The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1854-11-24
For the Journal.
Letter from Barnaby BarnabfSs 10 the
Gear OF Russia.


Gear Of Russia.
DEAR NIcK:-I have been thinking a long
time about writing to you on matters ofpuch
Importance to your government, WHICH,
seems, at present is in rather a dubious sNp-
alton; but the great trouble has been, how
is letter ever going to get to you, through
all these English and French scoundrels,
who-if report is true-are cutting up all
your communications and laying your troops
out badly.
1t strikes me and all the rest of the Bar
nabas family-eight in number-that your
bad luck is all owing to one Of these three
erals at the head of your armies; or your
powder is bad; or that it amt in Russians
to fight well. don't think the latter true,
for your great, great grandfather, old Peter
the Great, was about as good on free fight
as most any man know of, always except
ing Bill Stokes, who went into crowd the
other day, took off his coat, and Knocked
seven men down without even raising the
perspration.
In my opinion Menchikoff-the name is
more terrible than the MANS not the ind-
vdual to command all army. He always
manages to go into battle rather slow, and
generally manages to get out pretty fast =
Now that won't do; you want man like
old Zack Taylor. You've heard Of old lack,
xho of ,yh
men with 1000, than my dog Watch does of
making Phil. Simpsons Rollo stick his tail
between his hind legs, and cut like Dick
Thomson did on his board bill. / must con-
fess, however, that Mencby showed some
pluck at Scvastopol, when he drew up his
army and told them that if any one of 'em
saw him about to run when the cannons
commenced firing, to shoot him down, and
lyet a man that will only stick to his duty
and keep his footing from fear of a musket
ball ought to be oibed and kept in the nurs-
cry. Besides our schoolmaster, who has
just been to New York, says, that he has
been informed on good authority, that Men.
cny told the next officer TO seas soon as
it wac certain the allies were going to take
the fortress-that the Russians loaded their
muskets with blank cartridges, SO taat there
wouldn't be any danger OF his getting hurt
much il he did run!
Now, Gar. can you expect anything else
but defeat, when you allow such paltry,
pusilanimous sneak as he is, to command
armies! Why if there was boy in our
township ten years old, that couldn't fraH
Menchy, the community would keep him up,
feed him on red peppers, and stick pins into
him; and if that didn't make him game
enough, they would rub him over with assa-
JGdiky, and use him for fish bait.
To come right to the point, why don't you
generalize yourself! Punch, England's great
artist and funny man, makes even your pic.
ture fierce enough and ugly enough to lead
an army; then why can't you! Bull and
Napy can't stand cold, and all you had to do
for success is, just 10 playa game OH them
called "Moscow's burning" and, take my
word for it, they'll scatter like flies do when
the first frost comes.
You need about six regiments of our Ken
tuck sharpshooters for reserve; they could
shave the mustaches of the French at dis
lance of two hundred yards just as pretty as
if a razor had done it. You ought to have
been at the shooting match down on Deer
T Creek last Tuesday, to see what rifle can
do when it's put into steady hands, with a
keen eye at the butt of it. Tim Wilkins
split a bullet over the blade of my iignum
uity handled knife, at hundred yards, which
proved two things-that Tim wasn't slow
with the rifle, and that my knife was good
stuff. Twas offered fifty cents for it on the
spot.
There is another article raised in this
country alone, which you are sadly in want
Of: it is called YOUNG AMERICA. 1t would
never have let Odessa be garrison for the
Turks; it would never have retreated from
; the Danube without making some opposition
worth speaking of; it would never have left
the heights of Alma for the British to occu-
py; but I'll tell you what it would have
done: it would have followed up Sinope
with Constantinople; it would have botted
out the light Of the Crescent before the first
English cannon barked on the Baltic; and
ere French soldier landed at the Mahomet.
T an City, it would have planted The stars and
stripes on the temple of the Moslem. 1t
r would let the allies into Sebastopol just to
show the world how pretty it could drive 'em
out of it.
Nicholas, what do you think of that mate
! rial! Don't you wish you had some of il