Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1904-03-02
IN THE DARKNESS
Copyright. 1903. by c. B. Lewis. !

| up to the colonies, but as fer being
downright scared | had couple of
experiences | win tell you about Ii
| | hadn't been alone at the time
should have probably been drummed
out of the army for cowartlice. There
was one thing | dreaded more than n
battle, and that was standing ON picket
clone at night.
On the night | have In mind l was
stationed about twenty rods north of a
log cabin occupied by farmers fam
| lily, and the Confederate picket was
| supposed to be about the same dis
| lance on the other side | was not on
the highway, but in a fringe of bushes
| along one line of an old field. 1t was
darkish night in autumn, with
breeze kicking up shindy all around,
and when | was told to fall out at
Post No. 6 and keep my eyes and ears
open | got homesick at once.
The first thing l did was to move
| along the fringe about thirty feet and
| then lie fiat down. | could see out
| across the field in the direction of the
house and the Confederate picket.
| though but dimly. There was no light
In the house, and no sounds came
| from it,
| hadn't been on post thirty minutes
when | had regular attack of
nerves | didn't realize it until |
| found myself chattering and trembling
and half crying, and then got up and
EinlynI nd, a Il +nII
| ing. fully realized that | had to
! break the spell or bolt, and there was
hard fight before | got the better of
my nerves. | was feeling much easier
and was thinking of going back to the
| spot where | was first posted when |
| suddenly caught sound which jump
ed my heart into my mouth and shook
me from head to foot with chill
| | saw a figure and knew that some
one had stood within arms length of
me. but had my life depended on it |
! could not have raised a finger. choked
| up and gasped for breath. and ii seem
| ed as If | waited for hours to be at
| tackled. 1t slowly dawned upon me os
| | waited for II blow that it was wo-
mans figure, and after making half
! dozen efforts to do so l managed to
| ask who was there and what WAS
| wanted.
1t was well for that woman-for
| woman it was-that l was unnerved
| by my fears. There was a spring
within few feet Of me, though had
not been told of it, and she had come
| down from the house for water for
one of her sick children She did not
! know the exact loca ton Of the post.
and instead of making her presence
| known and escaping all peril she had
come silently along and escaped death
! simply because / was maerycd.
When came to discover who it was
! in front of me was that weak that
| | had to sit down on the ground, and
the woman went back to the house
| trembling in every limb. never
should have got ove4' the remorse of
it If had shot her down in the dark
ness, nor could | have hoped that her
children would ever have forgiven me.
At another time, about year later.
| had Il pest in an old cotton field. Ii
wasn't open ground as much as it was
bushes, and along the south front of
it was II fallen tree. Here was the
post, ami crouched down behind the
tree. with my head just above it,
could sean the ground between the
Confederates and my burrow.
After l had been on post about half
an hour the night thickened up with
I 4,
seen man ten feet away. Then l
rose up and took a seat on the log and
Lighted my pipe. and had worn away
an hour of my time when my heart
suddenly gave jump and began to
tremble.
had neither seen nor heard any
thing to alarm me, and l couldn't make
ont why should be knocked over tina!
way all at once l didn't stop Their
very long to think the matter over
however on the contrary, l slipped
backward off the log into n tangle OF
bushes ana briers, and there l mean.
TO remain until l heard the tramp OF.
the relief. Lee might be advancing
with his whole army to make an nj
tack, but | wasn't going to leave my
shelter TO try and drive him back.
Nerves; You may be certain that
had 'eH. | trembled like a leaf, AMI
I'm telling you that | had to hold on &c
my chin to stop the clicking Of M
teeth. wouldn't run away, but in
stinct told me that l was in deadly
peril. ana the fact that l could neither
see nor hear 1t made matters far worse
for me
Without fully realizing what | was
doing got my musket around and rest.
ed the barrel on the log and made ready
to fire.
sat there looking over the log, but
not able to see five feet into the mist,
when something slowly rose up be
tween me and the sky. l didn't say
to myself that | would fire. | didn' t
even know that l had fired until l got
the kick and the report Of the musket.
The CaupJ comabolv hrpyn tho Snn,1