.g in a log cabin, fourteen by si.xteen leet. and there were present to render help and sympathy twelve women, and four or five children, with the sick Avonian and her husband. Wc had staii.' ing room only. It was custom and was considered a conscientious duty to aafflicted neighbor. To ha\-e bu.t a half dozen present on such occasions w,;, considered a small and selecL company." Dr. Wishard further says: "Shuu!.; the case be one that baflled the skill of the midwife and a physician had to lsent for, the news spread with the rapidity of a prairie fire, and when l.^.- arrived the congregation was large enough for a funeral or a quarterly meeting. The gathering was not made up of one sex only; the men were arouu! on the border doing piclcet duty and ready for emergencies."

In the same year of 1S43, Mrs. 'J'itsworth attended the young wife of ;. farmer in the Indian Creek neighborhood. Mrs. Titsworth was a Gcrnian woman, very fat and short of stature, ^vith a broad, fiat face. She had coiiie to the new country in 1830, and had successfully practiced her calling until the incident we now relate. She had been called to the farmer's home earlv in the day, but her presence had not been attended with results. The ca^i.- lingered through the day with no prospect of relief. When night came on, with lowering clouds and portents of a gathering storm, the watchers \oA their courage and faith in the fat, old midwife's skill and they requested that n doctor should be summoned withouf- more delay. Hervey Vories, a ncarbv neighbor, then in the strength and vigor of his first youth and a bold horscinan, was called up and sent through the wild night at break-neck speed fur Dr. Ward, a young physician who some three years previously had located in the little town of Williamsburg. The town was reached, the doctor found and .soon they both were on their way, riding a wild race through the wild night. They could not see each other as they galloped through the gloom. The road, 'the woods, the hills, the whole world and sky were swallowed up and lost in blackest night. Momentarily the trees and hills leaped from out the gloom in the dazzling brilliancy of the lightning, only to be lost again the next instant in the utter blackness of the awful night. Soon the storm came on in all itfury. The rain descended in drenching torrents, the thunder rolled, the wind.-; howled in their wrath, and the lightning blazed in a dazzling electrical splendor. It seemed that angry Jove was once again abroad with thunderbolts, seeking to destroy this modern son of medicine, as in the olden times on just such night as this he struck down old Aesculapius because of his skill in bringing the dead to life again. But at last the house was reached in safety, wliei it was learned that midwife Titsworth and old midwife Nature had prevailed and the child lay wrapped in swaddling clothes sleeping in its cradle.

^rr <i-iy- The magnificent women of the first generation had grown old. In - --cir stead were their daughters of gentler blood and slenderer frame who vred in the travail of birth. Fear of physicians and confidence in niid- ..;m-> alike had passed away. \\^oinen of timorous natures, when undergoing f;f greatest ordeal of their lives, and friends of lively s}nipathies grew to the presence of the sturdy masculine obstetrician.

During the reign of the midwife no attention was paid to antise])tics or ..-.rn to ordinary cleanliness. The clothing was changed the third day and !r,o voung mother was adjured to remain in bed nine days, l)Ut sometimes in r'.rce or four days she was up milking the cows.

One of the most extraordinary therapeutic agents of that day was to be iitid in the poultice that was sometimes applied to inflamed breasts after In case of threatened abscess of the breast Mrs. Titsworth ordered a ])Oultice applied, made of earth dug up at the kitclien door where the kitchen -1 >ps and dish water were thrown. This was made into a paste with warm v..->tcr and applied to the breast in the same way that antiphlogistine is now The bare mention of such a poultice made of foul smelling earth, (.-Annning with bacteria, is enough to make Holmes and Semmelweiss and !'.i>tcur turn in their graves.

The time at last had come when the "h^rb doctors" and midwives should no longer live in peace, for physicians had begun to come. The very first of was Dr. Robert McCaulay, a native o' Edinburg. Scotland. He came ;r.itn Scotland in the year iSu, found his way westward to Kentucky, where married. In October, 1826, he came to Johnson county, Indiana, and located in the great woods five miles west of the little village of Franklin. Being man of ability, his efforts to get practice were soon attended with success.

In July, 1827, Dr. Pierson Murphy, of Ohio, after one course of lec- ".-.ire^ at the Ohio Medical College. Cinciimati, Ohio, rode horseback through ;I;e woods to Johnson county, and located in Franklin, wdiich was then a little^ of six or eight log houses. Later in the same year Dr. James Ritchey '-inie from Greensburg, Indiana, to Johnson county, and found an abiding i'-ice in the modest county seat. In the year 1828 Dr. William AA'oods located miles north of F>anklin, on the Madison road, where Greenwood after- was built. In the year 1830, Dr. Davis located in Franklin, and Dr. ^niith located in the little town of Edinburg, on the sickly banks of Blue ''\tr. Ill the year 1832 Dr. Aylesberry located in the wilds of Clark town- near the present site of Rocklane, and in the year 1834 the professional **nk3 in the countv were ablv streiigthene-d bv the arrival of Dr. Christian

Kegley, an accomplislied German scholar and successful young physician ui: , came from Wytheville, Virginia, anri located in the swampy bottoms of Whi-,. River township. In the year 1835 Dr. Benjamin Xoble, a brother of Clu-.- ernor Noah Noble, located in Greenwood, and successfully practiced his an for several years. In the year 1S3S the ranks of the medical professiuii i;, Franklin were increased by the arrival of Dr. A. D. Sweet and Dr. Mm.;_ Smiley.

The year 1S40 is important in the medical annals of Johnson coiint\. On the 22nd day of April in that year. Dr. William H. Wishard, then a your,^' man of twenty-four years, began his long and honorable career in the ministry of the healing art at the little town of Greenwood. He remained tlieiv until in the aiitumn of the same year, when he moved to the now extinct tov.i! of Port Ro\al, or Far West, in White River township, v.Iiere he rciiiaiiio"! for two years. In the year 1840, also, Dr. Daniel Webb sought a home i:, Franldin I'or (he practice of his [)rofcssion, and Dr. Ward located in the Williamsburg neighborhood for the same purpose.

During the next ten years a large number joined the ranks of the pr..- fession, prominent among who v.xrc Dr. J. H. Donnell, who came ivnu. Gre:nsburg to Franklin January Jj, 1841. Dr. J. 11. Woodburn, Dr. Samuel Thompson, Dr. Winslow, Dr. John .McCorkle, Dr. Gill. Dr. Schoacld, Dr. Johnson and others of lesser note. It is ditTicult to conceive of an undertaking more full of terrible obstacles than the practice of the healing a.t in the early days of Johnson county. The countiy has been described until wc knou- it^ dreary and forbidding aspect.

The opportunities for education and ccpj.ipmcnL for the successful pr.'ictice of medicine were of the nii;>st meagre kind. As we have said, the Tra;;- sylvania Uni\-ersity, Lexington, Kentucky, and the Ohio Medical College. Cincinnati, C)hio, were the only feebl-j glimmering stars in all the vast nig!;: of the Mississippi valley. Far off and inaccessible as they v,-ere in tho~e davs witliout roads or bridges, it is to be expected that many of the physicians of this time would [-ractice medicin.e witliout ever having seen a med:- cal college. The pjiths oi kni:)wledge were all rough and dimly lighted in tho^-e early days.

Xor was the lack of prcparati<^M t!ie only ob'^tr.cle in our elder brother'- pathuav. Every neigh1>or!:ood had iis midwife, who monopolized the o''- -stetrical work of tliose early times, who looked with supercilious contcnii'^ upon the intcrlopif.g n;cd;cal man and tried v/ith all the force of her irJlucn.e and prestige to cover h.iin with ridicule and bring him into disrepute. Even

Johnsox Couxtv, Indiana

;:- the purely medical realms of his calling he was given scant regard and ci.urtesy, for the pioneers were bold and self-reliant in all things and even tried, unaided, to combat the mysterious forces of disease. When a pioneer, cidicr young or old, succumbed to some prevailing or even unknown illness, -J-.e lancet was tlie first resort. Then some strong emetic, like lobelia, was to rid the stomach of its contents, followed by some drastic cathartic. v.'i'ie nauseating infusion was next administered for several days, and only m the event of most serious symptoms was a physician finally called. Thus it hnpncned that a physician's patients were all in desperate straits when first -:,- -aw them. If they recovered under his kindly care the friends thanked .;..(!, the bestower of life and all its blessings. If they succumbed and death rcli:;ved them of their j'ain, the physician was blamed for the result and i::dgcd of meagre skill.

In the face of such obstacles only the sturdiest spirits could succeed. '1 \\r pioneers were practical, thorough- going men and women. Relying ',;;h n their own therapeutic resources until the sick v/ere in the last extreine, liioy called a doctor in with little faith and yet demanded miracles of him. rrii;seriuently, to be successful among them, the plu'sician had to be of forceful and an imposing personality.

No people in the world's history were ever half so kind and neighborly .T!u! sympathetic as were those pioneers. It seemed that the world was people 1 with great and loving souls. It was well that such people lived in times ' lien sorrow and sufi'ering and the brooding gloom of sickness were in every --li^in in the land. In those good old times the people were unselfish and had rover felt man's greed for gold and power of place, and all the ills that dwarf tkt ticart and blight the soul had not darkened in the land. F.\ery man was to his fellowman and neighbor vied w ith neighbor in deeds of kind- to the stricken and the weak. The sick were nursed by all alike and no Mcrifice was great enough to make for those that were affiliated and cast <!o',vn. The abodes of suffering were filled with tender nurses, watching through the darkest hours of night, not for hope of gain, but responsive to !'"ic generous impulses of loving hearts. They lacked the accurate scientific knowledge of our day, with its manifold hel[)fulne>s and power to heal, but '"--y had the great, warm human heart that never errs nor tires and is worth ^' re than all the schools and laboratories, and learning of the world. Lack- Our knowledge of precision, they sought to make amends and satisfy the ageless longing of their hearts to serve, bv hovering over beds of pain with

Thus lavishing so profusely upon their sick the riches of their (,, sympathy, they exacted much of their physicians and bestowed their re-' . and confidence only upon those that they deemed to have the most slrik.: and admirable qualities as practitioners of the healing art. So all phvbici.: ; were subjected to a searching test, and in the ordeal of gaining popular f;-. ; men that lacked moral and intellectual force lost that ease of tenipcruir:.. that is the finest attribute of medical men. They became rough, uncouth .\: irritable, cultivated various eccentricities, assumed an unwonted har5lmL>, .. demeanor, indulged in alcoholic intoxication and enipliasizcd their convi;:-.. tion with broad profanity. Both laity and profession half believed that c ease was a ph.ysical entity, possessing tl:e patient like an evil spirit or a I'l..; which must needs be scourged out witli rjialedictions and lancets and aci' cauteries. So the man that could be the most rough and terrible, the n; ' strenuous and bizarre, the most arrogant and self asscrti\e, soonest gaine.I ;' popular faith in h.is magic power to exorcise the demon of 'disease. But : all doctors of that day were 'made of such fantastic stuff. ''There v,'..: giants in the eanh in tliose days" that loomed above th.eir fellow men a: still shine amid that dreary waste of half-forguttcn times like mountain [.e that hold the ligiu of fading day wlien all beneath is buried in th.e sh.a'I.'. Of such glorious company were Drs. McCar.lay, ^Murphy, Keglcy, Do::"-" and William IT. W'ishard. The story of tlveir trials and sacrifices anr! t'-^ life of devotion to suffering humanity forms one of the most inspiring il".-" in the whole history of our profession.

The books to which they were compelled to refer were not' the repo^it^r of medical ktiowledge that the modern text-books are. The medical \\-r' that were published before the appearance of Eberle's Practice in 1845 - so crude that one m.ay well believe their authors had not yet outgrown ; ; dark tradition^ of the middle ages. All the medicines in use at the tunc y-' administered in a crude and bulky form. There ^vas not only a lark ot c:'\- sules, of pili^ and- tablets, with thc'r coatings of sugar and chocolaie. -

liquid-;, niedicinal elixirs, alkaloids, dosiraetric granules and al' convenient forms for the administration of medicines then in use. b;'-

^:ntire absence from the materia mediea of many of the most potent now kfiow'n to medicine'. There wore then no^ antipyrine. acetanilid. 1

'nacctine. nor any of those preparations known as coal-tar derivative-. chloral hydrate, veratrum viride, cocaine, chloroform, ether, chloretono. "

- !!:i!in, strychnia, antitoxic serums, nor a thousand other remedies since ob- .,,,; -J from vegetable and animal sources, or synthetically elaborated from \':x decj) hidden elements of the inorganic world. There were no hyperiknnic syringes nor clinical thermometers, and an almost entire absence of the myriad forms of surgical instruments of almost perfect construction that ..,\\ arc such a boon to the practicing surgeon. Anaesthesia and antisepsis, ; ,u priceless gifts to suffering humanity, by which the surgeon yearly saves ' ,ii:^:uk1s of precious lives, were then but unrealized hopes of visionary

Meagre was the pioneer's knowledge of disease and meagre his thera- weapons of attack, but such weapons as he had were potent and he

>r'i them with the skill and courage of a master. . Calomel was given in civjrinous quantities, sometim.'^ as much as sixty grains at a dose. A favor- |)rescription for use in remittent fevers was "ten and ten," i. e., ten grains ..f calomel and ten grains of jalap, repeated every six hours till free purga- ;:i.!i resulted. Then the dose was lessened, but its administration was con- ;;:i'.!ed until mild salivation was induced. If there was a high grade of in- ination, nauseating doses of tartar emetic were given to reduce the fever, if it produced watery stools, the lx>wels were restrained with laudanum or Sometimes sweet spirits of nitre or nitrate of potash were given rt-duce fever. The use of cold water was absolutely forbidden at all times. Vt !,cn the fe\'er was finally broken, but never before, such tonics as Peruvian '-irk, Huxhani's tificture of bark, or an infusion of quassia were adminis- When quinine was first used, it was considered an unsafe and un- remedy. Dr. AVilliam H. ^^'ishard says: 'T remember well the first that it was used in my father's family. W'e were suffering with malarial and had used about half a pound of Peruvian bark and bitters of every *"'n'! and quality known, yet the chills would return e\'ery se\"enth or four- ''--"!ith day. 'My father sent me to Indianapolis to a physician to get medicine -' prevent the relapse of the chills. The prescription consisted of thirty s''-uns of quinine, ten drops of sulphuric acid, and six ounces of water; dose, '-'"'C tcaspoonful three or four times a day, to be taken with great care." Fait ' tiiere was caution in the use of quinine, such cannot be said of many other for the old physician, meagrely equipped as he was. often displayed a

In the year 1S30 Dr. Alurpliy had a patient suffering with abdoinia,;, dropsy. He called Dr. Smith of Edinburg in consultation. They had neiiix. local nor general anaesthetics, no antiseptics and no trocar. But they tool< ;. small joint of an elder, cleared out the pith, scraped off the bark and tlvuv fashioned it into a hollow tube. Then with a thumb lancet they made a:, incision through tlic abdominal wall, inserted the elder tube into the pcrituiK-:;; cavity, and drew off the dropsical fluid, greatly to the patient's satisfactiori and relief.

- It is related of Dr. Fitch that he once visited a lonely cabin far in t'.,-, inaccessible wilds of the forest of that day. The people were very poor, tvc room was ill-furnished and but dimly lighted by the fitful firelight and a glimmering candle's feeble ray. He found three small cliildrcii delirious uif. fever and with heads dra^n back and rigid limbs. They were in the ri^i.; stage of ccrebro-si>inal meningitis, a di.-case that was then very rarely slct. He lost no time, but, \vith rare self-confidence, quickly applied heroic uk;iures of relief. He administered as best h.c could an enormous dose of ca'.- mel to each. Then, with his ever-ready Irjicet, he ab.stractcd blood from cy' until they were all relaxed and on the verge of fainti'.ig. An iron pokci h; the spacious fire place he first phmged into the gluu in.g coals and the-, drc its dull red tip along their naked backs from neck to hips. Unfortunate!)- result of this procedure is not known, but the incident is given here tu sli'i-^ the lofty self-reliance of phyc?icians of that time.

Grave conditions and emergencies arose, and sudden and frigh.tful ['Ci'-' to life and limb occurred ofttimes at night in the fierce cold of winter, far i-^ the dim woods beyond the swamps. There were no telephones in those day.- -outrunning the winds with the sick man's message of distress; no broad, fir:-- highways, bearing to any place within an hour the kindly welcome hcin . ;' professional brother, so grateful in the time of peril. It mattered not h'''' grave the danger nor hoNV great the need of haste, th.cre were only the bla'-.' ' trails through the forest and the lone messenger on horseback, slow labiiri;'. through swamps and mire.

Thus the doctor, wh.en he readied his sufTering [jaticnt. was ak.iic ithe forest, far from otiier help, and he must needs be bold and heroic, rely:;'.- wholly upo;i liis own resources to alleviate his paticr-fs ills. So he tried at ^' times to be'jjrepared as best he could and in his practice he dispensed t most potent remedial agents at his command with high and conscious d^"'- age. When with saddle bags of jalap, rhubarb and opium, arid pockets fidl '^^ castor oil, epsom salts and senna leaves, he sallied forth on horseback b'--'

.; Iniiyht of old, armed witli lancet sharp,, to help his friend and battle witli his dreaded foe, the dragon of disease, like a mighty giant, wielding a twoedged sword, he sometimes killed both friend and foe.

The remuneration of physicians for iheir services in those days was most meagre and precarious. There was the greatest scarcity of money and the people all were poor. The meagre charges that were made for services are Ii:ll of interest to us now. On one page of Dr. Kcgley's ledger, dated January I, 1837, are found the following items:

Physicians rode five c>r ten miles and attended cases of labor for three tloll.irs and waited for the money. Pay v as taken in work, in wood, corn, live stock, poultiy, li'.isey woolsey and other products of the loom, piunpkins, ^'inseng, raccoon skins, and e\ery concei\able object that could be palmed ufi on the patient medical n]an in lieu of money. People were so utterly poverty stricken in those times that much of the doctor's work was done for cliarity and the love of suffering humanit} .

To illustrate the barren poverty of that time, I shall describe the home "f a family that felt tlie grinding indigence not uncommon in a new and iindeveloped land. Nearly sixty-fi\-e years ago a man by the name of Hyatt, with his wife and children, lived in the remote southwestern part of the <^oi!nty in an isolated region among the hills of Indian creek. He lived in a little round log house, fourteen by sixteen feet in size, with a stick-and-clay 'himney and a dirt floor. When he finished his house he took forked sticks -""-n I drove into the ground in the corner of the house; two poles were cut, "He end of which was laid in the forks of the upright sticks and the other was stuck intc3 a crack between the round logs of the house. Oak boards Were split and laid upon these pgles. W'hen this was finished it served the "'-'>n and wife for bed. Large wooden troughs were hollowed out and filled 'di leaves. In each of these a child was cradled. At night these rude

- How sad and gloomy and how inexpressibly hopeless the struggle f,.,- existence must have seemed to this man, with but tlie strength of his brawi;. ami between his wife, with her sweet little ones, and all the outer darkucof that savage world. Malevolent wolves iu the lonely solitudes of ni'Kt howled about his cabin or sniffed at his frail doorway. Sickness and hunger, with threatening visage, like gaunt specters, were ever standing near robbiiiof its happiness his simple life. But when sickness came this man was iii.'i forgotten. Then the neighbors, the ministering angels of the land, came in and all that human hands could do was done.

Once upon a time Dr. iMcCauIey was called ten miles from home to ic;. a woman sick with child-bed fe\'er. Slie had been attended by a niidwiii.' and was much exhausted. Dr. McCauIey examined the poor womati carefully and calling the husband said: "Your wife is very sick; she nced,-^ stimulant. You must get a quart of whiskey." In those days v.'hiskey \\:i, only twelve and one-half cents a quart, but the man sorrowfully informed [i'.e doctor that lie had not so niucli as a penny. The doctor pondered over tl;-: situation for awhile and tiien said, '"As I was coming down here through tli>: woods my dog folIo\\ed me. Abo .1 tv/o miles up the road yonder he found a 'coon' (raccoon) and killed it. You will find it up there by the side of tl;c path. Go find it, skin it, and tak" the pelt to tov»n and with it you can gi'. your whiskey." The man. started joyfully oa his errand and in due time returned with the much-needed stimalan.t. Such cai.es of suffering want were found every day, but the charity of nn'nisters of the healing art "suffcrctl". long and is kind."

Sad and full of pathos is the story of those early days, when the laivi was buried in the swamps and woods primeval. Xature frowned v.'itli (.bs-. and threatening face upon the white man in his efforts to disturb tlie sile:;-' of her long repose. She stopped his footsteps with a dreary waste of wi''! and savage forests, where tangled foliage and frJIen limbs and prostra'-' trunks of mighty girth cumbered the swampy earth; witli broad streams '-: mu.ddy water spreading far over the level woods, dragging their foul ar. . sluggish currents la^^ily over beds of slimy ooze. She deluged tlie spongy eartl; witli floods of rain, and rerit the sumir.er foliage v.'ilh storms '"-' rattling hail; she clothed the v/intry v.-oods ir>. coats of icy mail and hcain^. high the drifted snov,- in every sheltered nook. And when, with long ti>-ithe pioneer had drained those swamps and carved a narrow clearing n; t--'

black clouds of cawing crows descended, and troops of chattering iirrcls from the tree tops came, devouring the slender products of his -Sandry; ravenous wohes ranged the woods, ra\-aging his meagre flocks, ..-n.iie \apors and noxious exhalations came up like evil spirits from the forest /,!ls where gray fogs hv.ng in the lazy air, poisoning his life-blood with ; .iniing fevers.

Dut in the soutlnvestern part of the county the face of nature wore a >:iiilc. There the crystal waters of Indian creek sparkled over golden gravel, js it danced between grassy banks, all fringed with ivy and rushes, babbling -.v.Trily beneath the sycamores. On all sides rose great hills, crowned with :-.;ifv trees. On their slopes and crests the hand of providence had lingered .-. ith a caressing touch, shaping them into forms of picLurescpie beauty. While \c! the winter woods were sad and dim, and scarce the sap had stirred within '.ho trees, delicate wild flowers bloomed on all the hill-sides, and, responsive ;o the spring's first promise, slender dog-woods, sweetly decked and gar- '.,ii(led in white, stood forth in modest beauty, like brides, awaiting the first c.-i^cs^cs of that ardent lover, the sun. In summer great oaks and lordly j-'plars cast afar their cooling shade; in autumn the sumach and the maple the hillsides with the glows and splendors of the rainbow's hues. Un- -!;mir,ed by any stifling smc>ke of cities, the bright skies smiled in pristine utanicss over all the hills. Summer breezes played beneath the trees, and :r.nu those hills and forest dells all the bird-songs of spring went up to heaven r. tlii; sweet sunshine of e\cry golden dawn. It was a beautiful region this, the Hensley tov.nship hills where Indian creek flowed on its jocund

Soon after the advent of the white men, a fine type of pioneers, nearly -ill of whom were primarily of Scotch-Irish stock, came into the county and ^-lainied this lovely region as their own. Little clearings were carved in the primal woods and log houses sprang up on the hill tops or on the slopes hard ''V some bubbling spring. Neighborly paths were beaten through the woods i'lil pleasant home lights twinkled at night between the trees across the snowy 5<ills of winter.

The neighbors visited, each other to while away the lonely hours of winter evenings, helped each other in tlieir work, nursed each other in their -'!als of sickness, and stood by each other in their misfortunes; in every form mutual helpfulness and neighborly kindness the great Celtic heart sent 1 its sunshine.

slioulclercd and full of lusty life; the maidens, perfect types of lovely u,,;, hood, in their eyes the sunshine, on tlieir lips the red wine that suid, 'X^ drink nie."

The pioneers had ever been stiniulalcd to the greatest eftuits b\ ; - heartfelt wish that their children should have a better bringing up ibau tl. - had been; so that even in the earliest years of the new conimuni.t.y, v.l.t.:. yet the land but inhospitably yielded the bare necessities of food and rai:..,. : and the struggle for 'existehce was acute, the intellectual and spiritual wcl;,.-- of those that were to be its future citizens was given thoughtful care. 1., school houses, with greased pajjcr v/indov.s, were built in tlie barren wo..'. Here the children came yearly for a few brief weeks, learnijig to read in :. the pages of the Testament and copying proverbs with goose-quill p'.r -, dipped in blood-red pokcberry juice. Little log churches, tor>, were I.".;.': within the forest shades like Druidic sanctuaries of old anioi;g tiie 0,;'.. Here, on suiniy Sabbath morns the ros}- maidens came, walking barei.' -. dov.n the shady forest path.s, dressed in their gayest home-spun frocks.

The irrcspressible social ii-istincts of the young found expression in ih. singing schoolS; the husking bees, the spelling bees, the quiltings and tl/. many coun.try dances held of winter evenings in every neigliborhood. }ilik-. and miles the lads and lasses went on horseback over the hill-,, across tl-.-: creck.s, through woods and nn're, to dance all night with sparkling eyes aiv! rosy cheeks in jolly measure to the music of the Iloosier fidd'e, on strings wild airs \\ ere played that had been piped a hundred } :ars before I'V kilted pipers on the mountain heights of Scotland.

But such happy thoughts, recalling an idyllic life of Arcadian simplicity and rustic joy, can no longer be indulged. These threads of gold were wovi:: in the story of those times, that in its gloom v shadows tliere might be one ray of .light.

We must now resume the burden of our theme, must quit the sunshiTi^ and those mirthful scenes where lovers, arm in arm, danced through the ir.i;:- night hours till the stars were dim and rosy dawn appeared. Henceforth v.c must keep in the sad light of the sick room where anxious friends and kindly neighbors and grizzled doctors, worn with toil, watcli through the ni.ehts ir^ grim contests with the insidious forces of disease.

The physicians of that day dresse-l ordinarily in the homespun garmt;nts of the time, that were sometimes "cold-dyed." Physicians of soinc means often dressed in "Kentucky jeans," and when thus arrayed were considered quite well dressed. The invariable rr.odc of travel was on horseback

,. ,1 on accovint uf tlic swamps and nuid pli}siciaiis always wore leggings but- - nt-d ui) the side of the legs and tied aliove the knee. I'hey wore long greatluats, reaching almost to their feet. Their saddles, in which they spent most ,,|' iheir time, were often cnshioned with sheep skins. Sometimes the saddle swis covered w-ith a buffalo robe, which was taken as a certain indication that '.'.ic owner enjoyed financial ease and more than usual professional ability.

Physicians had no end of trouble with the ignorance and superstition ..!' their patients, the sad depths of which is almost past believing now. One Micradicable fallacy in regard to bleeding was to the effect that a person -hMuld always be bled in the arm of whichever side his pain or ailment ciu'.nced to be in. If bled in the right arni, when his pain was in the' left siile, or vice versa, it was believed that the pain would cross the budy through heart and dcalh would almost surely follow. The physician that risked ]-\< patient's life by such a rash and unnecessary procedure, immediately forfeited all right to consideration as a wise and prudent man.