Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-22
MARK TWAIN's COMRADE IN
ARMS.

In the century Tor DecenDers IN q pa
per entitled THE Private History Of a
Campaign that failed,' Mark Twain re-
lates his experience as Confederate in
Missouri in 1861. The following 10 a
sketch OF the organization OF AIS company
and Of one Of his fellOw-sOldiers: 81 was
visiting in the small town where nv boy
hood had been spent Hannibal, Marion
County. Several ofus got together IN
secret place by night and formed our
selves into a military company. one Tom
Lyman, a Young fellow OF good deal OF
spirit but OF no military experience, was
made Captain: I was made second lleu-
tenant. We had no first lieutenant; do
not know why: 10 was long ago. mere
were fifteen ofus. By the advice OF an
innocent connected with the organization,
we called ourselves the Marion Rangers
] do not remember that any one iound
fault with the name. ] did not thought
IL sounded quite well. The young fellow
VINO proposed this title WAS perhaps
fair sample OF the kind Of stuh we were
made OF. He was young ignorant, good
n8tured, well-meaning, trivial, full OF r0-
nance. and given to reading chlYalrlc
novels and singing forlorn loNe-dltties.
He had some pathetic little nickel-plated
aristocratic instincts. and detested his
rarity because it was nearly as common
IN that region as Smith, but mainly be
cause 1t bad a plebian sound TO his ear
SO he tried TO ennOble it by writing IL IN
This way IL MAP. That contented his eve,
but left his ear unsatisfied, for people
gave the new name the same old pronun-
Clation-emphasis on the front end OF IL.
He then did the brayest thing that can De
lmagined-a thing 10 make one shiVer
l1lffA F.f.r-a hon
given to resenung shams and Alterations;
ne began TO write hss name so: d' IN Lap.
And he waited patiently through the long
storm Of mud that was flung at TINS
work Of art, and he had his reward at
last; for he lived to see that name accept
cd and the emphasis put where he want
cd IL, by people who had known him all
his life, and to whom the tribe of Dunlaps
bad been as familiar as the rain and the
sunshine Tor forty years. So sure Of vic
tory at last is the courage that can wait.
He said he had found. by consulting
some ancient French chronicles. that the
name was rightly and originally written a
InLap; and said that II 1t were translated
into English u would mean Peterson: Ian.
Latin or Greek. he said. for stone or rock,
same as the French pierre. that is to say,
Peter; a. Of or from; tf, a or one; hence,
dun Lap, OF or from a stone or a Peter;
stone, the son Of a Peter-Peterson. Our
militia company were not learned, and
the explanation confused them; so they
called him Peterson Dunlap. He proved
useful 70 Us IN his way; he named our
camps for Us, and ne generally struck
name that was no slouch,' as the boys
SAID"
For a time life was idly delicious, it
was perfect; there was nothing TO mar 1t.
q.
one day. They said il was rumOred that
the enemy We're advancing IN our direc-
ton, from over Hyde's prairie. The re-
suit was sharp stir among Us. and gen.
eral CONSERVATION. 1t was a rude awak-
ening from our pleasant trance. The ru-
NOR was but rumor-nOthing definite
about It; so, in the confusion, we did not
know which way to retreat. Lyman was
for not retreating at all, in those unoer-
tain circumstances; but be found that if
he tried TO maintain that attitude he would
fare badly, for the command were in no
hum0r TO put up with characterization.
20 ne yielded the point and called cOun-
Gil OF War-tO consistof himself and the
three other officers; but the privates
made such fuss about being left out,
that we had to allow them
10 be present. | mean we had
10 allow them to remain, for they
were already present, and doing the most
OF the talking too. The question was
which way retreat; but all were so fur
ried that nobody seemed to have even a
guess TO offer. Except Lyman. He eX-
planned IN few calm words, that mas
much as the enemy were approaching
IRON over Hyde's prairie. our course was
simple: all we had to do was not to re-
treat tOCGrd him; any other direc ton
would answer our needs perfectly
Every body saw in a moment how true
this was, and how wise; so Lyman got
great many compliments. 1t was now de-
cided that we should fall back on Mason's
farm.
alt was after dark by this time, and as
we could not know how soon the enemy
might arrive, IL did not seem best to try to
take the horses and things with us; 80 we
only took the guns and ammunition, and
started az once. The route was very
rough aud hilly and rocky, and presently
the night grew very black and rain began
10 fall; 90 we had troublesome time Of
il, struggling and stun bling along in the
dark; and soon some person slipped and
Iell, and then the next person behind
stumbled over him and fell, and so did the
rest, one alter the other; and then Bow
ers came with the keg OF powder in his
arms, whilst the command were all
mixed together, arms and legs, on the
A4ANte nlupts anu 80 ne Ieil. OF course,
with the keg, and this started the whole
detachment down the hill in a body, and
they landed in the brook at the bottom IN
y pile, and each that was undermost pull
ing the hair and scratching and biting
those that were on top OF him; and those
that were being scratched and bitten
scratching and biting the rest in their
turn, and all saying they would die before
they would ever 60 10 war again If they
ever got out Of this brook this time, and
The invader might rot for all they cared,
and the country along with him--and all
such talk as that, which was dismal to
hear and take part in, in such smothered,
low voices, and such a grisly dark place
and so wet, and the enemy may be coming
any moment.
'Ihe keg OF powder was lost, and the
guns, too; so the growing and complain
ing continued straight along whilst the
brigade paved around the pasty hillside
and stopped around in the brook hunting
for these things; consequently We lost
considerable time at this; and then we
heard a sound, and held our breath and
listened, and il seemed TO be the enemy
coming, though 1t could have been COW.
for II had a cough like a cow; but we did
not wait. but left couple Of guns behind
and struck out for Mason's again as
briskiy as we could scramble along in the
dark But we got lost presently among
the rugged little raylnes, and wasted a
deal OF time finding the way again. so it
was after a when we raachad Mauonfa