The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-08-01
THE lhBUMMERp

LIE En-
lift be asked Whist a bnlmmer is, the reply
is easy. He is 3 raider on his own account
"a man who temporarily deserts his place
in the ranks while the army is on the
march, and starts u on an i~ndependent
foraging expedition. Sometimes he is ab-.
sent for g few days only, ; occasionally he
disappears for weeks together An officer,
whose duty requires him to pass fromione
column TO another, or a private fO'dier sent
out upon a scout in the forest or on the
flank of the army, not Observation-Disclosures
bles suddenly upOn an encahpment of
bummers in the woods, or finds a party of
them at a house by the wsyside. This, party
bears all the outward aspect of an author
lied and perfectly legitimate sforsging
party ; tho espscious wagons are there,
with cspsrisonad mules, bloOdedl horses
stsnd together within reach Of their appa-
rent owners the camp fires burn brightly;
8 sumptuous meal is ready. But if one of
these men he accosted with some such
question Sc this:
ITO what eommsnd do YOU belong 2"
the answer comes thus 'r1 b. f,
HWeli, we don't suswe for anybody in
psrtieulaI-bout every corps in the army
Ell, Bill, amt that 500"
"Bill" says aReekon /" and thinks It q
huge joke, and then every body except the
interlocutOr laughs.
allow long have you been away from
yOu regiment2"
At this questionable hummer rises upon
his feet, and answers, rather more respect
fully: .la7 .ff aat
IA week or ten days, cap'n.P
"Hsve you any authority for foraging2'
HNo, sir" -
What use CT benefit are youito the ser
vice, TO say nothing of the eriminslity of
your absence without lesve2 Now, you
belong to a class which has brought dis
,redit upon your comrades. You ought to
be ashamed Of Yourselves, all oflyOu% b'H /
The dozen muscular and daring fellows
W. ho.-a 20 Iaii
o see the point of it. One Of them re.
aSee hyar, cap'n; we amt 50 bsd after
III. We keep ahead of the sdrmish line
Alters. We let's EN- know when an enc
ny's a comm and then we amt alters
away from the regiment. We turns over
all we don't want ourselves, and we can
lick five times IS many rehs IS Ye are, any
day. Amt that so, boys r.
Lick 'eml d-n EN-, yea HWhy, Of
were the instant replies of the
{ boys."
"Rather shoot rebs than hogs any day"
another.
It may be readily imagined that high
moral precepts are lost upon these men, and
hat conversations with them uponthe gen.
srsl improperly of their conduct are de-
,idedly useless. They are the B6hemisns
If the csmp, and they act upon this con-
reflection.
A HbummeT' may once have been Q foot j,
but 1 never saw one who was not
mounted on some sort Of an animal. Some
lines he bestrides q superb blOoded horse,
which S the envy of every general in the
,rmy: more frequently he rides q broken
ioWn nag that is unable 10. Lobble along
efficiently fast for its owners purposes {
t the fsyorite is the mule. There may =
= In tie or no sctusl poetry ina mule-sl-
1ou0b 7 profess an EnWillingness 70 ADMIT I
NJ sInr ION Ihstmneh abused beast-yst /
yonId hs n, Gicult to find . more hardy, b
,ng-winded, n-rOng.legged, nneomplAlnt 4
", lovesble Great IRE Tor Inc pIe OF
an the mule. The !"bummes1 Sppreeiaues i
8 good qualities, and he nee tne IHVor1Ssm
Sometimes we see the ~ unme {
reaching the camp from q pitc Oh wo9
it'll q wagon which he has 0, eHoAaeo :
it'll good things. The sceneisl frequnI
.rhilsratihg. The Hbhmmer' coming ~
4 horseback, holding the bride in his !
eth, clasps under one aEm 3 basket Of ,
esh p and under the othera pail full
delicious honey, while q brace of fat
hams, chickens or geese lie across r
70 ssddle in front and rear, and the car
Sc of a hog, firmly tied to the mules tail,
dragged along the road. The qbummern
Is probsbly clothed IN an irregular :
Of linen, with 9 ridicnlously I'M
hat perched on one side of his :
,ad, and, n he approaches his face beams z
it'll smiles of iecognitionI tempered by
apprehension lest bis
,unteous supplies should MOI be accepted :
8 peaee-ofering for his delihquencies.
Aside from the freedom .from .controlj
mch gives bad men opportunities TO COM
wanton deeds of violence, these wan
,rers from the ranks are often Of great
,neat TO the army Better iankers can {
be found. Spreading out from the
c5Iumnthey arc the irat TO scent &
and the lssttO leave the field, unless
AaSlIy forced bsek1-T They understand =
Q art of equsd; lighting 70 perfection: /.
Of them, without officers, will JOIN :
gether to resistaan oDset 'ofsrebel csvAhyy z
TO make an B+tsck upon the enemy, and
are almost always the victors in a
Il.