The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-05-22

and made his rage into that of driven
beast.
Buried in the smoke of many rifles.
his anger was directed not so much
against the men whom he knew were
rushing toward him. as against the
swirling battle-phantoms who were
choking him. stuffing the irsmoke-robes
down his parched throat. He fought
frantically for respite for his senses,
for air, as a babe. being smothered,
attacks the deadly blankets.
There was a blare of heated rage,
mingled with a certain expression of
intentness on all faces. Many of the
men were making Iow-toned noises
with their mouths, and these subdued
cheers, snarls, imprecations, prayers,
made wild, barbaric song, that went
as an under-current of sound, strange
and chant-li5e, with the resembling
chords of the war-march. The man at
the youths elbow was babbling. In it
there was something soft and tender,
like the monologue of babe. The tall
soldier was swearing in a loud voice.
From his lips came a black procession
of curious oaths. Of sudden another
broke out in a querulous way like a
man who has mislaid his hat. well,
why don't they support us? Why don't
they send supports? Do they think"
The youth. in his battle-sleep, heard
this as one who dozes hears.
There was singular absence of he
surging in their haste and rage were
in every impossible attitude. The
steel ramrods clanked and changed
with incessant din as the men pounded
chem feverishly into the hot rife bar
rels. The flaps of the cartridge-boxes
were all unfastened and tapped and
bobbed idiotically W it'll each movement.
The rifles, once loaded, were jerl1ed to
the shoulder and fred without appar-
ent aim into the smoke or at one of the
blurred and shifting forms which upon
the field before the regiment had been
growing larger and larger like puppets
under magician's hand.
The men dropped here and there like
bundles The captain of the youths
company had been killed in an early
part of the action. His body lay
stretched in the position of a tired
man resting, but upon his face there
was an astonished and sorrowful look
as if he thought some friend had done
him an i'll turn. The babbling man
was grazed by shot that made the
blood stream widely down his face.
He clapped both hands to his head.
''Oh," he said and ran. Another
grunted suddenly as if he had been
struck by club In the stomach. He
sat down and gazed ruefully. In his
eyes there was mute, indefinite re-
proach.
At last an exultant yell went along
the quivering line. The firing dwindled
from an uproar to vindictive pop
ping AS the smoke slowly eddied
away the youth saw that the charge
had been repulsed. The enemy were
scattered into reluctant groups. He
saw a man climb to the top of the
fence and fire a parting shot. The
waves had receded leaving bits of dark
debris upon the ground
Some in the regiment began to whoop
frenziedly; many were silent. Appar'
emily, they were trying to contemplate
themselves.
After the fever had left his veins, the
youth thought at last he was going to
sutfocate. He became aware of the
foul atmosphere in which he had been
struggling. lie was grimy and drip
ping like a laborer in a foundry. He
grasped his canteen and took long
swallow of the warm water.
A sentence with variations went up
and down the line. We'll, we've
held'em back, we've held'em back
derned if we haven't" The men said
it blissfully, leering at each other with
dirty smiles.
The youth turned to look behind him
and off to the right and off to the left.
He experienced the joy of a man who
at last finds leisure to look about him.
Under foot, there were few CHASTITY
forms motionless. They lay twisted in
fantastic contortions. Arms were
bonded and heads were turned in in
credible ways. 1t seemed that the
dead men must have fallen from some
great height to get into such positions.
They looked to be dumped out upon
the ground from the sky.
From a position in the rear of the
grove a battery was throwing shells
over it The guns squatted in a row
like savage chiefs. They argued with
abrupt violence. 1t was grim pow
wow Their busy servants ran hither
and thither.
A small procession of wounded men
were going drearily to the rear. 1t
was flow of blood from the torn body
of the brigade.
To the right and to the left were the
dark lines of other troops. Far in
front he thought he could see lighter
masses protruding in points from the
forest. They were suggestive of un-
numbered thousands
Once he saw a tiny battery go dash
ing along the line of the horizon. The
tiny riders were beating the tiny
horses
From a sloping hill came the sound
of cheerings and clashes Smoke
praI1ad slowly thrOuCh the leaves