The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-01

j gunS-
Cleymore, half fainting from the loss
of blood motioned to his men for vol i
unteers; and they came, cheering for /
old New York, and vanished, enSulfed !
in the battery smoke.
The hill was swept by fierce cyclones |
Of lead; bullets flew in streams, whist /
ling, hurting among the rocks, re-
bounding into the rifle pits, carrying |
death to those below. Great shells tore |
through the clouds, bursting and shat |
tering the cliff overhead. A whiriWind |
of flame from the burning bridge swept |
over the hillside, hiding the river and
the heights opposite and the burning
, abatis belched smoke and torrents of
sparks. Cleymore sat down near the
burrow. and picked the bits of cloth
from the long tear which the bullet
had made in his flesh above the knee. !
The last of the engineer company
came toiling up from the railroad |
bridge, and the lieutenant nodded to
; his question, Yes, the bridge is blown
out of the water. Where can l put
my men in, Captain"
CleymOre pointed to the pits, and
they went into them, cheering shrilly.
A moment later a shell fell into one
of the crowded pits and exploded,
throwing out a column of sand and
bodies torn limb from limb. Only one
gun was firing now from Keenan's bat
terry. but from that one the lightning
sped continuously. fed by a constantly
renewed stream of volunteers. Cley-
more, watching keenan,, thought that
he had really gone mad. Perhaps he
! had, and perhaps that is why heaven
directed bullet to his brain, before
the loss of his last gun should kill
him with grief. Then = shell smashed
, the muzzle of the last gun, and the
. remnants of the servants dragged
fbpnGplVrp= n 10
hounds on the ScOrched earth, or die
. inch by inch from some gaping wound
J The jig is up said CleymOre aloud
. to himself.
! For a quarter of an hour the enc
! my's guns rained shells into the eX-
+ tinct crater-the tomb of keenan, and
his cannon. Then. understanding that
keenan, had been silenced forever, their
fire died out, and Cleymore could hear
. bugles blowing clearly in the distance.
4 He staggered TO his feet and called
to his men, but of the Tenth New York
= rifles, only thirty came stumbling from
the pits. Pillsbury also answered the
o call, sauntering uneoncernedly from
| the burrOw whittier he had carried
O CleymOre's charge.
All around them the wounded were
Y shrieking for water and Cleymore aided
his men to carry them to the spring
- which flowed sparkling from the rocks
- above. 1t was ont Of the qestiOn to re-
o move them-it was useless to think Of
burying the dead. The three days
= struggle for the hill had ended, and
now all the living would have to leave
all except one.
"Pillsbury," said CleymOTe, take my
a men, and strike for the turnpike, due
- | north. L can't walk am too weak
: yet, but you have time to get out.
e March?
l. The men refused, and Pfllsbury called
s for litter of rifles but a VOlley Whis-
II tied in among them and they reeled.
Save tibet there flag" shouted Pills
: bury. I've got the gUidon."
: Cleymore lay on the ground notion
{ less. and when they lifted him his head
e fell back.
i ''Daid, said Pillsbury, soberly, poor
( cuss,"
A riheman threw his jacket over
Il CIeymore's face, and started running
| \ down the hill to where the color guard
l. was closing around a bundle of flags
: black and almost dropping from the
= staffs.
S save the colors"' they cried, and
= staggered on toward the north.
n It may have been thirst, it mayShave
: been the grOans of the wounded that
II reused Cleymore. He was lying close
d by the rivuIet that ran from the rock
d spring, and he plunged hands and head
/ into it and soaked his fill
The wound on his leg had stiffened,
a but to his surprise he found it neatly
dressed and bandaged. Had aid ar
l. rived?
Hello he called.
y The deep sigh of a dying man was
n his only answer. He hardly dared to
}? look around. The air was sitting with
e, the scent of blood and powder and
TO filthy clothing, and he rose painfully to
L his feet and tOttered into the cool
burrOw among the rocks.
lie His blanket and flask lay there, but
10 before he raised the flask to his lips he
70 lifted the corner of the blanket ner-
l. vOusly. Underneath stood a small OBJ
re long box into which was screwed an
= electric button. Two insulated wires
y entered the ground directly in front of
y the box. which was marked in black
IN letters, "WatsCn's Excelsior Soap"
t Cleymore replaced the blanket, swal-
lowed a mouthful of whisky and lay
ne down. utterly exhausted. 1t was late
"a in the afternoon when he aWOl1e from
IN the pain in his leg, but somebody had
bandaged it again while he slept and
IL he was able to move out into the in
trenchments. Most of the wounded
sd were dead-the rest were dying in 81
1
~ ningham, who joked feebly and
watched Morris with quiet eyes. Nor
d ris died first. and Cunningham, hearing
the death rattle in his comrades
E throat, murmured: "Phin he lived he
m bate me. but OIL give him a race to
III the saints fur his money! Is Dick Nor
IL ris dead nOw?"
ne Dead" said Cleymore.
'"Thin, goodbye, Captain dear
Il whispered Cunningham.
y At first Cleymore thought he was
III sleeping.
H. The evening fell over the hilltop. and
III the last of the wounded shivered and
III died with drawn face upturned to tho
81 driving clouds. Cleymore covered the
boys face-he was scarcely sixteen
A.e and sat down with his back against q
II rock
ne The wreck of keenan's battery rose
vi before him in the twilight. stark an6
- mute, silhOuetted against the western
horizon. Lights began to sparkle alone
&c the opposite river bank, and now, from
the heights, torches swung in semi.
gu circles signalling victory for the army
vi of the south, death and disaster to tn,
al north. Far away over the wooded hill
1,,IT 81 a.