Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1881-05-18

Halo, therc" | heard. Dead
you ?" and one of them gave me a
poke with his rife butt.
tried to raise my head.
Eyes, that's hard; but got any green
backs?"
shook my head then, gathering
strength, l partly turned. Two Of the
men had started on; the third stood in
the smoke, regarding me for moment.
Fresh from the charge, his face and
hands were smeared with powder stains,
and his clothes were torn.
For mercy's sake" cried, drag
me out of the brush, or kill me Don't
let me roast Put ball through me
frstw
The fellow uttered an inpatient oath.
But l saw real pity in his face.
Course this bloody war; he ex-
claimed, and taking a step towards me,
he cooked his rifle.
| shut my eyes, thinking that in
another moment | should be out Of
pain--in eternity-for those boys in
butternut didn't often miss their man.
But instead, heard, after a moment,
his gun flung down. Then his arms
clutched under me, and he took me up
clear of the ground. | screamed with
pain.
oval, / don't blame yer for yellin'"
he said, as he half carried, half drag
ged me along. Then, after stopping to
catch breath, he said Il reckon, Yank,
I'd been kinder to yer to gin yer the
bullet. Fer the doctors will be cut
tin and hackin yer. Not mite o
chloroform in our whole country, eth
er, they say. And eff yer do pull
through, they'll chuck yer inter some
of them blasted prison holes"
Shoot me, then, and have done with
it?' l gasped, for the fire was close on
US.
But he logged me on; and he was
scarcely as heavy man as myself
Every few rods he had to stop. The
flames seemed spreading all around us.
and every moment or two a she'll would
tear through the woods and explode,
scattering fire, and whizzing fragments
Of iron everywhere.
He got me to stone wall which
skirted the woods on one side, and lift
ed over it. There was a field with
short, green grass on the other side.
Here he put me down, partly in the
shade of great ash
Thar, Yank," he said, Eyer out Of
the fire, anyhow. Can't stay by yer,
though. | must git my shootin' iron
back thar in the bush, eff faint burnt
up, but I'll tell yer what, Yank, I'll
look round here to-night-ef amt
dead myself fore that time, and we
hold on here"
God bless you, Johnny" ! exclaim-
ed; but just one sip of water, if you've
got it.
"Thunderation !" he muttered. |
hain't got half pint in my can, and
don't expect to get another fill up to
day"
But he jerked OIL his canteen, took
one swallow, and then put it in my
weak hands. Thar, drink, you poor
sufferin' cuss? Yer may keep it, too.
Hang Oh to it eff ye can till / come
round. Fer tinwar's scacer than TWEEN
ty dollar bills in our corps, burned
sight !"
l felt him prop my head up with
something-it was his old worn, yellow
gray coat. The next moment he was
gone-over the wall, back into the
burning woods, after his gun.
never saw him again. The Con-
federates did not "hold on" there, as
all know who have read the story Of
that terrific struggle.
Our corps retook the ground. Later
in the day was found and taken to
the rear.
Whether my Johnny, by whose
Christ-like pity / was rescued, survived
the succeeding battles of the campaign,
or not, do not know. Often since
that day have thought that | might
have asked his name and that of his
regiment, but ] was in no condition to
think of that. To me he was simply
a "Johnny"-but none the less a
brother.
He saved my life, saved me from a
horrible death, and that, too, in the
brutal hurry and fury Of battle, when
/ honestly can not say that / should
have done as much for Confederate