3^6  Memoir  of  Edson  Sewell  Bastin.  {K™£^fmm' 
The  rugged  life  on  a  pioneer  farm  developed  the  latent  energies 
of  the  boy,  and  he  became  self-reliant  and  fearless.  He  would  en- 
gage in  hunting  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  either  day  or  night,  and 
he  was  as  successful  in  that  important  part  of  the  pioneer's  life  as 
he  was  in  the  numerous  other  duties.  His  mother  died  when  he 
was  but  twelve  years  of  age,  and  his  father  was  killed  by  accident 
some  ten  years  later. 
In  1859,  while  in  his  sixteenth  year,  he  entered  Carroll  College, 
at  Waukesha,  Wis.,  and  remained  there  until  1862,  when  the  war 
spirit  took  possession  of  him,  as  it  did  of  many  others  at  that  time. 
He  entered  the  Twenty-eighth  Wisconsin  Infantry,  which  regiment 
became  attached  to  the  Army  of  the  West,  and  engaged  in  the 
Arkansas  campaign.  This  regiment  experienced  long,  severe 
marches,  much  sickness  and  other  privations,  with  the  tedium  unre- 
lieved by  the  presence  of  the  enemy  until  they  reached  Helena, 
Ark.,  where  a  battle  was  fought  and  won  on  July  4,  1863,  and  in 
the  same  year  Little  Rock  was  captured. 
Soon  after  this,  partly  on  account  of  illness,  which  unfitted  him 
for  field  duty,  and  partly  because  of  his  clerical  abilities,  Professor 
Bastin  was  detached  from  his  company  and  employed  as  a  clerk  at 
headquarters.  After  a  year's  service  in  this  capacity,  he  was,  in 
1864,  commissioned  captain  of  the  Fourth  Arkansas  Cavalry;  this 
appointment  was  the  result  of  a  competitive  examination.  The 
young  captain  was,  from  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  war,  engaged 
actively  in  scouting  and  picket  service,  in  which  he  won  a  high 
reputation  for  ability  and  bravery,  and,  through  the  voluntary  re- 
commendations of  his  superior  officers,  he  was  offered  a  cadetship 
at  West  Point.  He,  however,  had  no  taste  for  military  life  in  times 
of  peace,  and  declined  the  honor.  Instead  of  this,  he  entered 
Chicago  University  as  a  student,  where  he  graduated  in  1867. 
Following  this,  he  took  a  course  of  some  three  years  in  the  same 
institution,  in  theology,  which  course  he  completed  in  1870,  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity.  His  character  at  this  time  can 
best  be  understood  by  the  following  extract  from  an  address  at  his 
funeral  by  one  of  his  classmates,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Gordon  : 
I  became  acquainted  with  Professor  Bastin  while  in  his  senior  year  in  the 
old  University  of  Chicago,  and  was  associated  with  him  for  four  years  in  the 
class-rooms  of  the  college  and  Theological  Seminary.  He  first  impressed  me 
as  being  somewhat  cold  in  manner,  but  on  better  acquaintance  I  found  this 
