The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-26
GRIM HUNORS FLOURLSF1ED
 LN RANKS OF CONFEDERA TIES


 self splashed from head to foot with
 its contents. "oh. dry up. you damned l old fool" came the echo back through the black darkness and then--Whitlns burst Into fit of laughter in Which
 everybody joined.
 | Writes Poetry in rrencnes
 Bill Calhoun had a messmate named Dayidge. who was a remarkable genius | He was close akin to insane and wrote dreamy poety by the ream. His most extensive effort wasa poem in
 several cantos which he named "Ab-
 rams" and it was addressed to the sit- | uation as he supposed It. in the North. | and the Abrams" included all from l Lincoln down. It was of some merit and Davidge had hundreds Of copies
 printed. These he would sell while in l Richmond, until he had & stake. and then depositing his unsold poems with the first bar-keeper he visited. he went | drunk at --. Bill said Davidge told us once of his capture--told us with un- | disturbed and blank countenance which
 must be imagined in order to appre-
 ciate It's grim humor. Clambering l through the "underbrush" at the secs
 ond Manassas. he was suddenly con- l fronted by Yankee with a leveled and cooked musket: Surrender. you damn surrender" was the loud and harsh
 command. Davidge let his minnie fall" with changing noise and then re- piled: "of course I surrender. Who in | the devil is talking about not surren. | dering?" At this the Yanke loudly
 laughed. but kept his gun poised. See here, mister" observed Davidge. 'quit pointing that gun this way, have sur rendered and always was afraid of | damned gun"
 There were soldier gamblers In those days. and they played the game when chance offered At Fredericksburg when the battle was raging. we were in re. serve. A game of poker was going on with varying results. Beans were the ed good getting for three in the game. Two of them ran up the pile, two hun dred and fifty beans, when Bob Neal, one of those old-fashioned fstheriy- looking simon Suggs" who, as Bill | Calhoun said was raised on kyards"
 went a blum of i've hundred better. Just then Q cannon ball coming from long range hit and broke off 6. dead chestnut limb of a tree nearby and sent l a piece against Beb's breast with such force as to knock him backwards the cards dying from his hands in all di-
 rections. Jumping to his feet, Bii, glared wrathfully on everybody In can't whip the cowardly whelp who threw that chunk. Now's his time to cheep If he's got any sand in his craW." But nobody "cheeped."
 Infantry Come to Frent.
 Bear in mind that the "war between the States" was the end of the romance of the cavalry arm of the service. Previous to 1t the dough boys" as in- fantry was called in derision, were the tail end, and West Point had her low number students in that arm the 1 high going in the engineers. the cayal- ry. or the artillery, grading the stand ! ing of graduation as have named 1 these arms. With short range guns,
 clumsy to load, cavalry charge re- | ceived but one volley when 1t could | ride down the infantry line. But with the Ennelds and Minnie. quick to load and carrying well up to 1000 yards. any cavalry charge would be. and was | shattered to pieces.
 Then the dough h-boys" got even. for
 the cavalry in Virginia. altogether un- l like Forests, which was really mount
 ed infantry. was the butt of the foot l soldiers. Let any poor fellow with 1 yellow trimmings on his uniform pass along a line of marching infantry and | the gibes were tantalizinE. Some fell | low would double himself up, and as- suming the manner of man just from the hospital lay his hand on the cavai- | ry mans scabbard and whiningly ask: | Couldn't you pull your jobber out for Q minute, mister. just to please sick | man?"
 Poor fellows. how pitied them at | times. They tell 1t that one of Gen
 eral Howell Cobb's reflections" on the
 cavalry under General Wheelers com mand came near causing a resort to l the field of honor. Wheeler had just gained some applause for his first sue-
 cesses and the newspapers made much of him. Visiting Richmond Howell
 Cobb was asked what aeGrsians
 see," said General Cobb. "Ah, yes. that's
 that new cavalry officer we read SO
 much about in the newspapers. We'll.
 all can say is that Wheeler is a ter
 TOT to everything in Georgia; yes, a
 terror. by Cad. sir, to everything--ex'
 cept the enemy"
 Enemy Not TerrOrized.
 But sometimes the infantry wasn't
 such terror to the enemy as all Its l boasts implied as witnessed when the 9th Texas Irishman who | left the skirmish line onl a dead run, his lieutenant scolded him
 with: I'd rather die. Mike, than run
 out of a fight in such a cowardly man
 ner." Mike. with a whitening look at the lieutenant. replied; The hail
 you would, leftenant-the hail you would, sor, whin we wor but thlh skirmish line and thim two regimtnts
 and bathery! 1 A soldier of whatever arm was al- ways searching for something to eat or drink. and if they couldn't find either he took some substitute, like the First Texas fellow did when he captured the terrapin. with the plea that a man orter vairegate his eat in every chance he gifts" This was l the same fellow who held that the chronic" ball of a Minnie was more I destructive than the round ball of the no limit to the efforts to secure 1t and when secured to its effects. In ! our advance into Pennsylvania in 1863 the boys got a royal supply of whts- i key, the drunk" was kingly. and ex- tended from the ranks up to the field and stan. Of course discipline went to the winds and one of the men on the march staggered up to Col. Keys | of the Fourth Texas, who bestrode his horse as drunk as a lord. saying | "<urnel. I'm just plum broke down. 1 Can't ycu walk some and femme ride?" | | The colonel. assuming look of be- | 1 nevolent toleration, while he swayed | from side to side. said: I'd do it in a | | minute, old fellow --d-d if | wouldn't. but I'm tired as h--l my self. ah sittin' up here and ah holdin | ! on" soldiers Play Franks.
 The pranks that soldiers played on citizens were innumerable and seldom. | if ever, did one come near them with
 out lambasting. in words. sometimes | i unprintable. Of them the camp fires | and weary marches were enlivened
 and made lighter. Some regimental