The National tribune., 1904-03-31

of us to end our earthly careers. We ate
our breakfast in interpretive silence, with
much mental bracing up for the awful
ordeal. Presently we were called into line
again, and saw some men following an
ofhcer, coming up. They were carrying
bundles Of something white, and q thou
sand cOnjectures flashed through us as TO
what fearful things this might mean. The
officer stopped in front Of our Captain and
said:
Captain, want you to give one of
these sacks to each Of your men, and then
march them over to that freight car YOU
see there. Let each man put one of those
shot in his bag, sling it over his shoulder.
and carry it up the hill TO that fort they're
building up there He pointed to the fort
l showed you as we came out. and con-
tinued: Now, | must ask you to work
lively. for we want to get those cars back
to Washington for more ammunition That
was our hrst duty upon the hostile soil of
Virginia. All that day and the next, and
the day following, We plodded up and down
that long. steep hill, through dismal, per-
sistent rain. carrying those shot from the
cars to the fort. Then We were relieved TO
drill few days and rest, and next were
set to work digging bitches and wheeling
the clay up on to the high parapets.
Imagine all that steyedore's work for a lot
of housekeeping, soft-handed young stu
dents who had laid down their books in
"a bciHS at OHCe leu In Iurl0uS
bayonet charges upon the embattIed
enemies OF the Republic They had a lot
of old fossils from the Engineer Corps of
the Regular Army in charge of construct
Ing the Notifications around Washington.
They were men unfit for field service by
age, or lack OF vim. ambition or loyalty,
and they treated us like slaves"
No Engineer officer knows shucks about
commanding troops" said 81. I'VE had
on experience with one-Col Bonesteel. .
Hello. did you know old BonesteeI?"
IF you will remember. he was the man
that we came up the Tennessee River
with?''
That is SO. had forgotten. Well, he
Is mere IN town now. and blows no end
about his campaign, as he calls it. You'd
think he had conducted about as big opera-
tons as zen: Sherman and had been shot
all to pieces"
-.'IIe accidentally got one little scratch .
You'll have to tell me all about it again.
and Ill call him down hard some day.
for he's an insuferably vain old ass, and
| owe him q grudge for the unfeeling way
he treated Ills when he was in command ont
here. Those old buffers could not recog-
nize any difference between the weIl-reared
college boys and the t0ughs that used to
have to do fatigue duty in the Regu;a r
Army. Pretty soon q full half of the COM
pany was in the hospital, / among them.
| ran down so low that my life was ONLY
saved by my father coming on and getting
me discharged and taking me home. As
soon as | got up again. was given a
commission in our regiment. and the rest
You know. We must be coming pretty
near Bull Run by this time
That's Bull Run right ahead there
where YOU see that steep bank rising" said
q passenger in the next seat good-lookin-
young man dressed in well-worn Confed.
crate gray. and evidently a released Dris-
oner. lie had bigger roll of Z. s.
blankets than the others, and besides had
a pair OF new shoes. quantity Of bright
tinware. and other personal property fast
ened 20 his roll.
$50 that's Bull Rum is it? Thank You"
said the Adjutant, as he and the BOYS
studied the precipitous banks with interest.
grade. 1T could be made very ugly
proposition with lot of good soldiers. such
as You behald it." He added this in a kind
~, complimentary tone
Ugh. don't call me soldier" said the
man with shudder. II was behind Bull
Run at the first battle. and was in every
fight afferward until | was wounded and
taken prisoner at Spotsylyania on the 18th
Of May. But I'm no soldier any more. yon
bet. I'm n citizen, a citizen OF the United
States, if they'll let me be, and ask no ques-
tions. I'm SO tired of everything about
the army tnai WISH could never hear
the word soldier again. I got through at
Gettysburg. Lots Of us did, though we had
to keep on fighting for more than a year
afterwafd. We knew that if We couldn't
whip the Yankees then, with oil that We
had gathered up for a last effort. we never
could. Lees army would never again be
as good as it was then. wanted to quit
then. and even many of the officers did, bat
old JEFF insisted upon keeping up the war.
in hopes of wearing the Yankees out. We
were wearing out ourselves all the time q
good deal faster than they were. and was