Mexico weekly ledger., 1884-10-16
RaftieHeld Hum0r.


On battlefields. A confederate colo
mel ran ahead of bis regiment 81
Malvern Hill, and discovering that
the men were not following him as
closely as he wished, he uttered
fierce oath, and exclaimed:
"Come onl Do you want to live
forever"
The appeal was irresistible and
many poor fellow who had laughed
at the colonel's queer exhortation laid
down his life soon after.
A shell struck the wheel OF fed
eral field-piece toward the close OF
the engagement at Fair Oaks, and
shivering the spokes, dismantled tue
cannon.
sWell, isn't it lucky that it didn't
bappen before we used up all our am
munition," remarked one of the ar
tillerists as he crawled from beneath
the gun. $50.
When General Pope was faiilng
back before Lees advance IN the VIZ
ginia valley his own soldiers thought
his hulle.ins and orders somewhat
strained in their rhetoric. At one OF
the numerous running engagements
that marked that disastrous cam
paign, a private in one OF the Wes-
tern regiments was mortally wounded
by shell. Seeing the mans condl-
ton, a chaplain knelt beside him.
and opening his bible at random, read
out SIMPSONS slaughter OF the Phil
istines with the jaw-bone OF an ass.
He had not quite finished when, as
the story runs, the poor fellow inter-
rupted the reading by saying:
"Hold on, chaplain. Don't de-
. ceive q dying man. Isn't the name
Of John Pope signed to that!'
A column of troops was pushing
forward over the long and winding
road in Thoroughfare Gap to head OF
Lee after his retreat across the Poo
mac at the close of the Gettysburg
campaign. Suddenly the signal ofli
Ger who accompanied the general Il
command discovered that some 0
his men, posted on high hill IN til
rear, were reporting the presence u
considerable hody of confederat
troops on the top of the bluffs on TIL
right. A halt was at once sounded
and the leading brigade ordered fo1
ward to uncover the enemy s position
The regiments were soon scramhIIn
up the steep incline. officers and me
gallantly racing to see who cou
reach the crest first A yonng lie'
tenant and some half dozen mt
1ained the advance. but at the emf
what they deemed perilous elm
they were thrown into commissions
laughter at discovering that what Il
signal m-n took for confedera
troops were only tolerahly lar
lock of sheep As the leaders
This forlorn hope rolled on the grs
ina raroxvsm of merriment, til
iaupird all the lo.,irr ut seeing t
pale but determined faces OF III
comrades, who, # course, came
fully expecting desperate hani-
hand struggle.
1t Is perhaps needless TO say
brigade supped OH mutton that ev
ing.
AS the army WAS crossing Sol
mountain the day before the bat
of Antic;am, General Mcclellan n
along the side nf the moving colu'
Overtaking Il favorite zouave II
me1t. llr exclai mel with his natl
bonhome:
well, and how is the Old +
this evening":
gtHSt"- hsP''~>I
of the zouaves. but we'd he he
off if we weren't living so much
supposition-'
"Supposision:' said the genera
apuzzled tone. "What do you n
by that
ats easily explained, sir.
see we expected to get our rat
yesterday, but as We didn't, "
living on the supposition that we d
"Ah, understand; you shall
your rations, zou-zous, tong
replied the general, putting spur
his horse to escape the cheers OF
regiment. And he kept his prot