The National tribune., 1899-10-05
wn the valley upon the rebel left

ing down the valley upon the rebel left.
while the Army of the Cumberland. a
mighty tide of &C. 900 men, turned to the
right. to march after the Army Of the Ten
nessee. upon Resaca. to reach Johnston's
rear. and force him to fight in the open
valley for his stores and supplies at Dalton.
All the roads upon which men could march
or wagons move at last converged into one
narrow. rough. tortuous track-Snake
Creek Gap-through the rough. contracted
defile in the mountain crest.
Everybody was eager to improve the
opportunity to catch the rebels outside Of
breastworks, and pressed forward with
Impotence over the rocks and gullieS and
up the steep slopes of the grabbed road.
They needed no urging by their ardent
officers. from the fuming, impetuous Sher-
man down. They saw the chance as
clearly as any one, and were quite as vehe-
ment in their desire to get at the rebel army
in the confusion of its rapid retreat. and de-
stroy it.
What was the disgust of Co. Q. therefore,
when the much-scolding, always-complain-
ing Orderly-Sergeant came back, looking
with:
Gosh-all-hemlock! Jerusalem to Jeri-
cho and back again to Christmas! Just
our Internal, egg-sucking. sheep-killing,
ornery, low-down, buckeyed luck. After
all the good fighting we done yesterday,
square against those rock-walls, we've got
to go to the rear to-day and help the brigade
teams over this dumbed stone quarry gore
crazy that they call road. declare, the
rotten way that things are managed in
this army sometimes makes me sorry that
ever enlisted. The Colonel pointed out to
the General what splendid work we'd done
yesterday. which ought to give us the ad-
vance again, but the General said he knew
all that, and that d earned rest, and we
could take it back in the rear with the
wagons. The idea of resting back with the
wagons such a day as this, when every
wagons got to go forward on the trot, or
there'll be old Nick to pay and no pitch hot
What's got into that bull-headed General,
I'd like to know. l wish could only get a
chance at old Abe LiEcoln's ear for five
minutes. I'd give him my opinion about
the class of galoots he makes Generals of"
whats that you say?' roared Shorty,
ave go to the rear to-day and bring up the
wagons? The 20Oth Ind. be a gang of
condemned plug stevedores today when
every body's rushin' to git into the big fight
o the season? What dod-ratted, pop-eyed
rot is this you're givin' us? What does
that shock-headed, blink-eyed General
mean by sending his best regiment to do
the work of lot of jay-bird-heeled contra
bands, just when he's likely to need good
men most? What's got into him? Is he
drunk or just got one O his customary
attacks O. the adde's? It's an insult to the
regiment I'll not stand it. didn't enlist
to be fourth-class roustabout around a
mule-team. PIP
The idea of anybody in the company
Kicking" at once brought the Orderly
Sergeant to a sense of his official position
When he grumbled it was merely the rea-
sonable dissatisfaction of a sensible man
with the way things were going on. But
for anybody in the company to do so was
characterization, which it was his duty to
at once represS. He sternly cut off Shorty
with:
See here, Corp1 Elliott, that's no way
for non-commissioned officer to talk be
fore the men. You should set 'em better
example. Orders 8 orders, and must be
obeyed, without grumbling. It's Just as
important to get them wagons up as it is
the men. They're loaded with ammunition,
and there's going to be power of ammuni-
ton needed the next day or two, if all signs
don't fail"
THAT'S So" said the ever-cheerfuI ST.
Somebody's got to see that them ammuni-
ton wagons brung up, and though I'm
as badly disappointed as kin be that it's
fell TO us to do it, there's nothin' to do but
tend to our business. / do think that the
LIST Oshkosh might've taken care of 'em for
another day, and let us go into the fight.
We didn't git the fight yesterday that we
eApcCtcu, anu ouSHt W We dllOtucT
chance to-day. But, since it seems to be
our turn, We ought to mako the best of it."
"Well, fall-in, boys" said tho Orderly
Sergeant, making grim effort to make the
best of the situation; we've got to march
over to the road, where them blim-b blammed,
ammunition wagons are. Get your things,
and fall-in promptly, boys, for this is i'm
portant work, gosh durn it."
The 1st Oshkosh, waiting impatiently
for their relief, received them with cheers
Good boysl come onl' they yelled.
"Weve bin waiting for you all morning.
Here's your mules. Take 'em and be
happy. They'll stay with you. No dam
ger about that. Never seen mules that
didn't want to go anywhere as bad as
them. Don't be CROSS with 'em, and lick
'em. Don't do no good. We've tried it.
They're family pets, and not used to work
Good-by, boys. We're going where there's
more fun"
Shorty's reply to the jollyings of the 1st
Oshkosh was a streak OF profanity which
astonished even his acquaintances. He