Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-10
TRUE TALES OF TODAY.

The talk turned upon personal courage
in a conversation had the other day with
an aide-de-camp of General Alexander
Hays. The veteran, who had the name of
| being the most daring aide on Hays staff,
said. "You ask me how l felt when l first
smelt powder. so to speakzwell, after the
lapse of all these years I'm ALMOST ashamed
to tell you was panic-stricken, scared out
OF my senses, my courage oozed out of me
in an instant, and a small boy could have
captured me without trouble. This awful
experience came after l had been about
year in the army. The regiment of infantry
in which was, was preparing to go into
camp. We were few miles outside of York
town, which was in the possession of the
Confederates, but none of us, not even our
officers, realized the proximity of the enemy.
There were some cattle with the army, and
somehow or other some of my comrades and
l were part of the crowd that drove the
beeves to the place where they were to be
slaughtered. We formed a circle a sort of
bull ring, and fell to skylarking and firing
our pistols at the cattle as they ran hither
and thither. 1t was all laughter and shout
ing. Suddenly, without the slightest warn
ing, sound that we had never heard before
rose above the clamor. 1t was n sort Of
whirring howl, lasting a few seconds only,
but long enough to strike terror into our
hearts. The men who had been as gay and
noisy as schoolboys minute before were
dumb. l don't remember how they be-
haved. My own affairs kept me busy. L
felt as If my boots were nailed to the ground.
They wouldn't move, neither would my legs
in fact had lost control of my body.
was perfectly limp, and my knees sagged
out. That was at the first strange sound, as
of some hideous, deadly bird flying over
ho I'd hot 10
enemy was shelling US. All knew for sure
was that somehow my life, which had en-
joyed so much minute before, was in dan
ger. WANTED to run, but my legs wouldn't
obey me. Two shells passed over me, be-
fore could shake Off the paralysis. Then l
ran as l never ran before or since, with a
professional sprinter's speed, to the shelter
of the woods from which our regiment had
only just emerged. A second terror seized
me as reached the first scattering trees.
had selected one, a big fellow, as my
refuge, and when 1 reached it, three other
men who were crouched behind it pushed
me violently away, saying there wasn't
room for more. Shells were still in the air,
and with terror pursued my flight. When
at last fell exhausted upon the ground be-
yond the range of the enemy's artillery, 1
almost lost consciousness for a while.
Nobody was killed by those shells, but the
'Rebs' must have laughed to see us run, and
laughed louder yet when our cattle ran into
their lines as they did. felt more or less
uncomfortable always in going into battle
afterward, but never again lost my nerve
as I did at my fre-baptism before York
town."
A Fatal Resemblance.
Somebody called Robert Layton, the
immigration Inspector, Alexander the
Great the other day, whether because of his
dissatisfaction with the limited number of
worlds to be conquered, or because all na-
tionalities stand in awe of him, is not known.
Mr.. Layton resented the insinuation and de-
clined to wear the name. He also told this
story: "At one time something or other
that Idid, what it was is neither here nor
there, endeared me to the German social
istic element in New York, and the editor of
a leading socialistic paper published there
wrote to me, making very fattering pro-
posal. He said he would like to present me
to his readers, and to that end begged me to
send him my photograph, tnat he might
have picture made of me. There were so
many pretty things in the letter about my
services to the cause of liberty, ETC., that I
hadn't the heart to disappoint the editor. 1
sent him q photograph. When had forgot
ten all about my German friends in the
East and the project to immortalize my
features, the photograph came back, with a
brief letter to this effect:
RESPECTED SIR-I overcome with sorrow.
Your picture cannot appear in my paper. After
the engraving was made from the photograph my
attention called to the striking resemblance of
your face to Bismarcks. 1t would ruin with
our readers here If we published such picture.
Accept my apologies and regrets, also your ph oto
graph. Yours. etc.,