The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-02-16
LAMBERTs POINT, FEB. Is. 1893
LOADED


In the Rife Pits.
| II Is rare that you hear a soldier OF
| the war boast OF a shot which laid an
enemy low. There were instances when
he could not help but realize that his
! bullet carried death, but the reflection
is not pleasant one. He was In battle
| line TO hold the ground-to load and fire
! TO help win a victory. If he killed 1t was
! iegalized murder He had the spirit of
warrior instsad Of hunter. There was
! no generalization; no calm waiting and
! manOeuvring TO send fellow being into
! eternity.
/ Beyond the earthwork the ditch. Be
! yond the ditch the murderous tangIe
| called the abats. Beyond the abatis
| those lairs called rife pits. They were
| deep enough and broad enough for graves.
| Sometimes they were long enough for the
| corpse to lie at full length. At other
times the body was found half doubled
up, and the stiffened limbs caught at
earth and stone and root as the body was
| lifted out. The rife pit was the iai--fhe
occupant a sharpshOoter- a human tiger
! thirsting FOR blood. He was not ordered
| 10 the work. He volunteered for ii. his
rife at home had br0ugh down decr and
| turkey and bear-perhaps a panther. He
had brought down squirrels as they chat
tered at him from the highest limbs. He
! now creeps forward to a rife pit under
| cover of darkness TO try his skill on hu-
/ man prey.
From this cover we can use the glass
| and bring the pit almost at our feet as
| the sun comes UP. The hunter has been
! patiently waiting. He has eaten his
| breakfast of pork and hard tack, washed
| 1t down with a sip from his canteen and
| his rifle had been cleaned and loaded.
| Rifles are used here-lORg, heavy rifles
| with sights nicely adjusted. The pit has
| been dug so as to leave a sort Of shelf
| for the hunter to sit on. In front of
| him the dirt has beel hoaped up into
breastwork Tie pits of the enemy are
| opposite and only half shot away. Behind
the hunters are oarthWorks mounting
! heavy guns. Three or four Of the guns on
either side cannot be worked because of
these hunters.
| iSow watch our human tiger. The morn
Ing had been quiet thus far He desires
| to locate the man opposite him-to test
| his promptness and skill and TO judge OF
the weapon he is armed with. He lays
aside his own rifle and wthdraws the
ramrod He then drops his hat over
| II and carefully raises 1t into view above
the heap Of dirt. II is lifted inch by
inch, as If the owner was strengthening
! himself TO get view. Crack! Crack!
The reports were from the rife pits TO
his right and left, The hunter directly
| opposite was not on the alert. The hat
! IS dropped for a moment. Firing has
now begun all along the line. Not that
the hunters can see each other. but as
sort Of challenge or defiance. Now the
hat is lifted again. 1t is trick played
every hour in the day The hunter oppo-
site waits until the brim is almost in view
before he fires, Had there been a head
l under fha hat his b11itef xNaOfd t,o. ia
| crashed into 1t.
Now begins the watching and waiting.
! Our hunter carefully digs at the earth
/ before him unth he has made a trench
| for his rifle barrel 10 rest in. The muZZle
has been stained with mud, and neither
barrel nor trimmings glisten In the bright
sunshine. The hammer is raised, finger
on trigger and the hunters eye gansing
along the sights. There is human prey
| over there behind the other dirt pile If
! the hunter is flushed with pride because
his bullet reached the heart Of a panther
| in its spring. how will he feel when he
knows that the leaden n essenger has
| ploughed its way 10 the brain OF a fellow
| being? There Is no excitement, no trem-
| bling, no hope rising up that the man
| opposite may lie close and escape death.
Watch, Watch! Watch! II a hunter
! can watch and walt for an hour or two
| beside deer trail he should not complain
of half day here where his expected
| prey Is human.
An hour goes by. Our hunter removes
| his finger from the trigger and his eve
| from the sights and leans back to rest
| for moment. He mutters his disap-
| pointment. He even curses the obstinacy
OF his expected victim. Five minutes later
with hope renewed. he resumes his vigil.
The minutes creep slowly by and another
half hour drags away. All, there is a
speck of encouragement--a fitting feet
ing, shadowy something at the left of
the dirt pile opposite. Our hunters eyes
brighten. grim smile covers his face.
and his heart beats little faster. The
game is in sight. as 1t were.
one minute-two-three- four-five.
There Is not the culver Of an eyeIash as
he looks through the Aights-the finger
on the trigger seems made Of iron. The
shadowy something is seen again. and now
II is identified. 1t is a faded, dirt-stained
and ragged old cap rising out of the rife
pit, and above the little earthwork. The
hunter opposite is wondering IL the pit
is occupied by living or dead. He is max
ing a movement fraught with peril, but
perhaps this Ia bis first man hunt.
Up-up--up rises the cap. There is a hui
man head under 1t. Crack! II is the re-
port OF our hunters rife. and ne sinks
down with a chuckle OF satisfaction. He
had caught sight of a sunbrowned fore
head. bushy hair. and pair OF eyes
cleaning like those of a wild beast. and
he knows that his bullet sped surely.
AS he sinks down the other rises TO his
feet, throws up his hands. and falls In a
heap. sounding his death cry as he falls.
Killed. Shot through the head One
less enemy. And our hunter has drawn
ap-StirQlV bnrriQH n
into eternity-and he smiles and chuckles
and feels that men must look upon him
with awe and admiratIon!-New York
Sun.