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.