Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1891-07-02

kee who had fought under almost ever
flag and taken the oath of allegiance tt
four or five governments, and early il
the evening we noticed him overhaul
ing the pile of poles we had dragged IL
for firewood. He at length selected out
four or five which had all the spring o.
American hickory, and then unfoldeG
his idea to the sergeant. 1t was simple
enough, but no one but Yankee would
have ever thought of it. We first laid
five short poles on the ground and
pinned them fast. Then three feet in
rear of them we elevated five other
short poles about two feet from the
ground on crotches When the end OF
n long pole was put over one of these
and rested against the one on the
ground we had what would have been
spring board, if there had been any
board about it. We then nailed box
covers to the other ends OF the poles,
made ropes fast to bend them down,
and we had a principle made use of in
war 1, 800 years ago.
Now, then, pull down the end of the
pole, place stone on the pan and ct
go, and the spring sends the stone fyng
sky high, to come down with crash on
somebody's head. In an hour we had
the five ready and playing away, there
being plenty of broken stone in the fort
for ammunition. There was spring
enough to the poles TO throw five
pound stone sixty rods, and we heard
sounds to prove that we drove the
enemy from a dozen different positions
during the night.
The guns opened on us early in the
morning, and then a funny thing took
place. 1t may seem almost absurd to
you, but I'm giving you only what was
officially reported when 1 say that with
our five spring guns, as you might call
'em, we actually drove the gunners out
Of that redoubt and silenced their fire.
After little practice we could get just
the right spring to send the stone soar
ing away like a bomb, to fall upon
their uncovered heads. \ jagged stone
weighing from one to five pounds, and
falling from a height of fifty or sixty
feet, is not to be despised They tried
to get shelter over them, but with
our mUsketry fire at the embrasures,
and our rocks dropping from above,
they had to desert the redoubt. Wher-
ever we found a body of the enemy
sheltered by rock or thicket to fire on
Us We trained our Yankee inventions
on them, and they had 10 withdraw.
After the failure of the artillery to
breach the walls, the Afghans sat down
TO Starve us out. The idea was to wear
US out rs well, and a fire of musketry
was maintained day and night They
didn't expect to do any great
harm by this fire, but they knew it
would keep US on thu alert and annoy
and irritate. 1t did have that effect, !
and they harrassed US further by threats
OF assault. We on our part kept them
lodging with our missiles and l have
no doubt we wounded a good many of
them in that way. They couldn't make
out what sort Of guns we had which |
fired without noise and threw rocks in
stead of iron or lead, and this puzzle |
was what prevented them from carry. |
ing our walls by assault
For thirty-six long days and nights |
we were cooped up in that fort, not |
for food or drink, but a prey
to constant anxiety, and then The sec
ond main column came up from the
coast and sent us relief In the fight in
the pass below the fort over 800 natives
we're killed, and of the dozen captured |
alive every man OF them expressed
lesire to see our strange guns before
being disposed of rs prisoners were.
They were brought inside and permit
ed to inspect them, and their curios,
ty was unbounded. Poor devils
They were backed against the wall
lot twenty feet away, and shot to
leath even rs their faces still expressed
wonder and astonisLment.- New York
Sun.