Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1899-02-03


six of them.
Come onv' yelled the officer.
Sam leaped into the saddle, cracked
his whip, and shouted, "Git-yo'-all!'
and the wagon started.
1t was but a short distance to the
summit; then came a steep, rough de-
scent to the rolling field where the
Union line was fighting. AS they
reached the crest, Jim looked back and
saw the shining glow of musket barrels
coming up the Taneytown road.
That's the Sixth Corpsw cried the
officer. But oh, how slow they are!"
The troops were coming on the run!
Now Jim's revolver cracked twice,
and two mules fell, shot through the
head. Away the wagon went, plung-
ing, humping, crashing down the hill
no vehicle but an army wagon could
have stood that jolting and even the
army wagon, stable as 1t was, would
have been dashed to pieces had not its
speed been checked and its course
steadied by Jim's ingenious brake. At
the base of the hill Jim's keen knife
severed the halters Of the dead mules
without slackening the speed of the
team, and the wagon went flying TO-
ward the blue line.
The kissing, humming bullets were
everywhere; splinters few from the
wagon-body, but on 1t sped; with
shrek Jim's horse stumbled and went
down.
Jim sprang from the saddle and ran
beside the team, shouting at the mules,
and soon the wagon was In the rear of
the forefront of the battle.
Back from the firing-line the SER
geants came running, and eagerly seiz-
ed the pine boxes Of cartridges. A mule
went down; his harness was quickly
cut, and the wagon rolled on. The
captains horse was shot under him; he
fell with 1t, and Jim and Sam saw him
no more.
At the next halt, soldiers with pow
der blackened lips, bloodshot eyes and
ashen faces were round them, yelling,
Cartridges! cartridges! cartridgesm
and more of the pine boxes were quick
ly pitched out and smashed, and the
brown paper packages, ten cartridges
in each, distributed to the men.
pass the word for the boys to hold
on hard little longer-the Sixth Corps
is coming on the double quick, and is
almost here! shouted Jim, as he gave
out the ammunition.
They'll have to come might soon, or
they'll be too late. More than half of
our men have gone down, and the rest
of them can't last but a few minutes
longer" said sergeant, wearing on his
cap the red Maltese cross of the Fifth
Corps. The leading mules had been
shot down already; only three remain
ed; but away went the wagon to the
fighting left, Sam holding the leader
by the head.
The men in the battleline of the ire
fused" flank were in single rank-a
thin line with many gaps-and their
officers were bringing them cartridges
from the boxes of the dead and wound
ed; for many form in blue lay still.
and more lay writing on the red
ground. The ranks of the gray were
coming on in force, outtlanking and en-.
velOping the thin blue line, threatening
to roll it up and utterly destroy the
brigade. A Maine regiment sternly
held the extreme left, but the men were
falling so fast that it seemed incredible
the wagon could be brought to them.
Only two mules were left, and one Of
these, bleeding from bullet-wound In
the neck, already began to show signs
of weakness, and could with difficulty
be kept ON the run.
But a slight hollow seemed to afford
some protection, and Jim led Sam that
way. They were almost there when a
whitening volley felled one of the re-
naming beasts, Instantly Jim's knife
cut the beast out; then Sam, grasping
the yoke on the wagon-pole, exerting
all his strength, and yelling at the re-
naming mule, pushed alongside Jim
from behind, and with one desperate
final effort they rolled the wagon into
the little hollow At that instant a
bursting shell crashed over their heads,
scattering its fragments In every d.
rection, and the faithful negro and the
last mule went down together.
The soldiers came running for the
few remaining cartridges, and Jim
Wright, picking up a musket which one
of the wounded men had dropped, ran
with them to the line.
'Stay with them, boys! stay with
themr' he yelled. 1.-THE old Sixth CORPS
is almost here! Hurrah! hurrah! hur-
rah! there they come! There's the
white cross, boysw
Down the side of Little Round Top.
in magnificent order, two full brigades
came pouring on the run. Then the
feeble cheer that went up from the
hard pressed line was drowned In the
crashing volley that came from the
troops of the Sixth Corps, whose ad-
vance struck the enemy's right flank,
threw the men into disorder, and quick
ly drove them back to the shelter of the
thick woods beyond the field.
The rays Of the setting sun were
touching the crest of Round Top when
the firing ceased, and Jim Wright
made his way back to the wagon in the
hollow. There the black man still Law
face downward, beside the dead mule
4. l.