Gen. Lander is regarded as rather overbearing, strict in
discipline, and severe to the last routine of military rule; but he is known to
be just and truthful and is personally as brave as Julius Caesar. He refuses serenades, and will not come out
when they are tendered; yet he never visits an outpost or picket-guard, which
his constant habit, without the men cheering him. It shows that the bold soldier boys
appreciate the fact that the stern, emphatic and rough General is loved, and
will be followed to the last. He is
supposed to be quite a heathen. One day
a staff officer caught him with a Bible in his hand, and said:
“General, do you ever search the Scriptures?”
Gen. Lander replied, “My mother gave me a Bible which I have
always carried with me. – Once in the Rocky Mountains I had only fifteen pounds
of flour. We used to collect
grasshoppers at 4 o’clock in the day, to catch trout for supper at night. It was during the Mormon War, and my men desired
to turn back. I was then searching for a
route for the wagon road. ‘I will turn back if the Bible says so,’ said I, ‘and
we will take it as an inspiration.’ I
opened the book at the following passage:
“Go on, and search the mountain, and the gates of the city
shall not be shut against you.”
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 8, 1862, p. 2
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