The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-03-22
ELL LET GO or THE MULES EAR.
But Not Until He'd Added n Chapter to the
History Of the War.

But Not Until He'd Added n Chapter to the
History Of the War.
In the rotnnda Of tho Auditorium no.
tol several veterans Of tic war of the
rebellion were seated around in oirciet
telling of some Of their war experiences,
ono Of Thorn relating tho following in
cident:
''Our regiment was in camp at Har-
rer's Ferry, and mua bright morning a
comrade and l secured permission to
visit farmhouse some distance away,
Il here we knew there was some poultry.
Tvs rode horses and had some money in
our pockets to purchase the chickens
and turkeys we desired, for on this &C.
easion we had made UP our minds to
fortfo foraging, hut later circumstances
arose that made it necessary for us to
forget our good resolutions. Turning our
horses into grassfiesd which was but
short distance from the house, we left
them to Craze at will. On reaching tho
house we met tho farmer on an old fash
Toned porch that ran the whole front OF
the quaint farmhouse. / told the farmer
that we had come to buy some of his
poultry, at which his southern blood be-
gan to boil He swore he'd rather see
every chicken and turkey on the place
rot before he would sell them to any
id Yankee for q thousand times
what they were worth.
'"Ehat settled it with u.s. We could
not stand saeh an insult and went
straightway to the EARN, where fine
lot of fowls were pecking grain. 1t did
not take rs long to tie the legs Of a
koodly number of chickens and turkeys
AS was In the act of tying up the legs
Of d proud gobbler looked up, and to
my dismay saw coming mp the lane q
small company Of Confederate cavalry
l took in the situation at q glance. l
knew we had not time to reach our
horses, and to escape on foot was irnpos-
sib1e. In the barnyard were two fine,
sleek mules. Throwing my string of
fswIs over the back Of one and jumping
astride the animal, shouted to Bill
that was the first name of my comrade
to follow my example. He did SO,
and l took the lead for the camp. The
mule that was OH had taken but few
Jumps when heard Bill shout:
''Holy smoked He's baked, Jim. -
looked around, and sure enough the
riule had baked. The Confederates
We're close at hand, and I shouted back
to Bill.
Crawl on his neck, Bill, and chew
his ear. +"
Bill lost no time in trying the exper-
i,rfeut. He got the end of the animals
long car mto his mouth and began oper-
ations. The mule gave squeal, like
that of stuck pig, and rushed madly
after its mate, which l was riding on,
for dear life. Suddenly saw something
loom up and rush past me- 1t was Bill
and his mule. Bills teeth were inn
bedded in the animals ear, and blood
trickled down the side Of Its head. Bill
was hll bumped up on the back OF his
mad steed and presented q most ludi-
crous sight. The turkeys topped their
wings, and the chickens made terrible
clatter, Which only served to make the
mule 90 faster. heard the Confeder-
atos behind us laugh. They fred at us.
but we were not hit. l am sure that
they could not have hit Bill, for he was
being carried along at a great speed.
Through the picket line Of our regi-
ment and on through the Gatnp went
Bills mule, the fowls bobbing up and
down at every jump. AS soon as / knew
we were out of reach of the enemy /
gathered all Of my lung power and
shouted:
''Let DC the mules ear, Bill; we're
safep'
Bill heard me and let 60 He finally
succeeded in stopping the mule, whose
sides went in and out like big bel
lows An examination showed Bill had
chewed over half the mules ear off.
Bill allowed it was the toughest bit Of
meat he had ever tackled. but that night
he got square on roast turkey and chick
en-. We lost two Of the best horses in
our army. Chicago Tribune.