The National tribune., 1900-08-09
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Copyrighted, 1899, by the publishers of THE NATIONAL
tribune.
The Boys on the Point Of Re-entering the
Rebel Lines.
After breakfast the next morning 81
and Shorty each procured pens, ink and
paper from the Hospital Steward, and
addressed himself to the serious work
first important business he would transact
after passing our fnes-writing home.
81 announced his purpose openly and
boldly, got his materials and seated him
self in plain view, with his back against
a stump and board across his lap for
| q desk. Shorty went furtively up to the
Steward after Si had left, and communi-
| Gated his wants in a shame-faced way.
When he got his stationery he slipped
around to the cover Of some bushes, and
began his arduous labor.
| Sis first letter read:
| Deer Annabel: ., Tine 50 glad to get
back where | seem to be breathing the
! saim air with you. It's true that line
many hundred miles from you yit, but
line at least in the saim country, SO to
speak, where you are, and with our kind
of folks. and you in reach, which is hap
pineSs. l got through our lines yesterday,
and all the boys come with me. line well,
and hoap that you air enjoying the saim
| blessing. ShOrty's well, but some Of the
| boys is purity badly run down.
No more to-day from your loving
His next letter read:
Deer Mother: / talk my pen in hand
to let you know we all got through our
lines yesterday, and are all well, except
that Gid Mackalrs little on the lift, and
Sandy and Petc's a trifie worse for wear.
But they'll come round all right under
DR.. Folsom's care. Me and Shorty feel
like as if wede bin run through a thrash
ng-machine, but no bones wuz broke, and
our skins are whole, and we're hungry as
that pig of ours was that we found lost
in the straw-stack. But Doc. FolSom's
got hobble on our appetitcs, and won't
let us have no more'n he thinks good for
us, and scents that with quinine, opodildoc,
and all sorts of stuff. Me and Shorty
don't need this at all, but we stand it for
example to the boys.
l hoap that you and Pap and the girls
air all well, that the wheat headed out as
well as Pap hoped, that the cOrn's stand
ing the drouth good, and the stocks COM
ing through all right.
How much did that cornfeld that Pap
turned into medder last year cut?
No more to-day from your loving son,
ST.
ST stopped with these. 1t seemed to him
harder work than any days labor in the
tunIel, or on the escape.
Shorty was having it far harder, even.
Neither his taste for literary exercise, nor
his ability at writing had been at all i'm
proved by his recent experiences, and
nothing but his overwhelming longing to
send word to Maria and hear from her
would have forced him to the Herculean
labor of writing letter. His mind was
a volcano of surging thoughts, but when
it came to framing even the least of these
into words written out on paper, dull
numbness pervaded brain, fingers and pen.
The pen became a wilful and wayward
little imp, his fingers stupid in tracing the
aggravating form OF the letters, spelling
n snare set for his soul, grammar a mad
dening intricacy, and above all how was
he, used only to the rude, direct speech |
of the camps, to say things fitted TO the |
refined ear of the loveliest woman in the |
world.
He labored and sweat profusely through |
the whole forenoon, and by the time din |
ner-call sounded had only succeeded in |
getting his letter fairly started. He con- |
cealed his stationery carefully in clump !
of honeysuckle, and went in to get his |
dinner. |
Il declare" he said, mopping his fore
head, she's worth it all, and a thousand |
times as much, but I'd heap rather make |
roads and work a mule train through all |
day than write letter. I'm mighty glad |
l haint an extensive correspondence to |
keep up"
He returned to his work after dinner
with unabated determination, and before |
supper had finished this letter:
My Deere Miss Maria:
1 want poIIygize 2 q for not ritin
sooner nor Offener. Just coodent. No
males running betwixt Andersonville &
Bean blossom Crick. 2 much trouble on
the route. Rebels frequent. No paper
& ink 4 stamps in Andersonville. Rebel
Postmaster coOdent read ritin, nohow.
Mebbe u thought Ide stOpt a bullet
& my name was Mud. No, nam. Rebels
haint run no bullet yit that lie ketch, Il
never Will lie walk over the graves of
tut rassel in Andersonville. but me and
ST pulled through & pulled the rest ov the
boys with u.s. Got through Yesterday on
the Hoop Pole Express.
Sum of the boys is banged up little,
but weare all still in the ring, speshully
Me & ST.
I've thought ov u a heap every day,
& the first thing I've done on Citing
through is to rite U. / think more of u
than all the rest ov the hull world & 1 al
ways shall.
Remember me yore father & mother
& sister.
From yore sincere friend & well-wisher,
DAN ELLIOTT.
"Wonder how much longer old Folsom's
going to keep us on this anti-dyspepsia |
diet, SIP grumbled Shorty, on the even
ing, as they received their meager, care
fully regulated supper. ''Hc aint giving
us as much as he'd feed n sick woman af-
ter 4 spell o. fever, and he's mixing up
a drug store with our grocery in a most
hcartrending way. There seems to be
more apothecary shop and less family gro
Gerry every time. That last whisky he is
sued us appeared mostly iron, and / feel
rusty clear to my hnger-nails. If l get
much more iron in me I'll be afraid to go
ont in thunder storm, lest l be struck by
lightning"
Hush, Shorty whispered 81. "The
boys may overhear you. Mustn't let 'em
know they're taking medicine in their
grub, or it won't do 'em any good. What's
the sense of Kicking, anyway? You're get
ting a heap more grub than this time last
week. and if you do happen to run up agin
n little favoring out of the doctors pill
bag, 'taint as nasty as them flies we used
to get in our cornbread in Andersonville.
It's clean dirt. anyhow"
'"That's so," acceded Shorty, calming
down. Seems to me 1 never know when
I'm well Off Now there wuz many times
81. long before we went to Andersonvilie,
when we'd a given an eye-tooth to we
changed off to soft, dry bed like this. on a
warm day, under a good shade. Take the
mud march to Stone River. for example,
or that mud-turtling on to Tullyhonny."
"Yes, and it wasn't no fun, neither.
hustling around over them mountains and
rocks Just before Chickamaugy."
Hello, here's the engineer"