The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-04

SR9~ ssnS0e tent evon m0't thsn pE,
NJ 0 the cause a, for
which they were
DIRECTLY HE WAS fighting. 1t was
WORKING. mysterious
fraternity, born of the smoke and dan.
ger of'death.
Presently he began to feel the effects
Of the war atmospheric blistering
sweat, a sensation that his eyeballs
were about to crack like hot stones. A
burning roar filled his ears.
Following this came red rage. He
developed the acute evaporation of u
pestered animal, well-meaning COW
worried by dogs. He had mad feel
ing against his rife which could only
be used against one life at time. He
wished to rush forward and strangle
with his fingers. He craved a power
that would enable him to make Il
world-sweeping gesture and brush all
back. His impotency appeared to him
and made his rage into that of driven
beast.
Buried in the smoke of many rifles,
his anger was directed not so much
against the men whom he knew were
rushing toward him, as against the
swirling battle-phantoms who were
choking him, stufiing the irsmoke-robes
down his parched throat. He fought
frantically for respite for his senses,
for air, as babe, being smothered,
attacks the deadly blankets.
There was singular absence of he
roic poses. The men bending and
surging in their haste and rage were
in every impossible attitude. The
steel ramrods clanked and changed
with incessant din as the men pounded
them feverishly into the hot rifle bar
rels. The flaps of the cartridge-boxes
were all unfastened and tapped and
bobbed idiotically with each movement.
The rifles, once loaded, were jerled to
the shoulder and fired without appar-
ent aim into the smoke or at one of the
blurred and shifting forms which upon
the field before the regiment had been
growing larger and larger like pappets
under magician's hand.
The men dropped here and there like
bundles. The captain of the youths
company had been killed in an early
part of the action. His body lay
stretched in the position of a tired
man resting, but upon his face there
was an astonished and sorrowful look
as if he thought some friend had done
him an i'll turn. The babbling man
was grazed by shot that made the
blood stream widely down his face.
He clapped both hands to his head.
"Oh," he said and ran. Another
grunted suddenly as if he had been
struck by club in the stomach. He
sat down and gazed ruefully. In his
eyes there was mute, indefinite re-
proach.
At last an exultant yell went along
the quivering line. The firing dwindled
from an uproar to vindictive pop
ping. As the smoke slowly eddied
away the youth saw that the charge
had been repulsed. The enemy were
scattered into reluctant groups. He
saw man climb to the top of the
fence and fire parting shot. The
waves had receded leaving bits of dark
debris upon the ground
Some in the regiment began to whoop
frenziedly; many were silent. Appar.
emily, they were trying to contemplate
themselves.
After the fever had left his veins, the
youth thought at last he was going to
suffocate. He became aware of the
foul atmosphere in which he had beer
struggling. He was grimy and drip
ping like laborer in foundry. He
grasped his canteen and took long
swallow of the warm water.
A sentence with variations went pr
and down the line. "Well, we've
held'em back, we've held'em back
Gerned if we haven't" The men said
It blissfully, leering at each other with
dirty smiles.
The youth turned to look behind him
He experienced the joy of a man who
at last finds leisure to look about him
Under foot, there were few CHASTITY
forms motionless. They lay twisted in
fantastic contortions. Arms were
bended and heads were turned in in
credible ways. 1t seemed that the
dead men must have fallen from some
great height to get into such positions
They looked to be dumped out upon
the ground from the sky.
From a position in the rear of the
grove battery was throwing shells
over it. The guns squatted in a row
like savage chiefs. They argued with
abrupt violence. 1t was a grim pow.
WOW. Their busy servants ran hithel
and thither.
A small procession of wounded mcr
were going drearily to the rear. II
was flow of blood from the torn body
of the brigade.
To the right and to the left were the
dark lines of other troops. Far IL
front he thought he could sec lighter
masses protruding in points from tho
forest. They were suggestive of un
numbered thousands.
Once he saw tiny battery go dash
ing along the line of the horizon. The
tiny riders were beating the tiny
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