The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-07-20

dependence of the United Safes of America
the eighty sixth, CALEB B. SxIfH q
tast gl'sqdg Rat-holes. isgd 81 aaH
q Mr. Russell, the intelligent, correspondent Of
the London Times, describing his visit to the gar
:ison of the appropriately named General Bragg.
refers to n military provision which was new to
him, OF which at le,st he had not seen in his va.
Iied warlike excursions in the Crime,a and India
II was amused" said he, ITO observe that the
most of these works had galleries in the rear,
generallyiin connection with the magazines pas
sages, which the constructors called 'rat-holes,"
and which are intended as shelter to the men at
the guns in case OF shells falling inside the bat
tery They may prove to have very different
result, and are certainly not so desirable in
military point of view as good raverses A
rush for the "rat-hOle"will not be very dignifed
or improving to the morale every time u bomb
hurtles over them; and assuredly the dam ages to
theimagaznes WILDE enormous if the fire. from
PickcEs isaccurate and well sustained" "JiI
A wag in Ha,per's Weekly has ayailed hisnself
OF the ludicrons suggestions of this passage TO
present Us picture of great bomb.shelI with
a. face like General Scottd Labelled ''the Union"
falling suddenly into encampmen. Of the enemy.
They scamper away in the rIpidest manner en- ch
betaking himself to his appropr a e rat-hole exca
vated in the galleries. All that the spectator
sees of any Of the retreatng foes is the rear and
the two busy legs which are pushing them as ar
into the place of safety as they can get. One of
these holes is labelled, "Jef. Davis-his hole"
another, "Rathole de Beauregard" and third
TO Let" upon it, evidently intended for some
northern sympathzen. As Mr.. Russell remarks,
the rush for the holes is not very digniied nor
improving, although the holes themselves seem
to furnish secure shelter 1assi'5 i9'
But upither the Nnrre snnpdent unr tho ort;st
has remarked the singular significance of these
expedients. They are not entirely confned to
earthwOrks, or even to military defences. As
politicians as well as to soldiers the southern
chiefs have decided propensity for the con.
struetion OF ratho1es. From the very beginning
of their crazy movement their principle conf.
dence rested upon lsueh contrivances.T Always
hoping to escape ,bombshells BY rushing into
burrows, they have almost honey combed the
earth about them with their spades and picks.-
Their first hole was the conviction that the North
would not fight, or that the democratic party of
the. North would fight with them, and SO save
them from aughter. This hole they found to
be stopped up, when they repaired to one which
was named Interference Of France nd.England
for the sake of cotion.n But that too, was closed
to them by the proclamationiof neutrality, and
then they adroitly tried to dig out another, with
certain hints about the feasibility of getting a
British Prince to reign over them, which was
very shallow hole indeed. The shallowest hole
of all, however, was the last. which was to be
opened by the offer of the throne ofthe South
ern Empire to some member Of the Bonaparte
family on the condition Of the active assistance
Of the great ruler Of the French nation.R di
All the hol in fact, looking towards Europe
have failed them, and now they are attempting
others Of a domestic pattern These are named
IN nrnts avn wo1 .a1 E.xrJ ~
surest shelter in the last emergency. @ Nessrs
Hunter and Bayard, it is said undertook the ex.
cavation OF one of them, but it was executed in
such bnnglirg manner that no political rat
would venture his head in it. MANY Thought it a
rrat-trap rather than rathole. Mr.. Congressman
May, too, went up to Richmond lately, to con-
struct another, but we do not learn that he has
met with sigma. success Neither has Mr.. Con.
gressmanl Burnet, in his place in the House of
Representatives Colonel Taylor, finally, .of
| the Confederate army" is supposed to have v,s-
tied Washington Yesterday with hole OF the
largestealibre, ,buthe discovered, when he arrived
there, that it was ahole in his sleeve. Qsefaire,
what to do, is now the question with the, entire
class Of southern rodents Their holes viii not
hold water much less rebels, while the bombshels
are falling nearer and nearer to them every day.
We agree with Dr.. Russell "entirely," as one
| of his countrymep would say, that rathoes are
a very poor exp1dient after all Stockades are
useful; traverses are efficient; sand-bags may
serve agOod purpose; palisades, parapets, re.
doubts and reians are not unwise parts of sys.
TEN of defence; the best soldiers resort to them.
but to make war with an ultimate purpose of es
gaping into a rathole of one kind or another Il
not an improsement the science or art Of war
1t is ut least not ehivaric. The old knights, II
is true, encased themselves in IRON armor, and
..1l A. / - Il. n -sl
| off the swnrds and b,,tle-axes of an antagonist
butih all our readings of history we have moi
found that t,,ey ever put their trust in ratholes
A poor trembling squire, like sancho Panza ,fonc
OF his OLA pod,ida and garlic, might prrhsp:
think OF such an ignOb!e retreat; but your brave
aud genuine che Waller, never He would pre-
fer the hardest buffet to ssicking his head into
rathole Surely, as Bnrke said, the day Of chvalry
is over, and that Of soph,stry, economists and
towards has succeeded IN. Y. Eve Post &
RECEIPT OF A MAsKKD BArTERY BY BsowNlow
lone day last week. the Southern mail brough
US small package, done npprecisely like a ne ws
4 paper, and about equal in size to one ofour e1
changes. with the usual Endorsement, Brown
lows Wing, Knoxville, Tennessee" and pos tpaid
/ Upon opening IL, we found 1t TO contain about
half y ard, of brown domestic, with sbiood an,
scabs on it, resembling cloth taken from SOM
one afflicted with small pox We had it burne,
in the front yard Of our Printing Office, afte
handling it with tongsl This is the spirit o
Secession--its mode of warfare--and its senee o
honor. Clever men, heretofore highminded
will not be long in their ranks until they vii
openly Justify even this mode OF warefarc ngsins
Union men. ~ taEiis 4so 1a toG0H sff7 =
4 This attempt at our death, by the planting Q
. .amssked battery, manned by the ubiquitous spi,
il OF Secession, entities the cowardly william VIII
did tito the honor Of being picketed In the deer
est eorge leading to hell !! Not only DO, but
shouldrbe required TO make nightly advances ur
on the ambuscades of the Devil; and every mori
ling of his life, by the way of heslthful exel
I else he should make reconnoisance of tn
damned, having the entire control Of the geuri
i b rebels Of the Internal reuionsi 9H 3
4 Nosr TRouBLE Yesterday morning i part
Of Union men from Athens, No. came over I
Croton, and reported that the s.Seceshers ver
!, busy all the night presions, and that about 10
OF them had gone Of, mounted and armed, bu
their destination was not known. About 80 {
the Oroton Home Guards, and the whole, trooy
well armed, utarted Oh, about n, on th
n Irsil of the 9 0rceshera 5 We have heard M
thinS Later. but there 10 ss0mea fear that ther
! viii 6e 6ght Possibly the Seceshenn hav
heen sumnoned f0iths sid Of Gen! Harris nes
Pslmyrss shers hey where on Monday lsst.-
CCats City,
lee b.. b.. p. j. Csrpentsr Assistant Surgeon, b
/ hecn sssigned 70. the Filth RegimenE This
!, aood nelS Tor the Upton Guards, who are Ii II
n 17kh Reeimank II Tipton ADVERTISE. -. :