The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-04-08
A GHOST ON SENTRY.
The CorporaIs Thrilling Tale OF the Zulu
War.

The Corporate Thrilling Tale OF the zul,
Some of the old timers in the British
army are excellent story-tellers, anG
the guard-rooln, where they are wont
to hold forth. is the place above all 9th
: ers to hear good yarn. Here is one
! told by Il lance corporal of the I'll
| regiment, which had lately returned
| from the ca rnpaiS in Zululand, in the
| Main Guard, ID" lines, Curragh camp
| Ireland.
| ''Of course you've heard" he said. adj
dressing himself more particularly tc
| a recruit who had shared in the glores
OF disasters Of that untoward war,
chow two companies of our regimen t
were left at / to guard a part of the
com m issslria t train while the ma in bod '
went in chase of horde of Zulu
which we had that day encountered
'Of course, too, you've heard how
they failed to return soon as was ex-
pectcd, and how night came on and
found our little band isolated and az
the mercy of thou sands of the fierce
enemy, who were lurking all around in
the dense bush.
'Pcrhaps you know how our dear
captain-Gob bless him-had the bags
of flour, the biscuit tins and wagons
formed into small brea stworl<
around us. and how at dawn the mex t
morning. by their aid, we were ena-
bied to beat Off the attack of the
enemy, who outnumbcred US ten to
one; how the captain, next evening,
when help was still delayed assembled
the men, telling them that the only
chance he saw of rescue was to sum
mon assistance: that he could see no
hope of anyone escaping with his life
through the enemy's lines, and on that
account would undertake the task him
self
''Scores of us volunteered to go, but
he wouldn't hear of it, only begging us
if he fell to bear evidence of his mo-
tivcS. so tina t no DEMONSTRATION might
be put on them; after handing over
the comma nd he did escape the enemy's
vigilance and brought back succor; how
he was tried by court-lnartial for cow
ardire in deserving his post and how
our evidence saved him.
'Hut this you don't know, my lad
that had it not been for ghost the
not a mothers son of would have
lived to hear the huzzas of our brave
fellows as they came in the nick Of time
and drove the yelling tends before
them.
LAS soon as the captain crcpt out of
the square under the shade of falling
night the scntries, of course, were
doubled partly, it's plain, because four
eyes are better than two, and partly tc
inspire confidence, for I can tell you
that sentry go is jumpy work Oh a
night when you cant yard in
front of you, and you expect every
minute that a black devil will spring
out of the gloom and stir up your vitals
with his in fernal asscgai.
~ was one of the detail for duty that
night, and it so happened that my sec
ond spell occurred during the two hours
just previous to dawn, when an attacl.
M ght be expected.
''BaclI and forward and
ra ak man paced silently as we could
and pecrlng more and more anNiously
into the surrounding gloom dawn
approached. Suddenly. as l turned on
my beat, | saw Tommy Slaughter as
plain l see you now, pacing in front
of me.
'Now, Tommy had been killed the
day before: and. what's more, couldn't
in a n ordinary way have seen any man
under the circumstances. It's always
darkest before dawn, Won know.
~ paused moment, fairly stag
gercd, with the cold pers pirate a pour
ing off me, and as | did do | saw a Zulu
spring out of the darkness and drive
his stabbing assegai fierccly rat the
pha n tom.
II suppose he was revealed to me bv
the same mysterious light that showed
the ghOStly form of my late comrade |
but be that it may, saw him dis
tinctly. and even noted look of hor-
rificd surprise that passed his !
features when he found that his wea-
pom met with no resistance.
For n moment he paused as if petri- |
fed. and in that moment l recovered |
my senses, " hirii for the time being
had q deserted me.
''Quickly raising my rifle I covered |
the savage, and its report rang out !
IN the still morning air, the ghostly |
light. which had been of such service,
faded and disappeared
MY timely shot warned our fellows
and ere moment had scarce elapsed
each man was at4his post, behind our
mprovisod ramparts. battling for dear
life with host OF implacable foes
which seemed to have arisen like an ex-
ha la ton from the earth.
''>ilcntly westruggled hand-to-hand
md stccl-tO- steel. our rifles being of no
al va tage to us. for VIC had no chance !
% use them in the da r<ness, and though
Zach man fought with that logged
courage born of despair. it had awaited |
is nothing against such overwhe ming
odds But help was at hand.
"A faint hurrah in the distance told |
is of the fact and ncrved our fagsing J
muscles to fresh exertions. With an
answering shout we charged them once |
again. as our fellows, the captain in
he van. took them in the rear
AS they had come they went. van
shing like shadows in the now dis |
,ersing gloom, 50 that when the sun |
'hot up like a meteor in the east moth
ny remained of them but their dead |
md dying.
1.-THE captains return saved us but |
rst the same had not Tommy's ghost
:, 49, IN