The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-11
THE OLD
He Drops Into ReminIscence. . Little Fit. Ov.
q BATTERED Canteen.

nc DHobs hbto - hhttt 3"p DNoE
n BATTERED Canteen.
Hanging on the wall in my ROOM said the old
soldier. are my last knapsack, haversack, and
%centeen. And with them is an old cantecn with
the cloth covering all faded out. and a little hole
in one side of it, where a piece of cloth about as
big as half your little finger has been gouged
out. Under this hole there is a little dent In
the side of the %canteen. made by the bullet that
gouged out the little strip OF cloth. The old
canteen is hanging with the battered side out.
Vain old man I May he so. I'm not ashamed
OF the old %canteen; that g certain.
ION the day it was denied I got the sweetest
drink out Off 1 ever had. We had started in the
morning with cantecns filed. 1t was n hot day
and it was hot and dusty marching. had
nipped along at the water until it was pretty
nearly all gone. and just before we went into
the fight. which was early in the afternoon, I
had finished il.
THE fighting didn't end until dusk. and then
we fell back. While the fight was going on
I never thought of being thirsty. but when it
was over, and the tension was of. and we had
come back to the earth again, l certainly was
tremendously dry. and when we had got started
along the road back / thought l had never been
so thirsty in my life. About two miles back
there was n little brook running across the road.
shallow there, and may be four or five feet wide
tthA Ah"'h . eibA a. liz
and infantry had passed through this brook.
and the water was thick with mud and gravel,
but it was water, and as fast as the men came
up they unslung their cups and scooped up a
cupful of 1t as they went along. 1t was dark.
and some Of the men didn't see 1t until they had
got right to it. and they had to halt n minute
until they had got their cups loose; but most OF
the men had noticed the men ahead bending
down and knew what they were coming to and
had their cups ready. They would just bend
over when they came to 1t and scoop up n cup
full. without stopping. and carry II along for
twenty or. thirty feet, TO let ii settle a little be-
fore drinking
well, Ididn t scoop up any; most of the men
did. but ] didn't. ] thought l would rather wait.
But when / heard the swishing Of the water as the
men threw out what was left in their cups with
the mud and twigs and leaves in il, 1t made me
very thirsty again, and ! reached around for my
%canteen. / realized, though, before / lifted il.
that there wasn't anything in it. and showed 1t
back. But in showing il back quickly. / heard
and held it up and shook IL. and, by gosh. there
was water in il. Mighty little. but enough SO
that you could hear 1t Stat against the tin when
you shook it. l thought that ! had empticd it,
but ! hadn't quite. ! had really left in II about
two tablespoonfuls of water:
as to bring the cantceh fully in front OF me, and
quite free so that l could raise it easily and
freely, with nothing pulling on 1t when / drank.
And then l pulled the stopper. The water
would be wa rm and fiat. ! knew. after stopping
around all day in. q tin %canteen covered only
mighty glad to get 1t. and I raised the cantcen to
find that the little water remaining was cool
and bright and delicious; cooled in the %canteen,
whose covering was now wet with heavy dew"