Show CAN A GOOSE TALK TALIP A story of a war bird from the he flo hoosier osier state HE I 1 11 II 1111 liccini lICCi GUIL nl tilt the two birli birds become great felt pet and the death of one elmost fames mr la fit camp it is wonderful the attachment men will form for dumb ani animals ing Is or birds there was perhaps never a period ia in the history of this country when each such attachments were stra stranger than during the war of he the rebellion newspapers anil and books have contained many incidents and there were many which have never been told by tho the writers of war story then there are others still which appeared in print a quarter of A century ego go and ad ba have been a I 1 forgotten ten A STANDARD ST reporter r e p 0 arter beard me lne from froll general kini kimball ba 1 I 1 the other day which surpasses anything of the kind indin in history arout or oat th the e general g D e r 1 was at leisure when the writer w it r happened ha p pe nodi in la and with bis big usual storli story tell telline I 1 ng humor bubbling over be he drifted eted into reminiscences of the war there is BO ro subject upon which I 1 general kimball K I 1 dball is more at home ho me and an hour or two may be very entertainingly spent in bis big presence e specially ci ally when his mind reverts to the tl ties which helped aped h to make the history of the war the soldier boys used need to have all manner anner m of pets eaid said the general but the most peculiar pet fever I 1 ever saw in the army was a goose or a pair of geese for there were two 0 of them the indiana was enlisted at terre haute and before for the front one of the boys picked en up a wee go rolin golin lin from the canal and carried it along when we started on the march it was done merely as a joke but immediately medise the 80 soldiers idlers in his bla mess mese became ell in 0 attached d to reuben as the pet was named and gra gradually duall y the attachment tach ment spread to every man in the company and in fact throughout the regiment the bird was to young when taken cut of the canal to know in much uc efel about bout its own aud and read readily ly fell I 1 in into t 0 line with tho the soldiers eol diers and heir habits babits when n in camp reuben wag was as prompt as the men in tho the routine of ca camp mp life iio ile marched on guard duty an and 11 oa on dress parade and when the do duties ies had all been performed and the men had fettled settled down reuben mado made his a regular visits to the officers tents and then to the commissary where he got his lite rations and remained for some time yon you may laugh at be the idea of gooe goo e talk but themen the men talked to denhan and he be chattered in apparent rep reply ay and there is oo 00 doubt that the bird understood much of what was eaid said to him one day while our division was at clarksburg Clarks burg west virginia reub benben e wen went to the river as a w was as bis his custom cusio m to take bis big bath atal and there bo be found ano another t tier this WAS the first of bis his kind that reuben had met since he was parted fronc from his big family in terre haute he ile brought bli new friend into camp and actually took to 0 k him around to the various tents to ts of the officers and men and introduced trod u cell him that was a great day I 1 in a camp the boys always knew know that ren lien be ben was w an intelligent bird but this additional adal lonal evidence both aeton as ton I I bed hed and pleased them it was a natural thing for reuben rouben to make the acquaintance of another goose but the courtesy and hospitality with which he treated his new now companion was as to the minds of the soldiers eol diers convincing proof that reuben bad learned the social of a soldiers life lite aa as well as tho the routine of iho the camp after jeff davis as tho the bys named the new goose bad been pro pt aly presented reuben took him to the commissary commis ary wagon and invited lim him to dine these two geese we were re almost us pa inseparable ep arable aa as were e the twins together they in marched relied in la reubens accustomed pla place ce a t guard duty and dress pa raie au ind together they role roie with the corn on a line of march the attachment tach ment of the soldiers and officers of course extended to jeff he ile waa was an apt pupil and it was not long ere he ie was at much at home aa as bis his tutor in a camp acour our division was composed of the irth indiana and oho ohio and and 2nd and west virginia while we were located at cheap mountain on the he turnpike between Sl staunton Sau aunton oton and parkersburg in west virginia where wo we had the fight with lee in 1801 1861 we were joined by the ohio under armmand of colonel tom ford the night of heir their arrival was dark and the rain was falling filling heavily I 1 was sitting in m my y tent that night and my saddle had b been n put inside the tent placed EO so anat hat it r rested ested on he the skirts sudden ly y I 1 was aroused from meditation by the scream of the jeff davis goose who rushed into the tent and bid under be the saddle ho ile poked bis big bead head out continuously and Equaw squawked ked in a piti ul fal way I 1 could not understand what the trouble was wag yet he was apparently P arenfly ly endeavoring to tell me presently one of the boys came 0 to o the tent and said colont Oo lond reuben is missing sing f upon bearing hearing the voice jeff davis ran out and beamed to pi sad with the soldier to follow him detailed a few men to go in bearch of the missing reuben bat but they tailed failed to find him next day I 1 detailed others and lind tho the search was mada made diligently until feathers feat bera were found down at the baso base of the mountain the bond 2 ohio waa was camped abobo indications were that come some of the soldiers eol diers of that regiment bad had killed our pet goose and made madea a feast of him search was made further and the bonea bones of the slain bird found ware tho the boys were very indignant lud ignant I 1 1 called a consultation consult atio n 0 f the colonels commanding the beveral 9 a veral and colonel ford was told that the evidence was very strong that some of 0 bis his men bad had killed reuben lieu anant bill harrow flarro w of the indiana indians was boro bore beyond any reason he ile tools took a pair of colla revolvers sat eat down on a log and cleaned and loaded them after be had completed the task ho addressed colonel ford with a voice I 1 which betokened bis his anger and determination decla declaring v ing that although all be waa was only 9 a L lieutenant colonel 0 an and d ford was a full colonel 11 ha must find fid the man who killed that of those revolvers goose or take ono one and fight it ika s a serious eer ioos but likewise a ridiculous di scene and while u we e were all bursting with will laughter we were obliged to conceal it colonel fard did all he could but was not vot able ablo to find positive knowledge of the rape tra torf torr there thre was DO vo doubt in the minds of tb abo boys of olt the balance of 0 he the division that rome chein in the be ohio b had a d slain reuben and there 1 was a deal ot of discontent among them when we wo were to take up he I 1 line no of march marchI I 1 prevailed upon a general i al J joo 00 reynold Key t daod Ya nold od our commander to place the objectionable 1 regiment ament in the rear J u ut t oven even this rel did id n not ot s satisfy a y tho men they they declared car d that a begir ent of soldiers who w would on id tolerate such ft a dastardly crime w were era not fit to march or fight with the balance balanc 0 c of f them they g grew r e w m more 0 r 0 e angry as preparation 8 proceeded r 0 c e e d e d squads of c soldiers Eol diers won would become encased io in coave conversation r ea mourning the death of agu ben and damning he the ohio when we started on the march the I 1 feeling e grew worse and finally it was I 1 found nece nc cesary seary to send the sad ohio back to naother another point and station them for a time thus cutting them off entirely from oar our command were poor reubens remains properly buried asked the writer ob yes I 1 neglected to tell y yon c a th hat at part of tho the story A coffin IV wea as made of a cracker box and the burial ceremony proceeded with in exactly the game way as if an officer had died I 1 was in the front rank of mour mourners nerA and when the salutes were fired bred over the grave the poor bird seemed to know that all that was earthly of hla his campanion companion had been placed in he the cold ground A headboard was put up with this inscription iD on it riena i member ot of the lath indiana was ass i asinas on the I 1 night nigh t ol 01 september so i cy by a it cowardly co ot of the and oh ohio I 1 0 ofa 0 tom fora was 11 bonel colonel |