Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-01-29
HOW the REDOUBT
WAS TAKEN

Of half dozen men sitting around
country store stove. He's the only
hero ever knew who didn't know he
was a hero. Anyway. he thinks his
comrades believe he ought to have
been shot for desertion. To get his
story you must make him mad. How
dy, Mr.. Paddock And the speaker in
troduced the conner to his friends.
How is it, Mr.. Paddock" he con-
tinued. that all your comrades in the
civil war got some sort Of promotion
and you weren't even made cor
poral? They say you came pretty
near being shot for desertion."
II can't never get rid O. that mis-
take" said Paddock ruefully, ''for
that's what it was, aNmistake. You see,
twas this way, We was down there in
Nirginny buckin' up ag'in long line
of Notifications at the base of the
mountains. One night | got a banker
/ in to do some scoutin' on my own &C
= count. l reckoned the redoubt our br-
gale was tryin' to take wasn't well
connected with the one next to it.
! had purity sharp eyes in them days.
ana | thought | seen a way to git in
/ between EN-. Stealth along ravine.
! | managed to git by the pickets D both
| armies, climbed the naountanis and
| looked rigat down into The fort we was
a-tryin' to take What dye suppose |
seen: There wasn't twenty men in it,
! and fully half the guns was Q 1aker.
Il couldn't understand how our gin
/ eral could be weeks buckin' up ag'in
this measly showin'. but he'd wrote a
lot o books on the science o. war. and
supposed he knowod III about it,
Anyway. | thought ia go back and
tell him what ia seen ! got down to
the ravine when | was hated by a
| rebel picket and taken prisoner.
The -Johnnies KEEP me three days
when. sceiu' the discipline o the guard
mighty laX--they was all tired out
fi@htin'-I stole away one n'ght. climb
ed m the mountain an creled around
the Johnnies' left flank an our right
flank ! was walkin into camp one
moFnin' thinkin' how HI like some real
United States coffee when ! met some
arrested me for deserter tole him
where I'd been and what fd seem. but
he didn't believe me,
WAL, d'y' know. they court mar
tailed me for desert ion-v yes, they did
an. wose they sentenced me TO ht
shot, The only bit o. luck | had wa,
raid O. rebel cavalry thar shook us al
nd inf t--t $50
The hubbub broke tie l.ne in orr from
too | was mad The i1eA d ~ettin
shot for discoverin' that there wan
no strength in the redowbt, 1t WAN
right nohow~ Waal taktn' adsaatag
| O the confusion. pekia' MP @a9ekct
! walked right up through the ravin
an the path I'd found OF, the mountail
side till | got to the spot where II
looked down ON the Johnnies in TIL
redoubt There want az many of zen
as there was afore. | knowed my ad
vantage. bein' in their rear. and how
could scare 'em. so yelled at the toI
of my voice:
Surrender
~ never see such frightened lot il
v
me- fred back, an the rest skedad
died. 1t happened that young Off
Ger on our picket line was Gurus t
know what the firm meant, thinkin
likely that the rebs We're fightin' amons
themselves, an he come cautiously
with dozen O. the pick ct, up the slope
1 seen him an hollered to him to com
on; the redoubt was ourn. He KEN. an
it want long afore the United State
flag was a-fiutterin' over them Quake
guns.
"'Waal, IN be gol darned!' said tn
officer We've been three week
tryin' to take this furtificatioa, AZ
you've TUX it al alone. And cur gin
eral one o. the fust strategists in til
army.
"Hes all right" says |. "Then III
gineerin' books o. his hain't got nothir
; In 'em bout quaker guns ! says
How d'y' expect him to know wha
! his books don't leachY
II went down the slope and met tn
gineral ridin' up with his staff. He
seen the United States flag a-fyin' owe
the redoubt and didn't know what
meant He stopped me and asked m
who was and where I'd come from
told him was the man that was
have been shot for des ertion when tn
raiders come down on us and spoile
my execution. l was goin' on to tie
j the rest when he rode on, orderin' on
o. his staff to put me in arrest. Th
. aid went back with ne to the guar
tent
"Waal. there was agin.'
The speaker was interrupted by
burst of laughter from his listeners.
"'Tain't no laughin' matter. How
know they wasn't goln' to carry o,
/ the sentence o. the court martial?
. didn't And don't know to this da
4 why they didn't. After awhile m
cap'n he come and Tux me out Il
guard tent and he says. 'Paddock
n I ha svo,v iacf 90 uhanf vpr Inns