The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1895-11-06
THREE WAR STORIES.
A Surprised Private-One Bridge COSBY
Couldn't Burn-Ready to Drink.

A Surprised Private-One Bridge COSDy
Couldn't Bu~rn-Ready to Drink.
jeff Sterrott was o Confederate
soldier who served as a private, and
who is one of the two o. three pri-
Yates who survived tho war. He was
somewhat sentimental and natural
lyfoll in love with any good looking
girl he might see. He fell in love
with a young woman of Murfrees-
boro and slipped off to $50 her at
every opportunity. One day his feel
ines SO overwhelmed him that ho
suddenly found himself proposing
marriage to her.
No" she replied, her eyes fill
ing, Il can never marry YOU"
Stcrrott was surprised.
"NYhy not?" he asked.
"Oh, my heart is gone. It's in the
grave. TWAS buried whom they bur
led Captain -- five months ago.
That was too much for Sterrott.
Ho at once became angry.
Very well, miss" he said. IF
you can love u dead captain better
than q live private you can scratch
for it."
General Cosby had q mania for
burning down bridges. Whenever
he heard there vas a bridge i'll his
neighborhood be promptly had it
laid His continuous destruction
of bridges several times got himself
and his mon in tight places, where
a bridge would have come in mighty
handy, and resulted in an uneasy
feeling among his men.
He moved into Virginia in the
noighborhood of the Natural bridge
and ono day gave his mon permits
sion to inspect tho great natural
wonder. Two c~avalrymen, Il OF q
poetic turn and the other Of n world
ly, practical turn, happened to go
there together.
Isn't this. the most stupondous,
magnificent, grand view you ever
saw" exclaimed the poetic mar
grandiloquently. "Gszo upon that
landscape. See how beautiful arc
the works of nature" He continued
in this strain several minutes ard
finally asked the other his opinion.
Il don't know much about its be-
in stupendous, nor any O. that sort
O. thing, but I'm ID glad that
we've found one bridge that Cosby
can't burn up"
In the regiment with General
Duke was a soldier named Jack
Skillman, who was a grent hand ut
telling yarns. His yarns were about
great acts which he said he did, but
which he never performed, ignoring
completely several astonishing deeds
of bravery he really did, and which
really were more remarkable than
any alleged act he told about. The
scene of one of his yarns was a STRIP
along the bank of tho Tennessee riv.
er lying between Chattanooga and
Knoxville. At tho point mentioned
the river flowed in Il deep canyon and
appeared from above to be a thread
winding about, hundreds of feet be.
low. 1t was a dizzy height.
81 was a-goin long here one day
oil by myself" said he, ian when ]
came to this pint I SOC a blamed
Yankee all by hisscl' a-comin to.
ward mo-. Isays to myself, says I,
1T amt DO use o. Jul fghtin here,
whore no one amt lookin an where
we'd likea as not fall down the cliff.
II tolo tho Yankee we needn',
fight. Yes, We will, says he. l said
no. Our fghtin wouldn't decide tho
war, says I, AN VIC mought as wei.
bo friends All I tolo him to come
along an have q drink.
THE blamed Yankee kept on tell
in mo we was a-goin to fight, al
foro I knowed it he jumped On tt
mo. Well, sab, how wo did fight
We knocked each other down ar
wallowod an scratched an toro rsun,
an l see moro stars than you car
think of. Oh, we did fight!
pretty soon / saw we were ago.
in over to the edge of the p%recipico,
In another minute I sec we was lost.
Over we went a-whirlin an a-whiz,
Yin. a-fightin an a-scratchin. We
bumped into the rocks as We went
down IN knocked lots of 'em loose.
! thought we was never goin tc
reach bottom. After what seemed
two hours we struck, kerplank
Whew! We was knocked apart by
tho lick, an / thought the Yankee
would be dead. Iraised upan looked.
Just as / raised the Yankee raised
too.
"'Rob, says he, 4 believe I'll take
that drink now. '"-Louisyillo Cou
rier Journal.