The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-01-12
A Renaissance.
How q Gallant Major Found the
Enemy.
He Leaves Them I'm Disgust and
Resigns His Commission.

organised q club for the purpose of
embalming upon the record of its pro-
csedings, some of the heretofore I'M
written episodes of the late unpleas-
sntness. The club il open to both
union aud confederate veterans. and
will doubtless furnish its members
with many q pleasant remiuissnce.
As the club has kindly agreed 10 al
low the BAzoo The privilege of clip
ping such incidents as it cares To pub
Iish, il has concluded to do so from
time to time. Among those 40 far
gathered, is the following:
by the way" said Capt. ~, I've
used to nave a major in my brigade
who was queer case. He was about
% well adapted to be soldier Us | am
to be a preacher. He was near sight
ell ami untutored, knew nothing of
military life, and it has always been a
puzzle to me how he got his commits
sion. He came 90 US from Illinois,
however, with his shoulder straps on
and all we could do was to obey with
cut question. but he had not been
long in the camp until he vas =
laughing stock to the entire command.
[ remember the day We were assigned
to the brigade in which he was. We
were comparatively new troops al the
time, having been re-organized and
our ranks filed in With new recruits.
The major, whom | will call by
bis nickname, "Schnapps," came over
to our camp and told Us we must look
out for his ''pnys for iey vas de worst
tbiefs in der world, dat dey vas very
goot soldiers and dey would steal every
tings vat We had" Of course, We kept
lookout for Schnapp's bad boys, but
we soon learned that, he had given
his own men a like warning against
US and that the whole thing was a
sort OF ruse to keep us from becom-
ing too intimate.
TITS determined some of the Sec
ond timers, who were used to camp
tricks, to get even and accordingly
one day the boys got hold of can
teen of apple jack, which they pre-
sented TO Schnsp?s with their regards.
If there was anything the major dot.
ed or it was appls jack, snd by mid
night he had succeeded in reducing
on the sly the contents of the canieen
to degree that was certain TO cause
him to sleep sOundly and our time
had come. Slipping to his quarters,
We gently rolled him from his blank
cts, gathered up his bed, bedding and
accoutrements and stole away in tie
darkness. The puzzled condition Vt
the poor major rext morning may
better be imagined than described,
when he found himself lying Oh the
ground with nothing about him but
his tent. Of course, there sas faase:
over the matter. but it
is doubtful if TO this day the poor fel-
low ever rad any idea of who robbed
him or what became # his property,
and bis pitiful report to the colonel
commanding furnished fun to the boys
for weeks after.
HIS GREATEST EXPLOIT,
however, although comicsl. cost more
than one brave fellow his life aud hap
peued i'm this wise: One morning he
was called TO headquarters aud placed
in command of a scouting force of
which my company farued a portion.
His orders were TO advance to the
front and reconpoitre until he seen the
enemy and obtained some idea Of their
force and then return to camp and re.
port. The country was rocky and
broken and flied with huckleberry
and other shrubbery underground
among the forests which were in
places sparse and somewhat scrubby.
We had ridden some six miles when i
saw at the distance of some three
quarters of a mile down a straight
strip of the road several of the enemy