The National tribune., 1900-11-01

ordnance or ammunition he continued,
addressing himself to SI.
NO, sir; only that which shot or was
shot at me-"
NO Ieyity, sir That's impertinence and
disrespectful. You will not do at ALL"
But, Major" pleaded Dye, these are
some of the very best men / know. l
know all about them. I've seen them in
camp and in battle, and / know they can
be depended on to the last wiggle of their
finger-ends. | don't know where ! can find
any other such men. They're the only ones
that | know that I've been able to find in
all my looking around. It's getting late
now, and don't know where to look for
any more"
This appeal seemed to move the Major.
Where do you beIong?" he asked 81.
Go. Q, 200th Indiana Volunteer Infan-
try"
"Humph, saw the 2OOth Indiana when
| was down to Chattanooga last Fall. A
lot of untamed Hoosiers, but they took
care of their ammunition. L noticed that.
Only regiment that did. Cartridges lying
all around the camps of the other regi-
ments. None in the camp of the 2OOth
Indiana. Made Il report to that effect.
Knew how to use their ammunition, too.
watched them through my glass as they
went up Mission Ridge. Didn't fire shot
till they got up on top, and then came
lnLO line ana Ureu SOllu fOlley dI INT
rebels. Very pretty thing. Not shot
until orders, and then all at once. Liter
ally swept the rebel line away"
That's the kind Of fellers we are"
grinned ST. When we salt 'em we like
to do it by the bushel. Goes further that
way"
of place in the Ordnance service. There's
too much responsibility there for the least
riH nf anv Kind What nre yOu doing
here, sir?'
Il was ordered by my Colonel to go to
indianapolis and bring a detachment on
to the regiment. But communications were
cut off, and / was ordered by Col Bone
steel to bring the detachment on here to
take his pontoOn train through"
At the mention of Col. BOnesteel the
Majors face darkened.
"Humph," he snapped, "old Bonesteel
got his clamps on you, did he? What in
the world did he want of your
He probably knew that they were un-
usually good men, and was anxious to
have them for his special work" ventured
Jake Dye, anxious to help along his plan.
Not likely. What difference does it
make to Bonesteel what kind of men he
has, so longs they are able to lift and pull?
An OK or a mule is generally better for his
purposes than a man. No need of any
special brains or character among the men
of the Engineers, as there is in the Ord
nance, where we must have the very best
men we can find. Bonesteel just laid hold
of you Just because he thought somebody
else wanted you real badly. That's his
style He is always looking out for a
chance to be ugly to some one else, and
he probably had a spite against the man
that wanted you. Meanest man in the
army for that. All the Engineers are Civ
en- to that sort of thing, but he's the worst
of the lot. / never miss a chance to get
even with him. Sergeant Dye, upon fur
ther thought, believe that we need the
whole of these 100 men,"
You were of that opinion, sir, before
we left Cincinnati" said Jake Dye, diplo |
You felt certain that we
would need fully that number to help the |
boat and her load past the Muscle Shoals. |
We were so pressed that you had to come
away without them, hoping that we might |
get what help we needed from some gar |
rison near the Muscle Shoals"
Jake Dye looked the Major square in
the eye as he said this. He, like Shad
Graham, had caught on to the Regular |
Army trick of assuming that his officer |
has thought out and expressed his own |
ideas. 1t was the easiest and surest |
method of getting his own way. Maj. |
Crewet, if he had ever known of it, had |
give little thought to the impediment of |
the navigation of the Tennessee River by
he Muscle Shoals. He was not n student
If geography. His dominant thought was
hat the rebellion could be put down by
he superior ammunition of the Ordnance
Bureau, and he gave little attention to
anything else.
You were quite right, Sergeant, to re-
mind me of that" he answered, with a
relaxation of his official Sc
Terity. Yes, had decided that we need
ID fully 100 men, to properly guard this
important cargo, and help us over those
shoals. 1t will not do to trust to getting
lelp from the garrisOns. They may nave
I'll they can attend to, and we do not know
what kind of men they may be. We had
,etter not miss the opportunity of getting
he right kind of men, when we have it.
Besides, it will make old Bonesteel mad
is n hornet to take his men away. It'll
'ay him up for the way he has been treat
ng me-"
Col. Bonesteerll be all right, if you'll
ust take his pontOOns along with you,"
aid 81, bubbling over with pleasure at the !
prospect. "All he wants is to get them
through at once. You can easily take I
hem on the boat. There isn't such an
wful sight of them