Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-09-15
NAILS THAT WnlSTLED.
. JOKE THAT MADE 10000 MuN
THINK THE estMY WAS NEAR.

1, yprnnz from the Agitation Of smoise-
less Powder. aud Prices 'fcn Imagined
That the Ingenuity of the Yankees Had
Evolved Something Terrible.
II seq faid the veteran. as he twisted
his feet mp on the yeranda railing and
aazed lazlly at The sunset, "that they are
making whole lots Of talking in tho news
papers nowadays about smokcless aud
uoiselesa powder. Why, we were talking
about the same thing when | was IN
Prices army.
lyon know we were away down IN
The brush in southwe.t Missouri. where
We were all cut On from the world and
conlln'i got any news from the outside
Wen. the story got started somehow tina,
the Yankees had invented a new powder
"A kind that burned with no smoke, 10
cash and no noise. Pretty soon they
were talking about It ia every regiment.
worrying over the thing, and revivins
the dcvilish ingenuity Of the Yankee.
There was nothing TO tall, about, aud
you know how 10 IS in a big body Of IDLE
men.
"Uloro was ono fellow that took great
stock in the u6lialoss powder story. IL
bothered him all the time. Thia was
Bill Oliver. of Colonel Winston's Second
Missouri. Bin came from Ny hero at
Plato City ilo was n blacksmith, a
ftrapplug great big fellow. strong ~ %
houc. lle weighed, / reckon, 200
pounds.
cone black night Dill was put ont IN
the brush ON picket dnty. Now. no was
Just ~ gritty u fighter 90 YOU ever saw
IN line with a man ON either side OF him
but tell Won, my hoy. tei man out IN
dark thicAct nll alone aud tho enemy
known 90 be- near aud supposed 10 bo
everywhere. 20 takcs,ail tho starch ON, Of
the hes, Of thcrn.
wusuISg NAiLs
80 Bill was tiumbly aud shul.y aud
saw Yankee shnrpahootcrs everywhere.
Now. Ia tho same regiment they had
daredevil. hnrum acatum fool-Rcub
Hill This Roub llill was the kind " a
specimen every regiment hns-a pcitif.
,rOus practical lokcg-a nuisance that
everybody liked. Here was rich chance
for one Of Reubcus little jokes Soon
o. Bill had gotGcttlal at his post Reuben
loaded his pocket with dozon or ~ biz
wrought iron nails. aud ont through tn,
darl, he circlod TO SGT In front Of ia,
pckcts. lie hid in a sassnfras brush
about hundred feet from the big black
Gmiih and looked out
"Iherc WINS Eli tiptueing up and down
his beat like an elephant ON a rickcty
bridge dodg.ng and whirlIug every tim,
agrlsshopper cLirpcl OF horse back ID
the camp moricl. He was getting badly
scared. Reuben picked mp right ray
ged nail aud flung It just us hard M h,
could Jerk.
"You know what vicious scrccchina
nail makes when you throw II thai
wayy No mimic ball ever sounded wick.
eder II goes.
'Wm.u.u.u-ur
Poor BUS heart stopped with n Nj;
thump like slpdgehamncr. aud Rou
ben, away of In the thiokct, heard him
catch his breath as II some ono hat
dropped a bucket Of ice wator on him
His big bulk dropped in tho weeds like d
sack Of sand. aud for about u ninut,
there was not the sound Of . breath
Then tho big picket muitcred shakily
'Sho, I'm gittin akeery rs woman will
thinkin Of them Yanks an their new
tangled powder And hc got up an,
began warily to walk his beat.
Reuben let so another Of his nails
and third just rs quick as he coul,
throw, They went whirrng blood
tnrtily toward William, aud ono o
them ripped through tho leaves over hi
head, scattering twisI and bits OF lea
all about,
AZ ARMY ~ READINESS.
"Thoro was no doubt about II INF
time, and big Bill, ~ he let his musko
oil wildly in tho air, charged for camp
fputtohug, pulling, yelling, tearing n
weeds and rod and boiling into tree,
His ttail looked like the track OF a youn
cyclone. Into the camp lao plunged
over men and tont5, muskot stacks an,
cook trenches. Il D. an actual fact tina
no ran over little forgging pony tia
was tied 10 tree aud coallut got on
Of the way, knocked the poor bcHst dow
and crippled II for week. His head
way was terrific. H. finally brought u
full tilt against tough lie hickor
sapling, which he ran down umoosi
landing UP In the lcafy top with hi
hands clnwing At the bougls,
"io walked every man In the reg
inent Down the limo went shouts an
buglo calls Within ten minutes ever.
one Of Prices 10000 men was in line o
battle, staring into the darkness for III
eneny's advance guard, listening for III
yurr Of their silently fired bullets,
"Of coune, tho enemy did not come
hut tho men lay ON their arms all night
Reuben wis too ticl,led over the wa
Bill tore through the brush to keep quiet
Next day cyeryman IN tine army had III
story. But It did not taEo wen wit
the officers, a corporals guard cam
after Reuben and put irons ON him, an
his little joke was pondorously consider
ed by court martial. Tint afioruoO
came news Of tho enemy IN deadly oai
nest, aud Price set ont on one OF N
long, forced marches, Reuben wen
along. He tool, with him by especial I,
quest OF the court martial a full size
black oak fence rail, soggy with rap. II
was charged carefully not 10 los0 thu
HlIl for three days.
1.-THE first day said the disconEolRi
joker after 1t was all done, that rail feI
pretty heavy, luht like nm ordinary raj