The Sun from New York, New York • Page 47

THE SUN, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1912. NEW LETTERS OF GENERAL GRANT TO HIS RELATIVES Written to His Father and Sister, They Give Interesting View of His Early Struggles .11: 1.. nr.it. AS' exceptionally interesting will he published hy tho Messrs, Putnam about the first of It is it collection of hereto- re unpublished lottorsoftJlyssesH. Grant I i.i hH hither nnd his youngest sister, i wn ten nt various times from 1 S.7 to IRT.sJ I milled by hit nephew, (Inint I I'rrnei- As In everything that wo Imve i writ'-n hy (leti.

(Ir.int. those letters M.e simplicity or his character, if. I while he is willing und oven anxious ...11 ,1 ii mount din lenities there was nothing I.i.lstrnllies.s alHillt him. He was i -r straightforward child nnd Im was i straightforward mm George 1 liven Puttiim, who writes ref.u-e to those loitori, very truly in i pies them at giving "a clear unit li isi worthy inipression of tho nature ho man nnd of tho developm-nt of ler of force tint made possible lus all valuable le idorshlp." Mr. Putnam, wn was major in the civil war, know limit's wortli lit first hand.

I he llrst letter in this book was written in lieu Grant to his ulster, the mother the editor of these letters, from St. us in He was tlwn farm'-. Tii letter was written on August 22, It he says: "My hard work is now over for tho wMson mimera My wheat, which would linvp produced from four to five hundred bushels with good winter, haayielded only seventy-five. i U1! "ol 1 "i lT 1 I V- lUinril. IJ JHlljMl tll ll- lllll I tr yield fifteen hundred bushels or more.

Sweet potatoes, melons)iiud oihbages are the only other articles I nm raising for market. In fact. the oats anil corn 1 nhall not sell." Gon.Orant.it hardly necessiry tosay. graduated from West Point at thengo of 21 in 1843. He had no thought then of being a farmer, but circumstances shaped the course of events which led him to le a tiller of the soil.

Oen. Orant, who married young, was married at this time, and tho next letter 1 written from the Dent homestead neir St Louis. Orant had rented his own farm and taken that of his father-in-law It I Union and maintenance i 1 men and money ar iTufi, Iwi.se thr would lay .1 shoul.l visit them that spring Mrs. Orant iiHuw rrpu iu Ko imme i. spenu I.J I I t.

1 I 1 a rew months. lie continues: "She snys she would be afraid to let him travel with father, alone; tdie has an Idea that ho is so ahsentralndetl that If he wore to arrlvo in Cincinnati at night he would be just as apt an not to walk out of tho cars and be gone for an hour before he would recollect that he had child with I him I havo no such fears, however. 1 "Fred does not read yet, but he will, 1 think, inafew weeks. We have no school withinamileandahalf.and that istnofar 1 to sond him in the winter heason. I shall commence sending him soon, hnw- ever.

In the meantime 1 have no doubt but that he is learning faster at home Orant suffored severely from fever an 1 ague during the time that he was a farmer. nnd that probably determined him to give up farming. He sold his stock, crops and farming implements and went to (ialenn to be in the leather business w.th his father. In a letter to his father on this subject ho writes with characteristic indopondonce, "I should prefer vo ir offor to uny one of mere salary thnt co il 1 1. offored." And he adds: "I do tiot want any place for fmrmanent stmulalod ra'.

')Ut want tho prospect of mie lay doing business for myself There Is a pleasuie in knowing that one's income i fends somowhat upon his own exert ions and business capacity, that cannot l.o If 'i when so much and no more is coming i'i legardless of the success of the engaged in or the manner in which i' done liefote going to Galena he tried the real estate business in St. Ujiiis, but it w.i- not successful venture. While in St. IjouIs he tried to get the of county engineer, but as he writes his father: "The IJomocrats voted for tne and the Free Soilors against mo." looked rather black for him in a I'linticial way at this time and in a letter hi- father ho says: Next month I get possession of my own hoiie, when my expenses will be so much that a very moderate salary will support me. If I could get tho $3,000 note cashod which I got as the difference in the exchange of property I could put up with the proceeds two houses Hint would pay mo at loast a month tent Tho note has five years to run, with Interest notes given separately nnd payable annually." Then he adds: "You may judge from tho result of the nrtion of tho county commissioners that I am strongly identified with the Democratic party.

Such is not tho case. I never ted an out and out Democratlo ticket my life. I voted for Buchanan for President to defeat Fremont, but not iierause he was my flint cholon. In all other elections I have universally selected the candidates that In my estimation were tho best fitted for the different offices and it never happens that such men are all arrayed on one side. "The strongest friend I had In tho Board nf Commissioners Is a Free Holler, but opposition between parties Is so strong that he wjuld not voto for any one, no matter how friendly, unless ut least one of his own prty wbukl go with him 'ITio Free Boll party felt thcmsolves bound to provide for one of their own party who was defeated for tho onion of county engineer, a Gorman who came to the West as an assistant surveyor upon the publlo lands and who has hold un office ever since." Grant does not at any tlmo seem to have been good nt horse selling, for it will bo remembered when ho was a small boy he went to sell a horse for his father and told the man tho price that his father wanted, but added that ho would be willing to take leas, naming about half tho sum.

In a letter to his brother, nfter ho was a grown man, he write: "About two weeks ago a man spoke to me for him and said that ho would try him the next day, and If ho suited give mo $100 for him, I havo not seen tho roan since; but one week ago last Saturday he went to the stable and got the horse, saddle and bridle, sinoa which I hate seen neither roan nop bone. From tola I presume ht must Uka man over paid for thi horse or not. In April, ls-01. the Southern seceded. Korl Sumter was fired upon, and Lincoln issued his llrst rail for "fi.ooo volunteers (irant wrote to his father April 21, IM1I: "Wo are now in tho milit of trying timei.

wlien every one must bo for or uguliist hiii country and show his colors too, hy his every Having been educated for such un emergency at the exix'UHO of tlm Government, 1 that i Hls II 'tfl lilt' Klllit'jltn nui.il ir fin ins iim uril ntn'v tiwii fir sell- interest citn surmount. 1 do not wish to act hastily or unidvlsedly in the matter, r.nd as there r.re more than enough to respond to the llrst cill of tho President I have not yet otTeted myself. I "I have promised ur.d am giving all the assistance 1 can in organizing the company sendees have been accepted from tills place I have promised further to go with them to tlie State capital nnd if I can be of service to the (lovenior in organizing his State troops to do so. What I ask now is your approval of. the course I am taking, or advice In the m.it- iter.

A letter written this week will reach me in Springllold. I have not time to write to you but hasty line. for. though Sunday as it is, we are all busy here In a few minutes I ish.il I lie engaged uniform for our men. Whatever may have been my political opnlon.s liefore, 1 have but one sentiment now That is, we nave a governir.eni 'and laws and a (lag.

and they must all I1UV l.o sustained. Tliere are but two parties now, traitors ami patriots, ani i wnm I hereafter to be ranked with the latter and. 1 ttnWV 1 fin tint ktlflW tlllt and a dangerous one pecuniarily, out costs Iw. miinlnj Mi. rilvlee 'rp if voll are not safe with the views you entertain.

I would never stultify my opinion for the sake of a litt le security Orant organized and drilled the Galena company, then went with it to Springfield and mustered it into tlie Mate service In a letter to his sister he am convinced that if the South knew tti.niilrnii i nf the Cnrt for the ftm, nlain.ance of law and how nrv ofTertvl to tho town thoir arms In l.iimKl.i uiilitnUuinn Then irt i no disposition to compromise II di.nosition to compromise now. Nearly every one Is anxious to sen the Government' fully tested as to its strength and see if it is not worth preserving. The conduct of eastern Virginia has been so abominable through the whole contest that there would be a great deal of disappointment hero If matters should be nettled before she Is thoroughly punished. This la my feeling, and I believe It universal. Great allowance should be made, for South Carolinians, for tho last generation have been educated from their infancy to look upon their Government as oppressive and tyrannical and only to be endured till suoh tlmo as they might have sufficient strength to strike It down, Virginia and other border States havo no such excuse and ore thereforo traitors ut heart aa well as in act." In a letter to his father written from Camp Yates Grant says: Ho does not tell us whether tho DECOY OWLS ARE USED BY MARYLAND FARMERS TO EXTERMINATE CROWS "It doesn't seem to mn thnt there eoulJ possibly be any more crowils on the l'atnps co nnd Gunpowder river bottoms In Mary- land than there are now," said John Gilbert, the travelling grocerymnti, "but any farmer down tliere will tell you that If It wasn't for the bubo owl there would be twice us muny.

"I don't know anything nhout bubo owl except what the honist fnimers of those rich bottoms told me. I never saw a bubo owl, but I heard that this member of the owl family Is lilt? as a hawk, ran In the daytime as well as by night, and dotes on now. "Having eyes to see both by day and by night, the butio owl picks off Its crows from their ronnts ns well ns intituilm; llinm tiv tlnvllfrht rnlilfl Tin. ilnwn 1 there seem to bo ever expecting a inlfl from ome prowling bubo, nnd thpy post a regulnr line of sentinels about field when they Hre foiHgliiK In It. or in the woodi where they hold their dully coun cils.

ii in "I might have obtained the colonelcy of a regiment possibly, but I was perfectly sickened at the political wire pulling for all these commissions and would not engage in it. I shall lie in no wuys backward In offering my services when nnd where they are required, but I feel that I have done more now than I could do serving jus captain under a green colonel, and If this thing continues they will want more men nt a Later day. In tho samo lotter he writes: "There is no doubt that tho valiant i Pillow has leen planning an attack on Cairo; but as ho will learn that thnt point is well garrisoned and that they have theirditchon tho outside tilled with watsr he will probably desist. As, howover, I "The crows hold a council nt their roosts 1 every morning before they go to business i for the day, and tho farmers say that at these councils the farms of the locality nre parcelled out among the colony so there will be no overcrowding of cornfield, thus uwildltig unpleasant und unprotlt. ublo wrangling.

The sentinels appointed tnko their posts nnd give notice by peculiar cry when they detect bubo Piowlltig about. "Imnudlalely a big force of crows Is detailed from tho Held to hunt the bubo out, nnd they sddnm fall to find the haled foe, They then ntfick him, poutnlng upon him fiom every side. The owl Is forced to fly by tin overpowering numbers hurled against him. lie Is much awlfter on the wing than the crows nnd generally succeeds In cr caplng with wholo skin, more than likely with one of his nssillinls In enrh claw. "Kiiov.hu; limit ult It In foi a inn to get within gunshot of a crow If the man carries a gun, and how futile sra 9 'MiMGwjnAimf 2l Aftfov- iff" f-ft-fli HtfTT ftf Cog Mt.f Z-.

tptsf jr y4 iSS FwtrrV he would find it necessary to receive a wound on tho first discharge of fin-arms', ho would not bo formidable enemy I do not say lie would shoot himself, ah not I nm not so imcharitablo as many who served under him in Mexico. I think, however, he might report himself wounded on the receipt of a very slight scratch, received hastily in any way, and might irritate tho sote until ho convinced himself that he had been wounded by the enemy. It wus not long before Grant was mndoi colonel nnd put in chargo of a regiment in camp at Springfield. He writes to his father: "I Iiom you will have only good nc-coutit of me and the command under my otdlnnry devices to draw tho crow to spot where man with a gun Is lying In ambush, tho Maryland farmers, so they told me, lung ago discovered tho value nf the bubo owl as un nld In this respect. To talio advantage of the aid of the bubo the farmer must first get his bubo.

"The bubo Is i fool himself, nnd It Is no easy trlel: to get him thnt Is to get htm ullve, fur he would be of no service dead. Th native dwellers back in the hills hne way though of trapping tho bubo by means of live chicken used in collaboration with a box trap, nnd they manage to supply the fanner to tome extent Willi these owls, although, they toll me, mil enough to meet the mil. "When the farmer decides that the rutin contingent of the loin ciop will de-pclid souiev. hat on the making nf tulllus raid on ciciwji, hi' takes his bubo owl to piece of woods on his farm rally In the morning hforc tin delegation to which his fin ill has been allotted by the crow council has begun oiieintlons, Ho ties tho owl rccurt'ly to a limb of a tree, giving him three ur four feet of slack string. -4, charge.

I assure you my heart Is In the cause I havo espoused, and however I may havo disliked party Republicanism there has never Ihmmi a (lay that I would not have taken up arms for a constitutional administration. "You ask if 1 should not llko to go Into tho regulnr army. I should not. I want to bring my children up to useful employment, and in the nnny thu chance Is poor. There is at least the same objection that I you find where slavery exists.

Fred has been with me until yesterday; I sent him homo on a boat utumHy bo good a loader soon re-eoived promotion, and ho writes to his father: "I see from the papers that my name "The owl Is tied ut a spot where he may bo keen from the udjareiit cornfield, and If he Is not discovered by the crows when they coino hi the Held he will soon be discovered by a sentinel crow, for tho bubo wilt forget that he Is a prisoner and hcfoie long will ilse to muko swoop down on that IK Id uftrr the crow. The string will quickly Jerl: him back to tlm limb though. Hut ho has been discovered. The sentinel caws tho ul.iiin and the ctows rise nnd make a dash for him, each ono vociferously yelling Its anger. "The fanner, Idled man or two and ns many mot" of the family ns nre Inclined to Join In nre In hiding In the bushes near tho tree whero tho bul Is a captive lure, each with a double barrelled shotgun.

As tho crows come flocking fiercely In they mo met with volley mid a dozen or more are seen to come tumbling to tho ground dead nnd wounded. "Tho crows, demoralized by the unexpected nnd deadly nssault, turn and hasten from tho woods. Naturally tho owl rises from Its perch frightened. This rising of the bated foe ns If to pursue them overcomes tho alarm of tho crows and they gather again and dash back to assail him. The masked battery opens on them again Expressions of Opinion Concerning Civil War and Course to Be Adopted Toward the South has been sent in for Hrlgadier-Oeneral.

This is certainly voiy complimentary to tne, particularly ns I have never asked friend to intercede behalf. My only acquaintance witli men of intlueiico in tho Statu was while on duty at Springfield, nnd I then saw so much pulling and hauling for favors that I determined never to ask for anything, and never have, not even a Colonelcy. I wroto letter to Washington tendering my services, but then declined Governor Yates's and Mr. Trumbull's Indorsement." My services with tho regiment with which I now am have been highly satis-1 factory to me. 1 took it in a very ills organized, demoralized and insubordinate condition, nnd have worked it.

up to a reputation equal to the best, nnd, I lielleve, with the good will of all thu officers und all tho men. Hearing that I was likely to be promoted, tlie officers, with great unanimity, have requested to bo attached to my command. This I don't want you to read to others, for I very much disliko speaking of myself." At first Grant thought, that tho war would soon bo over, that tho North so far outnumbered the South that tho conflict would be a short one, but in letter to his si-ter dated August 12, ISOt. he says: "You nsk my vlows about tho continu-nnco of the war, and so forth. Well 1 have charged my mind so much that I don't know what to think.

That the reliels will lie so badly whipped by April next that they cannot make a stand anywhere. 1 don't doubt. Hut they are so dogged that thero is no telling when they may be subdued. "Send Union troops among them and respect nil their rights, pay for everything you get, and they become desperate nnd reckless because their State sovereignty is invaded. Troops of the op posite side march through and take everything they want, leaving no pay but scrip, and they liecome desperate secession partisans because they have nothing more to lose.

Every change makes them more desperate. I should like to lo sent to western Virginia, hut my lot tjeems to lie cast in this part of the world. He writes little later from Cairo to his! sister: "What future operations will he, of course I don't know. I could not write about it in advance if I did. Tho rebel force numerically is much stronger than ours, but tho difference is more than made up by having truth and justice on our side, while on the other they aro cheered on by falsehood and deception.

This war, however, is formidable and I regret to say cannot end so soon ns I anticipated nt first It seems Grant's father hardly ever wrote to him without nsking him to get a position for somebody. In every case he liad to refuse. He writes to his sister: "Father asks for position for Albert Griffith. I havo no place to give and nt best could use only my influence. I receive letters from nil over tho country for such pluces, but do not answer them.

I never naked for my present position, but now thnt I have it I intend to perform tho duties as rigidly us I know how without looking out for places for others. 1 should be very glad if I had a position withlng my own gift for Al, but I havo not." nnd their number Is depleted by half a score or so more. "A Mock of crows has been known, so the farmers ustmred me, to return three tlmra to the attiiok of tho decoy bubo, but will seldom make tho venture more than twice, although tho remnant of the Hock will alight In some nelghliorluK tree nnd discuss with clamorous tongues tho disaster that has overwhelmed them, "If any of the crows have been wounded so that they uro helpless except ns to Milco tho men In ambush may bo sure presently of still another shot, for a com-pnnlon In dlrtrcss Is something crow family la always eager and prompt to attempt to help, tio by und by the distressful cries of tho wounded crows will surely bring tho others back to uu Investigation. "I said that tho first volley would naturally scare tho bubo and he would rise to fly. but, ns they told me down there that will only bo the case when the owl Is new In tho decoying hualness, After three or four trims the bubo understands what Is there for and enjoys It hugely, 'Hut 1 never seeta none o' them bubo said this farmer, 'and so I reckon they ain't noways Hut this did not provent the elder Orant from continuing to write for positions for his friends.

In another letter to his sister ho says: "Father also wroto about a Mr Heed," adding: "My influenco no doubt would secure places with those under me, but I becona directly responsible for tho suitableness of tho uppointeo, and then tliere Is no telling what moment I may have to put my hand upon the very person who has conferred tho favor or fho one recommended by me. 1 want always to bo In a condition to do my duty without partiality, favor or affection." Hut still "Father" insisted, for Grant wrote: "1 cannot take an active part in securing contracts. If 1 were not in the army I should do so, but situated as I nm it is neeessury both to my efficiency for tho publlo good nnd my own reputation that 1 should keep clear of Government cotilracis." In the same letter, taking up tho Bub-jeet of his plans, he writes: "My inclination Is to whip the rebellion into submission, preserving nil constitutional rights. If It cannot bo whipped in any other wny than through war against slavery let It come to that legitimately. If it is necessary that slavery should fall that the republic may contlnus its existence let slavery go.

Hut that portion of the press thnt advocates the beginning of such a war now ore as great enemies to their country ns If they were open and avowed secessionists." In a letter to his sister he writes: "You have no conception of tho amount of lubor I have to perform. An army of men all helpless, looking to the commanding officer for every supply. Your plain brother, howover, has as yet no reason to feel himself unequal to tho task, nnd fully believes that he will carry on successful campaign against our rebel enemy. I do not speak boastfully, but utter a presentiment." Answering his newspaper enemies in letter to his father ho writes: "I do not exect norwant tho support of tlio Cincinnati press onmv side. Their course lias been so remarkable from tho beginning that should I bo indorsed by them I should fear lint the public would mistrust my patriotism.

I nm suro that I have but one desire in this war, and thnt is to put down the rebellion. "I have no hobby of my own with regard to the negro, either to effect his freedom or to continuo his bondage. If Congress pass any law and tho President approves I am willing to executo it. Laws arn certainly as binding on the minority as tho majority. I do not bellevo even in tho discussion of ths propriety of laws and official orders by the army.

One enemy at timo is enough, and when ho is subdued it will be time enough to Bettie personal differences." It seems thnt the father was inclined to repeat some of tho things that his son wroto to him in his letters, for Grant writes: "I would write you many particulars, but you are so imprudent that I dare not trust you with them; nnd while on this subject let me say a word. I havo not an enemy in the world who has dono mo so much injury as you in your efforts In my defence. I requiro no defenders, and for my sake let mo alone." Then he adds: "You are constantly denouncing other general officers, and Uio Inference with people naturally is that you got your Impressions from mo. Do nothing to correct what you havo already done, but for the future keep quiet on this subject." To his sister he writes more freely: "For a conscientious person, and I profess to bo one, this is a most slavish life. I may lie envied by ambitious persons, but I in turn envy tho person who can transact his daily business and retire to a quiet homo without a feeling of responsibility for tho morrow.

"Taking my whole department, there are un immense number of lives staked upon my judgment and acts. I am extended now like a peninsula into an onemy's country, with a largo army depending for their daily bread upon keeping open line of railroad running 1B0 miles through un enemy's country, or nt least through territory occupird by people terribly embittered nnd hostile to us. "With all this 1 suffer tho mortification of seeing myself ut tucked right und left by people at homo professing patriotism and love of country who never heard the whistle of a hostile bullet. I pity them and nation dependent upon such for its existence. I nm thankful, howover, that although such people make a great noise the masses nre not llko them." These letters do not cover ull the years from Grant's farmintr ilavn to bin ancnnfl I nc .1 1.1 1 1.

i i tiuuii, in nuiijt) letters of not very grent importance written from the White House and others written while ho wus travelling around the world. March 20, 1S7S, he wrote to his brother-in-liw, Mr Corbln, from Home about his travels and then ndds in a postscript: "It is vory kind in Mr. Clark and tho gentlemon associated with him to send the niossago you convey from them; but they must recollect that I had the harness on for sixteen years and feel no Inclination to wear it again. I sincerely hoio thnt tho North will so thoroughly rally by next eloctlon as to bury the last remnant of secession proclivities and put iu tho F.xecutivo chair a firm and steady hand, free from Utopian Ideas, purifying tho party electing him out of existence," After his return to this country he settled in New York, where In 1B84 the financial tragedy of his life occurred. In a letter written June 10 of that year he says: "Financillay tlie Grant family is ruined for the present, and by tho most stupendous frauds evor perpetrated.

But your Aunt Jonnlo must not fret over it. Istlllhuvo a homo and as long as I live she shall enjoy It as a matter of right; at least until she recovers what sho has lost. Fred Is young, active, honest and intelligent, und will work with a vim to reciioratfl his losses. Of course Ids. first effort will bo to roiny Ilia minus.

"Wo go to Long Brunch this week. Yo expected to live with Fred this summer in Morristown, J. But failing to tent our onttufo we will occupy it und Fred will live with us and rent his if ho can." As I have already said, those lettes'J show tho simplicity of Grant's character. At the same timo it is the simplicity that la a oharaotvrUtlo of the truly great. I.