Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-08-05
NAILS THAT WHISTLED.
A JOKE THAT MADE 10000 MEN
THINK THE ENEMY WAS NEAR.

| less Powder, and Prices Men Imagined
That the Ingenuity Of the Yankees Had
Evolved Something Terrible.
II zee. said the veteran. IA he twisted
his feet mp on the veranda railing and
gazed laziiy at the sunset. that they are
making whole lots of talking In the news
papers nowadays about snokeless an
noiseless 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
we were all cut OF from the world and
couldn't get any news from the outside
Well, the story got started somehow that
the Yankees had invented new powder
"a kind that burned with no smoke. no
fash and no noise. Pretty soon they
were talking about it in every regiment.
worrying over the thing. and reviving
rhe devilish ingenuity Of the Yankee
There was nothing to talk about. and
you know how It Is in a 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
Bill Oliver. of Colonel Winston's Second
Missouri Bill came from up here at
Platte City He was blacksmith. a
strapping great big fellow. strong as a
horse. He weighed, reckon. 200
pounds.
'one black night Bill was put ont in
the brush on picket duty. Now. he was
Just az gritty fighter as YOU ever saw
in line with man on either side OF him.
but tell you, my boy, set man out in
a dark thicket all alone and the enemy
known to be near and supposed to be
everywhere, IL takes all the starch out Of
the best of them
wHIsTIISo NAILS.
80 Bill was trembly and shaky and
saw Yankee sharpshootcrs everywhere
Now, in the same regiment they had
a daredevil. harum scarum fool-Reub
HILL This Reub Hill was the kind OF a
specimen every regiment hasa pestif
erous practical joker-a nuisance that
everybody liked Here was a rich chance
/ for one OF Reuben's little jokes Soon
az Bill had got settled at his post Reuben
loaded his pocket with dozen or 40 big
wrought iron nails. and out through the
dark he circled to get in front OF the
pickets. He hid in sassafras brush
about hundred feet from the big black
smith and looked out.
There was Bill tiptoeing up and down
his beat like an elephant on a rickety
bridge, dodging and whirling every time
a grasshopper chirped or horse back in
the camp snorted. He was getting badly
scared. Reuben picked up right rag
ged nail and flung it just as hard as he
could jerk
You know what vicious screeching
9 nail makes when yon throw it that
wayf No mimic ball ever sounded wick
eder II goes;
'Whi-u-u-u-ur
Poor Bills heart stopped with big
thump like a sledgehammer, aud Reu.
ben. away off in the thicket. heard him
catch his breath as If some one had
dropped "A bucket Of ice water on him
His big bulk dropped in the weeds like
sack Of sand, and for about a minute
there was not the sound Of breath
Then the big picket nuitered shakily
'Sho, I'm gittin skeery as woman with
thinkin Of them Yanks an their new
tangled powder Aud he got up and
began warily TO walk his beat
Reuben let go another Of his nails.
and third Just ~ quick rs he could
throw. They went whirring blood
thlrstily toward William. and one Of
them ripped through the leaves over his
head, scattering twigs and bits Of leaf
all about
An ARMY IN READINESS.
There was no doubt about 1t this
time, and big Bill, ss he let his mnsket
og wildly In the air. charged for camp.
suffering putting yelling. tearing up
weeds and sol aud boiling into trees.
Ills trail looked like the track OF young
cyclone Into the camp he plunged.
over men and tents musket stacks and
cook trenches IL Is an actual fact that
he ran over a little toraging pony that
WAS tied to "A tree and couldn't get ont
OF the way knocked the poor beast down
and crippled 1t for week His head
way WAS terrific, Tie finally brought up
full tilt against tough little hickory
sapllng. which ne ran down like moose
landing mp In the leafy top with his
hands clawing at the boughs,
He walked every man in the regi-
ment. Down the line went shouts and
bugle calls Within ten minutes every
one Of Prices 1000 men WAS in line Of
battle staring into the darkness for the
eueny's advance guard. listening for the
purr Of their silently fred bullets
''Of course, the enemy did not come.
but the men lay ON their arms all night
Reuben was too tickled over the way
Bill tore through the brush to keep quiet
Next day every man in the army had tho
story But II did not take well with
the officers. A corporl's guard came
after Reuben and put irons on him. and
his little joke WAS ponderousiy consider
ed by u court martial. That afternoon
same news Of the enemy in deadly ear.
nest. and Price set out on one Of his
long. forced marches. Reuben went
along, he took with him by especial re-
quest Of the court martial full sized
black oak fence rail. sogyy with sap He
was charged carefully not to lose that
rail for three days.
The first day. said the disconsolate
Joker after IL WAS all done. that rail felt
pretty heavy. just like an ordinary rail
NEXT day IL felt like a whole tree. but
MY on the last day | thought was car.
ryins all the woods.
1T Is still an open question among the
boys Of Niuston's regiment whether the
Joke WAS on William or Reuben Kan