St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-02-01
A SHAM BATTLE.
Br q nHErr RoMAN

BIZ q RRErT ROMAN
had not smelt gunpowder on larg,
scale for quite : number Of years. al
my time and energy Of late being de
voted 70 commercial pursuits.
But I had seen . good deal of 1t some
go years ago, when l was . slim ano
wildly enthusiastic youth, and had
marched and bivouacked and fought il
the west and around the Potomac, and
even to-day, when l happen to see .
body Of men, well uniformed and
drilled. march by, the old fire, and the
pride had in my crack company, the
color company of the fine old goth
comes back to me like a hot wave.
But when . man has reached the
lifties, is somewhat corpulent and rusty
In the knees, he il not apt to be very
martial in spirits; and he seems to pre-.
fer, after his hot days tussle for dol
lars and cents against other mems
greed for the same, to prefer quiet
afternoon smoke and chat. or Sunday
of mental relaxation. to anything like
extra exertion in the way of unusual
sightseeing.
So when Stapleton said: Say, Dick,
come ON and let's see what this sham
battle is like" naturally demurred.
We were sitting together at tbs club,
most of the other men having gone of
on trip somewhere. to finish up the
hot summer months and to get some
invigorating air into their lungs, and a
few tonifying ideas by their sojourn in
big cities and crowded summer resorts,
where old prejudices and fashions are
discarded to give place to novel impress
sions and original concerts.
"A sham battle!" l said, contemptu-
ously. "The idea of making q puppet
show of SO desperately earnest and
tragic thing as an armed struggle be-
tween men, whose effort is to defeat
and destroy those opposed to them. No,
thanks. Idon't think care to witness
. paltry make-believe fight"
''Oh!" said Stapleton, who il an agree
able fellow. acquainted with the ameni-
ties of life and can distinguish good
from bad wine, and who himself had
had quite an experience with gunpow-
der, shell and shot, as officer in New
York regiment. "You prefer the real
thing. A skirmish line Of sharpshoot-
ers ranged under cover along the thin
Ddge>of wood; light battery timber
ed up, to the right, and the infantry
deployed in the open field behind; an
occasional shell whizzing through the
air. sort of preliminary foretaste of
the coming engagement. and the heavy
booming of distant cannon on the
heights, where Wright and Getton's
divisions are assaulting his coEfedcr-
ate lines" --
Isat up in my chair and threw away
my cigar. :.
sConfound you, stapleton. get, your
hat and come along" said. But look
here, man." remarked, rs we went
down the steps and toward the electric
cars. II suppose this sham battle won't
be much to look at. But don't you res
urrect any of your federal army air,.- =
The old days are past and gone,
with their excitement, heroism. suffer.
ing. defeat and triumph. We are all.
out for dollars and cents nowadays.
For progress and good living. We.
won't, either you or ], bring up any
episode Of those grand old campaign
ing days Of ours. or revert to those
scenes, where you must admit, the gray
coats made . splendid showing, before
you fellows overpowering numbers.
Never were lines better held. old fellow,
than those entrenchmentsV"
'-Now hold up" said Stapleton. as we
got In the car. Il thought you said We
were to avoid reimbursement"
That's = fact. I acquiesced. 'We
wonst." !" ''''''''f's
Then we sped on and soon reached the
near approaches OF the City park. with.
Its magnificent centenary oaks. whose
oveEhanging ~boughs ave@witnessed
more than one tragedy in the old days
Of easy affront and its quick avenge.
'Great .Scott!" said Stapleton. when
we started: cut for the grounds. 1--WE
havo towalk about six blocks before we
can get to see what's going on."
$50 it seems. I said. rs We trudged
along the planking of sidewalk with
n large crowd; Of people, who. like our
selves, were; little late in getting to
view the sham battle.
Hello! 6oundS like an infantry At
taclE,m said Stapletor. when r desalftsv