Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-05
GUNS LOADED WITH FOOD.
And Why an Old Negro Thought His
End Had Come.

And Why m Old Negro Thought His
End Had Come.
From the Buffalo Express
Maj. Thomas Q. Farquhar of Admission,
Ala, on a visit to Buffalo recently, told an
Express reporter a humorous story of the
war. During the siege of Vicksburg he was
in command of a confederate regiment out
side of Gen. Grants lines. I'VE had plenty
of foCl.' he said. 1T was a fertile terri
tory that we had to draw from. and there
was no difficulty in getting enough to eat.
We intercepted poorly guarded supply
train of the Yanks, and had enough to feed
a regiment for a month stored right in our
little camp. In spite of Yankee vigilance,
spes would now and then steal out of the
city, and we saw and talked with several
of them. Each had a pitiful story to tell
OF how the Inhabitants of Nicksburg suf
fered for food, and we ransacked our
brains to devise some means of sending
them portion of our plenty.
IAN old negro who was acting a gun
REL under me was the one to suggest what
looked at first like a feasible plan. His
ic ca was to load supplies into the four can
non which we had, and fire them boldly
over the heads of the Yankees into the city
itself 1t was great idea, and after some
study We decided that it was worth while
making the experiment. The supplies which
We Lad captured consisted Of bareback, in
tins, that would go into the guns like grape
shot, and we calculated that by giving
them plenty of Elevation We could send the
fl cd directly into the city. where even such
morselS would be welcome. l was in COM
mand of the detachment. and gave my con-
sent to what an older and more experienced
officer would probably have frowned upon
as being contrary to all rules of war.
Next morning at sunrise We loaded the
guns. We put plentiful charge of powder
in each, and then rammed home many
cans of bareback as would equal in weight
ordinary cannon ball. and that was not
great many, l assure you. In one of the
guns we put four cans of tomatoes This
we considered an experiment, as We had
little hope that such fluid stuff would sur
vive the impact of falling in the city, but
it was worth trying. We pointed the guns,
and just before the lanyard of the first was
pulled the old negro gunner ran few
rods down the HILL where he would be be-
low the line of smoke and able to see where
our novel shot struck.
THE first gun fired happened to be the
one we had loaded with tomatoes The
gunner pulled the lanyard. there was roar
and a puff of smoke that obscured our
sight for an instant; then it blew away,
and we saw running Up the hill toward us
our old negro, covered from head to foot
with what looked like blood, while he wav-
ed his arms wildly and shrieked, I'm
killed! I'm killed o Lord have masy on my
SOUR We were alarmed. and ran down
toward him. He still screamed and Shrek
ed, and fell down in faint as he saw us.
of burst into laugh that would have
walked the dead.
1T reused old Tom, who opened his eyes
and shreked the louder when he saw our
apparently inhuman levity. AS soon as We
were able to speak or move, picked the
old negro up, stood him on his feet, to
sure him that he was still alive. and then
ordered him to scrape the tomatoes off
himself He was the most thoroughly be-
d;.ubed specimen l ever saw. You see, the
heat of the discharge of the cannon melted
the solder in the toma to cans, and they had
simply dropped to pieces on leaving the
gun, while their contents had been pro-
PEELED just far enough down the hill to
sratter all over the OLD negro" The major
paused and chuckled again.
'tjiow did the bareback work." asked the
reporter
I'VE didn't get a chance to try it," was
the reply. The Yanks. thinking that we
We're about to lombard them from the rear,
started up the hill after us, and as there
would have been no use in making any re-
sistance against so superior a force, we
spiked the guns and retreated. What they
thought when they found the bareback in
item l never learned, but l suppose it only
confirmed their idea that we We're going to
at her