The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1896-07-16
PART II.
CHAPTER l.

Night at last, and the stir and tumult
Of great night over. Even the excite
ment that had swept this portion of
the battlefield small section of
yaster area Of struggle which
a brigade had marched held its own,
been beaten back, recovered its ground,
and pursuing. had passed cut Of il for
ever, leaving only its dead behind and
knowing nothing more of that strug-
gle than its own impact and momen-
tum-even this wild excitement had
long since eyaporated with the stinging
smoke of gunpowder, the acrid smell
of burning rags from the clothing Of
Q dead soldier fired by bursting shell,
or the heated reek of sweat and leather.
Acool breath, that seemed to bring back
once more the odor of the upturned
earthworks along the now dumb line
of battle, began to move from the sug-
gestive darkness beyond.
But into that awful penetralia of
death and silence there was now no in
vesion-there had been no retreat. A
few Of the wounded had been brought
out. under fire, but the others had been
left with the dead for the morning light
and succor. For it was known that in
that horrible obscurity riderless horses,
frantic with the smell of blood, gal-
loped wildly here and there. or, mad
dened by wounds, plunged furiously
at the intruder. that the wounded sci
d;er still armed. could not ALWAYS dis
tinpuish friend from foe or from the
rhouls of camp followers who stripped
th.-tjeas, in The darkness. and struggled
with the diving. A shot or two heard
somewhere in that obscurity counted
MS nothing with the long fusiIlade that
had sweuf it in the DAYTIME; the pass
inr Of 4 single life. more or less
amounted tn little in the long rollcall
sf the days slaughter.
p,t w;tb tba first bsams of the morn
;,c -, .,,fi tha .,o,vI, moving s.ra,;ef
d.ta;Is from, the .car,T,-,.ana . weird
half resurrection of that pbastlv field
T,h.n 4 ,v.s that the Iong -avs ~ epn-
l;ght streaming ,nanv ! m;Ia beyond
tha battIe l;ne srst no;nted out the
harvest n tbe dead where the reserves
had b,.an noatsd There tbev lav in
heans and niles killed bv sol;d shot or
bursting shells that had leaned the
hattle l;pe ~ nlunpe INTO 4ba waiting
ranks t,avoud As the sun lifted higher
It's beams felI within the range Of INNS.
tst-v f;ra xv here the dead lar th;c,;er---
even As they had fallen when killed
outr;gbt-with arms extended and feet
AZ ali angles In the field. As II touched
these dead upturned faces strangely
enough Il brought out no expression of
main NOR anguish but rather as II
death, had arrest..,s Them ouIv with sur-
urise and awe. II revealed nm the lips
az thoee wbo had b4en por,ailv
wounded and had turned uuon their
side the relief which death had bro.cbt
their suffering. sometimes even with 4
smile Nouptiue bi,ber Il GLANCED
uupon the actual battle line cnriously
curvinR for the shelter of walls. FENCES
and breastworks and here the dead
Law, even as when they had lain and
fired, their faces prone in the grass.
but their mnskets still resting across
the breastworks. Exposed to grape
and canister from the batterr on the
ridge, death had come to them merci-
fully also-fhrough the head and
throat. And now the whole field Law
bare in the suuIight--broken with pro-
tesoue shadows east from sitting.
crouching. haIf.recumbent. but always
rigid. figures. that might have been
etfieies Of their oyI, monuments One
half-kneeline soldier with head bowed
between his stiffened hands ,pipht
have stood for a earyen f,oure of grief
at the feet Of his dead comrade a
cansaip aho,, through The main IN the
+ Art of mountinr 4 wall lav sidewavs
half acrosz II his Hns ,,artad x,..t, .ha
vord of command and tbe eword st;lI
pointing over the barrier the way that
fbev sbould 90
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,ra,,,,.as t.;--,s...ts. !. NJ ~. ~ -
80 = - - 80 - - =. - - =.
,;n.sr tha,o darzl;n,, 80, IN,
anS .han s.s.,-r;- i. ~ !. :; s..iom -.
Aashss ~. i 80. l. go = -. q - ,rass
"a ssh,.a.-.,,.1.-a's,.,.. - ~ - o.,a~ - - 80 80.