The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1864-05-06
A CRITICAL POSITION.


was SclcClcu from our lcnlmcut.
Tom R." said the officer of
the guard, turning to one of the men
under his command, II would like TO
have you go forward until you come
to tree that will afford you a good
view of the country. Mount as high
as you can, and keep good lookout.
If you see anything OF the enemy,
come down at once and let me know"
"Ayc, aye, sir,' scplicd Tom, with
n broad grin OF delight. He had
passed the greater portion of his life
at sea, and the duty which he was
now ordered to perform was well cal
culatcd to please one of his nautical
breeding. In fact, his loud "Aye,
aye, SIR and prompt manner Of
springing from the ranks savored so
strongly of the "ship" and so little
OF til "barracks," that the officer of
the guard thought it necessary TO
give Tom lecture on military disci-
pline.
"You shouldnot answer me in that
way" said he, "nor spring out from
the ranks. You should have merely
have taken step to the front and sa.
luted by bringing your hand to your
musket in this way" And taking q
rife from one of the men, he perform
ed the manpuvre.
"Aye, aye-I mean YES" stammcr.
ed Neptune" as he was familiarly
termed by his comrades, "you'll see
me do it in the tyin' ola square knot
With this declaration he attempted
to initiate the movement, but per-
formed it awkwardly and in n man.
ner which showed plainlo that he was
more at home with marlin spike
than q musket.
i see we'll have to put You in the
awkward squad, until yon learn the
drill, said the officer sharply.
"Beggin' your pardon replied
Tom with another of his broad grins,
and giving luxurious roll to the
huge quid in his left cheek, "I'vc been
in that consarn ever since ]. jined the
regiment"
"rhe d. you have !'exclaimed
the other, "it's plainly to be seen,
then, that you'll never make soldier
That will do, you may go now," he
added, rs Tom Brought his musket to
an order and proceeded to hitch up
his waist bands, preparatory to the
delivery Of another of his military
speeches.
Accordingly, after squirting huge
stream of tobacco Juice to leeward,
Neptune threw his i,iera over his
shoulder. handspike fashion, and roll
led Off like Dutch frigate under full
sail.
In few moments the shadows of
the wood beyond hid him from the
sight of his companions
BLOW me- he calculated, as he pro-
cccded, there's no chance of seeing
the country. among all these Internal
sticks; so I'll just keep on until |
come to some place where there's q
clear ofling.'
Hurrying on, with perfect reckless
ness, Tom plunged deeper every mo-
ment into the mazes Of the forest,
listening with the delight of thor
ough- sailor, to the loud thunder
of the Union gun boats as they sent
shell after shell, bowling and crashing
through the branches of the trees
over his head. Occasionally one of
the huge missiles would strike the
trunk of some pine within few yards
of him and send the tall tree crr sh.
ing to the ground. Then the din OF
the exploding shell would reverber-
ate through the woods like q thun-
! derbolt, and the contents of the iron
ball fill the air with shrieks rs they
! flew around the person Of the Zouave.
"Blast it," muttered the latter, as
upon an occasion OF this kind, the
tassel OF his cap was taken off 10y
one Of the scattering pieces, II sup.
. pose that old right shoulder shift,
this was the name he applied to the
officer of the guard, "will give me q
: blowing up for the loss of that infer.
nal yellow piece Of bunting y
AS he uttered these words he com
menced search for the missing tas
sci. But the article was not to l6
found. The piece of shell had car
20 ried II off to some invisible quarter
Tom, accordingly, swore couple o
"round oaths" and then continued
his way. Having walked long dis
tance, he found himself at last on the
skirt of the wood with an open spac,
of country before linn, and judging
this to be good locality for obser
vation, he selected tree, and pre-
pared to ascend it with his rifle slunS
over his back. But on making til,
attempt, he found his progress i'm
peded by the musket, both ends o
which caught in the branches ant
held him fast.
'Blast the internal thing = he shout
ed in rage as he leaped to the earth
If. it was only spy glass, / nigh
:, stand it. But this clumsy consarl
won't he of any use to me up ther'
y aloft
And, unslinging the piece from hi
shoulder, he hurled it to the ground
Thus freed from the incumbrance h
nimbly mounted among the branche
of the tree, until he reached a goo,
position. Here he was about to sea
himself, when suddenly loud voic
from below saluted his cars.
/, 'Halloa, thar !