Morning journal and courier., 1889-06-14
THE LAUGH SAVED HIM.
A Bit of War HuMOr to Which Me1OF
 mcconnell owed Ills Life.


 Major George Mcconnell, of this city, WAS a paymaster in that division of the Union army which camped and marched and fought In the west and southwest. "Shelby's men came very near getting my scalp once," he said recently, and he didn't say 1t as he thought it at the time of his narrow escape. It was on railros2 ;H Arkansas. The train consisted of box-cars, and the road was more like the old-fashioned corduroy road than snything else the ma jor could think of. He was standing in one of the box-cars when he saw a line of horsemen bearing down upon the train. His first thought was that they were Union soldiers; but his com- panion, who was more familiar with the forcss in that country than he, informed him that they were Johnny Rebs and at tached to the command of Joe Shelby. The information was especially cheering to the majority for the reason that he had over five hundred thousand dollars in good gov ernment money that had been intrusted to his keeping. He had to think quick, and as soon as he had done so he took the money, which was in a small safe, and clambered with 1t to the engine. He had it put in the water-tank and gave the key of the safe to the engineer, with instructions if he was at tackled and the worst came he WAS to unlock the safe, take out the money and throw 1t in the furnace of the locomotive. There were others loyal to the Union besides the boys in blue. They were the engineers who ran the trains.
 "I returned to my car,n said the major, and took my gun and prepared to fight. The engineer was trying to make switch. That reached, we were safe, but if Shelby's men got there first and turned 1t we were gone. In few minutes the Johnnies were in gunshot, and the leaden hail of which you have heard so much began to rattle against the cars. There were three ot us in my car. One besides myself was Union soldier and the other was 8 diminutive for- eigner, whose nationality I won't mention. He WAS @ sutler's clerk or something of that sort He had lain down in the car beside some boxes. My comrade and I fired on the enemy as rapidly as we could, while the ene- my peppered our with frequency that was decidedly unpleasant. I remember 1 saw one Johnny who acted as if he had picked me out for target, and I returned the compliment.
 'I know I never hit him, and that he did not hit me is evident from what you see be- fore you An amusing thing happened dur- ing the fight. My comrade seeing the sut- ler's clerk on the floor of the car, picked him up and carried him to the door of the car, holding the young man in front of him, say ing at the same time: Here, you - - s1t- Ter, stand up here and be my breastworks.' The sight amused Shslby's men, whose laughter we could hear above the crack of the musketry. Strange to say, nobody was hit. The train reached the switch before the Johnnies, and then it made time and was soon out of reach of their shot.
 "Some years after the war;" continued the major, 'I was cashier of bank in town in one of the southern States. The people in that section never tire of hearing war stories and never tire of telling them. One day 1 was in one of the stores, and war yarns be- | ing the order, I related what I have just told you saw man in the party who was an | intense listener. As l proceeded with my narrative I noticed that he got closer to me and his eyes grew bigger. When l had fin | ished he said to me: And you are the man I picked out to kill. I was one of Shelby 's men that day. tried to kill you twenty times If did once, and think 1 would have | succeeded if your friend hadn't put the little chap in front of him for breastwork. That ! was too funny, and laughed at 1t so hearth | 1y that couldn't shoot straight"
 I ssIt was pleasant to meet a man who had ! at one time, some years before, taken delibe- rate aim at my life twenty times. I told | him about the amount of money I had in my possession when his men were after us, and he grew serious for a moment. Then hs said, in regretful manner, as I thought: l If we had got that money the war would have been going on yet.