Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-07-09

upon the officer next lelow him IN
rank, and so The scolding passes down
ward uatil It reaches some lowly non.
commissioned officer, who gets rid or it
by giving II 10 a private soldier,
But had no time 10 absorb THIS wis.
dom during my FIRST charge, for the
major suddenly ordered our captain to
hurry nloug With such men as he had.
leaving the stragglcrs to the tender
mcrcies OF the rear guard 1t seemed
strange that we had not yet closed the
small distance between us and the
troop ahead of us, but as we hurried
on we had the melancholy consolation
of learning that ours was not the only
new company whose men had come to
grief through ignorance Of their duties
and by falling out had made many sue
cessive gaps in the column. Not all the
nnfortunates We're bad riders. but some
OF them had pricked their horses with
their sabers during spasmodic endeav.
ors TO keep these weapons we'll in hand,
and no self respecting horse could be
expected to be even tempered when
prooded with q yard Of steel with
slnrp point ut one end and 100 pounds
OF gfcenhurn at the other
Such as were left of us Went faster
and fnster, the horses becoming en-
cited, upconscicusly taking the gellop.
This being II gait at which Child could
keep the saddle, there was no more
struggling. Assisted by some vigorous
Language from the captain, We formed
new sets OF fours and went along In
really handsome style
When our rush had lasted about
quarter OF an hour l began to wonder
when we would strike the enemy. If
we had already suffered so severely,
what would be left of us after we had
met the foe and been thrown into the
confusion which always befalls cav
airy party at the instant OF absolute
clash? Well, If 1t must come, It We're
better that 1t should come while we
and our horses Were nerved up to fight,
ing pitch.
There came time in our mad rush
when the road led through bit of
low, damp ground on which there was
no dust, so we could look along the coll
umn. Dusty though we were, the spec
tacle was really inspirltIng. with its
hundreds of flashing sword blades and
its successive guidons-s small flags, one
at the head of each troop. We ascend
ed gentle slope near the top of which
and perhaps quarter of a mile In ad-
vance rode a man with broad felt
Int and very small horse. | asked
the lieutenant who he was and was
told
He's the reb we're chasing, s'posc."
What. All that effort to catch one
MANA man who was apparently get
ting awayf All the scare the terror,
the wild thoughts, the helplessness,
the disorder, the suffering, merely TO
overtake one mani felt angry enough
to desert lost my temper and ex-
pressed my thoughts SO loudly that the
lieutenant overheard me and. looking
angriiy at me. said!
'Be quiet, you little fool There's
no better way OF finding their main
body than by chasing man who is
trying to get back 70 1t, is there?"
NO, sir,H | replied meekly us flood
Of light descended upon my wits, and
longed to shrlvel within my uniform
SO that could not be seen. did not
long have to chew the bitter cud of
reflection however, for soon we heard
some shots in the advance. Our pace
was slackened; we became tightly
packed in the road, breaking our for-
nation and causing much trampling on
horses hoofs. with the consequent
kicking and swearing. Then dawn the
column was passed in rapid succession
the orders:
Halt! Dismountn'
Were we TO fight on foot? Well.
whatever might befall the enemy.
was sure it would be far safer for us.
Then came the orders:
Loosen your saddle girths. Tie your
horses to the fence. Stand By and pre-
vent them from rolling, or your sad.
dies will be broken"
What an inglorious conclusion! /
| did not dare ask the lieutenant what 1t