EUGENE F. WARE

EUGENE FITCH WARE was born at Hartford, Conn., May 29, 1841; died at Cascade, Colo., July 1, 1911. His parents moved to Burlington, Iowa, when he was a child. Iowa was at that time a territory, and he grew to man's estate on the frontier of our rapidly expanding republic. Before he was twenty (in April, 1861) he enlisted in the First Iowa volunteer infantry. This regiment was called for a three months' service —a term supposed by many to be sufficient to put down the rebellion. At the expiration of his first period he reenlisted, first in the Fourth Iowa cavalry, and then in the Seventh, with which regiment he was mustered out in June, 1866. He went into the army a private soldier. In the capacity of lieutenant and captain he was aide-de-camp successively for Generals Robert B. Mitchell, C. J. Stolbrand, Washington R. Elliott, and Granville M. Dodge. General Dodge was one of General Sherman's corps commanders. Ware's conception of his duty at the beginning of the war he recorded for us at a later date in his exquisite poem, "Neutralia."

Mr. Ware's newspaper work began in 1866-'67, when he returned to Burlington, Iowa, his home, from the army. Of this period of his life he has said:
"I used to be a newspaper man. I was on the Burlington Hawkeye away back in '66-'67. That was my first job after leaving the army. I enlisted the day we got news of Fort Sumter, in the First Iowa regiment. I was just nineteen then. I belonged to a zouave drill company that was famous throughout the West for fancy drilling—all boys. Minute war broke out, nothing would do us but we must go. And such pulling and using of influence! Every one was afraid he 'd be left out on that first roll, and that the war 'd be over in sixty days and he would n't get to go. I was delighted when I was taken. Well, I served out that stretch, and then I did three years in the Fourth Iowa cavalry. And still the war wasn't over. I went put again as a volunteer cavalry officer, and after peace was declared with the South we were sent North to fight Sioux Indians. Then we were mustered out, and I went back to Burlington— twenty-four years old and looking for a job.

"I contributed an editorial or so to the Hawkeye, which was then edited by a Mr. Beardsley. After him came Frank Hatton, and then Bob Burdette, you know. But they were after my time. Mr. Beardsley liked my stuff and offered me $75 a month to go on the paper regularly, and after consideration I took him up. I liked the work, too. Pretty soon I evolved an idea. Mr. Beardsley liked to make running comments on the telegrams we got; for instance, "How does this strike you?" New York, such a date, and then the story. I was given charge of the telegraphic news and wrote my other stuff beside. ..."

In Kansas Mr. Ware wrote much for the newspapers. In the Greeley campaign, in 1872, he edited the Fort Scott Monitor in Greeley's interest. That fine old paper never had a more interesting year than that when its editorials were written by Ware.

It is hardly necessary to call attention of the people of Kansas to the literary labors of E. F. Ware. His "Rhymes of Ironquill" passed through many editions and has been read with delight all over the world. Mr. Ware was a fine lawyer, and he was commissioner of pensions under President Roosevelt.

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