Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-03-21
THE BOYS WAR.
How the Battle Between the East.
siderS and Westsiders Ended.

In the March Number of St. Nicholas
Prof. H. Fl. BoyeSan tells the story @.
a boys war that was fought with {
great deal of spirit i'll Norway. no
very long ago. 1t was between the
dWellers on the east and the west sides
OF 4 river. Both parties had bull
snow forts, and feeling ran high
Prof. Boyesen tells of the 6naI engage
ment as follows:
Then the bombardment began. 4
whole arsenal Of ammunition had been
stored behind the walls of each fort.
ress. and the balls flew thick and fast,
picking off man after man, now in the
one fortress and now in the other
There were at least thirty boys on each
side, and so great was their martial
fury that they rose up again after
they had been wounded. and laughed
at black eyes and bleeding noses. The
first serious accident occurred when
plucky Anton MikkelSon, losing his
balance, tumbled over the wall. and,
falling on the outside, rolled right
down on the frozen river. The east,
siders, seeing a chance of making him
a prisoner of war. sent out a fiying
column; n the WeSt-SiderS, in order
to rescue him. made a Sortie in force.
Leading his gallant army Gen. Viggo
advanced upon the ice, while the snow
balls whizzed past his ears, and poor
Marcus, the adiutant, received a ire
mendous hit right in his forhead which
raised a huge lump in an instant. But.
though he lost his balance, he was soon
upon his feet again, and ran forward
to shield his beloved commander from
the missiles that flew about his head.
flalvOr Reitan, big, coarse. and burly.
cheered on his men with a roar like
that of an angry lion; and they ad-
vanced. foot by foot, in spite of the
storm of SnOW-ballS which greeted
them. Anton Mikkelson. slightly
stunned by his fall, was snatched up
by a dozen eager hands before the
West7Siders could lay hold of him. and
would have been carried triumphantly
to Fort Defiance, if Gen. Viggo had
darted forward with drawn sword
and compelled the foe to drop him.
And now commenced a hand-to-hand
fight which was simply tremendous.
The boys wrestled, tumbled head over
heels, rose again. and, with loud
Whoops. charged the ranks of their
antagonists. No one minded bumps or
Scratches; nay, the boys scarcely felt
them, so filed were they with hot zeal.
50 absorbed in the great game of war.
For twenty minutes the battle ragged.
Then the east-side army gave way.
Many fell down, half exhausted in the
snow. The rest suddenly broke and
ran, in spite of their generals wrath
full wells and calls. Gen. Viggo. at the
head of his noble band, pursued them
Up the slope. and, with a wild cheer.
stormed the walls of Fort Defiance.
Marcus Henning was the first to scale
the rampant and snatch the flag. He
waved it thrice over his head, and
then carried it away in triumph. Gen.
Niggo promptly demanded the uncon-
ditional surrender of the fortress. and
Gen. Retain, seeing that his cOlOrS
were struck, had to accept the terms
S-S+I "NAN III I'LL. IDbJ "le1 lie
saw the West-sidors march away with
his banner, he suddenly forgot his sur
raLler; and, beside himself with an
ger. ne summoned the remnant Of his
men. and, rushing down upon the ice.
charged once more his victorious foe.
The west-siders, though taken aback
by such treachery. turned about
quickly and defended themselves right
valiantly. Gen. Viggo himself. who
now carried the captured banner. was
bombarded with snowballs from all
And HalvOr Reitan rushed
at him to snatch the flag
away. But Vfggo. though he was not
so strong as Halvor, fought desper-
ately. and, even after he was knocked
down, chung to the flag pole with all
his might. All the enemy Strove about
him. and the east-Siders We're hurrying
the assistance of their commander, !
when suddenly q tremendous crack
ling sound was heard, and the two
armies Scurrled away, panic-Stricken,
the river-banks. Did l say !
both armies? Yes, but not the W. ,
commanders. In the middle of the
HalvOr Retains wet tousled head
was seen bobbing UP and a pair Of
hands were trying des-
perateiy to clutch at something on the
smooth ice. Viggo, who had already
to run with the rest, heard his
piercing shTicks, and, forgetting all
enmity. he paused and looked back.
was his treacherous foe, pressed
against the edge of the ice, struggling
in the fierce stream which might the
next moment pull him under. Viggo's
beat wildly. He saw the long
cracks in the ice which were slowly |
widening from the force of the current.
But, summonilg all his courage. he
plunged forward. and, finging himself
fat IN the ice, he pushed th" flag pole
him until it was within reach
the drowning boy.
Hold on tight!!' cried Viggo; don't
le- 60"
And, TO be sure, Halvor held on
tight enough. But the great question
was for FiggO TO get a safe footing, 50
as to brace himself for a mighty pull.
The boys on shore stood staring with
bated breath: for a moment not a sin
gle one moved. Then, quick as a
flash, Marcus, the Muskrat, darted out
the river.
He had spiked soles on his boots,
and, though the ice seemed to be