Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-01-25
REVERSING A DEATH SENTENCE.
The Brave Man who Turned the Tide of
Battle of Mission Ridge.

The Brave Man who Turned the Tide of
battle of Mission Ridge.
New York Sun
To-day [ find myself IN the southern
angle Of Illinois, the American Egypt.
| | find the Egyptians here all came from
Tennessee. The women all wear sun
bonnets here in the winter and sit in
open rooms, while the men wear butter
nut jeans, and look like their dried an
cestors. | saw a crowd of Egyptians
this morning who came over to Tamaroa
from the Little Muddy. They were sat
urated with alcohol and smoked with
tobacco till they had the real mummy
appearance.
Hieroglyphics are not used in Egypt
now. The American Egyptian, as a gen
eral thing, cannot write at all When an
Egyptian wants to communicate any
thing to another Egyptian living at a
distance, he strides mule, slides thro'
the swamps, and with certain words
which we Americans do not understand
makes the other Egyptian understand
what he wants. When they are sober
they are harmless, but two drinks of
whisky and plug of tobacco on an
empty stomach will make an Egyptian
worse than Bashi- -Bazouk. Yester-
day | saw one charged with full pint
of alcohol and two plugs of tobacco, a
dose that only the rich Egyptians can
indulge in. He was terror to behold
Phosphoric gas poured off OF him. He
was loaded down with more psychology
than George Francis Train. He was the
Crushed Tragedian charged with giant
powder.
I'm steamboat from Hick ry Ba-
you," he said, "a regular sidc-wheeler!
I'm big rattlesnake, with rattles all
the way up! I'm the worst man on the
bayou, an we haint got a bayou boy
that can't whip a gunboat I'm d"
20, Bill, be still, Don't fight any
more to-day. 'Taint you-it's the whis-
ky. Come along!" And nice looking
man took square hold of Bill and held
him as if in vice.
Lemme go! Lemme claw somebody!
Lemme-'
But. in moment the nice looking
off.
Who is the brave farmer who takes
such an interest in Bill?" | asked Col.
Barber, the Chairman of the Lecture
''Oh, that's Cap Mason. He used to
be hard 'un, but now he's lined the
Church and he's the father of every bad
man in this section. They all just love
Cap. Mason" :"
What does Mason do?" | asked.
He's farmer, sir-a big farmer over
on the Muddy"
But what does he come over with
the bayou boys for? Why does he care
they get drunk and fight, or
whether they keep sober?"
We'll, the Cap. used to be Il drinker
and fighter himself. He was sentenced
to be shot once, in the army, for fight
ing. He struck an officer-got on a
drunken frolic, and came near killing the
Major of his regiment-just as Whisky
Bill wants to kill somebody now"
How did the Captain escape?" | IN
quired.
We'll" said the Colonel, Mason, with
a dozen fellows from the Little Muddy,
enlisted in my regiment. He was a
splendid soldier always ready for bat
tie, one of the best men in the regiment,
but he would have his sprees One day,
about three weeks before the battle of
Ridge, Mason brought canteen
of whisky into camp and always gener
Gus, went to giving it to the boys. This
was against orders, so ordered my Ma
jor to arrest him and put him in the
guard-house Mason found out that the
Major was after him with squad of
men. and full of deviltry, he commenced
lodging around behind the tents to keep
away from the men, he ran square on to
the Major.
Here, you rascal said the Major,
seizing him by the coat collar without
giving him chance to explain. Now,
you walk to the guardhousc! | will fix
you, you scoundrel!
But in the excitement of the moment
Mason drew up his fist and knocked the
Major fiat, and then he went and gave
himself up
What was done about it?' | asked.
Well, Mason was tried before a
court martial for striking a superior Off
Ger, sentenced to be shot, and the sen
tence was sent to Gen. jeff. c. Davis to
be approved. And then poor Mason was
imprisoned on bread and water, with a
ball and chain to each foot"
Did Gen. Davis approve the SEN
tence?"
"Yes, he approved it.
But how did Mason escape being
shot?"
Well the next day before the APP
proved sentence arrived, came the bat
tie of Mission Ridge, and our regiment
was ordered forward Mason, of course,
was in the rear under guard, with ball
and chain to his ankles. We heard the
rebel cannon in front all the forenoon
We knew there was big battle on, and
we needed all our men, SO | rode over
to the guard-house and told Mason that
we would have to leave him behind with
the ball and chain until the battle was
over.
"Let me go with the boys, Colonel,
pleaded Mason 4 don't want to see
the boys in fight without me.
" But you might escape, Mason. You
know there is a sentence hanging over
you.
"'By heavens, Colonel! You are not
going to let the boys go into fight with
out me? and the tears came into his
eyes.
Go to, Mason, | said. T can't trust
you.
"Then," continued the narrator, the
order came from Gen. Davis for our reg
iment to move up and charge a rebel re-
doubt, and the boys dashed forward. 1t
was an awful fight. Twice they enfilad-
ed us and the rebel bullets moved down
our men by dozens, while the rebel flag
still waved on the redoubt
Our men were now badly tired out
and the dead and wounded lay all around
us; but | got our men together and
made the final charge. Gods! what a
charge! My horse was killed under me-
The men went forward in a shower of
bullets; | thought they were going
straight for the flag; then all at once
they wavered. The bullets flew like rain
There was no one to lead, and | thought
all was lost. Just then | saw man
come rushing up from the rear. He
grabbed a dead soldiers repeating rife,
and pushed right through dead and dy-
ing, reached the head and rushed up the
redoubt The boys saw him, took cour-
age and followed In a moment / saw
the brave fellow swing his rifle around
him on the top of the redoubt, grasp the
a. =. a. o,J b,o,l. - 81 ,,h,ln A., kn,e