The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-10-31

| OeuSo SOauOwS Vi INC IOIeSts tuey OH
not immediately recognize him. A
any rate, they did not fly. They BE-
gan firing and Sergeant Robson, o
Washington county, Georgia, the Meao
tells Us:
"Sprang to the advance far in front
and ere many moments interviewed va
out of view from his command, tn,
dense forest hiding and separating
them"
This we suppose lie the universal Gus
tom of sharpsh ooters, on encountering {
large army of the enemy. It does moi
appear how far he sprang to the I'D
vance. Seventeen feet is considered q
pretty good jump for ordinary men, but
We will admit, to keep things in proper
ton to the rest Of the story, that the
Sergeant cleared about two hundred
yards of brush wood, underground and
forest trees at the first leap. But the
chronicle goes on:
"At this critical moment skirmish
line of the enemy fed between Sergeant
Robson and his command. On he went,
however. thinking only of the command
forward and fout the enemy Just
then he encountered a company fed
eral, forty-seven in number, command.
ed by a captain. His gun was discharg-
ed, and what must he do?"
The natural inference of the reader
would be, that Sergeant Robson, of
Washington county, Georgia, deployed
himself and surrounded them. But it
appears that he did not. According
to the account of the News, this is what
he did:
Fortune faYors the brave. He rush.
ed at them alone, pointing his empty
gun, yelling at them to surrender
Reckoning to his comrades (who were
far in the rear still fghting) to fol.
low"
1t was happy thought to point the
empty gun at them. The result was
just what the reader has already anticl,
pated. The federal soldiers were intel
gent men. They read the papers. They
knew by the daily record of fatal acct.
dents how infinitely more dangerous
than powder magazine or kerosene
lamp is the empty gun; they thought of
the thousands of men who had fallen
into their graves because they didn't
"know it was loaded" They were for
ty-seven to one, but of what avail are
forty>seven men against an empty gun?
They surrendered.
"The Yankee captain, with his entire
command, surrendered to Sergeant Rob.
son, and were marched by a circuitons
route to General J. B. Gordon's head
quarters"
They went around by a circuitous
route, in order to get around the long
skirmish line that was fighting between
Sergeant Robson and his own men. Old
soldiers alone can appreciate the diff
Guilty of this task. They knew how
hard it would be for one man with forty
seven prisoners to march them away
from their own command, around hos.
tile skirmish line and off the field, with
out attracting some attention. A very
singular part of this exploit was that
the captain and his men never discov-
cred they we're taken by one man until
they reached the enemy's headquarters.
Possibly, the Ne,cs does not SO state, but
it is possible, and indeed, highly proba.
BILE. that they did not learn about it till
the weekly papers reached them with
full accounts about it. Perhaps they
didn't know anything about it until af.
ter the war. But they found it out
some time, for the Ne,cs says:
1.-THE captain was 80 taken back on
finding that he had surrendered to one
man that he raved like . maniac and
tore his hair out by the root"
Think of it. Tore his hair out by the
roots. So that it would not grow any
more. Pulled it right up, root and
branch. Threw it over the fence, per-
haps. Stamped on it with his feet, may
be-. Afterward Sergeant Robson had
bis leg shattered by q mimic BALL"
We think this must be mistake. One
mimic ball could not chatter the leg of
such q man. Then he went home and
vas made tax-collector of Washington
county, and was also sent to the legis-
lure for one term. 1t doesn't say that
be ever went back again, 90 we presume
he was pardoned out.
It is very pleasant stuff for the people
IF "Jaja" to read, and possibly they
may also take great pleasure in believ-
ing it. 1t is possible that they do be-
ieve it, but-you remember the story
If the old gentleman who met q stranger
IN the street, grasped his hand cordially
md exclaimed, in tones of polite, but
uncertain recognition: "Mr. Brown, I
,elievef' "If you believe that" calm
y replied the stranger, whose name
Eas Hamilton. "you will believe any
hing."-Burlington HdrLeye. i
People are grumbling good deal now
'ver the Postofice Department orders
which render it An absolute necessity to
mt on the whole address or the letter
u paper will not be forwarded to its