The morning call., 1892-06-22
BIC used NAILS.


his feet upon the veranda railing and
gazed lszily at the sunset, that they are
making whole lots of talk in the news
papers nowadays about smOkeless and
noiseIess powder Why. we were talking
about the same thing when / was in Prices
army
"You know we were away down in the
brush In Southwest Missouri, where sc
were all cut of from the world and couldn't
get any news from the outside. Well, the
story got started somehow that the ankees
had invented q new powder-a kim that
burned with no smoke, no fash and no
noise. Pretty soon they were talking about
il in every regiment, worrying over the
thing, and reyiling the deviIish ingenuity
of the Yankee. There was nothing to talk
about, and you know how it is in big body
Of idle men.
There was one fellow that took great
stock in the noiseless powder story. II
bothered him all the time. This was BIZ
Oliver, Of Colonel WinstOn's Second Mis-
souri,. Bill came from up here ut Platte
CITY. BE was a blacksmith, Swapping
great big fellow, strong as a morse Nc
weighed l reckon, 2O pounds.
"Ons black night Bill was put out In the
brush Oh picket duty. Now, he was just as
gritty a fighter as you ever saw ID line Win
r man on either side OF him, but tell you,
my boy, set z man out Ii dark thlcke[ all
alone, and the enemy known to be near and
supposed 10 be EVERY where, Il takes all the
starch cut Of tie best of them.
so Bib was tTembly and shaky, and saw
Yankee shaTpShOOters ever where.
Now, in the same regiment they had
daredevil, haTum-scsTum fool heuO Hin.
This Reub Hill was the kind Of & specimen
F.. every regiment hasa pessiIeToua practical
: f0ker-a nuisance that every body dlsiikeQ.
Here was q rich chance for one OF ReuDs
little Jokes. Soon as Bill had got settled at
his post Reuben loaded his pockets with
dozen or SO Of Big wrought iron nails. ana
out through the dark he clrcled TO get IN
front OF me pickets. BE hid ia sasSatras
brush about leo feet from the Dig BLACK
smith. and looked out.
There was Bill tipt0eing up and down
his beat ike I'D elephant CD uckety bridge,
lodging snd WhiTlng every time a grass
hopper ChiTDed or a horse back IN the camp
sBorted. He WAS getting badly scared.
Reuben picked up right ragged nail, and
flung il Just as hard as he could jerk.
You know what a vicious screech ing q
nail makes when Won throw il that way?
No mimic ball ever sounded vic keder. 1t
goes
'Whi-n-u-u-u'P
Poor BIlPs heart stopped with a big
away eff ID the tbicket heard him catch MS
breath as il some one had dropped bucket
of ice-Water on him. his big bulk dropped
in the weeds Ike a sack OF sand and for
minute there was not sound OF breath.
Then tie big picket mUtteTed shaGIly, 'ShO,
I'm glttn, s6eeTy as woman with tninkln'
OF them ! anks an their ueY-fangled pow
der And he got up and began YEARLY 10
walk his beat.
Reuben let 20 another Of his nails and a
third just as quick as he could throw They
went NhTTing bl0OdthITstIly toward William,
and one Of them ripped through the leaves
over his head, scattering tTigs and bits Of
leaf al! about.
There was no doubt bout it this time,
and big Bin, as he ct his muSket of
wildly II the air, char ged fol- camp, sput-
teTlDg. pulling, yelling. tearing up weeds
Gnd Sod and boiling into trees. His trail
looked like the track Of a yOung cyclone.
IAtO the camp be plunged, over men aud
tents, musket stacks and cook trenches.
Il Is an actual fact that he ran over little
foFaE.ng pony that was tied 10 a tree and
couldn't get cut Of the way, knocked tire
poor beast down and crippled II for q week.
His Roadway was terrific. He finally
brought up full tilt against a tough little
hickory sapliDg which he ran down Ike a
moose, landing MP in the leafy top with his
hands clawing at the b0Ugns,
lie walked every man In tie regiment.
Down the line went shouts ana bug calls.
Within ten minutes every one Of Prices
$1,000 men was in line Of battle, staring
into the darkness for the enemy's advance
guard, listening for the puIT Of their silently
cred bullets.
H0f course the enemy did not come, but
the men lay on their arms all night.
Reuben was too tckled over the way Bill
tore through the brush to keep quiet. Next
day every man in tile army had the story.
Bat il did not taks we'll with the officers. a
corporaps guard came after Reuben and put
irons on him, and his little joke was ponder
0usly considered by urt-martial
That afternoon came news Of the enemy
in deadly earnest, and Price set out on one
Of his long, forced marches. Reuben went
along. lie took with him, by special re-
quest OF the couTt-martial, full-sized black
oak fence-Tail, sOggy with sap. He was
charged carefully not to lose that rail for
three days.
The first day. said the dlsconsolate
Joker, after it was all done, that rail felt
pretty heavy, Just like an ordinary rail-
Next day it felt like a whole tree but N.Y.
on the last day thought was carrying ali
the woods
1T is still an open question among the
boys Of WinstOn's regiment whether the
joke was on William OF Reuben"