The Shasta courier., 1861-11-30
vullam Brow. and his Tract.

~ The women of America, my boy,
are cfe<lit to the American eagle, and great
expense to their husbands and fathers, but
they don't exactly understand the most press
ing wants of the soldier. For instance, q
Young girl, about seventy-fye years OF age,
basbeen sending ten thousand pious tracts to
the Mackerel Brigade, and the consequence
is. that the air around the camp has been full
| of spit balls.for a week. These tracts my
boy, are very good for dying sinners and other
Southerners, but I'D rather have Bulwers
novels for. general reading. William Brown,
of Regiment Five, got one of them the other
dav. headed. nWho IS your Father ~
The noble youth read the question over
en- e or twice, and took some tobacco to check
his emotions. THAT brave youths father,
my bog. is a disgrace to his species he has
! been sinking deeper and deeper in shame
| for some months past, until at last his name
has got on the Mozart .ticket.) saw that
William didn't understand what the tract
really meant, and so / explained to him that
it was intended to signify that God was his
father The gifted young soldier looked at
me dreamily for a moment, and then says
.'God is my Father." says he. "Well,
now l am hanged if that amt funny; for,
whenever mother spoke of dad, she always
called himi the old devil ~
William never went to Sabbath school,
my boy, and his knowledge of theology
wouden' t start a country church,
Wishing to find out if he knew anything
about catechism, l asked him, last Sunday
afternoon. if he knew who Moses was.
Yes" says he, g know him very we'll !;
he sells old clothes in Chatham street."
went over to Virginia yesterday to review
Berdan's Sharpshooters, and was much
astonished, my boy, at their wonderful skill
with the rifle. The target is little smaller
than the side of barn, with hole through
the center exactly the size of bullet They
set this up, my boy, just 600 yards away, and
fire at in turn. After sixty ofthem had
fired, l went with them to the target, but
bullet. l remarked this ! to the captain.
he" Do you see that hole in the bulls eve.
Just the size of bullet?''
allowed that did
WELL" says he, 'the bullets all went
through the hole ~
Now don't mean to say that the captain
lied, my boy, but it is my opinion-my pri-
vate opinion, my boy, that if he ever writes S
work of fiction it will sell
La Mountain has been up in his balloon,
and went so high that he could see all the
way to the Gulf of Mexico, and observe what
they had for dinner at Fort Pckens. lie
made discoveries of an important character,
my boy, and says that the rebels have con
centrated several troops at Manassas. A re-
porter of the Tribune asked him if he could
see any negro Instructions amp he said that
he did see some black spots moving around
near South Carolina, but found out afterward
that they were some ants which had got into
his telescope.
The Prince de Joinvillc's IS two sons, my boy,
are admirable additions to Gen. Mcclellan s
staff, and speak English so we'll that can
almost underst md what they say. Two
Arabs are expected here tomorrow, to take
command fIrish brigades. and Gen Blenker
will probably have two Aztecs to assist him
in his German division.
Yours, musingly, ORPHEUs KERR
.Nackerel Brigade (Vashington) Cores
.pondence fthe n. Y. Mercury.