The National tribune., 1902-02-27

all night, and there had been little rest
or sleep.
81 and Shorty had buttoned their pieces
of sheter-tcntS together, and stretched
them over poles. They had piled in brush
on which to lie, and piled more at the end
to shelter their heads, but all their usual
preparations for comfort seemed of little
avail.
The brush was dripping with water;
their blankets were soaked when they lay
down. and the rain drove through the thin
muslin of the tents as through Il sieve.
The rest of the squad, and the whole
regiment, in fact, were no better provided
hot so well rs Il rule-for ST and Shorty
were true veterans who knew that their
first duty was to take the best care of
themselves
All tried to 90 to sleep and forget their
troubles, but they had not yet had phys
ical exhaustion enough for that. Partners
would crawl under their tents, and spoon
tightly together, in the old way, and fall
! into brief sleep. from which they would
be awakened by the freezing dampneSs.
Then they would "cuss" everything
connected with the army and the South,
and arise and go out to where some mis-
cradles were trying to make a fire burn
damp wood under brush shelter.
| There were always many more there
than the fire would warm and dry. 1t was
as much as anyone could expect to get
his hands through the crowd. near enough
to feel the welcome warmth. There was
| always bitter wrangle among them.
| Those nearest the fire did not want to
give up their places to hunt for more
wood, while those on the outside firmly
declined to wade across the water and
mud in search of fuel. of which only the
inner circle would receive the benefit. The
next step would be to yield to fatigue
! and sleepinesS, go back to their soaked
| tents and sleep again until awakened by
the cold.
Hanging over the pitch-pne fires COW
cred their faces and hands with n fast
! clinging SCOT until they We're as black
as feld-hands
Just think" shivered Pete, as he
gained the immediate circle of n fire, un-
| der Shorty's urgent crowding, that our
own dry, comfortable cabins are only back
there about 10 miles, standing empty.
| Why can't we 20 back to them, and stay
until the rain is over?'
They're $4,000 miles away. Pete" said
Shorty, with forced gaiety. "The 200th
| lnjianny Infantry Volunteers never goes
back. The only way we'll ever come to
those shanties again is by going on around
the world. Come in and lay between me
and 81, Pete. and we'll keep you from
being more than haIf-froze."
They took the boy in between them,
and all managed to sleep couple of
hours, when nunIbness in every toe, finger
and limb awakened them.
AS near as 81 could judge it was now
couple of hours past midnight when he
became so cold and miserable that he
abandoned in despair the attempt to
sleep. +,r
Come on, shorty" he called; 1--WE
might as well be drowned as froze. They
say it's an easier death. That looks like
a piece of woods over there. Let's 90
there, and build big fire and get warmed
through
1t was a grovef of cypress and pines
that 81 had made out in the bank of thick
darkness. Followed by the others. they
made their way through the sheets of rain
until 81 stumbled, as he had hoped,
against the fallen trunk of a large cy-
press.
Here it is, boys. Here's what I've
been looking for" he called out. ''Now
we'll have big fire right here. Every
body feel around for chunks and limbs
and bring them here"
He felt along the log until he came to
n knothole, while the rest dispersed and
kicked along the ground to find chunks
and limbs.
He got out his knife, and while Shorty
held up his overcoat to shelter his work
he split up some pieces for kindling in the
knot hole. Then from inside his blouse
he pulled out his tin box of matches, and
carefully struck one after another under
lHe SHeileT ol tHe OFeTcOaI.
At last he got one to really blazing and |
to communicate its fame to the kindlings
in the knot hole. The tiny blaze was
carefully nursed until it began to take |
hold of the wood of the log. Larger |
pieces were carefully laid on. and at last |
the fire grew until it could have a chance |
of living without the protection of the |
oyercoat. The other boys came up with |
loads of fuel-fat-pine knots, brush, |
limbs and small logs. the usual wreckage !
Of the forest by the winds These were |
piled on, and the fire grew until it could |
defy the rain.
Pete and Sandy came across n stump |
which, as is the case with pine stumps |
which have stood for years, was loose in |
the ground They knew from experience |
that it was almost pure rosin. which had |
collected in the heart, as the rest rotted |
away, and that if they could get it out |
they would have a fire that water could |
not put out. So they worked it back and |
forth for some time, until they broke the |
tap root when they called for help, and
carried it to the fire. When it fairly
caught the luTfd flame rose several feet,
the reluctant cypress trunk began to burn
in earnest, and there was n fire that
threw out its warmth even through the
rainfall.
They went and got their blankets, drew
them over their shoulders, sat down in n
semi-circle, crowded close together and
soon were asleep.
They were awakened by yell of pain
from Pete. He had laid his head upon
the log, which was at first dry, and then
warm, but the fire, burning under the
thick bark, at last came through, blister
ing his ear and scOrching his hair.
lie kept yelling, as if the whole rebel
army WAS on him.
That plaguey boy" grumbled 81. af-
ter they had found out the cause of the
trouble, and eased the pain as well as
they could, '!has a faculty for trouble /
don't believe another boy in the army
could manage to get burnt in such a rain
storm as this"
Their faces and fronts having become
relatively dry and warm, they turned
around, and sat with their backs
to the fire. And so, alternately, their
backs and their faces to the fire, and they
dOZed the hours away till reyeille, Occa-
sionally rousing themselves to replenish
and rearrange their fire. The cypress
trunk had become so thoroughly heated
that it burned vigorously, but needed to
have the chunks and logs fed up to it, to
help maintain its heat against the rain.
The bugle aroused their sOdierly in
stincts. They arose, tried to shake them
selves into some more presentable shape,
looked tristfully at their backened hands
and soled uniforms, and throwing their
blankets again over their shoulders, plod-
ded through the rain back to camp to
answer roll-call.
The whole regiment had suffered a sor-
ry transformation from the very trim,