Griggs courier., 1898-06-17

aole TO struggle up and stagger to the
rear. 1t was seldom the case, however.
The shock benumbed and weakened
him and took away his courage. 1t was
four o'clock when you were tumbled
over; it is evening now. You awake
just in time to hear the sullen mutter-
ings of the last guns. 1t is drawn
fight. and you are lying on the neutral
ground between the lines. By and by
the last gun is fired, and such stiffness
reigns that you almost cry out in alarm.
This lasts for perhaps ten minutes,
and is then broken by sudden vail.
They find that night has fallen-their
wounds begin to ache-they cry out like
women and children.
From dusk to midnight there is
groaning' ard wailing. Then fear
comes upon the wounded men and they
are silent. 1t is not fear of death-not
fear of the dead beside them-but of
the night itself-of the ghouls who may
come skullSing about in the darkness
to plunder. This feeling of fear even
extends to the wounded horses. A
wounded horse always lies down as
soon as he is struck. When he finds
himself growing weaker his aim is to
get upon his feet again. If he can do
so he will stand with his legs braced
and peer into the darkness and neigh
and whinny his hopes and fears. If he
cannot rise he will lay his head on the
ground and sigh and sob, and the noise
will add to the fright of the wounded
men within hearing. By midnight the
field is quiet. A plunderer roaming
about will imagine that all the fallen
are dead. He will not know to the con.
trary until he lays hands on them. For
an hour or two the wounded will remain
voiceless and without movement. Then
the darkness and the silence around
him makes him believe that death is at
hand. He does not want to die among
the dead. A feeling comes to him that
he must crawl away and die by himself,
and after little he acts upon it.
A burial party finds a battle field
covered with trails. The wounded have
dragged themselves yards or rods away
from the spot where they fell. They
have drawn themselves over the earth,
inch by inch, to hide beside logs-in
thickets or fence corners-in swamp OF
forest. Those who have crawled
farthest are dead when morning comes,
and on their faces is a look of terror
and despair. They are creeping away
from death and darkness, but were
overtaken.
Horses in Battle.
A veteran cavalry horse partakes Of
the hopes and fears of battle just the
same as his rider. AS the column
swings :nto. line and waits, the horse
grows nervous over the waiting. II
the wait is spun out he will tremble
and sweat and grow apprehensive. Ii
he has been six months in service he
knows every bugle call. AS the call
comes to advance the rider can feel
him working at the bit with his tongue
to get it between his teeth. AS he
moves out be will either seek to get on
faster than he should, or bolt. He can
not bolt, however. The lines will carry
him forward, and after minute he
will grip the bit, lay back his ears, and
one can feel his sudden resolve to brave
the worst and have done with it as
soon as possible. When the troopers
begin to cheer and the sabers to fash
the horse responds. An exultation fills
his heart, he will often scream out, ana
his eyes blaze and are fixed steadily in
front. No matter how obstinate he
was at the start, he will not fail as
the lines cover the last so feet of
space. If a volley comes and he is un-
hurt he will lower his head and toss it
right and left, and then take sudden
breath for the crash. If charging in
fantry he will thunder straight at
man and knock him down; if against
line of horsemen he will lift his head
and front feet as if going over fence.
A man seldom cries out when hit in
the turmoil of battle. 1t is the same
with horse. Five troopers out of six,
when struck by bullet, are out of their
saddles within minute. If hit in the
breast or shoulder up go their hands
and they get heavy fall; if in the
leg or foot or arm they fall forward
and roll off. Even with foot cut off
by jagged piece of shell horse will
not drop. 1t is only when shot through
the head or heart that he comes down.
He may be fatally wounded, but he
hobbies out of the fight to right or left.
and stands with dropping head until
loss of blood brings him down. The
horse who loses his rider and is un-
wounded himself will continue to run
with his set of fours until some move
ment throws him out. Then he goes
galloping here and there, neighing his
fear and alarm, but will! not leave the
field. In his racing about he may get
among the dead and wounded, but he
will dodge them if possible, and in any
case leap over them. When he has
come upon three or four other riderless
steeds they 'fall in" and keep together,
as if for mutual protection, and the
''rally" on the bugle may bring the
whole of them into the ranks in body.
A horse which has passed through
battle unwounded is fretful, sulky and
nervous-the same as a man-for the
next three or four days. His first bat