The National tribune., 1897-11-18
Stop BEATIN' THAT MULEin


hap.
Corporal Klegg, what are You doing back
here? Why aren't you in your place? I've
been looking all around for-you. The COM
pany wagons stalled back somewhere. That
spavin-brained Transfers at his old tricks
/ want you to take five men off the rear of
the company, go back and find that wagon,
and bring 1T up. Be smart about it.
Captain, demonstrated ST, Pm wetter'n
a drowned rat. I''--
Well, who in thunder ain't?" exploded
the Captain. DO / look as dry as basket
of chips? Am walking around in Pana-
ma and linen clothes? Did you expect to
keep from getting your feet wet when you
came into the army? | want none of your
belly-aching or sOre-tOeing. You take five
men and bring up that wagon in a hurry.
Do you hear me?"
And the Captain splashed off through the
red mud to make somebody else still more
miserable.
ST picked up his wet gun from the rain
soaked sod, put it under his streaming over
coat, ordered the five drenched, dripping de-
jected boys near him to follow, and plunged
back into the creek. which had by this time
risen above his knees. He was past the
stage of anger now He simply wished that
nice, dry grave on a sunny hillock in Posey
County, with good roof over it to keep out
the rain, would be welcome retreat.
In gloomy silence he and his squad plodded
back through the eternal mud and the steady
downpour through the mirey fields through
the swirling yellow floods in the brooks and
branches, in search of the laggard company
wagon.
Two or three miles back they came upon
it, stuck fast in a deep mud-hole The en-
ragged teamster was pounding the mules over
the head with the butt of his blacksnake
whip, not in the expectation of getting any
further effort out of them-he knew better
than that-but as a relief to his overcharged
heart.
Stop beatin' them mules over the head"
shouted 81, as they came up. Not that he
cared a fig about the mules, but that he wanted
to Jump" somebody.
$50 to birthstone blazes. you freckle-
faced Posey County refugee " responded the
teamster in the same fraternal spirit Pm
drivin' this here team" He gave the nigh
swing mule a ''weltn that would have
knocked down anything else than swing
mule.
If you don't stop beatin them mules,
by thunder, I'll make you"
y
teamster giving the off.swng mule wicked
biff. = never see anything come out of
Posey County that could make me do what l
didn't want to"
81 struck at him awkwardly. He was so
hampered by his weight of soggy clothes that
there was little force or direction to his blow.
The soaked teamster returned the blow with
equal clumsiness
The other boys came up and pulled them
apart.
We hain't no time for SIGH blamed nom
sense" they growled. We've got to git this
here wagon up to the company, an We'll
have the devils own time doin it. Quit sky
larkin', an git to work.
They looked around for something with
which to make prizes. Every rail and stick
within quarter of mile of the road was
gone They had been used up the previous
Summer, when both armies had passed over
the road
There was nothing to do but plOd off
through mud and rain to the top of q hill in
the distance, where there was a fence still
standing. A half an hour later each of the
six came back with heavy rail on his Shout
der. They pried the wagon out and got it
started, only to sink again in another quag-
mire few hundred yards further on.
rails. but found that they had been carried
off by another squad that had a wagon in
trouble. There was nothing to do but to
make another toilsOme journey to the fence
for more rails.
After helping the wagon out they con-
Guided it would be wiser to carry their rails
along with them a little ways to see il they
would be needed again.
They were-many times that afternoon.
As darkness came on ST. who had the crown
ing virtue of hopefulness when he fully rec
oenized the unutterabe badness of things,
tried to cheer the other boys up with asser-
lions that they would soon get into camp,
where they would find bright warm fires
with which to dry Il ,ir clothes, and plenty
of hot coffee to thaw them out inside.
The quick-coming darkness added enOr-
mously to the misery of their work. For
hours they struggled along the bottomless
road, in the midst of rucl< of played-out
mules and unutterably tired, disguised men,
laboring as they We're to get wagons ahead.
Finally, they came up to their brigade,
which had turned OFF the road and gone into
line-of-battle in an old cotton-f field where the
mud was deeper, if possible, than in the road.
Where's the 2O0th Ind.?" called out 81.
Here Si,'' Shorty's voice answered.
sWhere's the fires, Shorty?" asked ST,
with sinking heart.
''Ain't allowed none, answered his part
ner gioomily There's rebel battery on
that hill there and they shoot every time a
match is lighted. What've you got there,
rail? BY George, that's lucky! Well
have something to keep US out of the mud"
They laid the rail down and sat upon it.
'Shorty," said ST, as he tried to arrange
his aching bones to some comfort on the rail,
u got mad at you for cussin the Wabash
this mornin'. l amt fluid talker such ez
you are, an l can't find words to say what
think But | just wisht you would begin
right here and cuss everybody from Abe Lin
coin down to Corporal ST Klegg, and every
tning from the Wabash in lnjianny down to the
Cumberland in Tennessee. I'd like to listen
to you"
Ito - contiawsdl