Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-06-12

was on the extreme left of the line,
you see, and the man was tanker.
He had been shot from the window of
a humble-looking cabin, which stood
in open ground about rifle-shot away.
Sergeant, take ten men and clean
those bushwhackers out and burn the
housed" was the order I got from my
Captain, and minute later I had
squad marching away.
There had been more or less fight
ing over this same ground all the fore
noon, and the artillery and musketry
fire had been pretty hot. We were
now driving the line, and as we advanc-
ed we found many of the dead still "
ing where they fell. 1t wasn't lawful
warfare for bushwhacker to hide
away in farmhouse and shoot SOL
der in the back. Even if battle was
raging such deed smacked of muir
der. if he could shoot it was his bust
ness to be in the lines opposed to us.
Then, if his bullets found 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 bushwhacker had
fed as soon as he fired his shot. but
We had not covered over half the dis
tance when a rife cracked and one of
my men dropped with bullet in his
heart. The nearest cover to the house
was stone fence 100 feet in front of
it, and shed-barn about the same dis
tauce from the back door. Dividing
my squad, and now adopting all the
precautions we could, all of us finally
gained the shelters mentioned It was
a log cabin story ana half high,
with two windows in front, one on each
side, and window in the rear. The
two doors were front and back.
How many men We're in the house
We could not say, but as soon as in po-
sition we opened fire on the doors and
windows. Not shot was fired in re-
turn for three or four minutes. Then
ole of my men at the wall, who had
exposed himself, got q bullet in the
shoulder, and crawled away to hide
under bank of earth. Our bullets
soon riddled doors and windows, and
must have searched every part of the
house. We expected to see three OF
four men dash out and make run for
it, or white flag to be displayed in
token of a surrender, but all was grim
ly 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 bullet in return. It
didn't kill him, but carried away the
right half of his upper lip and mus
tache, passed through his cheek, car
ried 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 same
weapon. We knew it to be the ordi-
nary rifle by the whip-like crack of its
report, but there might be three or
four men in the house for all we could
determine. We kept blazing away at
doors and windows, on the chance Of
hitting some one, and from the silence
of the next ten minutes felt confident
that we had disabled them.
Then gave the signal for rush at
the house. ALI of us were up and half
way there, when rife barrel was
poked through broken pane and a
flash followed. The ball grazed my
cheek and struck the man behind me
in the forehead and dropped him dead.
Next moment we were at the doors,
front and back, and they were banged
open with crash.
This is what I saw: A boy soldier
lying dead on the floor, with an arm
torn off by fragment of shell. On
the bed was gray-haired woman with
a bullet wound in her face. Standing
in the corner Of the room, proud and
defiant, with the unloaded rifle in her
hands, was girl of 16-a regular
country belle in grace and beauty.
II can do no more. Shoot us if you