Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-05-02

after all the risk of exposure of the whole
person was but slight where the flash of the
gun could be seen, For after the flash it
took from two to four seconds for the ball to
reach the target, so that any one quick to
| dodge could be in covered before the ball
reached him.
IAN instance of this nature on one occasion
amused me not little, in spite of its daring.
One of our sharpshooters had fred and been
fired at for three or four hours, without anv
effect, apparently, on either side The DIS
lance between him and his rival was about
sixty rods. At length, standing upright above
his pit, he called out Fire y and fire it was,
but the ball of his antagonist fell short some
two feet. Going deliberately to where it
struck, he put down his hat on the spot, and
said, Hit it again, if you can. In moment,
whiz came another ball, but this time it was
too high. Our sharpshooter now promptly
elevated his hat on his ramrod, and said,
you shot too high, you rebel there is where
your ball went In moment more there
came another ball, which but barely missed
the bold fellows head. Getting angry, as well
as excited he screamed, Now, you id reb-
ell, you have shot three times, and missed; so
show your own head Quickly, in response,
hat appeared over the top of the rebels pit,
to all appearance containing the rebels head.
Taking deliberate aim, our man fired. 1 saw
the dirt fly directly beneath the hat, and con
clnded that there was one rebel less to be
hanged when the war was over. But not so
the hat remained stationary, and a little on
one side up jumped the rebel, hatless, to show
himself unhurt In his eagernesS and excite
ment he had forgotten to replace his hat on
his head before showing himself, and hence
had betrayed his cowardly trick without in
tending to do so. He did not hear the last of
his cowardly smartness that day."
The COOP OLD WMTERs.-In 4O1 the
Black sea was entirely frozen over. In 763
not only the Black sea but the Straits of Oar
danelles were frozen over; the snow in some
places rose fifty feet high. In S22 the great
rivers Of Europe, the Danube, the Ebe, &C.,
were so hard frozen as to bear heavy teams
for month In $50 the Adriatc was frozen
In 99l everything was frozen, the crops total
ly failed, and famine and pestilence closed the
year. In 1867 most Of the travellers in Ger
many were frozen to death on the roads. In
1874 the Pc was frozen from Cremonia to the
sea; the wine sacks were burst, and the trees
split by the action of the frost with immense
noise. In 1886 the Danube was frozen to the
bottom, and remained long in that condition.
In 1916 the crops wholly failed in Germany :;
wheat which some years before sold in Eng
land at 6s the quarter, rose to e.. In 1908
the crops failed in Scotland, and such fam
inc ensued that the poor were reduced to the
necessity of feeding on grass, and many per-
isled miserably in the fields. The successive
winters of l432-3-4 were uncommonly Sc
we're. In 1868 the wine distributed to the SOL
diers was cut with hatchets. In 1858 it was
excessively cold. Most of the hollies were
killed. Coaches drove along the Thames, the
ice of which was eleven inches thick In
1903 occurred the cold winter; the frost pen
trated the earth three yards into the ground.
In ZIG booths were erected on the Thames.
In l744 and l745 the strongest ale in Eng
land, exposed to the air, was covered in less
than fifteen minutes with ice an eighth of an
inch thick. In 1909, and again in 1912, the
winters were remarkably cold. In 1915 there
was fair on the frozen Thames Coun-
ty Rep.