Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1884-12-17
cuid seize hold of any little,
! job as daintily as if they had
kaner nS n womana Nor did


taner as o womans. Nor did
Aeem to weary offering his SER
leiore knew wanted thing
NY would have started to do it !;
nanner of little conveniences,
~ shelter Of boughs in front of
eor an oven for my contraband
bread in, or nice bunk, or o
1ekIe and chairs, grew up around
Dneyer we remained few days
" place, under the deft hand and
Az heart of Corporal Jerry Day
kxnle, when men grow to such an
slO1 size they lose in stamina
h63 gain in weight. Little or
~ "a Sized men. say Of from five feet
~ f@t nine in height, and weigh
ri q hundred and twenty to q
~ and sixty pounds, are gener-
~ ! to march farther. carry more
Md 1.-Two on shorter commons
! = IN who get beyond these limits.
!. 6e GfNhtpst endurance have almost
sinvsriAfnx seon exhibited ~ emali,
arar4 ns.&, ~ - ~ ~
but men whose food goes % nodrisk
OVuCs cAiCWs WuO MuSCA0 AAotcNNA Va
turning into fat.
But Corporal Jerre Dayton was the
exception to the rule that size and en-
durance stand in inverse ratio to each
other. In his case endurance seemed
to have kept pace with growth, and he
and our petit corporal of the left flank
u five-foot-two, northumberland If
teen. n.pound specimen) We'd with each
other who would first show signs of
tagging. But there was this difference
between them that the Brobdingnagian
could have picked the Liliputian up,
load and all, and have marched off with
him, while the petit corporal could
scarce have done the same by Jerry.
Often have seen the big corporal
with half dozen muskets and KNAPP
sacks slung in various fashions about
his brawny person, which he was carry
ing along for some weary comrade, and
laughing at the idea of being over
loaded. A mighty man was Corporal
Jerry Dayton; mighty man of valor
yet untried.
There were two of his fellow soldiers
who did not believe in Jerry's courage.
One was the orderly sergeant, an old
soldier himself, and the other o man
who seemed to have known something
Of Jerry's antecedents, though he never
gave any reason for his opinion. Both
acknowledge Dayton's good qualities in
camp and on the march, but
"You keep good lookout on him
lootenant, fust squall we git inter; an
ef Jerry Dayton don't run, then Ill &C
beg his pardin for thinkin' so mean on
him. Ef Jerry hadn't been Tilted he'd
ha' knowd too much to ha' gone and
listed"
"You thought he was really lame
that day we went after the bushwhack-
ers, lieutenant" said the orderly, "but
I've always had shrewd notion that
he was lame nearer the region of his
heart that time"
All this / of course pooh -phooed
and convinced that l was as good q
Judge of the man as any one else held
fast to my liking for the corporal. II
he wouldn't stick to me in . fight.
said, there was not a man in the com
pany who would. Time showed wheth.
er was right or wrong.
1t was at Fair Oaks. We had been
hurrying forward to the support ol
Casey's shattered division, and l was
too busy 10 keep much of an eye Oh
any particular man. l had glanced al
Dayton several times but had noticed
nothing beyond the paleness OF his
face; and as pale faces are not unusual
at such times on the bravest of men, ]
paid no heed to that.
Our regiment and one other DO til
under command of Col. Stradella, had
besn selected to proceed through White
0ak swamp, along an old abandoned
road which Kearney had discovered
that morning, and tako up position
30 as to fall upon the flank Of the rebel
advance, which it seemed likely, would
drive Couch's and Keys divisions fal
back to the river. We had marched o
good part OF the way at double.quick
and the men were too busy picking
their way along the rough path to de-
vote more than half their thoughts tc
the rattle of small arms and sharp
artillery fire, which showed us but toe
plainly how our men were being Dor ne
back. And the elan of the hurried
march gave no time to the dead-beats
and poltroons to skulk out of the
ranks.
But finally we reached the edge oi
the swamp and deployed into line be-
hind o snake fence ON the skirts of q
wood whose under-bru screened nj
almost entirely from view. Before us
lay IN open clearing about . quarter
mile in breadth, across which wounded
men limped or were carried to the rear
and "demoralized" men were falling
back ont of range, singly and in squads
and IN which, as If the rebel artillerists
we'll knew the location of the clearing
she'll were exploding and scattering
their fragments with that peculiar
musical "ting ting" SO familiar to men
who hayc once heard it and ever and
anon one Of these uncomfortable mis-.
siles would whiz past a., and be fol.
lowed by an instantaneous duckinG oil
the head BY every one Of the green re.
fcfGits But, though the first time our
regiment had been under dre. the men
behaved splendidly. Casting my eye
down the line Of my company I could
80 . decided majority Of pale faces,
but compressed lips, and not sign oi
wavering; while one or two Of the vet
Grams or the devil-may-cares would in.
dulge in . joke at their neighbors pal
lor Or : snser at some cowardly fugi-
tive No ono had been hit ~ yet. hui
The prospect looked uncomfortably
hot