Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-07-28
WILSON'S GREEK.
tFrom the St. Joseph Gazette.l

IErom the st. Joseph 6azeCte.l
Isolated, obscure, among blackjack ridges
more of q duel than a battle, having in lts
birds of prey whose down was about
to be exchanged for beaks, this battle went
into history rs q skirmish.
It was one of the saddest out-croppings OIL
the civil war that any man or woman ever
knew in ali Missouri. The combatants were
Just fresh from the pursuits of peaceful life.
You could hear the song Of the harvest sing
ing amid the trees. The water, as it ran,
wanted to 90 where the sunrise was, the.
dawn and the dew. You could smell the
very earth, 1t was so perfumed with green
and growing things. The lazy tapping ofthe
woodpeckers sounded far away, and az the
ghost of q Drummer boy drumunine .
tune" ~ -
Just look at the bronzed, boyish, farmer
faces. Who knew there what sort of u tragedy
war would soon put or the stage! some
laughed lightly as though q country dance
was being danced. Some went from mess to
meas, as people go to old fashioned cuttings.
Some sang q little. Some did not sing, but
they felt that they were In love with the
earth, tho air, and the sky The bare breast
Of August was painting amid the corn. Sum
mer lay along the hills, a crowned queen, be-
cause of the red in her cheeks and the red In
her hair. Some few bronzed men fitted in
and out among the farmer boys. These were
the sable fingers on the blood-red tide of the
coming battle.
Some few laughing women were shout,
most Of them swesthearts, and u few of them
wives. These were the cruciflxes men held
in their hands when they went down holly
to the coming battle.
Do you know that q battle Is q benedictlon?
War, lifting Its mighty hands above those
who advance, and those who retreat, says:
Holly I absolve all who die in the forefront
of the fight. No matter for what cause, or
king, or creed, or country the poor soldier
falls, so only he is sincere, bury him in holy
ground. I'll ~
Attention! AlLthe bugles rang out sudden
ly; all the drums beat, all the fresh, farmer
faces blanched suddenly, and then grew hard;
all the men dreaming Of home, farm, house,
hold, and little things, naked to the knees,
children fashion, rose up giants.
Thereafter was hell. The Missourians died
there. So did the Iowa people. So did the
Kansas people. Bloody Hill Was so wet with
blood that crimson roses might have been
grown there. The powder cloud made a
gloom from which spestres emerged. Lyon
was one of them. He rode down tothe fight
like a man who suddenly felt some sort of an
inspiration come out Of the SKY. lie ::ppeared
| three or four times through the gloon, with
his hat of and his men all behind him. When
generals come face to face with death most
generally they desire to head the column II
is there that dirges ARE sung, and the Laurel
trees give up their earliest and g%reenest leaves
1t took three bullets to kill Lyon. Another
evidence of the old Vikings blood which wal
In him. a4.
1t also took three bullets to kill Weight
man. This man was fair haired. It is known
that he prayed at times. Over him was thu
scene of a terrible tragedy at Santa Fe, New
Mexico. He had a brigade of Missouri boys
say an average of 16 years for the whole lot
and they worshipped him. He took them tt
the crest Of Bloody Hill, and when the bugl'
blew it was doubtful whether there wer'
enough left living to bury the dead. Poo
Weightmah! The ball which killed him wa
a ball between the U, and the 8. on his sabr'
belt. Was this prophetic Of everybody VIII
tries to destroy the Union?
No matter. Let the old survivors meet a
Springfield, Let them grasp hands. LIE
them remember that when one soldier give
another soldier his hand, no matter tie flag
there is a friendship and q comradeship-an'
comradeship Is SO much stronger than friend
ship, that nothing can break down or destro!
1t. Salute the dead Of Wilson's Creek. The!
died that you and 1 might see sunshine an
| temperate air.