Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-02


ceased to be men. They were killers.
The farmers shot as steadily as II they
were aiming at deer.
Two riders escaped and galloped
headlong down the road back to their
forces. The New England men arose
from behind the wall. and ran across
the fields to gain the shelter Of wood
lot. Before they could reach it there
was a yelling behind them and a dozen
troopers were in the fields. following
them desperately.
TO the house," cried the sheriff He
led the way to an old stone house. built
in revolutionary times. The cavalry
men refined up sharply. A glance at the
solid little building with window-open-
ings as deep as embrasures, showed
Them that 1t was dangerous They
opened out, remaining carefully out of
rifle shot, and surrounded the place.
where they could watch it from all
sides Then one rode back, swiftly
The watchers sat. easy and careless.
as if they had been halted during a
peaceful practice march. Half an hour
passed. The immobility of the soldiers.
their passionless watch, was driving
the farmers frantic. More than once
the old leader had to growl at a man
who wanted to fire. despite the hope
less distance.
II the tension in the house had lasted
much longer, some of these men would
have rushed out. But there came
great sound from the distance. 1t
might have been thunder, rolling far
away. 1t might have been river in
flood.
They're coming! said the sheriffs
brother. 1t was hard for him to speak.
The defenders were all violently
thirsty, and they had not had time to
bring water from the well.
They came. Horses, horses, horses!
Bayonets, bayonets. bayonets! They
came. and passed along the road. and
more anne on.
They did not turn OF to attack the
house. They did not even turn their
heads to look at it. This Infatuated the
defenders.
Horses, horses, horses! Bayonets bay
onets, bayonets! If the men in the
stone house could have seen other
roads, they would have seen each one
so filled with silent steadily moving
columns of men.
A little party of men and horses
turned off from the column and entered
the field. Before 1t was within the
range of the rifles, 1t wheeled. shin
ing glossy little thing pointed at the
house: 1t was field artillery. sleek.
eautiful.
The sherin's brother. carried away by
rage, fired and fired He emptied his
magazine at the distant men.
Along the highway the column moved
steadily, silently. No soldier checked
his foot for so much as an instant at
the sound of the shots. Bayonets, bay
onets, bayonets! The machine moved
on.
1t moved on, eyes front, while the
captain commanding the cannon snap
ped an order. 1t moved on. bayonets
twinkling out of sight in front, and
twinkling past, and twinkling into
sight from behind, while the little gun
tore the April morning.
The stone house spouted clouds of
Il xr-1a -tv Id
1t became ruin that stared phantom
like through the cloud, as if it were
looking with horribly expanding eyes
at the gun.
men at the gun did not know it. Their
steel beast drowned the farmers tiny
efforts in roar and flame. They passed
as a breath. The cavalrymen cantered
to the ruin. A half wall was standing,
Jagged. The rest was a mound of dirt.
Under it lay fourteen men of Massa-
chusetts The sheriff lay there. with
his face more patient than ever, and his
arm around his brother.
The little gun and its horses and men
Joined the horses and men that were
moving northward through New Eng
land
reeled behind the advancing force went
the report to the enemy headquarters:
Civilians estimated at about a dozen
fired from ambush, killing eight cav
airy. Took refuge in building. Anni-
hilated."
1t was perfunctory report telling
of merely perfunctory incident. But
the communicating chief. sitting at his
ease in headquarters in Providence.
stopped smoking for moment See
that the news does not spread" said
he ut might raise the country Re-
inforce all patrols and warn them"
He was a quick man. His oficers
were quick and his system Of commune
cation was quick. But the news sped
more quickly still. Over every tele-
phone that was intact. over every tele-
graph wire that still worked in New
England. by bicycle. on horseback, by
mep running. the story was passed
from man to man and village to viii
laee.
They were fourteen humble men, un-
known beyond their own township,
when they crouched behind the stone
wall. They were fourteen shining
names before the ruins that covered
them had ceased smoking New Eng
land. like blazing forest was ahJaze
with wrath and fury
vain was 1t now for cautious men To
warn or authorities to command Men
who never in their lives had thou1ht
harm to any living thing, dashed ont
with smoldering eyes to hsht. Pru-
dent men, who never In their lives had
acted on impulse, now acted without a
seconds pause for reflection. Men who
mad cared all their lives only for their
own little affairs. were all drunlxen
now and thought 1t nothing to FIRE one
shot Tor their country and die behind a
stone wall in the dirt
In Acushnet an old whaling cantain
prosperous. weighty citizen, emitted
mis- shotgun into a raidinR party and
was left dead under his forsythfas with
the golden blossoms from the yolIev-
torn shrubs covering him.
between Taunton and Pawtucke+
inilitla company of field artillery that
mad been unable to move it's gun he
cause IT lacked horses, got II from ito
hiding pace, and with a party 81 Vol
unteers who had no firearms. fonubt
behind piled bags Of Cement a1ain.t
enemy cavalry till artillery had 10 he
brought from miles away to destrov
them. "o'eioy
South of Woonsocket a band mad. -,
OF thirty Massachusetts militia infane
Try and sixty factory hands from the
Town. prevented two companies Of hos
tlie infantry Tor almost two hours from,
crossing the blackstone river. II was
not because they could shoot. or Lnaw
meant to stay there tin thew dad az. ny
II was not until they were dead that
the invaders succeeded in crossino
New England women, who had snent
their lives in homely. simple d,,tias
Drought out dippers of water IN narch''
60 men and cheered them on. Thev Ma
neeing men in barns ava .s.sS -