The National tribune., 1900-04-05

| ing our breakfast. ill ifl1l' SHEeFsli us
coveries. Soma Of us bad tincupS, but
whore were our frying-panS. plates and
knives and forks? We had been SO par
| ticular about getting two days rations iii
| our haVcrSac!sS that we never thought OF
| these necessary accessories. Again. we
began 10 speculate rs 10 the outcome of the
expedition and how We Were to apportion
our rations. We were already one day
out from camp, preparing for another days
march in the same direction. and our ra-
tions more than half gone. How were we
10 ever get back was Il conunGrum now
racking our brains? We We're Just out of
mottocs bearing tn" Inscription, The Lord
will provide" and a bugle blast, Boots and
saddles" put an end to further speculation.
| Our general course was southwest, and
we began To think there was business ahead,
from the fact that this morning an advance
guard was pat out. We Were sure of it
| before noon, when occasionally the crar k
of rifle came from the front, and wondered
why our officers did not do something. We
were on a ridge. with thick woods on either
side of the road. which just ahead made a
sharp descent TO Il rock-bound stream.
when two shots in close succession. followed
by three apparently answering ones
| directions. that reverberated in dying
cadances through the caverns of that
| picturesque region.
HARD ON THE NEW BOYS.
What allied the boys all of a sudden?
Had their stomachS gone back on them in
| this trying moment and whitcned their
faces? (Of course, could not see my own
The column had been halted, and suppose
an investigation of the cause of our inter
ruption was being made, but we were not
far enough ahead to see down to the ford.
No more shots were fired, and the column
was again in motion, down the hill, across
| the stream and up the other bank, through
Il narrow dcfile in the solid rock.
| Halfway up the other side we moved
into the timber to the right Of the road,
where, among trees, rocks and under
brush too thick for sparrow to fly through.
our first line of battle was formed. How |
| eyed the point of the hill Just above us as
we took position in the line! What miscr-
| able work it was To manage our horses and
| the Springficlds at one and the same time,
| Soon there was Il rattle of shots ahead
and the command Forward" given, fol-
lowed by Charge. and you ought to have
| seen that line go to pieces as we bumped
against trees, got mixed up with under
brush and our horses stumbled over the
rocks. but we went on III the best order that
| could be maintained and soon brought I'D
in the midst Of a hastily-abandoned camp
with the fires still burning, for it was quite
| cold and scattering SnowiiakeS were in the
air. We did not need the fires, however,
for my recollection is that we were quite
| warm, and whatever shivering was ap-
parent was from a touch Of ague, as we had
| been sleeping on the ground of late.
Those heading the column had first dis
covered Il camp Of bu3hwhackers, after
driving in the picket at the ford, and made
n center rush for it that had occasiOned the
shots; but shall always believe i. was the
sight of those Springfields. rs we came up
over the brow of the hill, that caused them
| to scampcr away so fast through the dense
| undergroWth III the direction they were
going. for not one Of them was fired on
| that occasion.
BY this time our purchases at Madison
| h?d been lost and forgotten, bat in our
charge on this camp Of bushwhackers
SON" of that experience was again brought
to our minds through an incident which
cropped out in the deserted camp. While
waiting for orders we were startled by q
succession of snappy,. Jerky eXpletivcs off
Il little to our right, and saw Schiller tearing
at his vest with periodical explosions of:
Colt I'm Himmcli .Donnervetter! | tear
him Quit und put him in mine prtchcs."
We finally got an explanation Of he
scene; found that a stray bullet had Craze
the ficShy pOStcrior OF his anatomy, and he
was trying TO change front with his steel
chestprotector and faSten it in his pants.
He failed in his efforts to get satisfa ctorv
results, and in rage threw the thing away.
have often pictured the surprise Of pos
sible finder Of that cast-off protector and
his wonderment a5 TO how that steel mold
board Of Il piow came into such a wild and
rocky region.
That night we camped among q the rocks,
those who Were not on pick ct, and tried to
sleep; but about all we did was to shiver
around smoky campfires. We had eaten
breakfast, such as it was, for our two days
ratiOns were exhausted, and now about all
we had for supper was TO smell of our haver-
sacks and drink a little water.
A MoNOTONOUS EXPERIENCE.
After this the experience of each day was
a repetition of that preceding it, only oc-
caSonally Il little more so by way of variety
Just why our march should lie so monoton-
OuSly through this fOrSaken region, where
apparently, nothing could be raised but
honey and bushwhackers, has always been
one of the mysteries of my life. Our two
days scout had developed into foraging
expedition, and by keeping steadily at it
we could scarcely do more than keep holy
and soul together and provide "fillin" for
our horses. We had honey galore on this
trip, but little or nothing TO eat with it.
Honey we ate in all the known languages
and under various conditions. often sea
soncd with a brush with rowing bands of
rebels.
Finally, week after leaving camp at
the Cape, we reached Pocahontas, Ark.
Here we stayed only long enough To get "a
good meal, being now in the enemy's
country, and our haverSacks repicnished,
when We took the back track for the reSi-
meut.
Our homeward trip was a second edition
of the other one, but it lay through differ
ent territory.
Finally we crossed Black River The
ferry was simply in the name, and we got
a good wetting in the icy water as we
plunged in, our horses wading some of the
time and swimming the rest OF it. At last
we got 10 the regiment at Greenville, Oh the
st. Francis River, whittier it had moved in
our absence, hungry, sore and tired, our
two days scout having been drawn out to
II days.
There was probably an object in this
PocahOntilS scout known TO the commander
of the expedition, but dilgcnt inquiry and
patient investigation of the records has
failed TO reveal one so far To the enlisted
man no answer 10 the query of what was it
for has ever been vouchsafed, and | now
believe it was simply to give us recruits a
benefit and break us in for what was to
come. AT any rate, we received n valuable
lesson from it and protitcd thereby, for
never afterwards could You get one of lis
out of camp for even day without being
prepared to stay for all time if necessary.
While here Byron, jim and went out to
a paw-paw patch one day and took our
Springfields along, having got permission
to fire them off, something that had not
occurred since they had been in our pos
session. and no one knew how long before
that Finding a good, place Byron aimed
at tree about 10 rods off and blazed away.