El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-23
SEEING A SHOT

My regiment was attaf led 10 Smltn >
brigade, Blair's division of Grants army
at Vicksburg. We had made our assault
of May 10 and We're now reforming our
lines and preparing for another assault
on their works.
Two days had lapsed, and we were
ready for our task. On the 22d We were
ordered TO occupy one of those waves Of
hills that offered such excellent opportu-
mites for the defense of Vicksburg.
The crest was about 500 yards in ad-
vance Of our artillery line and about an
equal distance from the Confederate in
trenchments. We advanced in good Or
del, and reached the crest with slight loss
and lay down to await orders for the final
assault.
As we lay upon our backs gazing up
ward we looked into an Italian sky, cloud
less and serene. 1t was typical sunny
south day, warm without discomfort,
tn, air balmy and fragrant; not leaf
stir ed: all nature seemed to be peace
fully resting. in strong contrast to the
roar of war that now was rending this
peaceful vale. only to be equaled by heav-
ems laundering guns when the storm
king is abroad in his power.
Being located midway between our ar
tillery and that of the enemy, with the
roar of the guns on either side and hiss
ing. screaming shot and shells hurtling
over our heads, made our position a hell
of demoniacal sounds, but so protected
that carefully listened to the roar and
philosoplically contemplated the chances
of victory or defeat
Our reverie. however, was soon rudely
aroused by n thud and n little cloud of
dust but a few feet down the hill from
where we lay.
Comparatively safe from the enemyS
FIRE. our blue lines in plain sight OF our
gunners. we confided in the correctness
of their aim.
But here comes a shot from our guns
Warehouses; battery-plunging into
our line Colonel Hogc sent an orderly.
acquainting the gunners with their care
lessness-
As the shot had struck but a few feet
below where / lay il is needless to say 1
watched the further firing of that gun
with interest. Ten minutes elapsed, and
shots passed safely over. / was lying
resting on my left elbow. Corporal Bird.
a manly soldier, lay upon his back close
to my side
i was watching that gun
4 white puff of smoke. and instantly
the top of a tree standing in a hollow
about 100 yards in advance of the gun
toppled over.
The activity of the human mind is phe
nomenal. In the next few seconds i lived
an experience seldom given to mortals.
i
line.
The shot, before INSTRUCTED by the tree.
had been sufficiently elevated to 60 over. |
But what now?
Would the obstruction lower its eleva-
ton and plunge it into our line?
What is that 1 see? 1t is coming |
straight at mel Like bee in its fight i
see it. What will it do-take off an arm |
or a leg? Will go home to wife and ba- |
bies on crutches, or will they bury me on |
yonder slope? There was a whirl of ifs |
and possibilities about this life and the |
next rushing through my brain. Why |
not turn over, dodge it. jump up, any
thing to get Gut of range of coming |
death? Was / doomed to be a witness of |
every detail of my own death! The
mind outran the speed of the cannon ball
a thousand times, but there was not time |
to telegraph the danger to the dull mus |
cles for action.
In the midst of this mental confusion |
there came a heavy spat, a tremor of the |
ground, a sprinkling of something warm |
in my face. and i jumped to my feet un- |
harmed, to look down the mangled |
form and face struck with death of the |
young comrade at my side, whose left |
side had been carried away by six |
pound shot.
Observing that his lips moved, l knelt |
down and heard the faint words twice re-
pedteQ, -hOtneT-WdteT- anu the sOui
of Corporal Bird. a good soldier. a clean
hearted boy with whom for nearly a year |
] had touched elbows in line and on the /
march. took it's flight.
We buried him near the fatal tree that
caused the accident, and year later i
furnished detail to exhume his body, |
that it might be laid beside his kin at his
northern home on the banks of the beau
tiful Kankakee-
The death of this young soldier ever
has a weird interest for me. Why should |
it strike him and leave me? Did the
fates decree it, or was it for some wise
purpose Of him who numbers the hairs
of our head and notes the fall of a spar
row?
/ have seen the smile of incredulity on
the faces of friends while relating this
incident of seeing a cannon ball in its
fight. / reply i know it is true, but deem
it possible only to close observers, a
strong eye and favorable atmospheric i
conditions. doubt If it is possible in the
hazy atmosphere of the coast. At Mo-
bile / watched for nine days, but saw 1
none. At Arkansas post / saw several.
The fight of honeybces far above the
tops of trees has been frequently OBJ
Sherman's corps on the march
to join Grant at Port Gibson witnessed
4 bright star at MONDAY. II
In 1860 in going down into the Platte
valley from O'Fallon bluffs, the writer,
with the natural eye, plainly saw the gar
rison flag at Fort Kearney. The dis
lance is said to be six miles.-Exchange
Well Informed.