Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-06-11
HER GAL jim"
Romantic Story of How She Dcfepd.,
Her Mothers Cabin.

Her Mothers Cabin.
As our brigade advanced. crossi,,
pasture land, sweeping through thickets
and fording a creek which seemed ~
be all turns and elbows, man abont
ten feet from me on the left dronnoa
dead. MY company was on the ev,
treme left of the line. you see, and tbo
man was a tanker. He had been sbo.
from the window of a humble LOOKING
cabin which stood in open ground abon,
rihe-shOt away.
Sergeant, take ten men and clean
those bushwhackers out and burn tho
housed" was the order got from NV
captaiu, and a minute later | had
SQUAD marching away.
There had been more or less FIGHT.
inc over this same ground all the fora.
noon, and the artillery and musketrv
fire had been pretty hot. We Were now
driving the line, and as we advanced
wa found many of the dead still lyino
where they fell. 1t wasn't lawful war.
fare for a buckwhacker to hide away
in a farm house and shoot a soldier in
the back. Even if battle was raging
such a deed smackcd of murder. If he
could shoot it was his business to be in
the lines opposed to us. Then if hi,
bullets found q human target it was
the chances of war, and if he happened
to be captured by us he would be
treated as prisoner of war.
We marched straight for the house
expecting that the bushwhackcr had
fed as soon as he fired his shot but
we had not covered over half the dis.
lance when rifle cracked and one Of
my men dropped with bullet in his
heart. The nearest cover to the house
was a stone fence a hundred feet in
front of it and a shed barn about the
same distance from the back door.
Dividing my squad and now adopting
all the precautions we could, all of us
finally gained the shelters mentioned.
1t was a log cabin, a story and half
hirh. with two windows in front, one
on each side and window in the rear.
The two doors were front and back.
How many men were in the house
we could not say but as soon as in
position we opened fire on the doors
and windows. Not a shot was fired in
return for three or four minutes. Then
one of my men at the wall who had
exposed himself, got q bullet in the
shoulder and crawled away to hide
under a bank of earth. Our bullet,
soon ridlled doors and windows, and
must have searched every part of the
house. We expected to see three or
four men dash out and make a run for
; it, or a white flag to be displayed in
token of surrender, but all was grmy
silent. About ten minutes after my
man had been shot one of the men at
the shed got his head out too far while
shooting and received a bullet in re-
, turn. 1t didn't kill him, but carried
away the right half of his upper lip
and moustache, passed through hi:
cheek, carried away four teeth and
split his ear, and after term in the
hospital he was discharged and sent
home.
That was two killed and two wound
, /, ed, and all apparently by the SAINT
: weapon. We knew it to be an ordin
airy rifle by the whip-like crack Of it
report, but there might be three o.
four men in the house for all we coult
determine. We kept blazing away a
, doors and windows on the chance 0
hitting some one, and from the silenc
of the next ten minutes felt contden
, that we had disabled them. Then
= gave the signal for rush at the house
!, All of us were up and half way ther
when ritle-barrel was pOked throug
!, a broken pane and flash followed
The ball grazed my cheek and struc
the man behind me in the forehead an
= dropped him dead. Next moment "
were at the doors, front and back, an
!, they were banged open with crash.
= This is what saw: A boy sOldie
y lying dead on the floor with an arr
torn off by fragment of shell. y
;. the bed was gray-haired woman wit
" bullet wound in her face. Standin
in the corner of the room, proud an
= defiant, with the unloaded rifle in he
- hands, was girl of sixteen-a regult
:, country belle in grace and beauty.
- 81 can do no more. Shoot us If "
- will.' she said as she confronted lis.
"Aye. shOot!n added the mothe
- "There lies my only boy, killed
!" your guns this morning. l lie he
=, wounded, and my gal jim has dropp'
~ four or five of you to get even! o.
g gal to dozen soldiers! Come and fl
- ish your work."
~ But we simply took the rife avn
and left them with their dead, and
70 pitied them even as we smartcd with Il
- sense of orr own lose Erae Press,