The National tribune., 1900-01-18

mt MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME"
mighty fly, for every lying man is watched
like hawk to get his things the moment he
stiffens. That's my shack you see there,
he continued, points1g to the biggest shelter
in the neighborhood, and which occupied
| the corner formed by the two headlines.
IL and my chums got In here when there
was plenty of poles and pine-tops, and
We knew enough about prison-life then to
lose no time in fixing things up; 1 wish
| l could take you in there, but it's as full
as it can hold. This piece Of ground, from
here to here, will be yours. Squat on it,
and hold it against all corners. I'll be on
| the lookout for something to make you a
shelter. Maybe l can steal couple of meal
bags when they are issuing rations. That's
| the way | got this shirt and trousers.
| He pointed to his garments with pride.
'Scrumptious, amt they? Dandier togs for
this place than a swell Wabash avenue
tailor's would be for Chicago. Tell you
how | got 'em. They used to issue us the
meal in bags. had to account for all the
bags issued, but I'd cut bag in two, and
count back each half for whole bag.
got enough to make this suit for myself
and one for Dwiggins, my partner, before
the rebel Sergeant got onto my little game.
Make yourselves as comfortable as you
can there. I've got to go now and draw
the rationS."
ilbS d IllSHly
said 81. Were all awful hungry, as
well as tired"
He took his squad to the ground desig-
mated by the Sergeant, sat down upon it,
and looked around, but his eyes grew so
tired OF the misery and wretchedneSs that
met them everywhere that he quit looking,
and began to think about what they could
do to make their condition more tolerable.
Il spose the first things to take a good
wash" said he. Lets go down to the
crick there and wash"
They found the shallow creek full of
men--most of them stark naked. trying to
remove, with sand and hard rubbing, the
CRIME deposited by the pitchy fires around
which they had sat or done their meager
cooking. No one had any soap. and it
required the hardest rubbing TO remove even
portion OF the CRIME. To get really clean
was impossible.
There We're the fewest near the bridge
across the creek, and thither ST and the rest
went.
They had scarcely begun when the guard
in the perch nearest fired directly into the
crowd on the bridge. A man fell with his
breast torn open by the heavy charge of
buckShot. The whole of the %, 900 men
inside the stockade rose at once to yell the
herceSt curses at the murderous boy whose
musket had done such deadly work. The
vilest epithets that the English language
permits were hurled at him i'll choruses of a
thousand voices. The prisoners immedi-
ately around 81 and Shorty and on the
bridge sprang upon another prisoner,
Knocked him down. and began beating him.
lnstinctively ST and Shorty sprang TO his
rescue, and by vigorous knocking and
ttinging aside his assailants succeeded in
freeing him.
Great Scott, what are you all pilin' onto
this one man for? Tryin' to kill him. ST
asked Indignantly of one of the assailants,
whom he had by the throat
He drawed the fire O. the guard onto the
bridge, and had this boy killed" answered
the man. He ought to be killed himself,
for havin' no more sense"
Il didn't do nothin' at ALL" gasped the
bleeding victim. I was Just reachin' up
under the dead-line there to git a cup o.
clean water to drink. l didn't want to
drink that from where the men was waShin'."
Hadn't you bin long enough in the
prison to know that you mustn't make a
motion toward the dead-line there? Didn't
you know that that whelp of a guard s only
wantin' some sort of an excuse to fire into
the crowd, and git furlough home? If
he'd only "a killed you it'd bin all right,
but you got an innocent man killed"
Kill the hound" shouted the others.
kill him for havin' no more sense"
But 81 and Shorty took the man between
them and walked with him to the other side,
where he was speedily lost in the crowd.
Here's your rations." said Ike Deeble,
when they returned to the Fourteenth De-
tachment: He produced four loaves of
cofnbread, about the size, shape and color
Of well-burned bricks. There's a halfa- |
until tomorrow. / had great trouble in |
saving them for you. You must be sure |
after this to be on hand when rations are
issued. It's grab-game all the time
here"
Stand Shorty. from force of habit. wanted |!
N lid Iittl.a ti1air TnaDl hy- |
they had no wood. The men around them |
had each little bundle of splinterS, which |
they jealOusly boarded. The partners re-
membered that they had no coffee to boil, So !
they munched their coarse cornbread. and |
made the best of it. As night fell. the |
others. excessively weary with the fatigues
and eXcItements of the day, stretched them |
selves out on the bare sand, and went % |
sleep.
Si and Shorty remained awake, car
vassing the situation and prospects in low
tones.
We'll, we've never run up against nothin' |
that seemed quite so tough us this" said ST
almost despairingly. 1T comes mighty |
near knockin' me in "a heap"
Well, there's some way out. said Shorty
more hopefully, We've got Il wad o rebel
money, and we kin do something with that,
III be bound. got that old brindled steers
that he made SIGH howl
about"
"You did, Shorty?" said 81. in amaze
ment. How in the world did you git it?''
Just by follerin' honest industry, while
the rest O. you fellers wuz sleepin' the sleep
Of sioth and laZiness," said Shorty in his
superior way. while that old poll-evil was
snorin' like a steamboat whistle, and the
rest of You muz keepin' him in chorus,
snatched his leather. and We got it hid i'll
this cid shoe. We'll dig it out and to-
morrow see if we can't buy something to |