Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1895-10-17
THREE WAR STORIES.
Surprised Prfvate-One Bridge Cosby
Couldn't Burn-Ready to Drink.


Yates who survived the war. He was
somewhat sentimental and natural
~ fell in love with any good looking
girl he might see. He fell in love
with young woman of Murfrees-
boro and slipped off to see her at
every opportunity. One day his feel
ings so overwhelmed him that he
suddenly found himself proposing
marriage to her.
No." she replied, her eyes fill
ing, Il can never marry you.
Sterrett was surprised.
why not?" he asked.
Oh, my heart is gone. It's in the
grave. Itwas buried when they bur-
led Captain - five months ago. !"
That was too much for Sterrett
He at once became angry.
Very well, miss" he said. IF
you can love dead captain better
than live private you can scratch
for it f"
General Cosby had mania for
burning down bridges. Whenever
he heard theSe was bridge in his
neighborhood he promptly had it
laid low. His continuous destruction
of bridges several times got himself
and his men in tight places, where
bridge would have come in mighty
handy, and resulted in an uneasy
feeling among his men.
He moved into Virginia in the
neighborhood of the Natural bridge
and one day gave his men permits
sion to inspect the great natural
wonder Two cavalrym en-, one of a
poetic turn and the other of world
ly, practical turn, happened TO go
there together.
Isn't this the most stupendous,
magnificent, grand view you ever
saw" exclaimed the poetic man
grandiloquently. Gaze upon that
landscape See how beautiful are
the works of nature" He continued
in this strain several minutes and
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 great hand at
telling yarns. His yarns We're 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 the Tennessee riv-
er lying between Chattanooga and
Knoxville. At the point mentioned
the river flowed in a deep canyon and
appeared from above to be thread
winding about, hundreds of feet be-
low 1t was dizzy height.
Il was a-goin long here one day
all by myself, y said he, an when
came to this pint see a blamed
Yankee all by hissel' a-comin to-
ward me. / says to myself, says /,
1t ain no use O our fightin here,
where no one amt lookin an where
we'd like as not fall down the cliff.
II tole the Yankee we needn t
fight. Yes, we will, says he. / said
no. Our fightin wouldn t decide the
war, says |, an we mought as well
be friends. An tole him to come
along an have a drink
THE blamed Yankee kept on tell
in me we was a-goin to fight, an
fore / knowed it he jumped on to
me. Well, sab, how we did fighti
We knocked each other down an
wallowed an scratched an tore roun,
an l see more stars than you can
think of. Oh, we did fight!
Pretty soon saw we were ago
in over to the edge of the precipice.
In another minute see we was lost
Over we went a-whirlin an a-whiz-
Yin, a-fghtin an a-scratchin. We
bumped into the rocks as we went
down an knocked lots of 'em loose.
| thought we was never goin to
reach bottom. After what seemed
two hours we struck, kerplankl
Whewl We was knocked apart by
the lick, an / thought the Yankee
would be dead. Iraised up an looked.
Just as / raised the Yankee raised
too.
Reb, says he, I believe III take
that drink now. louisville Cou-
rier Journal.