Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-05-25
BETWEEN TWO FIRES
HAIR RAISING EXPERIENCE OF AN
OLD DARBY.


Down tho lIountain-Fro1n scyila to
Claarybdis-Ec-ag In the Creek.
While Cur regiment, the Nineteenth
Michigan infantry, lay at McMlnnvllle,
Tenn. Jake Stone, who had been
slave IN that vicinity, camo into camp
and wanted to 'jine de Yankees. Aft
er sonlo questionings he was duly enlist
ed and installed as cook of Company +.
In the sprirg of 1864 we broke camp
and started across the mountains IN the
direction of Chattanooga, where Sher-
mans forces were gathering Tor the
movement on Atlanta. No particular OPP
position was encountered in our immedl-
ate front till we approached the little
hamlet OF Resaca, Ga, III front CT which
we found the gentlemen in gray quite
strongly intrenched and holding little
earthwork which stood right in the way
of farther progress. So one fine Sunday
morning, bright and early, our regi-
ment, which formed part of the storm
ing force, was moved into position by
battalion front to the right of the road,
where they ssunslung knapsacks. =
Our brave old colonel, III. G. Gilbert
of COldwater, sat firmly in the saddle,
and with drawn saber turned the head
of his faithful old tclay bank (cream
colored horse) in the direction of the
coveted fort, and by his direction the
bugler sounded the forward. The
regiment sprang forward as one man,
and cleared the intervening ground in
less time than it takes to describe it,
and planted their colors upon the cap
tured redoubt. The colonel, several line
officers and men went down under the
fire. The next morning after the long line
of dead, in blue and gray, that had been
taken out of the hospital and laid side
by side for burial, had been as decently
inferred as haste would admit, we saw
the most forlorn looking darby it was
possible TO conceive of coming across
the field. AS he came closer we saw it
was Jake, and, it being the first we had
seen of his ebony highness since the
fight, some of the boys began to chaff
him about his lack of bravery. Ap-
preaching the few charred ends Of the
sticks which had made our campfire
cover which we had cooked our quite
frugal morning repast) he kicked them
up together and began to warm his
hands. We gave him some hard tack
and a chunk of pork, which he ate with
an appetite sharpened by his compulsory
fast; and, between bites, to our ques-
tionings as to the part he had taken in
the yesterdays sscrimmage," he re-
piled about as follows:
"Whar's I been? Oh, out yandah in
de bresh, sab! I'ze JUS mighty nigh
done out, dat is Whar was vest ID y?
Well, l was long you all till bout noon,
I reckon, rite long 18th de raigamentt
You knows dat I re de cook fob Cump ny
E, an / was goin to stay right 18th 'em
all the time. How ID 1 come to leave,
huh? Why, you see, hit was little mis-
calkerlashun on my part. You see, cal
kerlated dat you all was goin up ON
dat hill fob to go into camp, an know
ed mighty we'll all you sogers ID be pow
erful hungry like, SO done scraped up
a armfu' o. dry bresh to make d fab to
bile you alls coffee an fry dc poak.
Course I didn't know dar was goin to
be no scrimmage! No, Dress you'll soles,
bunny! Eff I had, I'd not been such a
ole fool to get up dab SO fuh, long O.
you all De fust ting dat I knowed
sumfn went boo-oozh! bingl bling |
woo-shh, boo-oom! swoo-oosh right "a
pas my ears, an, an-did L run! Why,
chile, you mus "a knowed / did drap-
ped dat dry bresh 1 was a-tctin, an /
tore down froo dem woods dare like a
harrycane I ruined so fas' dat gath
cred de dry leaves right up undah my
coattailsl Yes, 1 did, sab Why, Dress
youh hearts, / run ovah saplin S as big as
my arm, an bent 'em right doubled
'Aftah I'd ruined myself all out o.
bref 1 sot down on ole log an lent
back gin saplin to res an get breff
O. air. Yes, sab, was a-joyin myself
den, tell you, an hopin dat was at las
out O. danjah. Did I have to move
way from dab? You ought to seen me!
1t wasn't NOAH dan no time befoah
sonnet ing come at arin down froo dose
woods like one O dose runaway 'tillery
wagons, bouIcin agin de trees an splo-
din DER shells. Den sumin struck de
log dat Twas sittin on, seemed like right
atween my feet. 2lancin up an cuttin off
dat saplin bout a quatah OF an inch dis
side O. my head Did I run agin?
Didn't I? Why, chile, got new sper-
rits dat minnit! l jumped up from dar,
I tell you'll De whole woods looked like
dey was afiah, and wifi my ole hat in
my han I ruined as I nevah Wanter run
agin. run, [ reckon, nigh about two
mile, an JUS when I was nigh about
beat out, an couldn't run no noah, I
foun de bullets an balls a-comin frum
de udder way too As suah as you lives
de rebel scalvery had got around dar an
was a-fightin ow rah guard! thought
dat was no place fob pooh ole niggah
like me, an I gun to crawl long on my
face to a little ole branch down cross de
road! Didn' It hug dat bank dough Eff
hadn't ben mos starved, SO 1 could
spread out fiat dey would "a got me suah
Dey mos did as it was De groun was