The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-22

AT Lincoln, Neb., lives H. Masternan
aged lightweight He is one of the few.
POSSIBLY the very last, survivor of the
pody OF men who acted as the guard of
honor at the marriage of the late Queen
Victoria. AS a British soldier he reached
America in 1850, soon after bought his
discharge and became a citizen of the
United States. At the outbreak of the
civil war he enlisted in the Union army
III the same company with his son and
served to the close.
His mature Judgment and unerrine
craftsmanship brought him under the no.
tice of his colonel, who asked him 70
volunteer for sharpshooting duty. On
account of the extreme danger attend
ant upon this class of work men were
not ordered to perform it, but volunteers
were called for Masterman promntIv
offered his services and became a Union
,SharpShooter
Inc peculiar nature of the case makes
II necessary that a shafpshooter be nm
oer less physical restraint than probably
any other man In the army, with the
exception of the spy While on dutv his
HE is In constant danger, and it's pres.
ervat1oH depends entirely upon his own
discretion. His time is by no means oc-
cupled In picking off important officers
from among the enemy, but more often
IN duels With sharpshooters on. the other
side who are his equal in cunning and
skill N--O
> 1t was while the war was raging along
the southern boundary. of Tennessee that
the wing of the army in which Master
man belonged was sorely beset by thu
enemys sharpshooters. Most of thesa
confederate riflemen were we'll known bv
the Union Soldiers. There was some ne.
cuiiarlty IN mode of operation or SOUND
u the gun which distinguished one from
Inc olher, and as time went aJong
shnlpses OF them We're caught so that
even the rank and file of the federal
sololers had good idea of what these
dangerous men were like
oHe OF the was dubbed "Suredeath.
ana there was good reason for gfvine
him the name. He was the prince of Co-1
ieuefate .sharpshooters. At any hour of
me aay the clear crack of his rifle might
oouhu, ana the men always looked to see
WHO the victim was, for there was ALWAYS
one, either killed outright or mortaIIJ
wounded. When the battle was on he
nred his fatal shots at none but officers
put between whites common dough
poy made him good target. The yam
hees soon mad so high an opinion of this
mans ability that when anv ironor+ tl,,t
oIhcer fell the loss was fortmwitb
charged to "Suredeath.''
one evening the colonel sent an ordar.
~ 10 the company quarters with instruc-
uons for Masterman to report at once
at his tent. 0iiOo
CO sergeant" said the colonel, "this man
, Suredeath' must be stopped Not a day
next thing he'll do will be to kin the gen.
eial hlnnselI. Now, I'm going to depend
upon you-do you understand-unon Won
70 smence tnat murderous gun of his
NaSterm4n ant ~hoa
turning the situation in his mind He was
acquainted with the habits of the Con-
federate, for he had tried to bag him
tba4 e thss time He made up his mind
OF either "Suredeath'' or himself. He
teid his, son, who slept near of his
orders from the colonel and his deternoin-
FIJI fr;ui1.+ ne gave the young man a few
case he did not return, crept under his
shelter tent and slept Like a log
he aWoke In the early morning before
ei u4i Ine soldiers in blue or gray were
con ana black coffee. After eating he
put some bareback in his haversack
niled mas canteen from nearby spring
Sung ms rifle over his shoulder and set
ton of the hostile army
Apouf . O'Clock the n1ists had rolled
up the hills and the sun was shining
brightly Lying hidden behind a fallen
pushes, Masterman caught a fieeting
glimpse of his enemy creeping along the
ground, but no shot offered itself Sure
death was safely stationed in a tree be.
fore the Union man again found out
where he was. The familiar sound of his
gun and the smoke floating away from
the tree then disclosed his whereabouts
Masterman watched closely After
time he saw the muzzle of "Suredeaths''
rifle protruding just beyond the leaves
The man was again taking aim at some,
Union soldier. The blue-coated veteran
lying behind the log. aimed his gun at a
point where he thought ''Suredeaths s."
body was and fired instantly shifting his
position away from the smoke made by
the discharge. 1t was probably a sur
prise to the Confederate, although moth
ing on his part betrayed the fact. His
rifle muzzle disappeared among the
leaves.
The presence of each was now known
to the other, and the sharpshooting duel
began. Masterman had a slight advan-
tage, for after taking shot he could
change his position slightly, while his op-
ponent was forced to stay upon the same
limb behind the same part of the tree
trunk. and could not descend. Each en-
ployed the usual tactics of drawing the
others fire by holding his hat as if its
owner was perring out and of letting
empty coat sleeve peep innocently FROM
cover.
The Confederate certainly realized that
he had no ordinary sharpshooter opposed
to him. Sometimes a half hour would go
by with no perceptible movement on the
re oft mn inn q N a