The National tribune., 1901-08-22
AN INHosPIrABLE BURGH.

OIL supreme COulcupl
AN INHoSPITABLE BURGH.
1t was easy to be seen that the inhab-
itlnts of this town bore US little good
will, though they We're greatly astonished
at the fine, comfortable appearance of our
soldiers; at the full haversack and the
abundance of coffee and sugar they car
ried, and which some exchanged for to-
baceo; coffee, sugar and such neceSsaries
could scarcely be purchased in Shepherds
town. On one side of the street was a
miserable, dilapidated-looking shanty, with
the legend Tailor" overhead; within was
u wee little old man, doing q large bust
ness; that is, putting an extremely large
patch upon very mean coat, belonging
to a rebel officer sick in the town; Il
bench, board, and a heavy goose,
tenances" the place contained. That tai
lor's shop seemed to be the only paying
establishment in the place.
AS an example of the good will mani
tested toward us, we may relate an incl
dent which happened there.
A female stood at one of the garden
gates, with a large warm -four cake in
her hands, which she held temptingly be.
fore some of the Union soldiers. as if
waiting for them to purchase. If that
was her intention, she was soon success
full, for one of our men stepped up and
asked her what she would take for the
cake. She looked at him sourly for an
instant, and then, with an insulting laugh
threw the cake to a dog that was near.
The insulted soldier gazed on her for q
moment with an eye of fire; but then,
recollecting himself, turned away with Il
smile, saying, Il beg your pardon, ma
dam; that was all it was fit for"
Whenever any of the inhabitants could
insult a Union soldier it was done; but
our men bore their taunts and sarcasms
with great good humOr, rarely, If ever,
replying to them. The churches and pub
lie buildings in the town had been turned
into hospitals, and the yellow flags that
waved from their roofs indicated that
they contained quite large number of
wounded, who had been unable to leave
the place on our approach, and, therefore,
had been paroled. The inhabitants, how
ever, did not scruple to make great COM
plants about the scarcity of provisions
and the large prices demanded for what
was to be had. A soldier CHANGED to ask
lady for a match to light his pipe; she
was standing at the door, and in a mo-
ment supplied him with one, merely re-
marking, You are welcome to it, sir;
would give you more, but they cost a
dollar per box"
Notwithstanding her pOliteness, she
was n downright rebel, but had many
ladylike qualities. The soldier present
ed her with some coffee, which she CRATE
fully accepted; it was, indeed, quite Il
luxury. As a general thing, we found
that the old ladies were very kind and
very polite, keeping their opinions to
themselves, and treating our soldiers with
considerable affability. The young wOm
en-, however, were sometimes quite fc-
rociOus; not very select in their language,
or dignifed in their demeanOr.
This was owing, perhaps, to the great
rrr.sa E.f fI,l ianI
conscripted from their side," or had vol
unfairly gone to fight the ''black inyad-
erS.'
But few men were to be found in the
town, and those, with the exception Of
some Oh parole, as before mentioned, were
aged and unscrviccBble; the good and
healthy material had been seized upon
long ago, or had volunteered, and were
then in our front, or hidden in the town,
until they could safely leave on our de-
parture We had halted in Shepherds
town about an hour, when we received
orders to move forward. As we advanced
crowds of women and boys, black and
white, lined the sidewalks, making re-
marks by no means complimentary either
to our humanity or honesty. Moving on,
we came in sight of a group Of black
women, who clapped their fat hands in
seeming ecstacy as they saw our compact
mass of troops approaching with glisten-
Ing arms ana martial Deaflnp, IOTIilnS,
we have no doubt, a striking contrast to
the rebel troops, who had hastily left the
town before us. AS our green flag was
seen, futtering its golden glories upon
the breeze, by passing group of col
Ored wenches, one of them, extraordinary
in rotundity and luxurious in fat, clapped
her hands, exclaiming, "See dar! amt
dat beautiful To which a vinegarfaced
white woman pointedly replied, 1T is, in
deed; it would make a very handsome
shawl, with that fine gold border"
Whether the sharp-nosed female intended
sarcasm or not, we could not tell; but
it looked and sounded to US very much
like it.
RECONNoIssANCE.
We marched some 10 miles beyond
Shepherdstown, and halted for a while,
sending skirmishers out on our TANKS. A
rumOr came down the line that our sd
vance had oyertaken the enemy, who was
in position some distance ahead and well
protected by artillery. We had been halt
ed but few minutes when heavy firing
commenced. The reconnaissance began
to assume very large dimensions; in fact,
it looked as if a sharp fight was in pro-
gress. Suddenly the fierce shrek of a
shell rapidly kissing through the air, at
tracted our attention, and, turning to see
where it had struck, we beheld one man
of Co. II lying on the ground, a pool of
blood rapidly accommodating round his
head; piece of shell had struck him on
the left side of the head, behind the ear,