The National tribune., 1901-05-16


posite track. One man could carry and
put it in place in minutes time, and
without noise. ssiis9f
Trains ran almost every hour, day and
night, but there came a time when they
grew less frequent, and the boom of can
non ceased altogether: Atlanta was in the
hands of Sherman'S sBnmmers.
After that battle~which was, in fact,
10 miles wide, so miles long, and three
months old-it is not strange that the
contending forces restedl
For two weeks all had been quiet. The
unearthIy yells of the catamount, that we
had learned to like because they were the
only sounds we knew to be genuine, began
to bring back the old-time shiver, and we
sighed for change. 1t came too soon, as
we found to our sorrow.
On the night of Sept. % Sergeant
with five men, or rather four men and
boy-that's me-held the third post west
on the railroad, two miles from camp.
About 2 O'Clock in the morning a shot
fired from the post below brought us to
arms, and thus waiting for what might
come next we heard troop of horse ap-
preaching from the direction of our own
camp.
Here's news from the front-a detach-
ment of our cavalry on an expedition that
requires hastei
With these and kindred thoughts we
halted the column. Imagine our surprise
when we found ourselves in front of a
regiment of Texas Rangers. Five of us
were in out of the wet before we knew
it. The comrade who was standing videt
at the time a few rods away kept his
place and caught on in time to slip away.
The facts were these: Gen. Armstrong,
of Texas. was making a reconnaissance
with Il view to carrying out what Hood
soon after did--cut off Sherman's COM
l., tf, tttpr ha CIR
The Rangers came from the south and
struck the Ackworth road close to the
post below MS. The boys, realizing the
folly of showing fight. had allowed them
to pass. and then fired one shot to give us
warning. and got out of the way. Ihls
they told us a couple of weeks later
when they joined us at Andersonville.
We did not understand the signal, and
we were in the hands of the toughest,
hardest-fghting. biggest-hearted men in
Confederate army. And talk about Yam
KEGS being proverbial traders! | never
heard of one that could hold n candle to
those fellows. They traded hats with me
at least - times before daylight that
morning. and | got the worst of the bar
gain every time.
We were hustled along over the road
at a lively gait. reaching Dallas, a dis
tance of 90 miles, about 8 O'Clock in the
morning. There we halted for breakfast;
that is, we halted-we received little
breakfast.
Gen. Armstrong questioned us closely
as TO the condition of things, and if he did
not get an extravagant idea it was not
our fault. for he had force enough to have
taken any detachment between Allatoona
and the front But having learned enough
to satisfy him, he at once set out for
Hoods headquarters at Palmetto, dis
tance of 30 miles, which we reached by
noon the next day.
The incidents of those. two days march
embrace all the memories that L care TO
cherish of an eight months stay in rebel
dom. Food was scarce, but we got our
share.
was trudging along by my guard, do
ing my best to keep step with his horse,
when he said to me, Here, my little man,
take this" and he handed me down bis
cult, and | had good reason to believe it
was the last he had in his haversack.
One incident which came near being a
tragedy ended in ashappy way for poor
old Dutchman, who had been an employee
in the Construction Corps, but got sick
and was staying in cabin in the neigh
borhooG, and was pitlled up by the Rang
ers. Not being used to travel, it went
hard with him. A tall, awkward young
fellow, riding a little mule, was beside
him, and by way of encouragement would
give him a kick whenever he began to
lag, which soon came to1tbe all the time;
the more the Dutchman begged and
groaned the better the Texan seemed to
enjoy it.
At last he grew desperate, and sudden
ly facing his tormenter, with hat OF, he
looked him in the eye and yelled, For
Colts sake, shott met
The guard raised his carbine, but the
Dutchman never iiuched. The change
came suddenly so that guards and prison
ers alike halted without orders, anxious
to see how the tableau would end.
The Texan admired pluck as much as
he hated the cowardly citizen, and jump
ing off he literally picked the Dutchman
up, and placing him on the hurricane deck
of his mule, went a-fOot himself the bal
ance OF the afternoon. When we bade
goOd-by to our Texas friends our woes
began.
The first night in Palmetto was spent
in the jail if the den which graced almost
every Southern town in those days is
worthy the name of Jail.
This one was a single room about u
feet square, lighted and ventilated by
crate y by 10 inches and eight feet from
the floor.
That it had been occupied before was
very evident; also that it had not been
cleaned for years-a veritable paradise
for a sewer rat.
Our number had been increased to eight
by the addition of two citizens, who were
suspected OF giving aid to the Union
forces; one, q Incorporating old fellow,
the other q regular old cyclone, who
waXed eloquent i'll declaring his love for
the COnfederacy as long as there was a
rebel in sight, but the minute that old
calaboOse door was closed his change of
heart was complete: and it ought to have
been genuine, but at sight of the first
graycoat he fell from grace"
We were taken to the depot in the
morning, but for some reason Transports
tion was wanting, and visions of the old
jail again fi0ated before us. But fortune
smiled, and we were put in the guard
house instead. Such a mixed lot of hu-
manity is seldom brought together-citi
Zens, stragglers, DRINKS, deserters and
Yanks in the same corral. Here we had
plenty of fresh air. and managed to steal
cOrnmeal and bacon enough from the other
fellows to live well. We were kept here
four days, and then went by rail to An.
Jacksonville.
And now what can I say more? The
history of Millen, Savannah, Blackshire
and AndersOnville has been attempted by
ADLER pens than mine, but the story has
never been told.
Nearly all of those who still live to be
haunted by memories of that horrid night
mare were boys i'll their teens. / know
one who was somewhat older then; he
served four years. and half, was 10
months a prisoner, and is getting eight
great big round dollars every month now.
The majority have already passed over
the river and pitched their tents on the
other side. The time is too short for all