TOUGH VETERANS.

Northern Advocate, 3 September 1913, Page 6

TOUGH VETERANS.

■When the vcternns of the American Civil War reassembled last, month at Gettysburg to celebrate the fiftieth

anniversary of the famous battle, a fact that impressed itself upon everyone was the extraordinary toughness

of these men, most of whom were of considerable age. The conditions under which the reunion took place were calculated to test the endurance of the hardiest. It was the height of summer, the thermometer being well over 100 degrees most of the daytime, and the place of meeting was a military camp, where the comforts of civilised life were lacking. Fifty-five thousand men attended the re-union, and of these only a few of them were under <>5 years of age, while most of them were close on 70. Yet out of th,ese, less than a dozen deaths were reported, and the cases requiring extended treatment totalled less than 500. It is a striking testimony to the wiriness of physique of these "supermen of Gettysburg," as the New York "Evening Post" calls them, that the blistering heat affected hundreds of people younger than the veterans, while the latter were thoroughly indefatigable in their eagerness to inspect once more the scene of the old encounter and promenade the streets of the town in the search for old friends. The Army doctors were astounded at the hardiness of their charges. Arrangements had been made for 1000 coffins to be kept within easy reach, for the doctors were not taking any chances. Ordinary life insurance statistics show that a normal death rate among men of the age of the campers would be very high, while with the abnormal weather conditions a far higher mortality was anticipated. The explanation given by some of the veterans themselves is that the armies of the Civil War were composed mostly of

boys under twenty-one, of whom probably half were under eighteen. Many were still younger, some carrying muskets at fourteen. Now, to get into the ranks they had to be extraordinarily big fellows for their age, else they could never have passed the recruiting officer. They were the picked men of their time, and they proved their right to this claim by the test of the survival of the fittest. "Boys are the best fighters," was the dictum of one of these sturdy veterans, adding by way of explanation, "they don't stop to think about things."