The National tribune., 1899-11-02

had spent his fury there. Nothing had
escaped the iron fiaii of devastation. Trees
shattered or cut entirely down; timber
chests and cannon-wheels merely punches
Of blackened splinters; frightfully mangled
horses, dead, or yet living in agony that
filled their great plaintive eyes; legless,
armless, headless human bodies, lying
in ghastly pools of blood, which filmed
and clotted under the bright rays of the
May morning sun.
Looks like Judgment morn or the fall
Of Babylon" muttered the religious-mind-
ed Alf Russell, the first to break their awed
silence.
"Or the destruction of Sennacherib," :"
suggested Monty Scruggs-
For the angel of death spread his wings
on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as
he passed"
81 should say he had a mighty strong
breath, Monty" Shorty interrupted. He
liked to break in on Monty's heroics. "Ex-
cuse me from hayin' a 12-pounder breathin'
around me-"
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly
and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and
forever grew still,
continued Monty.
IN bet there wasn't much sleepin'
around here while that shellin' was goin'
on" broke in Shorty again. Except the
sleep that has the sod for a coverlet and
Gabriel's trumpet for breakfast bell"
Monty continued impressively:
And there lay the Steed, with his noStrilS
all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath
of his pride;
And the foam Of his gasping lay lwhite
on the turf,
And cold as the spray Of the rock-beating
surf
Poor horses" murmured Shorty. 81
always feel mighty sorry for them. They
hadn't nothin' To do with gittin' up this
rebellion. We must go around and kill
such as is alive, and put them out O their
misery"
Monty resumed:
And there lay the rider, distorted and
pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on
his mail;
And the tents were all SILENT the banners
alone,
The lances uplifted. the trDmpets un-
blown"
Serves 'em right, the yaller- -bellied,
clay-eatin' yowlers," said Shorty savagely,
looking over the mangled corpSes. Pays
'em up for their murderin' abatiS. We got
it in this time worse on them than they did
on us, though it'd take as much of this
as'd make up several Counties to pay up
for any one o the good boys we lost yes
kin look down and see how we got it in on
the secesh heli-hounds. Well do 'em up
worse yit before we're through with 'em."
Our batteries are improvin' wonder
fully" commented the more practical ST,
studying the field. "They seem to've
most good. No shootin' at the State o.
Georgy generally and trustin' to luck to
hit a rebel. Every shell seems tO'ye landed
just where it was needed, and then tended
to its business and busted. You don't
see no signs of any strikin' quarter of a
mile away, nor u whole one layin' around
anywhere. That's good gunnin', and
Pm glad Our old siX-hoss thrashin' ma
chine done the biggest share of it. Our
brigade has the best battery in the whole
army"
The regiment will go on" reported the
behind to bury the dead, gather up the
arms and things. and then bring up the
brigade ammunition train"
stay behind to bury the dead" grrIm-
bled Shorty. Nice business that! Sex
tons to the Southern Confederacy. Hain't
they got any, niggers around here that
they kin set at the work?"
Nor did ST like the job. '-The artillery
made the muss, and now the infantry's
got to stay and clean up after it. That
don't seem right"
well. orders is orders, and got to be
ODeyed, SAID lne rdefly-SerSeant, cut
ting short the discussion with the usual
formuary of his class. An Orderly-Ser-
geant is robbed of one of the cherished
privileges of the other enlisted men. He
can not criticise or grumble, but must stop
the others from doing SO beyond certain
point, and his refuge must be the prompt
assumption that the orders are all right,
and must be executed cheerfully. And he
has not the satisfaction of the officers
above him in knowing the why and where
fore of the orders, and perhaps advising as
to them. He is "betwiXt and between"
as they say out West.
'The quicker we get at it," continued the
Orderly, "the sooner it'll be over. Serg't
Klegg, take eight or 10 men and hunt
around for some picks and shovels. l
think that deep trench over there behind
the works III do for a grave. You can
shovel the bank right down on them and
save hard work. Serg't Wilson, you take