The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1895-12-11

oH-~ss y natl, he said: "As
I'm going to stop off at my home this
trip, I believe I'll tell you about my
little Yankee prisoner. Let me see"
-.retrospectlvely-'It was in Novem-
Der, 1868, when our brigade-the old
Stonewall brigade-was lying below
Winchester, Va, niomentarily expect
ing an attack from the Federals. We
were ragged set, tell you. Half of
the brigade was coatless and hundreds
were shoeless, and all of us were
hungry. One night 1 was put on
guard in a little hollow facing the
Yankee front. The glade was sur
rounded on three sides by low hills
covered with underbrush, with an
opening directly at my front of sew
eral hundred yards. Immediately
surrounding my position there was a
growth of low bushes, so thick that it
seemed almost impossible for man to
penetrate it. In my rear all was clear
of growth of any sort, SO you can see
that l was not likely to be surrounded
and captured if kept my eyes open.
Well, had been standing there per-
haps an hour when l heard a thrashing
and crashing IL the bushes at my left.
1t seemed to me SO much like the
sort of racket that an old COW,
tangled in the brush, would make,
that l paid little attention to it, until
heavier crash than common, fol.
lowed by 'Confound the brush = in ac-
cents OF annoyance, attracted my at
tention to point about thirty feet
away, and while looking, expecting to
see the draggled gray make e-believe
uniform of one of my regiment, I was
astonished to see the blue uniform of
a Yankee emerging from the brush.
"The fellow, who had not vet seen
me, was little more than n boy II was
only eighteen years old myself at the
timel and pale-faced, fair-haired
boy at that. Halt! Drop that gun
and stand where you are, Yank + or
dered. 1 needn't have told him to
drop his gun, for he was so much as
tonished that he dropped it involun-
tarlly. We'll, I'll be blamed! You're
a Johnny Reb, amt you? What are
you doing here?' were few of tho
questions he ratified off in his surprise.
yes, I'm a Johnny Reb, Yank, and
I'm on guard here, said l, as 1 ad-
vanced and picked up his gun. 'And
you're my prisoner l added.
That's just my luck, said he. q
might have known would get lost in
these blamed Virginia hills. 1 wouldn't
give a ten.acre farm on an Indiana
prairie for ten miles square of this
wooden country
"'Ought to have stayed there, said
]. But you won't get back soon,
Yank, for you're bound for Libby
Prison in short metre
Libby Prison! hope not But
l say, Johnny, got any grub? I'm
blamed near starved. I've wandered
about trying to confscate something
to eat ever since o'clock, and to tell
you the truth Pm too hungry and
tired to talk
"That's nothing said I. T've
gone three days without anything to
eat except green corn, and that on the
ear. But I'll tell you what I'll do,
Pve got hunk of corn bread in my
Cub bag over there under that little
tree. You can have half of that.
"'Thanks, Johnny. I'll do the
same for you some day, coolly said
said the little Yank, and without any
more ado off he hustled and got the
grub.
"Ihe fellow was hungry and no mis-
take. He lit into tine chunk of corn
bread like a hungry wolf, and while l
stood looking at him and laughing at
his efforts to get a four-inch section
of corr poue into two-inch mouth,
lll be blamed if he didn't gobble
down the whole mess, crumbs aud all.
saw it going, but 1 couldn't stop it
to save me, and l don't really believe
l would have done it if could, hungry
as myself was.
''But you should have seen that
Yank's face after he had got away with
my rations, Blame my riggin', said
he, If / haven't gone and swallowed
the whole of it. I'm mighty sorry,
Johnny, but
'Oh, never mind, said I, for it
was plain that the half-starved fellow
had not been really conscious of his
abuse of my hospitality, and although
l was mad emo Ugh to give him a good
licking my sense of the ridiculous pre-
ponderated and couldn't help laugh.
ing to save my life. The whole affair
had been so confoundedly ridiculous
that l laid down my gun and actually
rolled over and over until my side
fairly ached.
''Ihe little Yankee looked at me
minute or two, and then the comical
side of the affair suddenly struck him,
too, and the next minute both of us
were laughing like schoolboys.
"When both of us had laughed un.
I'll we were completely exhausted we
Sat down together under the little tree
and had long talk. He belonged to
al Indiana regiment and bad been 10