New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-09-05
and that Jug under her arm. She had

walked i've miles, starting early, to Sc
cure these, and was now on her return.
and two miles yet from home The
molasses had fermented under the
heat OF a July sun, and the corncob
stopper had been forced out, and the
foaaming liquid was running out.
Do you suppose she let q drop go to
waste? No, she caught it on her lean
finger and licked the finger greedily,
and talked of Mack and Little Dick.
hahn t got time (swipe) to stop
mint (lick) but hits jes awastin'
(sWipe) an it do look so pitiful (lick1
to see it go to waste, (swipe) an
them po' Children asuferin' Qick( fur
sumkin, We gimme a leetle speck
(sWlpe) no taller grease to put in it
(lick to keep hit f ON aworkin ?''
And then she sat down on the door
step to rest a minute, while the jug
cooled.
mo / haint hearn nothin' from
Little Dick sence he got in the mount
aims. Idonst never spec to see him
no more. Five boys have / sent to
the war, an one po' lifeless creature
is ali I've got left; but oh, mustn't
forgit to tell ye, Mack got that ball.
out n his thigh to-day, drapped out.
lido b'lieve the chlld's agWine to git
we'll arter all =
And then she resumed her weary
tramp through the woods. Mack and
Betty managed to get along somehow,
and the good old mother seemed to
be insensible to fatigue So it came
about that when the broken fragments
Of Lees brave legions came struggling
homeward, that Mack was able to
hobble out on his crutches, and lean
on the rickety gate and hear the news
from some tired veteran homeward
bound. "Thelast seed NV 'im," said
q great, bearded warrior, in reply to
Aunt 'Mima's question, ''wus in one
o. them fights around Aianty. We
was whipped, as we gin ~ was long then,
an broke for a fence. Little Dick got
to the fence an we hollered to I'm to
throw down his musket, but he helt
on to it. / reckon he wus too skeered
to 1ln'stan. Any how he jes' KEEP holt
| on to it, an wen he clumb up on the
fence, a rail give way, an SO fell back
| wards, and then the Yankees fired
SO fast that there wern't no tellin'
nothing about it afterwards, an we
lost him"
The little crop was planted, the two
women worked faithfully, and Mack
hobbled about on his crutches and
helped them all he could. Spring was
come When.the war closed. Summer
days had waxed and Waned before
many of those inmates of northern
prisons found their way back to the
old familiar haunts.
The harvest was not great, but
Aunt Nina and Betty felt that the
millennium had come when they were
able to sit down and eat reasonably
hearty meal Of bread and bacon, after
the wintery sun had yelled himself be-
hind the riffs of Watry clouds that
hung above the tree tops. TIE long,
long, war was over. The shrill cry of
the famished dogs of war no longer
carried terror among the hearts of
these simple, out of-the-world -folks,
hidden away among the barrens.
Many time and oft they conversed
together, and the grieving mother
mourned her dead boys.
81 can bear the loss of Eben an Ri
I ley an Hamp, because I've got use to
it" she would say. "But my baby
boy. Poor little Dick! 1 know the
rest aire dead and gone, but I don't
know wher' Dick u.s.
Christmas came. I never shall for
get that Christmas time. Ishall ever
remember how the poor, fool negroes
strutted and paraded, and fired the
old muskets, and had a big time.
sCause you see, sab, de bottom rails
got on de top. O. de fence" they would
say. And the soldiers who had miss
ed three or four Chrlstmases entered
into the enjoyment ofthis with renew
ed energy.
Christmas eve I was at Aunt
Mima's house. I liked to be with
them, and here Mack tell about the
Shenandoah valley and Stonwall Jack
son, and all his fund of adventure and
perilous escape, and mighty victories
and chrushing defeats
Aunt Nina sat in the corner busy
with her knitting. Betty was popping
some red popcorn over the fire, and
Mack sat half in the shadow, saving
away on his fathers old fiddle, the
OlIy p1cCe VI peISOudl property Tue
old man left to his sons.
Aunt Nina had been buried in
thought, and was a little startled
when she spoke so suddenly.
Children, wouldn't you all be glad
If Little Dick would come home? Hit
seems to me that I'd be riconciled to
all the restef he would ies' come home.
That's all / ask of the good Lord.
Jes' to see my baby boy again.
'Then your wish is granted" come
a voice from the door, .'for your
boys come home" and in another
breath Little Dick was clasped in the
arms of mother and sister.
I Ishall not attempt to describe the
scene. I will leave all that to the
facile pen of the emotional novelist,
who has the trick of portraying such
things. Icannot TOR the life of me re-
member to this day who it was that
rescued the frying pan full Of popcorn
from the fire. I do not know how
come the fiddle bridge down, and
several strands of hair broken in the
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