The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1885-06-11
A War Picnic.

While Longstreet was in front of Suf-
| folk, writes Ned Buntline, pecking at
| us with Wright's batteries, instead of
coming in and "wiping us out" as he
could have done before we were rein
! forced, report came in that he was
massing a heavy force to the southeast
/ of our lines, our weakest point of de-
! Tense. To learn the true state of things
| at that point l was sent with a small
! scouting party by the way of the Shingle
| company's canal into Lake Drummond,
to scout from thence south of the Dis
NAL swamp.
! Going in skifs, we reached a land
ing on tolerably solid ground, and
| camped for the night on little knoll in
a dense thicket of scrub pine, a half
mile or thereabout from the point of
| landing. Of course, | had sentinels
well out from our bivouac, for we knew
| from many sounds that the enemy were
not far from us. All went well through
! the night, and at dawn we made coffee
and cooked some Yenison that | had
| got from old Duke at the head of the
canal as we came by his place on the
previous afternoon. The sentinels
were called in to breakfast, for there
seemed to be no immediate danger.
We had just squatted to our coffee and
| grist when a sound struck our ears
which made every man in silence
spring up and grasp his Sharp's caE
bine. 1t was the heavy tread of men.
We had just got our arms in hand when
dozen men in rebel gray, led by a
lieutenant over six feet high and lean
us nail, broke right through the bush
in front of us.
In Il second, while both parties stood
at Il ready, the lieutenant, cried out:
"Hold on, Yanks! If you 'uns won't
shoot, we'uns'll hold fire. That coffee
! smells mighty good-we' uns haven't
had none for year. We've lots of to-
bacco, though"
hungry, and SO little like enemies just
then, that | cried out:
If you'll stack your arms out there
and trust to us. you shall share in grub
| and coffee, and then be free to go back
and fight it out if you want to-"
''Good as sweet corn! We'uns are
mighty hungry, You betr'
They at once stacked arms, and we
did the same, and while our cook put
more coffee and more steak on the lire
we sat there on the ground, the blue
| and gray, and talked as if we were old
friends. Not about the war or its
causes, but about camp life and other
things.
And the way our coffee went down,
with hard tack and juicy venison steak,
would have satisfied the proudest land
lord that ever Dragged of his table.
After we had filled up, the Virginians
brought out their tobacco, and did their
share of treating. The lieutenant had
huge canteen OF old peach brandy,
and that went the rounds.
After we had got so friendly / asked
the lieutenant how he came to be in on
that point He replied:
Il was sent to watch lest you 'uns
came this way in force to take US on
the flank. Our main force is massed
in front, where the batteries are ready
to 60 in if you 'uns weaken, and the
old man QongstreeD was afeared you
might come through the swamp and
tickle us in the rear! What were 'uns
doing here?
just out on hunt for fresh meat;
got this deer last night"
..Well the best O. luck to YOU. You
don t feel like tightin' now do you?''
Not if You boys don't. 1t would be
a pity TO spoil this picnic that way"
So we all shook hands, traded coffee
for tobacco, and separated, at least for
then, as friends.
The next day on the lines we were all
throwing lead and iron at each other.
"