Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-12-09
CHAPTER III.

The unexpected volley probably disturbed
Private Joseph Pancakes mind moro than
that of any other man in the regiment 1t
produced there AN effect akin to the sensation
of a nauseous emetic in his stomach.
He had long enjoyed the enviable distinc-
ton of being the "best man" among the COM
bative youths of Sardis, and his zeal and in
variable success in the fistic tournaments
which form SO large part of the interest in
life of certain class of young men in vii
lagos had led his townsmen to entertain ex-
travagant hopes as to his achievements in the
field
But, like most of his class, his courage was
purely physical, and low order of that type.
He was bold in those encounters where he
knew that his superior strength and agility
rendered small the chances of his receiving
any serious bodily harm, but of that high
pride and mounting spirit which lead to sol
dierly deeds he had none.
The sight of the dying men on either side
shriveled his heart with deadly panic.
"Oh, Kent" he groaned, 'lemme go, and
let's git out o. here. This's just awful, and
it'll be ten times wuss in another minnit
Let's git behind that big rock there as quick
as the Lord'll let u.s."
He turned to pull away from Kent's detain-
ing hand, when he heard Capt. Benefits
order to the regiment to charge, and the
hand relaxed its hold. Joe faced to the
front again and saw Kent and Abe Bolton
and the rest of the boys rush forward, leaving
him and score of other weak -kneed irreso-
lutes standing alone behind.
Again he thought he would seek the refuge
of the rock, but at that moment the Union
line swept up to the Confederates, scattering
them as O wave does dry sand.
Joes mental motions we're reasonably
rapid. Now he was not long in realizing that
oil the danger was past, and that he had an
opportunity of gaining credit cheaply. He
acted promptly. Fixing his bayonet, he gave
a fearful yell and started forward on a run
for the position which the regiment had
gained
He was soon in the lead of the pursuers,
and appeared, by his later zeal, to be making
amends for his earlier hardness As he ran
ahead he shouted sayagely:
"Run down the hellionsl Shoot 'emi Stab
'eml Bay'net 'eml DON'T let one of 'em get
away
There is an excitement in a man chase that
is not even approached by any other kind of
hunting, and Joe soon became fairly intoxi-
Gated with it.
He quickly overlook one or two Of the
slower paced Confederates who surrendered
quietly and were handed by him over to the
other boys as they came up, and conducted
by them to the rear.
Becoming more excited he sped on, entirely
unmindful how far he was outstripping his
comrades.
A hundred yards ahead of him was tall,
gaunt Virginian, clad in butternut colored
jeans of queer cut and pattern, and a great
bell-crowned hat of rough, gray beaver
Though his gait was stumbling, and his huge
splay feet rose and fell In the most awkward
way, he went over the ground with swift
ness that made it rather doubtful whether
Joe was gaining on him at all. But the lat
ter was encouraged by the signs of his chases
distress First the bell-crowned hat few off
and rolled behind, and Joe could not resist
the temptation to give it a kick which sent it
spinning into a clump of honeysuckles. Then
the Confederate flung Off hsversack, whose
tapping interfered with his speed, and this
was followed by a clunsily constructed cedar
canteen Next followed the fugitives belt,
loaded down with an antique cartridge box,
a savage knife made from rasp and handled
with buckhorn, and fierce looking horse
pistol with a flint lock.
II seemed to be Dustin up musyum o.
revolutionary relics said Joe afterward, in
describing the incident. 1.-THE Teller dropped
keepsakes from his forefathers like q bird
moltin' its feathers on a windy day. begun
to think that if / KEEP up the chase purity soon
he'd begin to shed Continental money and
knee breeches.'
The fugitive turned off to the right into a
narrow path that wound through the laurel
thickets Joe followed with all the energy
that remained in him. confident that short
distance more would bring him so close TO his
game that he could force his surrender by
threat of bayoneting. Hecaught up to within
a rod Of the Confederate, and was already
forshortening his gun for a lunge in case of
refusal to surrender on demand, when he was
amazed to see the Confederate whirl around,
level his gun at him, and order his surrender.
Joe was so astonished that he stumbled, fell
forward and dropped his gun. As he raised
his eyes he saw three or four other Confeder-
ates step out from behind rock, and level
their guns upon him with an expression df