The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-03-12

the position OF that tree by what | tell you. 1t
Salient on i Mareis Ridge. opposite the covered
way which ran from our lines westward about
very. Fort Ss' stedm S1r VFod s 3 WAS a& on aHSSTre,i's
Hill, the site OF the present Hare House. Col
quite Salient Qonfederatel wps on the same
ridge. west OF Fort Stedmnn lust sixty rods.
II. was the trees proximity 20 Fort Stedman
yhi5h led TO my rifle range acquaintance with
"0ne day when a truce was on l left the
ptcket post at the Confederate end Of our COW
cred way TO visit a boon companion who had
Just arrived at the fort from n ten months So
iourn at the Hotel d'Andersonyliie. / hadn't
heard n word from him direct in that ten
months and naturally wanted to shake his
hand. So l left my post on sort Of French
leaye, relying on the good iaith Of the Johnnies
% keen auiet for the day, IN which case my
9ileiaiiy: strollSd across the bare, slope
from the post TO the fort Just as freely as |
day, only l didn't need to mind stepping on
the grass, and there was grass In Virginia
about . O'Clock and ! lenped over the parapet
expecting to stroll l%eisurely, back to the picket
bring up iat the right. opposite the tree. Wv
when a shot from The Confederste lines rang
that I was caught between the lines away from
my post OF duty with a skirmish line fight on.
my, anxiety. so / changed my course to the
right o5liqpe and started in a dead run for the
iins' t %h tSe G iPss sb ist' t6 %e sT m0yi tnSe in 81 2 f RSii
Run Somanchs. This was in the trenches be-
hind It, l soon saw by tho flying balls that the
class. too. FOR thai hat M matter Mei any 10 0t pTazio 81 hi ms
especially, I changed to a zigzag course and
our covered way. That ] leaped at a bound
and went headlone into the ditch, where It
%Sn sn I Eas d sIsa to 1i Eaac Rs sste n solo Eq ne5 ts Q I
the ditch afforded, but I was an officer in
charge OF the most, Important, section Of the
CALLED my dignity. besides making me very
mad at everything and everybody Involved. !
my absenee from post, ali swing to some cuss-
ed C9nfederate's violation OF a humane and
sseSslb tSs t GIaSS b SSs sln al. ff0 60 npad ,, rushed shed
hit, After digging the mud out OF my eyes
ard And eP AS, and Lever eyer llP %ih ! %de.%PS ma Who ffed
course was the quick reply. We ali had his
smoke puff down fine. but had never located the
i "SSS ii ias %' sai a LI and duh the res rest q Of tn the time time
until the hour OF picket relief l spent screaming
t %ad from Ssag my Sai 6o INF Sp RnS De gsmsn and m'di-
When relief pickets came out from campI
arranged with the officer in charge to substi-
mar IN my detail had in his quarters a repeat:
ing rife introduced about that time in some Of
Il I out to me-. 9v Wish he aid did. : With Ssfe q g H5% so su SSag
been a notorious slaughter pen for months and
In TACT. 70 a man; all looked upon II as a lot cast
epoken OF there. but the place ali at once had a
fascination o1 for me Really I enjoyed the
A the old tricks OF drawing a concealed
enemy's fire had been tried again and again
there by the men around me. Nevertheless we
set up our dummies. and even moved them
about to tempt shots from the tree. A fre
Kept alive. although all hands stayed Ut a safe
distance from it. False shadows cast around
the IRE lSo failed ed, to 40, 90 The his work Idc,h Our post or pit
line could be seen family from across the
lines. and 1 could see the outlines Of the tree,
that the enemy wouldn't shoot and give him.
self away while l stayed in the pit, ! crawled
protected by. about six inches OF earth. and
from that u point tbd kept y 14p1, with my repeater
left loud enough to be heard by the man In the
tree. but no notice was taken of them. and |
on the .warpath when bang! went q shot, and
q bullet grazed my rifle barrel and Just missed
Ms ne and seemed oHi ds to be- ee saying Hag H tIs ySt to my my
prsed me that I didn't locate the flash as I
hoped to by some limb or clumpo OF foliage near
it. and SO concluded not to waste bullets and
perhaps only warn the enemy of my plot TO
II didn't take my eyes from Off the tree after
that. nor loosen my grip on the repeater. Pre-.
so frequently fred from that tree and escaped
returned shots aimed at his flash. often by hall
a dozen at once; must be a genius at dodGing.
JUMPS jul ss Gould q have saved : him So long on ff / de-.
and then suddenly dropped a foot or more. As /
speculated. q swollen brand Of our greenwood
c cts;Def had n n%o:e @ecs on P me. so oEaii S9' t l6os III.
it called the Comanche Just when my eye was
on the very spot where his gun flashed. Bang!
went a shot from my repeater. then another
and another. until seven had gone home to the
tree. but not on the fash target. The first
gauge it. the seventh two feet. and the others
graduated between.
lie heI game - That 5esH / was as sure u st that I'll The ef lash 1r rs-
that I saw Il tumble. But | wasn't taking any
ton. 80 / quickly reloaded and emptied the
magazine at the same range, repeating the
had received a royal and international salute
OF twenty-one guns from that daisy little quick
shooting t6 Sss l. iF tbe c anen i lay ys &@tsf To To f pIsy di SS1
more. My companions didn't share my calm
ness. however. and Two or three cIrawled dow
G He's a gSper1' still We diidn's take take any
on the shoot. Our Are burned ITSELF out. the
reserva and relief men dropped tn sleep. and l
:a6o down k in i, the sni ditch 1,tb fcp 4 d9fG. t Iii is seven 81
sleep being banished for the night. The run
for life, Its exciting sequel ana the climax of
in his teens. I Ihought / bad done something
to tell to people less gullible than marines. and
Just lay awake tickling myself over It,"
And did you never hear whether you really
killed Comanche2" spoke up the junior. when
the veterans voice began to drag as though
the tale was told and before the assembly for
comment.
go to war to kill men. l didn't. Simply to
knock 'em out; The Comanehe got his dose.
in the least on this last point. for rifle shots
rang out no more from that tree nor from the
firing tube behind 1t. Besides. some time
after midnight that very night: our yidette
lines BY the ~well-known swampbird's, whistle
used by the Johnnies, when they wished to
It, Johnny2' and the prompt answer was. Just
TO tell you Yanks that you done 1t for Bull
Run Oomancho.'
calmly. as though slaughtering slauRhterers
was an affair OF every minute OF the day and
night with us.
Only this. he came out Of that tree all in
a heap. and the boys took him back 10 the sus-
a.mourning none over that. Mebbe his life
was no account to him. but every fank he
killed sou 'uns got even on some o. we 'uns, m
would ba alive now hut for him, Now, lank.