The National tribune., 1906-05-24


ment. Before Ii had progressed very
far, it sas found that Bragg had safely
crossed Me deep gorges of Dicks Riv-
er. and WIS sheltered behind them from
attack exceN by n wide thanking detour.
While executing this last Bragg was
again found ~ retreat. He was only
making a show of fight to cover the
withdrawal of his wagons. In this way
Buell. kept up long-range, exceedingly
deliberate pursuit as far as Crab Or
chard, at the entrance of the mountain
country. There he halted McCook's and
Gilbert's Corps. while Crittenden push
ed on as far as London. Bragg had
been compelled to abandon many of his
sick and wounded. but ke managed to
carry off every wagon and it's load. The
pursuit was now abandoned, as IL might
well have been 100 miles further back.
and Buell. turned the heads of his col
umns toward central Tennessee. where
he rightly expected Bragg. sooner or
later. would be found. He had worn
out the patience of the Administration.
and Oct. 80 he turned over the COM
mand of the army to Maj.-Gen. w. S.
Rosecrans.
OH CoIonel," he whispered in agony,
I'm licked, Let up, won't you2 You've
got me this time, sure! Next time
cut up you jist jump stfff-legsed on
me- IL SOu IL puil NOW.
''All right, Sam: don't worry. Ill be
out in an hour or so; it's too good a
thing to let go of suddenly"
While he thus fretted and perspired
our old Brigadier- r-General-Mc
came strolling down to me with letter
in his hand from home concerning one
of our men. I offered to send for him
into company quarters, but the General
suggested that we walk down into camp
and see him ourselves, and so We start
ed.
Outside of the tent he changed his
mind, saying, I'll wait here, Mack; you
go down and see about it yourself"
When 1 returned in a few moments
I found the General standing off some
10 feet from Sans hogshead, and re-
garding him with intense interest, his
face crimsoned with suppressed laugh
ter, which he could only control with
the aid of one hand helping to hold his
mouth in shape. while the innocent
Sam seemed gravely unconscious of the
existence of anything on earth.
Where did you catch that?" the Cen
eral asked. What is it?"
1 told him.
"Well, he's a character" he said. and
then informed me that during my brief
absence, and not especially noticing
Sam, he had placed his hand on the
edge of the hOgshead, leaning there
awaiting my return, when Sam instantly
tapped him on the shoulder and ordered
him in the most positive terms to re-
move his hand.
Take your hand off, sir; don't touch
it! The Colonel has put me here to
guard this hogsheadi"
And so. with varying fortunes and a
myriad of haps and mishaps beyond the
power of man to recall, stumbled on the
erratic Sam to final discharge at the
end of the war, a firm believer that he
was born to i'll luck, yet also of the un-
alterable opinion that he had been
largely instrumental in putting down
the great rebellion.
His first ambition after discharge was
to be City Treasurer of indianapolis,
failing in which he took to the less per-
ilous business of tin-roOfing.
once l saw him on the very pinnacle
of tall church steeple, with his legs
around the spire, one arm clutching the
top ornament. while he hammered away
with the other. So frightfuI a position
had attracted quite a crowd upon the
sidewalk, and stopped to look, not rec.
ognizing who the daring climber was.
He ceased work for a moment, and,
after a careful survey of our little as
semblage, yelled out to me:
Say, Colonel, Don't it make you
dizzy to look up here?"
A characteristic freak of Sans was,
that inasmuch as he had not been con-
suited about my promotion from the
Colonelcy late in the war, he never rec
ognized it, and so 1 always remained
Colonel to him.
Occasionally he would disappear for
months, and nearly always turn up with
such tales and evidences of distress that
A. It,Ia T,n
tapped according to the degree of trou-
BILE; and so we drifted along. dividing
salary with considerable regularity for
quite number of years. Once, while
holding City Court, some mysterious
prisoner insisted on forwarding pleas of
guilty" from the city Jail of any crimes
with which we might see fit to charge
him, but positively refusing to come into
court unless 'fotched," and so L sent
for him.
To my sorrow, it was the unhappy
Sam, under a charge of misappropria-
ton of Chickens joke in olden days
but now christened by a name of graver
character.
He had been taken red-handed in the
act, and the furious complainant was
in court bowling for blood. justice and
revenge. 1 must have looked rather
seriously into the appealing face of my
old "Pirooter," for he actually blushed
and with tears in his eyes begged me
to kill him for so disgracing the old
regiment.
Justice is said to be blind. and / trust
she never saw exactly what became of
that case. Sam, with many repentant
tears-and another division of salary
started for the Shenandoah Valley 20
reside, while l occupied the subsequent
few weeks in trying to explain the mat
ter to my constituent who had lost the
chickens.
l never saw Sam again, but I often
heard from him.
Poor fellow! Evil days fell upon him.
never more to rise, it seems, during his
troubled life.
His letters followed me to the utter
most parts of my pilgrimages-from the
knobs of Kentucky to the mountains of
old MeXico-from alpha to Omaha"
his dear old sprawling fist, with its
many curious impediments of spelling
delighted or grieved me. as his funny
nature or perplexities of misfortune as
serted themselves.
In a moment of beer and confidence
he had married-poor girl-and in time
was surrounded by little squad OF
"Pirooters," each one named after me-
or approximately thereto, so far as
changes could be rung to accommodate
numbers and sex
But with all his poverty and RIP
Van Winkle-ish' improvidence. L am
sure he was n gentle father, and that
his wife and babies loved him dearly
l am satisfied he was a hero to them
when he told them ''bouncers" of his
l.