Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-06-12
> reason for this extraordinary a;pear-

anrr.
Il come, sah," was the response in the
Iurc.t Potomac dialect. from General Tom
kin-. to demand the immediate surrender Of
PetcrSburg@
The devil You do was the captains
brusgue response.
Yes. sab
"Wil YOU tell General Tomkins for me
that If be want, this Collaboration town just
come aid take it
Very well, sab: then General Tomkins
ordered me to say Ia you. sab. to remove the
women and children for he will open on the
place Immediately"
Tell General Tonikins, snorted the cap
tain. for me. that as the women and chill
dren are secesh, he can open. and lie d TO
him AMI them. too. The more he kills the
mcr1-icr it will be-"
General Tomkns is humane man, sab,
md deSpises war on women and children.
To avoid unnecessary blood,he,l he demands
your surrender"
Won have my answer-pound away. l
won't surrender
Very well, sah | shall so report
And, 50 saying, he gravely sauted our cap
tain and. turning, rode away. As he did SO the
bereaved mare made a vigorous effort by rear
ing and kicking to rid herself Of her rider
Failing in this she took the bit in her teeth
and went off at a speed highly compliment
tarv To the brood mares Of Virginia. Tie
bearer Of the flag and his remaining squad Of
one man paced of in sober, sc,late manner,
while the rider of the bereavcd mother, with
his long legs and arms tapping wildly. disap-
pcared over the hill as Captain Lee and
his orderlics made the place ring with their
Isais of laughter. The flag of truce. how
ever, did not respond to this merriment
Their mission could not be relegated to tie
things that amuse. They carried war and
desolation's nakedness back to the mysterious
General Tomkns
Our captain lost no time trotting back to
camp. He had the long roll beaten, the
company hastily drawn up in line supported
by such Of the sick and wounded as could
stand This gallant little force was Informed
that the enemy, under General Tomkns,
was about to make a raid on Petersburg,
that he would probably open on them with
artillery, and as they had none with which
to respond, it would be necessary to
assume the offensive Us soon as the demon
stratlon was made. This was responded to
by such hearty cheers as the honest threats
Of American soldiers-God bless them-are
always ready to give, and our hero, sitting in
| grim silence on his steed, awaited further
| developments.
An hour passed, and then to the captains
amazement the flag of truce again appeared;
this time without the bereaved mare. Cap
tain Lee rode down.
General Tomkins, sah," said the flag
bearer. lis humane-yes saba gallant sol
der, sab, but humane. He has his guns in
position, under superior force, and he again
| demands a surrender to avoid unnecessary
bloodshed, sah.n
See here, said the captain, ''you have my
answer, and if you come cavorting down this
road again I'll open on you. Do you under
stand thatf'
Eyes, saba flag Of truce sab"
| ''Oh, go to -" well it was a rather warm
climate, not then abolished by Colonel Inger-
soil, and our hero rode back to his command.
| At the head of his small forces he awaited tho
attack. He waited in vain. The woods upon
the mountains, into which the flag of truce
had disappeared, remained us silent us a Gene
terry. The sun went down, the stars came
out, and yet the thunder Of the threatened
artillery failed to awaken the echoes Of the
mountains; one by one the sick and wounded
dropped of, and the anxious commander,
taking all necessary precautions for the night,
broke ranks and sent his soldiers to their
| tents.
The place remained undisturbed through
the night, and early in the morning a squad
Of Connecticut cavalry-a force always bum
ming around stealing horses, and making
themselves generally disagrecable to both
sides galloped into camp with some prison.
ers, and among the rest the bearer Of the flag.
"How d. We DOR asked our captain of tho
warrior under the red flannel straps
Purity well, sab; how d. ye find yerselfr'
why didn't you open on us yesterday
We'll, sab, fact is we had no artillery"
THE devil! Why did not you come in and
take us anyhow
why, you see, sab, when you beat the
long roll and formed, we thought you were
| too much for u.s."
That sof'
Eyes, sab, only three of us oil told"
Then have the honor of addressing Gen.
era Tomkinsr'
"You have, sah"
1t was neat little game of bluff, in which
our captain won by call. DOM PIATT
MAC-O-CHEEK, O., Feb 20.