The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-23

nine companies Of the Twenty sixth.
/ Indiana had marched off the boat to
the cornfeld, and the soldiers from the
other three boats had also marched to
the same spot, leaving one company
to guard each boat.
Before the troops had time to get in
line, terrible firing commenced. Jerry
WetZel. the engineer, caught hold of
me and tried to drag me off the stool
to take me away. The groans and
cries of the wounded were heartrend-
ing. [ clenched my feet around the
legs of the high stool, clasped my two
arms around the rail that separated
the window sash, and chung so tightly
he could not loosen my grasp.
The bullets were flying around us
thick and fast, the skylights and tran
SONS were breaking and the broken
glass was dropping all around us. En-
gineer Wetzell stayed but a moment
and then fell on his hands and knees
on the office floor, crept to the stairway
that led down stairs, and disappeared.
After the battle, I learned that he went
for safety to the hold Of the boat. AS
soon as he let go of me, Capt. Clayton
! tried to pull me off the stool; after two
or three more attempts he deserted me
and went on his hands and knees after
the other one. Then Capt. Baldwin, Of
the boat grabbed me. He, too, fell on
head foremost down the stairs to the
hold of the boat.
AS soon as he was gone, flew from
my stool and ran down the stairs to the
gang plank and on to the corn field.
The first soldier I saw down and crying
l stopped and helped to raise. I put
my right arm around his waist and he
put his arm around my neck, and held
his other arm in front with my left
! hand and bore him, groaning and cry
ing with pain, to the boat up the
stairs, and slowed him away in the
state room opposite the wheel of the
boat, as l had been told a ball could
/ not go through them. [ ran as fast as
| L could down the cabin onto the field
! again, and brought in the same manner
! another wounded soldier. 1 made tWen-
! ty-two trips Of this kind and each time
! brought back a wounded man and filled
| the two state rooms between the wheels
! of the boats.
All this time the bullets were whiz-
zing in front Of US, over us and beside
us. They came so close to my ear that
! the WhizZing sound went through my
| head. The living balls of fire would
! fly past and go through the transoms
and glassware, breaking and falling all
around us. The groans and cries Of the
men, the shouts Of the officers, and the
Whizzing balls will never forget.
When I ran through the cabin for
another wounded soldier, the men were
retreating in confusion, and the lower
| deck and plank was full of excited and
| running soldiers. I was afraid I would
be trampled to death, and ran back
| and told the wounded men in the state
| room to let me In, as our boys were re-
| treating to the boats. They opened the
| door and the room was SO full it was
with difficulty I could get IN. The bull
| let's were still whizzing. and the glass
was still breaking, as the enemy was
| firing from the cornfield at the soldiers
stationed on the guard. The four boats
pulled out in the river, ran back two
and one-half miles and anchoed until
the earliest dawn of day.
I was up all night with the surgeon
making bandages and soothing the
wounded men While the surgeon dress
| ed their wounds and amputated limbs.
I had to take off and tear into ban
| dages my own white skirts, as material
| became scarce. I tore up the few
| sheets and pillow slips of the boat that
[ could find and made them into ban
| dages.
After the boats pulled out, I could
| still hear groans and cries for help
| and | went where the cries seemed to
| come from. On the guard found
| about forty wounded soldiers. besides
| many dead, shot from the corn field. 1
| helped the wounded in the cabin and
bad every state room. contrary to the