The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-08-17

'Co]d water is the drink for me!'
And so, to make it cold and nice,
He pounded in little ice
Healthful and good, sliced very thin,
He dropped little lemon in
And then he said: "Sweets to the sweet"
And stirred some sugar in the treat.
TO kind of brace the mixture up
He dashed some bitters in the cup;
Then just lee-tle whiskey-well,
Say twenty lines Of nonpareil;'
And while he stirred it with spoon,
He sang, in gleeful tones the tune
"Water, cold water, pure and free
Water is the drink for me!'
He raised his head; loud, loud he laughed,
And to the dregs the goblet quatfed.
FEDERAL, CONFEDERATE.
Which Was the Better Soldier A
Study Of the Civil War.
A Union veteran contributes the tok
lowing remarkable paper to late num-
Der of"Our Continent" edited by Albion
Tourgee, author of the ''Phool's Errand:"
No unprecedented person can deny that
in the war between the states the CON
federate soldier was worth more, man
for man, than the federal volunteer. In
proof of this need only be instanced the
fact that the army of Northern Vir-
ginia, though constantly overmatched in
numbers, and having an adversary Law
ishly supplied with material, though
twice checked in its purposes was never
defeated until the siege of Petersburg
had depleted it's ranks, and the near ap-
proach of Sherman had increased thu.
disproportion of numbers to limit that
left no hope of success. On the other
hand, this overmatched army had ad-
ministered at least three crush
ing and overwhelming defeats up
on it's adversary. The aris-
tocracy from the south furnished from
the outset a most admirable corps ofline
and staff officers. They were just near
enough to their men to permit familiar
arity and receive respect, and far enough
from them to prevent INSTRUMENTATION.
Coming from the same vicenage, every
man knew his officer. Even where the
officer was not personally Known to his
men, he represented a class whom they
were accustomed to follow. It has been
the fashion among both officers and lnen
of the north 20 sheer at the disci plnne of
the confederate army. 1t is true that in
essentials We very greatly excelled
them. To the very last the drill of the.
southern regiments was slack, dribbling
and uneven. III the essentials Of dis.i-
pine, however, they far excelled US.
For neglect Of duty their men We're pun
ished and punished speedily and Sc
verely. In trivialities, the southern
soldier was generally a SLOUGH with I'M
punity; but when it came to a real neg
lect Of duty, struggling, pillaging, cow
for of swift and terrible punishment was
the writer once asked confederate
prisoner as we looked down upon the
camp of his division and saw body Of
troops parallel and from the center
shoot up puff of white smoke. "Wal."
! was the cool reply, II reckon it's ole
Bragg as 'artin' a new graveyard;
fother must be nigh about full Bragg
| was not very successful general He
| seemed to lack all power Of adaptation
! to circumstances. But it was the army
! thus trained to obedience that, under
General Joe Johnston, made the wonder
! Jul backward movement from keSaca to
Atlanta--a movement not equaled in
| brilliancy, completeness, and difficulty
| by any other upon either side during
| the war unless it be the death-grapple
around Petersburg: The southern
martial superiority of the southron, and
it gave him confidence in the outcome
Of the struggle which greatly enhanced
his proves. This was the very
means of all others likely to make such
| troops effective. By constant employ
ment and repeated victories he trans
| formed them into veterans before they
| had fairly learned the movements from
! line into column and their reyeIsals.
Bnt this was only haff the advantage de
| rived from this belief. The northern
| soldier and the northern leaders be-
| lieved it also. To the northern mind
the southerner was d being especially
| delighting in blood and war. The SUI
| periority Of the southern volunteer
| forces was at the outset directly or ihdl,
rectIy conceded by all. As ample proof
Of this state Of mind it is necessary only
! to recall the abiect terror that was pro-
aut ed throughout all the land l'y what
was known as the "Black Horse t':,yal'
! in numbers nor remarkable for actual
ACesto VI al 1lIo, 1ul' tI1N HAEC stNA "
the confederacy's existence, however,
the bare name of his death's-head-
and bloody-bones corps was
worth more to her cause than
ten thousand of the best trained
soldiery on earth could have been. The
| southern soldier went into battle con-
t1dent Of his own proves, and despisine
his foe. The northern soldier entered
the conflict determined to do his best,
! not shrinking from his duty, but over
estimating his adversary and under
estimating himself. This disparity Of
spirit-not Of soldierly qualities WAS
greatly enhanced by the issue Of the
first general engagement; and the acces-
sion Of the OVer-cautiOus Mcclellan to
tile command, with his confidence in
pipe-clay and dress parade, and his
Overwhelming dread of General Lee and
Southern lmpetuosity. The secret Of
Grants success lay in the fact that he
the northern volunteer as fully Il match
for his southern adversary, and did not
hesitate to attack whenever he believed
himself to have the adyal tage in nllmbeu
or position. lie appreciated the faces
that the quickest way to make Il recruit a
veteran was to let him share the sweets
Of victory. Instead of opposing the ell
envy with "time and tactics" he threw
his columns against them, and taught his
men their tactics lnder fire. These
conditions can never be paralleied again.
They do not adhere in the people Of
either section. They were purely tenn
porary and fortuitOus. The south had
no real advantage in the familiarity of
its people with firearms. 1t is doubtful
even if as large a proportion of their ar
mics as of our northern regiments We're
accustomed to arms of precision. So,
too, their horsemanship was thing
more fanciful than real, at least in its
results Inthe actual soldierly qualities
Of the people Of the two sections
there is probably but lit
tie difference. All the talk
about the impetuosity, reckless daring,
| and 10Y Of battle which is said to charac-
terl2e the south In contrast with the
north is mere twaddle. The charge at
Mission Ridge, when the army Of Grant
outran his orders, and went to the sum
NIT instead of intrenching at the foot of
the slope, was the great miracle of i'm
petuosity of the whole war. On the
other hand, the claim ofgreater staunch-