The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1899-02-02

| fit of his care and attention, and the neces
sary papers came down from Headqnarter
that day. The Deacon had the good luck u
| find his old friend, the Herd Boss, who tool
deep interest in the matter. He offered I,
have a. good team as he had at the CRIB tn,
next morning, with the wagon-bed filled
with cedar bOughs, to make as easy coucf
as possible for the rough ride over tn,
| mountains.
With his heart full OF hope and joy, tn,
Deacon hustled around to make every
possible preparation for the Journey.
'elt's a long way back home, know" he
said to himself, "and the roads rough and
difficult as that to the New Jerusalem; but
| Faith and Hope, and the blesssn' o. God Il
accomplish wonders. If / kin only hold the
souls in them boys bodies till l kin git 'em
| back to Bean Blossom Crick, I'll trust
Mother Klegg's nursin' to do fhe rest. II
| there ever was woman who could stand off
the Destroyin' Angel by good nursin' that
woman's Mother Klegg, bless her SOUL"
The next morning he was up beiimes and
cooked the boys Us good breakfast as he
could out of the remainder of his store and
what he could get from the hospital. and
then gave what was left to whoever came.
The comfortable crib, which had cost the
by the Surgeon for some of his weakest
patients.
The news had reached the 200th Ind. that
the boys were going home, and they came
over in a body to say ''Good-by."
The sight of them panied the Deacon
good heart. Instead of the hundreds of we'll
fed. well-clothed, comfortable-lookingy young
men he had seen at Murfreesboro few
| months before, he now saw shrunken band
of gaunt, unkempt men, their clothing
| ragged and patched many of them almost
shoeless, many of them with pieces of blan-
kets bound around their feet instead of shoes,
| many of them with bandages about their
still unhealed wounds, but still keeping their
places bravely with their comrades, and stub
bornly refusing to count themselves among
the sick and disabled, though it required
| all their wi l-power to do their share of the
duty. But ali OF them were trimming over
| with uncomfortable cheerfulness and pluck.
They made light Of their wounds and disa-
bilites, TESTED at one anOther's ragged clothes,
laughed at their hunger, teased one another
about stealing corn from mules, jeered at the
rebel shells from Lookout Mountain. yelled
derisively at the rebel pickets across the
creek, and promised them to soon come out
and run Bragg sarmy off the face of the earth
All were eager TO do something toward the
comfort of their departing comrades. They
scanned the arrangement of the boughs in
the wagon with critical eyes, and picked
them over and rearranged them, so as to
avoid every chance of uncomfortable knots
and Jumps They contributed blankets frou
| their own scanty supply, to make sure that
there would be plenty, and SO many were
| eager to help carry ST out and put him in
the wagon, that the Orderly Sergeant of CO.
| q had 10 take charge of the matter and make
| Il detail. The teamster was given strong adj
| monitions as to careful driving, and fearful
| warning as to what would happen to him in
case of an accident.
Haint anything to send back home with
you, boys, this time, but our love-" said
one of them. That the only thing that's
safe nowadays from bein' stole, because no
one kin eat or wear it. Tell the folks to pay
no attention to what the paper says No
danger o. us being run out o. Chattanooga.
Tell 'em that we're all fat, ragged and sassy,
and only waitin' the word from Gen. Rose
Grams to fall on old Bragg like thousand O.
brick and mash the lights Outen him."
YES" joined another tell em we've got
plenty to eat, SIGH as it is, and good enough,
what there is of it. Don't worry about US.
We're only BLOWN up our muscle to git good
lick at old Bragg"
"Your MUSCLE" said Shorty, satirically.
"You've got about as much muscle now as q
match. But you're good stuff all the same,
and you're goin' to everlastingly lick the
rebels when the time comes only wisht /
was here to help you do it. l don't think
LII go any further than Nashville. Pll be
well enough to come back by that time. Pll
see ST and his father off safely, and then
gether up crowd of other convaescents, and
come back and clean the rebels off your
cracker line."