The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-12-24

'He belongs ter So company in the Mint.
Shove i'm up fur is Christmas in der bull
pen. Gimme der bag. I'll hold it till de
ole man comes, an off wild der beggars."
The guards made no unnecessary delay
h moving the prisoners, who were marched
away across the windy fields In a direction
opposite to that from which they had
come.
Christmas to Teddy Gregan and the little
guidon with the Hebrew nose dawned
. a wide, wind swept plain, where the
prisoners of the Army of the Potomac
were huddled together in miserable, SILVER
ing groups about smoky fires, or greveled
and shook under scanty blankets on the
frozen ground. The icy Christmas blasts
howled among the scant trees like a gale
at sea, and caught up the ashes from the
smoldering fires, and mingled their groans
with the biting snowflakes flying horizon
tally across the plain.
Ikey and Teddy walked about, making a
brave fight against the stinging cold, now
strangled by a gust of smoke and now
hating to get a Whit of a dripping strip
of bacon t~oasting on a lucky ramrod.
Sleep was out of the question, and other
men besides themselves were walking
about to stir their sluggish blood, or
crouching over smoking embers that the
wind had quickened into life. The gray
was mingled indiscriminately with the
blue, and the misery of that Christmas
morning made no distinction of uniform,
! except when an hour or two later a few
citizens were passed through the guard
with tsnacks" Of broiled chicken and hot
biscuits for the Confederate sufferers.
"Luck at um," said Teddy, holding on
to his empty stomach; ''ut's Niger ate
sponge cake livery time, an the divil takes
care av his own"
Its a poor show for a Christmas dinner
we've got,'' muttered Ikey, but there's
one thing Pm sure of. Snoopy Schley
landed that haversack O. fure into camp
afore the guard landed us here"
'Yer right he did," cried Teddy; "lave
him alone fur that. Ohm thinkin Bugler
Ovid ull be wakin up about this tonne
alongside av his missus. Don't yez be
down hearted, Oike; it's a long day we'll
have afore night, an a foinebunger there'll
be on us be that tonne" Is
1t was certainly a morning of bustling
preparation in camp in the immediate
neighborhood of the wigwam of the
buglers. Notwithstanding the absence of
two of its inmates. The big turkey was
turning and basting on a spit, with half the
battery looking on Ind shifting the ravish-
ing odor. keys dinner was to be spread in
the quartermaster' S log cabin for stores, and
the minor cooking was going on in the
cabin fireplace.
Old @. M. Sandy himself was away at
daylight for the landing. with Unc' Nose,
hi-hi-ing his six mules into the teeth of the
wind, and in Sandy's jacket pocket were
orders for mince pies and condensed milk
and lemons and whisky, and other deli
cacies not to be had at the suffers tent
across the fields in the nearest infantry
camp. The buglers were left with the
whole responsibility of the cooking on
their shoulders. AS there was constantly
something wanted from the nearest depot
of supplies, they pressed into service the
two fairest flowers from the bouquet of
lunatics and cripples attached to the serv-
ice of the extra horses. I
Charley Fitch, with his writings and
twistings in the name of st. Vitus, and
deaf old Spence Beebee made many a jour
ney to and from the suffers, trotting
through the long dry grass and stopping
in the .gind to watch the focks o., crows
and buzzards Tapping and sailing about
and swooping down to meet their thin
shadows on the brown fields in search OF
something for their Christmas. When