The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1894-07-07

recommended the women and chi
dren hurried to them for safety. TIL
caves were branched like the letter d,
and would hold from 10 to 80 persons
AS there were upward of 5000 nor
combatants in the city, it took a Ion;
line of caves to accommodate them.
Before the end of the six week:
siege many had become SO used to tn
noise of the shells that they ~retreate,
very leisurely to the caves when th
firing recommended. One eye, how
ever, was always kept warily on tn
heavens.
Duringt the first few days the Vicks
burg cadets very prompt il
their attendance upon the caves, bu
one afternoon, as a sudden shower O
hail sent every one hurrying from tn,
city, Captain Newt Bixby communi
Gated with his officers and with thei,
aid managed to collect most of tn,
company outside the caves.
Soldiers must not be children I" ht
shouted, his clear young voice rising
above the din of the flying shells. Il:
any of the boys want to enter thu
caves, let them go now. We dom
want them. We have had our scare
and now it is time to show ourselves
worthy of our fathers and brothers
All the cadets who remain in the
ranks now must do it with the free
will of soldiers who are ready to die
with their comrades"
He paused a moment, but no one
stirred.
"Good" he exclaimed. "Now,
boys, there + nearly 60 of us, and ]
think we can be as good soldiers as
some of the boys who have entered
the army. We are too young fol
that, so we must look after the duties
u fathers have been obliged tc
leave. Corporal johnson will deploy
20 men between the caves and the
city to assist such as need it, while
the rest of us will return to the
streets and do what we can to heir
stragglers and to prevent fires"
Even as he spoke there came a wild
shrek from a group of women who
were hurrying toward one of the
more distant caves. A fragment OF
shell had struck one of their number
and torn away part of her left arm.
A small child held by that arm had
fallen to the ground, apparently un.
hurt. At the same moment the
storm of shell increased, and the
forms of the woman and her
child could hardly be seen for the
clouds of dust. The rest Of the WON.
en- fed shrieking to the caves, and
most of the spectators quickly follow
ed their example. Even the cadets
wavered for a moment as the iron
rain began to fall about them. But
only for a moment. Then Captain
Newt Bixby's voice was heard form.
ing the men into a compact body,
and as they marched back to the CITY
Corporal Johnson and one of his men
were seen moving the wounded wom-
an to the nearest cave.
Reaching the center of the desolate
city, the boys separated into squads
and sought different parts of the
town. Some of the inhabitants still
remained in their homes, and occa-
sionally a store door was found open,
and its proprietor peering from be-
hind a pile of barrels OF boxes. Dur
ing the afternoon several incipient
fires were put out and a bomb taken
of before it had time to explode.
After a few weeks the boys became
accustomed to the noise of battle and
could hear the shells whistle by with
supreme Indifference. The excite
ment of action they found to be i'm
measurably preferable to being half
smothered in the caves. Several of
their number had been more or less
hurt, and brave Corporal johnson
had met a soldiers death.
The city was becoming more Desc
late every day. Most of the grocery
and provision stores We're closed.
They had nothing left to sell.
Flour was 5000 a barrel, and corn $40
a bushel, bacon IS a pound, and cof-
fee and poultry not to be had at any
price. Mule meat had to take the
place of poultry, beef and mutton.
The streets were Uttered with bro
ken shells and bombs. Here and
there a citizen, for want of other en-
ployment, had gathered a ton or
more of broken iron and piled it up
in his front yard. The strange pyra-
mids were CHASTITY reminders of the
times. There were no newspapers or
visitors to give news of the outside
world. Nothing but the incessant
bomb Smelling from the implacable
outside. The streets were de-
fruit and candy booths a
thing Of the past. The noncombat-
ants had no energy for anything but
to walk back and forth, back and
forth-and wait.
Hardly an entire window pane of
glass remained in the city. Most of
the chimneys we're more Or less de-
molished. Nearly all of the buildings
had great ragged holes torn through
the boarding and plaster. But the peo-
pie were getting used to it. 1t took
IN unusually severe tempest of shell
TO start them leisurely for the caves,
10 which a few scattering shot had
formerly sent them scurrying.
One day Captain Newt Bixby and
his men saw a tongue of flame shoot