The old flag. [volume] (Philippi, W. Va.) 1861-18??, 1869-04-07


coarse. black hair matted With blood. and
| his Etony eyes looking into mino. Well,
bandagcd up my limb tho beat might,
and started to crawl away, for our bat
tories Ind opened, ana tho grape and can.
lister tina. came hurting down tho slope
| paxscd but feW fest over my head. 1t
was slow and painful work, AZ you can
imagine, but ut last, BY dInt OF persever.
ance, I had dragged myself away to tho
and crceping to tho verge OF tho wood,
looked of over tho green slope I under
| stood by tho crlsh and roar OF tho guns,
tho yel1s and cheers Of tho mon, and that
hoarse murmur which those who have
boen In battle know, bat which I cannot
! describe In words, thatthero was hot work
| going ON out thsre bit never had seen,
no, not in that three dsys' desperate nsrles
1t tho Wilderness, NOE At that terrific re-
a. 70 s.a 4 2saS asls:Gssa sses sess;
tho green ilopo ofhArcrn Hill Tho
gum OF tho entire army were maxsed on
tho crest, and thirty thousand OF our In
fantry lay, musket IN hand, in front For
eight hundred yards tho hill sank In easy
declension to iho ut,od. and acrnss this
amooth oIpanse tho Reha must charge t.
reach our line. It vas nothing short of
downright insapity to order men to charge
that hill and 20 his Generals told Lee.
but he would not listen TO reason that'da
and % he sent regiment after regiment,
and brigade after brigade, and division
Aftcr division, 10 certain death. Talk
about GIANTS disregard Of human life. his
effort At Cold Harbor-and I ought To
know. for got mimic in my shoulder
that day-was hopeful and easy work to
what Leo laid on Hills and Magrudcr's
divisions at Malvern It WAS At the Close
OF the second charge, when the yelling
MAS rceled back from before the blaze OF
these sixty guns and thirty thousand rifles,
even as they bryan 10 break and fly back
ward toward tho woods. that I saw from
the spot where I lay = riderless horse
break out Of the confused aud flying mass.
and, with name and tail erect and spread.
Ing nostril, come tIshing obliquely down
the slope- Oyer fallen steeds and heaps
OF the dead she leAped with a motion as
airy ~ that OF tho flying fox when. fresh
and upjaded. he leads away from the
hounds. whose sudden CRY has broken him
OF from hunting mice amid the boys of
the meadow. So this riderlesa horse came
vaulting along. Now from my carliest
boyhood have had what horscmcn call
a'weakness for horses. Only give mo q
colt Of Wild, irregular temper and fierce
blood to tame, and am perfectly happy.
a MesGt ola isah Of mine: singing with
er ea,,, sound through the air. fall on such
COTS son hide. Never did yell or kick
seno his hot blood from heart to head
oenginH his sentative brain with fiery cnr-
i'een's, driving him to frenzy or binding
49," with fear; but touches, sofl and gen
~. Al wnman'a, caressing Words and
Hl given from the open palm, and IN.
.Aning kindness, were the means used
j." 'sublugste' him. Sweet suhiugation,
.Ss9th "a bin Eho subdues and To him who
manageable coli, tho fear or horsemefs
the country round. finding in you. not an
enemy but friend, receiving his daily
food from you, and all those little moth
iDEs which 90 as far with = horse As a
woman. to win and retain affection, grows
70 look upon Ynu ~ PROTECTOR and
friend. and testines in countless ways his
fondnees for ynu. So when SAW this
ho1sc. with action m free and motion an
graceful, amid that storm Of bullets. nv
heart involuntarily went out IN her, and
my feelings rose higher and higher at
every lean she took from smil the whirl.
wind 81 fire and lead As she plunged .t
last over = little hillock ont nf range and
came cAreering toward me as only a rider.
lesa horse might come. her head flung
wildly from side to side. her nnstria wide.
| ~ spread. her TANKS and shoulders f,eckctl
with foam: her eye dila,ing. forgot nv
lining myBelf Involuntary 10 a sitting
posture "a she swept grandly by. gave her
ringing cheer.
Perhaps in the sound If human
voice OF happy mood amid the awful din
ehc recognized a resemblance to the voice
Of him whose blood noistenrd her shnu,.
ders and was even yet dripping from sad.
| die and housings. Be that as il may, no
sooner had my voice sounded than she
lung her head with proud upward move
ment into the air. swerved sharply to the
lcn. neiHhed a. abe might Tn a master at
morning from her stall, and came trottip o
directly up N where l lay, and, pnusn9'
looked down upon me % it were in com.
passion. spoke again, and stretched on,
my had carcssipgly. She pricked her
cars, took step forward aud lowered her
nose until It came in contact with nv
palm. Never did fondle anything more
tenderly, never did l See an animal which
seemed tn 20 court and appreciate human
tenderness as that beautiful mare. l eay
beautiful No other word might de.
scribo her. Never viii her image fade
from my memory while memory lasts.
lin weight sho might have turned.
when we'll conditioned, nine hundred and
6fty pounds In color she was q dark
chestnut, With . veiTety dassbste4, COO
look about tho haiT>ladeocr M
elegant. Many limo have 4iffeaaiiiii Ia.
diea dispute tho shado and hue Of her
plush like coat ns they ran their white,
iewclled fDgers through her silken
hair. Her body WAS round In tho
barrel. and perfectly symmetrical. Sho
WAS wide 10 tho launches, without proicc.
sion OF the hip bones. upon which tho
shorter ribs seemed 10 Ian. High In tho
witherE 70 Phe WAS, tho limo Of her back
and neck perfectly curved. Hhilo
her deep. ohlique shoulders and
long thick forearm. ridgy with
swelling ainews, suggea.ing the per
fectlnn OF stride and power. Her knees
ACROSS the pan were wide. the cannon bonn
below them short and thin tho paslcrns
long and sloping; her hoofs round, dark,
shiny, and well set on. Her name wns
shade darker than her coat. fine and thin,
az Hthoroughhrod's always ia whose blood
!. without faint or cross. Her chr was
thin, sharply pointed. dclicntcly curved,
nearly black around tho borders, and rs
tremnious as the lcnvca ot an aspen. Her
mock rose from the wIthcrs to the hc.d in
perfect curvature. hard. devoid or fst, and
well cut under tho chops. Her no.,rils