San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-04-11

with wan faces, but shouting Justify. j think
they were about three hundred in all. Come
on, lad" called out a bearded fellow with u
bandage over one eye, making room for me
at his side; there's work for plenty morer'-
and a minute after a shot took him in the
ribs, and he screamed out, "Oh, my God"
and, Ainging up his arms, leaped a foot in the
air and fell ON his face.
But in the midst of this skurry | heard the
sound of cheering. Twas Sir John Berke-
ieys troop Gill now posted under cover Of the
hedges below that had come to our support;
and the rebels fearing to advance too far,
must have withdrawn again behind their
earthwork for after a while the pressure
eased u bit, and, to my amaze, the troop
which but minute since was mere huddled
crowd formed i'll some order afreSh and once
more began to climb. This time | had a
thick set pikeman i'll front of me, with big
Wen at the back of his neck that seemed to
fix all my attention. And up we went, |
counting the beat of my heart, that was al
ready going hard and short with the work;
and then, amid the rattle and thunder of
their guns, we stopped again
| had taken no notice Of it, but in the con
fusion Of the first repulse the greater part Of
our men had been thrust past me, so that
now found myself no farther back than the
fourth rank, and at the very foot of the
earthwork, up the which our leaders were
flung like a wave, and soon | was scrambling
after them, ankle deep in the sandy earth,
the man with the Wen just ahead, grinding
my instep with his heel, and poking his pike
staff between my knees as he slipped.
Aud Just at the moment when the top Of
our wave was clc1viug a small breach above
Us be fell on the hat Of his pike with his nose
buried in the gravel and his hand, clutch
ing. LooAing up, l saw Il tall rebel ,trad-
ding above MIN with muslet dubbed TO beat
his brains out. whom with an effort / caught
by the boot, and, the bank slipping at that
instant, down we all Sid in a heap, tumble
Of arms ami legs, to the very bottom.
Before | had the sand well out of my eyes
my comrade was up ami had his pike loose,
and in a twinEliTg the rebel was spltted
through the middle and writing. Twas
sickening; but before | could pull out my pis
tOl and end his pain las | was minded back
came our front rank atop of us again, and
down they were driven like sheep, my COM
paniOn catching up the dead mans muSket
and ammunition bag and following down the
slope with three stout rebels at my heels
What will be the end of this thought |.
The end was that after fo"ty yards or So
finding the foremost close upon me, turned
about and let fly with my pistol at him. He
spun round twice and dropped, which | was
wondering at-the pistol being but poor
weapon for aim-when | was caught 10y the
arm and pulled behind clump of bushes
handy bv. Twas the man with the wen, and
by his smoking musket | knew that twas he
had fired the shot that killed my pursuer
Good turn fOr good turn, says be; quick
with thy other pistol.
The other two had stopped doubtlully, but
at the next discharge Of my pistol they
turned tail and went up the hill again, and
we were left alone. And suddenly | grew
aware that my head was aching fit to split,
and lay down on the turf, very sick and ILL.,
'Twould be tedious to tell the whole Of this
long fight, which, beginning soon after sunrise,
ended not till in the afternoon, ~ there
aDouts; and, indeed, of the whole my recol-
lection is but of continual advance aud re-
pulse on that same slope.
But at 3 o'clock, we, having been for the
sixth time beaten back were pautiug under
cover of hedge, and Sir John Berkeley,
near by, was writing on a drumhead some
message to the camp, when there comes a
young man on horseback, his face smeared
with dirt and dust. and rides nm 70 him and
Sir Bevill. Twas Il have since leqrneh to
say that the Iou,l,r wa, all <psnt but a
barrel or two: but til, only the CAPTAINS
knew al tn" time.
''Verv wall. then. erie, Sir Brvill. leaping
up gayly. Come alor,,. boyS-,ye must do
it this time" And, the troop forming, once
more the tlumprts sounded the charge, and
up we went. Away along the slope we heard
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