Sharp County record., 1885-08-06

at the entrance w 'iiO f e
Sbarp lookout for the enemy; 1or II
thev had come on us unawareS they
wo;,ld % have caught us like rats IN a
tron NV heart sank when my name
was called, and, if it hadn't been Tor
the ridicule, I'd have tried to get OH by
pleading sick. You see was pretty
" well used up by the long marches, the
uncertain rations and the heat and the
bompsickness. The hot sand clogged
NV steps and burned my blistered feet
tho rocks seemed to radiate the heat
thew had stored up during the day;
the air was dry and charged with duSt.
7 kept up my beat awhile and then sat
down on a bowlder and cried then 1
deliberately lay down and shut my eyes
to 90 to sleep" n,oa
SFine thing if one OF the officers nad
caught you," observed one old solaler'
dryly. ,,onod was
Gliding off into delicious Slumber
when I heard a movement near BY l
onpned nv eyes and saw Colonel
Lenoir. thought the day OF doom
had come for me, for there was hardly
q week passed that we didn't hear OF
some poor fellow being shot for sleep
inc at his post. 1 was so stupid with
fafioue and drowsinesS that | couldn' t
somehow quite make out where l was
Everything was jumbled up IN my
mind The COWS coming home from
pasture, the mince-pie on the table, an
open grave and boy standing up as a
TARGET for line of soldiers, my mother
Brewster stopped abruptly and
somebody asked eagerly what hap
nened next: what the Colonel said.
"Lenoir had not known a good
nioht's rest for weeks. He had been
twenty-four hours in the saddle" said
Brewster, slowly and impressively
"He was worn out physically and
mentally. He had directed his man to
call him at daybreak the next morning
But he took my musket up from the
rock where | had placed it, ordered me
to lie down again, and did duty Tor me
two hours while | slept.
There was no comment on Brews-
ter's story. The account of a noble
deed sinks quietly into the heart with
out parade or flourish. After few
moments of silence, some one put a
query in which lurked suggestion
"Ienoir acted finely at Anderson
viIle foo didn't he, BreWster?"
The lumberman gave short reJoln-
der, consulted his watch, and rose to
90 Despite the self-deprecation OF
his narrative, all were aware that he
had been one of those noble specimens
of American manhood who had sur
vived the horrors of that awful expert
ence, and finally emerged an emaclated
wreck of humanity whose heroic deyo-
ton to a noble principle will resOund
throughout the everlasting ages. But
he could never be betrayed into any re-
lation of his prison experience. he
pulled on his driving gloves, nodded
cool adieuX to the score or more OF
loungers, and was soon driving at a
quick pace up Market street, and out
Sixth. For the first few blocks the we'll
navnd street v as lined with handsome
buildings and presented the appearance
of an important thoroughfare but, as
he progressed, the buildings dwindled
in stature and were occasionally al
ternated with a handsome, comfortable
residence, and the pavement grew un-
even. Half q mile further the street
abandoned all pretense at smartness,
trailed humbly between one-storied
warehouses, leaped a railroad track,
lost itself in q maze of switches, and
resumed existence in the guise of a
wagon road, terminating with dismal
wooden structure standing in desc.
late region and flanked on one side by
tall lumber piles. The clerks and day
laborers were filing away, and the
night-watchman, quietmannered
man, with an unlit lantern in his hand,
stood on the steps.
"Well, Martin, what succesS?"
81 gave them warning, sir, to clear
out, early this morning, and kicked
their houses over after they left, for
fear they'd be back again tonight, like
ratS-that is, all but one. :"
"Great guns, man! Don't you know
ones as bad as dozen? | can't get a
dollar of insurance on the stock with
out paying double rates until | can
satisfy the company that the whole
tribe is gone"
The tribe referred to by Brewster
consisted of a floating population of
disreputable vagabonds, allied in
character to the hoodlums and
criminals commonly known as wharf
rats" and hay -bunkers, " who
had squatted on the dumps" ="
and utilized the cans plenti-
fully scattered over the ground in the
construction of a miniature village. The
members of this peculiar sub-stratum
of society were tabled to exc out their
sustenance by diligent grubbing in Che
heaps by which they we're surrounded.
L. L. Al =.