12 n > > > j 3 ¥ WIPING OUT THE STAIN J vb STORY OF COMPANY B, WV7 T XjQy TENTH INFANTRY. VXi7 J # I AT Copyright, l»*i. By CUARLES B. LEV/IS. IT j ■< < C C <- ■> ? 3 >"3 —b A soldier in lilue sat in the shade of a roadside tree a mile in the rear of 1 his camp. lie had been at Warrenton I three miles away on a pass, and had i halted on his way back for a smoke. His home-made briar-root was charged with Virginia leaf, but he had no I matches to light it. With his thumb < holding the tobacco in the bowl he waited for the coming of a soldier was following in his footsteps. When < this man came tip U l ' flung himself < down on the grass with a sigh of satis faction and said: "Cussed hot day, ain't it?" "Roastin' hot," replied the other. "Ciot a match about yer clothes?" "Of course." The newcomer, stretched on the broad of his back, shoved his fingers into liis vest pocket and brought out a match, but as it was extended he sud denly sat up and withdrew his hand and fixed his eyes on the other's cap. "What ye lookin' at?" "At the letters on yer cap." "Well, what of 'em?" "Notliin', 'cept I don't want any truck with you. J wouldn't give ye a match if ye never had another smoke on earth!" The man with the pipe grew pale with anger, but he turned his face away and looked across the fields and made no answer. Uoth men sat hug ging their knees and maintaining si lence for four or five minutes. Then the last comer said: "Yer a company It man, and that settles it with all the rest of us, I'm belonging to company 11, same regi ment, but it's a shame instead of a thing to brag of. Company 'J!' —bah! UiE VICTORS SAW BUT ONE MAN ON HIS FEBT. I heard this mornin' that they was goin' to put women's clothes on ye!" The man with the pipe winced per ceptibly, hut made no reply. "Disgraced the 'J'enth at home and at the front," continued the other. " 'Pears to me that this is a good time for you fellers to either desert to the Johnnies or go hang yourselves. We ain't got no use for cowards down here!" The company J' man flushed hotly and hit his lips, Lut had no word of protest. "If I'd known you was a 15 man 1 wouldn't have sat down here. Darn your hide, but it was a cheeky thing to ask me for a match! D'ye think I'm communin' with a man whose legs run away with him as soon as lie hears the sing of a bullet? You goto hades for your matches!" There was another painful silence, and the last comer was getting up t<> go when the other turned on him and said: "I ain't sayin'that company li don't deserve some hard words, but ye are pilin' it on too heavy. Mebbe you don't know exactly how it was?" "Why, you was detailed to hold a bridge, and the Johnnies had scarcely showed up when you all took leg-bail." "It was this way: Not a man of us had ever been under tire before. There was some mistake about orders, and we was trying to hold a ford above and one below as well as the bridge. The Johnnies got men over and in our rear before we knowed it, and when the tight opened we got rattled. Every body knows there were 1,500 to our 100, and didn't we lose two killed and seven wounded? 'the colonel piled it onto us because he blundered in the orders and wanted to cover h'is tracks." "Mebbe there is somethin' in that," said the company II man reflectively, "but all of ye came running into camp like a flock of sheep. 'Pears to me that ye ought to have stuck right there and lost at least 50 men." "Well, nobody can tell how he isgoiti' to act when under lire for the iirst time. We'll get another show some day, and I'm bettin' there won't be any runnin' away, it's mighty tough on company 'B' to be called a passel of cowards, and to be chaffed and hooted hy the rest of ye, but this war ain't over yet. Just wait and see how the rest of ye pan out when the Johnnies close in on three sides and begin to pump bullet's by the barrelful." "You said you wanted a match," ob served the clitic after a long wait. "Yes." "Well, I'm handing it to ye. That's takin' back 'bout half the ugly tilings I said. Mebbe you fellern wasn't al together to blame." "It won't never happen agin," re plied the company "li" man as he lighted his pipe and closed his jaws on the stem. The "11" man rose up and continued wav without a word, lftihad made concessions, but he would not enter camp in the company of the other. The"1!" man sat and smoked and pon dered until the tobacco was exhausted. Then he pocketed his pipe and rose up and growled: "How durned contemptible mean it maker; a man feel to be called h cow ard! Jf they'll give me another chance I'll fight the whole of bee's army be fore I'll obey orders to retreat!" One morning four months later, the Tenth infantry inarched into a Vir ginia hamlet with orders to liold the position until certain other moves by other troops had been perfected. Down at the end of the long street was a willow-fringed ereelt crossed by a ford. Company 1» was detailed at this ford, and other companies sneered and jeered as it inarched down the streets. It was a "soft-snap position." The post of danger was on the hill above the town, where the four highways crossed. Two days passed without alarm. Then the pickets thrown out beyond the creek came running into report the advance of the enemy. As in duty bound, the captain reported the fact to the colonel, and back came the order: "Hold him in check as long as you can and then fall back on the j regiment." The man nearest the cap- tain saw him smile as he read and pocketed the order, and they tightened their belts, opened their cartridge boxes and said to each other: "We've wanted a show to wipe out that stain, and now we've got it. Might as well shake hands and say good-by, for we're going to die right here!" A lieutenant and .'in men were sent across the creek to take cover in the willow's and check the advance as long as possible. As they peered out at the heavy skirmishing line approaching, •he bronzed-faced old sergeant queried of his ollicer: "Is it on the cards that they are too many for us?" "Twenty to one!" replied the lieu tenant. "We'll be licked out o' this in a. York minit." "Well?" "Then I 'spose we fall back on the company?" "No; when the confederate line reaches us they will find 15 dead men. We've wanted our chance, and here it is." "Yer a game man, Lute—yer a game man!" whispered the sergeant as the joy of battle danced in his eyes. Two minutes later the 15 were fight ing a hundred. The enemy was puz zled for a time, but after a few min utes the skirmishers were reenforced and such a lire concentrated upon the covert that the willows were cut to the very ground by the bullets. Ten men were living before this hail of death began and could have retreated across the creek with honor. Two minutes Inter there were only seven—then four —then two. One of these was the ser geant—the other a private. "What's the use o' holdin' out?" growled the private as he hugged the earth after a shot. "Jest to get killed!" replied the ser geant. "They've bin callin' us cow ards fur the last four months, and damn their eyes we're goin' to prove 'em liars!" "Fifteen men, and all dead but these wounded two," said the skirmishers as they reached the fringe and counted the bodies. "Wonder why they didn't fall back on the reserves over there when they saw they couldn't hold us?" On the other side of the creek, posted behind fences, walls and trees, were the other 80 men of company B. They saw a host of confederates in front, while the wide street at their backs was open for retreat. They knew that the creek could be crossed lower down find their position taken in flank, and here and there a man looked furtively CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1899. arouml and wondered why thecap'ain did lint order a retreat. A messer.ger came from the regiment on the hill for company l'> to fall back in good order. The captain pocketed the brief order and waved the messenger away. Men were waiting for the word to fall back, when a corporal growled out: "Damn yer skins, but are you goin' to make another holy show of your selves! There will be'llo retreat. We wanted a show to prove that we could fight and die, and it's come to us." The waiting was not long. The in significant strength of Ilie federal force could easily be seen, and a regi ment was pushed to the front to carry the ford. It dashed forward with 14 cheer, but was checked, broken and thrown back, and so raajiy men went down in the bed of the stream that its waters were damned back. A minute for a breathing spell, and then the thousand dashed forward again. This time they carried the ford, and as they moved forward the defending force was taken on liolh flanks as well as in front. The ground was gained foot by foot, only, and when the field was won at last, there was no cheering. The victors saw but one man on his feet. He was hobbling painfully up the long street, and turning now and then to see if lie was followed. They could have shot him down, but not a musket was fired. "How* many of you?" was asked of one of the wounded. "Less than a hundred." "And why the devil didn't you fall back on the force on the hill?" "Because it was our chance." And half a mile up the street the wounded man reached the Tenth in fantry as it was moving out of camp and falling back towards the federal lines in the fir.ee of superior numbers. "And who sire you?" demanded ar officer as he dashed out at the man. "Tenth infa utry, sir." "What company and where have yo*. been fighting?" "Company nought, sir. ancl I've been down there taking my chance. 1 have to report, sir, that there is 110 longer any company 1!. The rebs have got 'em. but they were all dead or wound ed first!" y A CHANGE OF TITLE j , Copyright, iBgS By M. QUAD | The last man who got out of the stage at Dead wood and entered the shanty hotel to register his name for the night wrote himself down as "John Y. Bloom, President of the Unit ed States of America." "Glad to see you, Mr. President," said the landlord a£ he extended his hand for the shake. "1 am sorry we haven't better accommodations, but I'll take care of you as well as possible." "Oh, don't put. yourself out any," wan t he earelets eply. "Mrs. I'loom and the children well?" was the query. "Quite well, thank you." "Glad to hear it. If I'd only known you were coining I'd have had things in better shape. Just •wait a minute, please." lie ran upstairs and En to a two-bed room which a couple of travelers had just taken possession of and exclaimed: "Here, you two critters, pick up your traps and dig out of this! The presi dent of the United States is here, and I want this room for him!" "But you gave it to us!" was loudly protested. "Don't make any difference. That fas before I knew he was here. Out you go, and one of you, at least, cun sleep on the billiard table. I'm not go ing to chuck President Bloom into no cubbyhole on his first visit." "Does he give the name of Bloom?" asked one of the travelers, as lie gath ered up his things. "Of course." "Well, the president of the United States happens to be named Grant— Gen. Grant. You ought to know that. This fellow Bloom is guying you." "Say, he can't be president, of course," mused the landlord. "Certainly not. Better go down and see about it." Mine host descended the stairs with a glint in his eye, ajid walking up to Mr. Bloom he demanded: "Didn't you tell me you was presi dent of the United States?" "1 did, sir," was the reply. "But you are not. Gen. Grant is president. I voted for him and ought to have remembered it." "By George!" exclaimed the guest, with a sudden start, "but you are right about that. Yes, of course, Grant is president. I voted for him, too, and how 1 came to forget it beats me." "You seem to absent-minded?" "Y'es, 1 am. Yes, that's what ails me. I am not the president of the United States, of course. Just let me scratch that out, will you?" lie ran his pen through the title, and then wrote on th« line below: "Judge of the U. S. Supreme Court." "That's more like it," said the land lord, "and you can pay your bill in ad vance and sleep under the billiard table!" I'll? 11l lIrCJIH HfNlKlltTN. it seems hardly credible that a de signer of dresses should be receiving bigger salary than one of Queen Vic toria's judges. It is stated, however, 011 good authority, that a fashionable dress designer in the west end of Lou don makes on an average between 000 and $30,000 a year. Sh Ih« riioiioii rn ptile Clocks. In Switzerland they are making clocks which do not need han<!'« an'i faces. The clock merely stands in the hall and you press a button in its stom ach, when, by means of the yihono graphic internal arrangement, it calls out "half-past six" or "23 minutes to 11," as the case may be. A ZULU BRIDE. Cluhnrntc llialr DrmdiiK I" I.•'««!- liiK Feature or ller IN 111; lin I Cirt-t p. The daughter of a Zulu in comfort ible circumstances does not leave her father's kraal without much pomp and nany queer rites, which doubtless are leld by her people in high estimation. It may be noted, too, that the mar riage customs of these dusky Africans are subject to innumerable variations, t'ach tribe having its own peculiarities, llair-dressing, by the way, is an im jortant feature both to the bride and bridegroom, and the attention paid to I lie coiffure of the pair would shame the performance of a West end hair lresser who arranges a bride's locks mil fastens the orange lHossom chap let. A cone-shaped erection, for in stance, is the lawful coiffure of a Zulu HON. BARTLETT TRIPP. This gentleman will represent the int< rests of the t'nttefl States In the pending ne gotiations between this country, Germany and Great Britain regarding Samoa. Mr. Tripp is a resident of South Dakota, where he stands high as a jurist and citizen Ho was ministir to Austria during ilie second Cleveland administration. Lately he has attracted attention by an open letter to the leaders of Hie democratic party in his state in which he renounces silver and declares himself a linn believer in the gold standard. wife, and this cannot be legally worn till the marriage rites are duly com pleted. Save for the all-important one, the head of a Zulu bride is closely shaved, an assegai being used for the purpose; whilst, as soon as a youth i.- of a marriageable age, his head is shorn to leave a ring around the scalp, and then liberally besmeared with fat and ochre, without which unguents no Zulu would feel fittingly decorated for his bride. When the bridegroom-elect has been shorn of till his hair save the wool on the crown, which is trained in a circular shape and some four inches in diameter, a ring is sewn to this, of gum and charcoal; in this the Zulu thrusts long snuff spoons, needles and small utility articles, and is very proud of his ring', which is the badge of man hood. Cassell's Magazine. \Ytinted llis Horde. A Scotch farmer, celebrated in his neighborhood for bis immense I rengt h and skill in athletic exercises, very fre quently bad the pleasure of contending PREPARING CORN IN MEXICO. O .•• /.(' \?£ ft From the expression of th* faces of the Mexican lassies seen in the illustration, which is reproduced from the National ftural and Family Magazine, one would not think they took it as <1 hardship that they must grind their own corn before making it into cakes. See th«- intent expression on the face of the little one at the left. No doubt she is wondering whet her ilie- chicken will succeed in getting the "peck," which it seems intent upon securing. with people who came to try their strength against him. Lord I) . a great pugilistic amateur, went from London on purpose to tight (lie athletic Scot. The latter was working in an en closure at a little distance from his house when the noble lord arrived. His lordship tied his horse to a tree and ad dressed the farmer. "Friend, I have heard marvelous reports of your skill, and have come a long way to see which of us two is the better wrestler." The Scotchman, without answering, seized the nobleman pitched liim over the hedge and then set about working again. When Lord I) got up: "Well." said the farmer, "have you any thing to say to me?" "No," replied his lordship, "but perhaps you'd be good enough to throw me my horse."- T - A l.n i> Inn <1 Drink. Smoked snow water is a favorite d>'iuk in Lapland. AS FULL AS A GOAT. The l«Mva*M >ln*rot Attend* it Wak# ami DlHKriicfN I In* Amcri ••im Navy. The goat of the battleship lowa suc cumbed to the temptations of shore leave early one morning recently, and was locked up at the city prison on the charge of "drunk and disorderly," says the San Francisco Chronicle. In company with three or four jack ies from the lowa the goat had been attending a wake at the undertaking <->tablh huient of Carew & English, at Van .Ness avenue and Oik street. In the course of the evening his conduct became too boisterous even for a wake. Ollicer S. Kain made the arrest, and one of the lowa jaekies who were the companions of the goat's revelry went part way to the station with his dis graced friend, and then at thought of the fun tiny wore all having bark at Iht' wake he said to the goat: "Bill, old man, I hope you won't think hard of me if I go back. You're in good hands. .Itisi go along, and I'll join you after a bit." Thus it happened that the convivial mascot of the warship, stumbling along and bleating occasionally some very unmusical notes, deserted by his mess mates in time of heavy weather, was, in the words of the mariner, towed into port with his propeller shaft damaged. After lie woke up he was turned over to his friends and taken aboard. Bill's behavior at the wake is de scribed as having been something re markable. The services in memory ot the dead had lasted through the even ing and until two o'clock in the morn ills'. At that hour it was necessary to summon the police to insure the safety of both the living and the dead. llclllKcrent Crnl»*. The most savage speci men of the crab species is found in Japan, seeming to dream of nothing but fighting, to de light in nothing half so much. The minute he spies another of his kind lie scrapes his claws together in rage, challenging him to the combat. Not a moment is wasted in preliminaries, but at it they go, hammer and tongs. It sounds like two rocks grinding against one another as their claws rat tle against the hard shells. The sand flies as the warriors push each other hither and thither until at last one of them stretches himself out in the sun, tired to death. Hut. he does not beg for mercy or attempt to run away, only feebly rubbing his claws together in defiance of his foe. That foe comes closer,and with hiselawstrembling with joy at his victory the conqueror catches hold of one claw of the. vanquished crab, twists it until it comes off and bears away the palpitating limb as a trophy of his prowess. Such is a bat tle between warrior crabs.- IMMENSE ELEVATOR. To He Krcrtpil 111 Wf»t Superior flt > Coit CKIIIIIII ted nt Ttvu Mil lion nollorn. A good way to get an idea of (he size of the enormous grain elevator, eon tracts for which were let at West Su perior, is to compare it with the Ma sonic temple at Chicago. The dimen sions of the two buildings are as fol lows: Masonic N<rw Temple, elevator. HelKht 3" - J feet 23" feet Width 170 feet 370 feet Depth 113 feet 128 feet While the temple Is 72 feet higher, the elevator is more than twice as wida i IMMENSE STRUCTURE. (Chicago Masonic Temple Dwarfed by eh Grain Elevator.) and is also somewhat deeper. If it was cut down to the same ground dimen sions as the Masonic temple and raised corresponding in height it would tower tip 175 feet further into the nir. Nor docs even this comparison do the new structure justice, for about the central elevator, the dimensions of which are here given, are to be grouped connecting 30 steel storage tanks, each of which will be 50 feet in diameter and 65 feet in height. Kacli of them will have a storage capacity of over 1,000,000 bushels of wheat. The total capacity of the elevator will be 6,500,000 bushels, which is 2,500,000 greater than that of the largest elevator now in existence. The central structure will be a clear ing elevator, with a capacity of 3,000,000 bushels, and will be the lirst cleaning elevator built of *teel, over 2,000,000 pounds being used in its construction. The total cost is estimated at $2,000,- 000, the contract for the foundation, just let, amounting to $95,000. It is an enterprise of the Great Northern rail road and its president, James J. Hill. Mr. Hill, says the Chicago Tribune, would only have to build 65 elevators of the same size 1o handle, at the same time, the total grain crop of the United States. JUDGE BARTLETT TRIPP. RepreKontntlve of the I'nlteil Stntejj on tlie New Tripartite Sniuonn Comiiilnnloii. The president has selected Bartlett Tripp, of South Dakota, formerly min ister to Austria, as the United States representative on the Samoau joint commission. Mr. Tripp is a leading law yer of Yankton, S. D. lie was one of the pioneer settlers of the territory of Da kota, and has been intimately associ ated with its progress and of the states which succeeded it., llis chief inter ests now, however, lie with the state of South Dakota. During Mr. Cleve land's first term he appointed Mr. Tripp chief justice of the supreme court of Dakota. Mr. Tripp was conspicuous as a demo crat in the movement for the division of the territory when statehood was to ba * ' 'j! TDGE BARTLET'r 1RIPI». (American Representative on the Samoan Commission.) given to it, and his earnest support of the movement took away its partisan character and made the consummation of the plan possible. When Mr. Cleve land was elected to a second term Mr. Tripp's name was prominently men tioned when the cabinet was being made tip, but later he was sent as min ister to Austria-Hungary, a position he filled with honor. Mr. Tripp lately attracted the atten tion of the public by his open letter to the leaders of the democratic party in his state renouncing silver and declar ing himself a firm believer in the gold standard. !N'o I.oiiß-er Knnhlonnble. Chrysanthemums are going out of fashion in England. One society for raising the flo\v*rs, after having had ten prosperous years, has been obliged to wind up its affairs owing to the bad business of the last two years. Peruvian <1 n U-k sll ver Mine. There Is a quicksilver mine in Feru 170 fathoms in circumference and 4SO feet deep. In this profound abyss aro streets, squares and a chapel, where re ligious worship Is held.
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