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About Plattsmouth weekly journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1881-1901 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1898)
L211 V i rsr 9 f FIGHTING HEAR SANTIAGO SPANIARt S MAKE A DESPER ATE RESISTANCE. Thrilling Account of Two Days' Flff htlnff by Our Bravo Soldiers on Cuban Soli Many are Killed and Wounded. San Juan Hill. Overlooking: Santiago, July 4. Friday and Saturday, two days of the most terrific fighting. In which more than &0O of our brave soldier? have been killed and wounded, have not sufficed to force the Spaniards to lay down their arms. Our field bat teries look down on the city from all sides, and are constantly pouring an awful fire into the Spanish fortiflca? tions. Our brave men face the deadly fire of the Spaniards as they lie in their intrenchments, struggling for ev ery Inch of ground. The Spanish soldiers are fighting like demons, but our men are forcing them back constantly, mowing them down by hundreds and never yielding the lch of ground that Is gained now and again. Outside of the harbor Samp son's fleet hurls broadsides of death at old Morro castle with awful precision, Every whistling, shrieking shell tells on the city's defenses. The hills and valleys have been laid waste by the withering volleys. Accompanying this Is the Incessant roar of the field pieces and the rattle and crash of the mus ketry At this hour Morro castle looks more like a heap of ruins than massive for tifications. The batteries have been all but silenced. The Spanish flag, which still floats over Morro. hangs In tatters and Is the only one In sight at this time on the south coast of Cuba. Great yawning holes appear In the masonry and in the adjoining earthworks TWO DAYS' FIGHTING. To give a complete account of these two days of Incessant fighting is all but Impossible, but the Journal corre spondents have advanced steadily with the line of battle, observing closely very movement of Shaffers heroic army and following with equal care the dogged retreat of the enemy s lines, Couriers were sent from the front of Siboney, reaching here late In the aft ernoon. Just one week after the terrific battle of the rough riders, with a de tachment of the Spanish army, which lav In ambush for them. Shafter's men are In position to make the final. Irresistible attack. The en tire army thoroughly understands the situation, and now well knows every foot of ground that must be covered before the city falls. The doomed city lies six miles from the sea at the head of the harbor, sur rounded on all sides by high mountains starting up from the sea In ridges. San tiago lies between the first and second of these foothills. Thus Santiago Is a walled city, walled by nature herself. Shafter firmly believed that the best way to wrest Santiago from the enemy was by a siege, but he yielded to argu ments In favor of an attack, and de cided to advance against the city at once with never a stop In the battle. The American army had the city practically surrounded by Thursday. The plan of attack, which had been agreed upon after a council of war. at which all the great leaders were pres ent. was for a Joint movement of the fleet and army on Aguadores. The ar my alone was to move against Caney and San Juan, the fleet diverting the enemy's attention by occasional bom bardments. Just at sunrise Captain Capron fired the first gun. the signal for the first day's terrible battle. At 6 o'clock the fighting began In earnest. The sharp rattle of musketry resounded over the hillsides, punctuated with the roar from Grimes' guns. Then there was a pause, but no reply came from the enemy. Another volley and still an other, and yet there was no answering shot. It began to look as If the Span iards were not In battle mood. ONSET OF THE CUBANS. The Cuban Insurgents, who were de ployed In front of the attacking army, were led to the belief that the Spaniards were under full retreat. A thousand Cubans, under Garcia and Castillo, hur ried along the road toward Caney to bead off the retreating Spaniards. They were Just In time to overtake the flee ing enemy at the Ducurance estate, where there was a hot fight, lasting for several minutes. The Spaniards fell back on Caney. taking with them their - wounded. Nineteen Cubans were wounded in this brief engagemet. In the meantime. Captain Capron's battery kept up an incessant firing. Twenty-seven shots were fired, with never an answer from the enemy. The Spaniards, driven back by the sharp volleys of musketry, now began to fight desperately. The shells from Captain Capron's battery landed In the town, but did no damage to the fortifications. At the twenty-eighth shot the Span lards opened fire with their heavy guns. A sharp whistle near Capron's bat tery, followed by an explosion, was the first Spanish shell hurled from the Relna Mercedes battery. Another and still another followed. Their aim at Capron's battery was wild, but one shell fell on a house, some distance way. where a group of American sol diers were firing at the Spanish. Three were wounded. EVERY SHELL TELLS. Now the American battery began sending shells In quicker succession, straight at the enemy's earthworks. Every shot told. After the first few, shots the enemy's fire Improved vastly. Their guns seemed to be handled by masters. The firing on both sides ceased after an hour. .... . In the meantime Grimes' battery at El Paso opened fire on the enemy, send ing shell after shell across the gulch to the hill below San Juan The enemy made no reply till the tenth shot. Then shells suddenly began to whistle out or the enemy's fortifications and hurst over the Americans The Spanish line of fire was excellent, but too high at first. . , The Tenth rivalry and the rough rid ers were lying along th- hillside, under cover of the bushes Shell and shrap nel were raining over them h' they; cracked Jukes at each other. Not a man was hurt seriously F'r.h.alf, an hour shells whistled and shrieked on both sides, while the Spaniards on the hilltops were surrounded by a great cloud of yellow dust, thrown up by the shells. Still they continued to fire too hAt the expiration of a half hour the Spanish position ot to lo '"r com fort. Their battery was suddenly si Itnced. and when the dust cleared not a Spaniard was to be seen. The rough riders, the Tenth and First cavalry were ordered to make a d--tour and take the hill where the Span ish battery had bee planted. T hen be gan the real yrfttle of the day The Fianish werjr now here to be se. n. but when the ugh riders lvanrr.1 or.'M the gulch flo the slope below the block house the. enemy op.-n.-d a sharp tire rst shell wounded Mason Mil- Cuban trooper. nu .-u. n. a ft same time the enemy s .hooters bepan papering away Americans, pur-m - ...... litiA ailvanrPn. art tnere i d. led the Tenth tr,m it, enemy's deaqiy - - - it--.. .i-lerfect storm or snoi ..tt t. i-Mi-io There was i" - "nV. Vr..r:Vrr the line. Then thf order was "forward, charge, xvt - - r as ii WOrd again. The J chell. I -OSEVELT l - I I h .....".... I in.-(I aloncstde the! I 1 Mi tV; ct anish fire grew I Over the dip of the mil mey rusnru I J".V-?rf' Th -riTi hJrole inen be- and at last had their enemy In full tt I)1 h.OUfrvJnJ threes hv ,t:",VThe heights were won. but vic V tv V ffr"p ln tW. The ooen smooth toiy l ad cost us dear. From the port s' - K . i y came to the opn- f1" tt vantage had our forces bad V V hich o.Tered no proUctlon a"V could have driven the death eeta certain. In the faeo o ths continuous crackls of the Maustrs rams the rough riders with ths Twjitl cavalry alongside. Not a man flinched all continuing to fire as they ran. Roosevelt was a hundred feet ahead of his troops, yelling like a Sioux, whll his own men and the colored cavalr c-heered as they charged up the hill. There was no stopping as their neigh bors fell, but on they went, faster aoi. faster. Sudenly Roosevelt's hors". stopped, pawed the air a moment anc felL in a heap. Before the horse wa down Roosevelt disengaged himself from the saddle, and landing on hi? feet, again yelled to his men. and sword in hand charged on foot. It was some thing terrible to watch these men race up that hill with death. Fast as they were going It seemed that they would never reach the crest. They did not stop to fire, but poured in rifle shots as they marched ln the ranks. We could clearly see the won derful work the dusky veterans of the Tenth were doing. Such splendid shoot ing was probably never done under such conditions. As fast as Spanish fire thinned their ranks, gaps were closed up and after an eternity they gained the top of the hill and rushed the few remaining yards to the Spanish trenches. Had the enemy remained stanch, the slaughter at close range would have been appalling.The daring of the Amer icans dazed them. Their fire driveled to nothing. They wavered and then ran. Our fellows dropped to one knee and picked them off like partridges in the brush. The position was won. The blockhouse was ours. Some of the Spaniards' guns had been abandoned, but a good many they had been able to carry oiT. Across the gulch the sol diers wildly cheered the gallant Tenth. The Tenth gave tongue to an an swering cheer and rushed on to drive the enemy further. Over the Spanish trenches they tore, passing the Span ish dead. The trenches were full of dead men. but the wounded had been carried off by the retreating foe. In the last wild rush more than half of the rough riders were winded. We had the hill, but the position was peril ous. The enemy's sharpshooters galled us from their rifle pits further along. RECEPTION IN TOWN. The Infantry split In two directions and never ceased firing during the maneuver. This was hot work, but was nothing compared to the reception we got In town. Volleys came from every direction. The Spaniards were well concealed, and their smokeless powder gave them a splendid advantage. Above the edges of the trenches lines of hats were vis ible. The Americans shot the hats to pieces. Thus they uncovered a Spanish ruse; the hats were stuck on sticks, while the Spaniards themselves were in other trenches further along. It was some time before our men learned that the most galling fire was coming from the breastworks In the northeast corner of the town. The fire from this position was blight ing. Our men dropped on their faces but the Spaniards had the range and many of our boys were killed and wounded as they lay there. The offi cers remained erect. General Chaffee was particularly conspicuous. H dashed from one end of his line to the other, calling on his men to remain firm. They did. When they once g"t the line on this northwest entrenchment every Spaniard who showed himself was picked off by the fire of our men on the ground. The trenches ran with blood. Capron silenced the fort again. The officers gave the word and the men Jumped to their feet and. led by their captains. charged right on the fort and ran up the slope. They captured It with hardly a struggle at last. The other divisions, three miles away watched the gallant charge and their cheers were heard by Chaffee's gallant soldier boys. Captain Clark was detailed by General Chaffee to take a block house off to the left. He did It with a single com pany, advancing under an awful fire up and over the entrenchments. The Spaniards fled. The battle was won. The Spaniards on the left retreated in the wildest disorder, streaming out of the town by every street that af forded an outlet. One hundred and twenty-five of them were cut off and captured. The Seventy-first had been following Lawton toward Caney. They found the road taken by the Twenty-fourth and turned off to Join the Sixth and Six teenth of the First division of the Fifth army corps. Colonel Kent of the Sixteenth deployed a company of the Seventy-first that had straggled to him as pickets along the road. Cap tain Rafferty gathered tnem up ana made use of them further along in the fight. CAPTURE A BLOCKKUL 5-c A Snanish blockhouse a mile up the hill had been giving us great trouble. Away we went after it. me aixteenin ahead, the Eighth on the lert. tne Seventy-first on the right, itarrerty s company held the skirmish line on the wooded side of the hin. tserween tnem and the blockhouse was a half mile of level land without cover. The skirmishers were hair way across it and were counting on an easy capture when the whole hillside biazea. noi and shell rained among them. l ne Spaniards held their fire until our men had advanced so far that there was no chance of their getting back to cover. The slaughter was awful. The Seventy-first saw wnai naa happened and dashed madly out In the open, racing tne wunering urtr. Shrapnel burst In their ranks, tearing hi four deep, while the Mauser hniiots dronred men all over the field The Seventy-first never wavered They closed their ranks as tast as tne span. Ish shells tore them open, and marched In, pouring a aeaaiy nre m "e Span iards to save the stricken sixteentn. Their officers ran along the line calling on the men to be cool. The thought of death did not deter a single soldier. Before tey were half way arros tne field the Seventy-nrst naa iosi over seventy men. and the fire was getting more dreadful every moment The enemy was well protected nenina breastworks. but realised that in American line must reacn tnem. I ney began a retreat, uur men nron- imu a run. heading full Into the enemy's fierce fire. The blockhouse when taken was found crowded with dead Span iards. Outside the hill was covered with them. The enemy's rifle pits were full of dead and wounded. The Spaniards, in their retreat, left their dead and wounded behind. Every hilltop around Santiago is crowned with a blockhouse and Intrenchments. The deadly aim of the Americans to tally demolished the enemy's line of La t tie. They began to waver and shoot wildly as our line advanced, and then thev broke for the rear. The First and Tenth cavalry came up with the rough riders at S o'clock in the afternoon. I'n daunted by the terrific ftht which they had passed through, they were ready to advance on the enemy asain The Spaniards poured volley after vol ley of shot and shell Into the ranks, but thev could no more be stopped than an avalanche. At o'clock In the aft ein.xn Geneial Hawkins ordered an assault In force. This was the key to the Spanish position, the most im poitant point In all the line of assault. Santiago's chief defense. Hawkins, sword In hand, ever led the way The fire now came from the sides as well as the front and the ranks were being cut to pieces. Still there was no more wavering. Men fell by tens, but others yelled and dashed on. i n til urv nut of Santlag tnd won the r:Tlw tbore. but they had no ir adequate guns The trenches were full of dead Span- I iards. but in some oi our . f our companies 'v men wrha.had not feetlvrt Wyimds. Tb&t i?Us tr-v story cf ens d tn flrf st ficbts of U tims. DUFFIELD AT AGU4DOP.ES. General Duffield and hi forces had lone their rart at Aguadfres, aided by he fleet. The Suwanee started firing n the fortifications to' the eastward nd the Gloucester biased away at verythlng. The aim of the New York .as also true, and she raked the shore atteries at every shot. This bombardment was kept up for in hour and It seenied as If every part .f the fort had been hit. Many of the garrison must have been killed. Friday night was a nervous one. The ;nemy kept up a constant fire, although of course they did little damage. All ihe men that could be spared were en gaged In carrying the wounded back to Siboney. The dead were being burled on the battlefield. The fighting began at 5 o'clock In the morning again. The Spaniards opened the day with a desperate attempt to recapture San Juan. As soon as they came on they were driver back with awful losses. Our Hotchklss guns mowed them down by platoons. Our men drove them until they were back Into their third line of Intrenchments. There their sharpshooters were too strong for us. Many of our men went down. The battery was planted ln a safer position, but one In whkh great dam age could be done. The battery Imme diately opened fire on the San Juan blockhouse. When the last couriers left the front fighting was going along on the whole line. W were driving the Spaniards back inch by Inch into Santiago. If we only had heavy artillery It would be over in no time. While the battle was raging north and east of Santiago Sampson was bombarding the harbor forts. The orders were Issued last night to the ships to begin firing before breakfast. The New York's turret guns belched forth the first shot. This was Immedi ately answered from the batteries on both sides of the harbor. The other ships chorused in. Our fleet kept up a steady hall of shells for half an hour without changing position. At 6:40 the Oregon left the line, and sailed deliberately in until she was fairly In the harbor entrance. The In diana swung Into the east of the Ore gon. She brought every gun possible to bear on ihe east Dattery. ine sneus rained on that east battery until It seemed thst there could not remain one stone upon another. The battery did not answer. The Oregon. Just across the harbor south. hd marked the Morro for her target. The tremendous ship from the Pacific knocked great holes In the pic turesque old castle. The great Span ish flag waving over Morro crowned the moke that met and rose from Spanish and American guns. At exactly 7 o'clock a triumphant yell from the Oregon was taken up by the other ships. The Morro's flag was n. The ships kept battering away at the seaside fortifications, and all the shells seemed to land among them. Once more the whole hill was clouded with dust of flying earthworks. When the fleet at last drew off the western bat tery fired three or four shells, not one of which landed within a mile of our ships. Indeed, during the whole bom bardment not one of the ships was hit with even the fragment of a shell. It Is. of course, too early to send anything like a list of the dead and wounded among our troops. Chlckamauga, Chattanooga, National Military Park, Ga.. July i. Yesterday was another quiet Sunday at the park. The sun poured down intensely hot, but the presence of a good breexe was a source of great relief from the heat. The regiments all spent the day quietly In camp, except that some of the troops, by permission, went upon the mountain to spend the day. Later ln the afternoon an order ar rived from the war department to Gen eral Brooke to designate about 20.000 men for Immediate departure to the south, and there was great excitement and bustle In the ranks. General Krooke declined to make public the rder. but It is understood that he had selected the First division of the First corps, and two brigades of the Second division to be moved at once. The First division is composed of the following regiments: First Brigade First Kentucky. Third Wisconsin. Fif'th Illinois. Second Brigade Fourth Ohio. Third Illinois. Fourth Pennsylvania. Third Brigade Sixteenth Pennsyl vania. Second Wisconsin. Third Ken tucky. Second Division. First Brigade Thirty-first Michigan. One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana. First Georgoa. Second Brigade Sixth Ohio. One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Indiana. First West Virginia. The regiments of the First division were Inspected Sunday evening and are teady to move. They have been kept busy since the order to prepare for the field a week ago. getting rid of their excess of equipment and clothing, and It will require very little time to break camp and depart. In anticipation of this order, the rail roads have been accumulating cars at this point for a week. The Western A Atlantic railroad is crowded with Pull man cars. It Is stated tonight that there are thirty trains of twenty cars each on the tracks here ready to trans port troops. The regiments will em bark at Rossvllle and Ringgold, to In sure speedy transportation, as was done when the regulars were moved south, and It Is thought by the railroad authorities that they can move the 20. oou men In two days. It is understood at this hour that three regiments will mov tomorrow morning. (Pa.hln.tnn Pi f T ii 1 v lA11titant General Cor bin voiced the feelings of every one of the officials when he said: I dun I ciili- now me neei was ue - it il.-nt ri v4.l That Is enough for me. It Is great news for the Fourth of July." The fleet of Admiral Cervera was one of the finest Spain possessed. The Almlrante Oorondo. the Vlxcsya and Ihe Cristobal Colon were modern armored cruheis of the first class. The VUiaya. wnu-n visnen tnis coun try soon after the Maine was sent to un. .r,. -a i. .if 7 immi I nr. .lisnlacement. 340 feet long and heavily armored, her belt armor being twelve Inches In thick ness and her dtiK armor tnree incnew i... mviai f at two eleven Inch, ten 5 5-lnch Hontorla guns: eight 2 Z-lncn rapid lire guns, eigin i.v-int. rapid fire guns and two mitrailleuses. Her complement was &00 men. The Almlrante Oquendo was ln al most every respect duplicate of the Vlzcaya. The Cristobal Colon had a displace ment of s.MO tons, ar.d was 323 feet long. She had six-inch armor both at the water line and at the gun positions, and 1.5 armor on her deck. Her arma ment consisted of two ten-Inch, ten six-inch rapid Are guns, six 4.4-inch guns, ten two-Inch guns, two mitrail leuses and four torpedo tubes. She was capable of a speed of twenty knots, and carried 4S0 men. Of the remaining vessels of the fleet the Terror and Furor were torpedo boat destroyers, and the Relna Mer cedes was an old vessel that was sunk a short time ago by a shell from Samp son's fleet. The Terror was not with the fleet at Santiago, but Is supposed to be at San Juan. Porto Ico. In ad dition to the above-mentioned vessels, there were two torpedo boats and. a collier In the SpanUh fleet originally. . The Inhabitants of Cochin. China, much prefer rotten eggs to fresh ones. The great majority of q4. fxuiU axe laxative. small fresh A UHABKifltU KEPUBLICJM. A WASHINGTON REPUBLICAN REVIEWS WAR POLICY. The Pressure from the Common People has Given to the War all Its Good Feature In Spite of the Money Power. .A friend of the writer who Is. per haps, as familiar as any man in Wash ington with what is transpiring ln con gress, and with the feelfhgs of indi vidual members, a few days ago used the following significant language: "I have been a lifelong republican, be lieving In Its principles, helping to fight its battles, and looking with Intense disfavor upon everything In American politics that did not bear the distinc tive brand of republicanism. But 1 must confess that upon every point Involved In this trouble with Spain, the democrats and silver republicans and populists have conducted themselves most admirably. Better by far than a majority of the republicans in either house. Especially I may say, better than the recognized leaders of the re publicans either in congress or the ex ecutive branch of the government. The president has done literally nothing on behalf of Cuban Independence, and nothing which even squinted ln the di rection of securing Just reparation fcr the destruction of the Maine and the cold blooded, brutal murder of more than two-thirds of her crew. Every step that he has taken, every word that he has uttered, which has been suggestive of vindicating the honor of the country and establishing a free government in Cuba, has been actu ally forced upon him by the upheaving tide of public sentiment. In fact, when his actions are closely analyzed. It Is seen that he has really done nothing of his own volition on either score. He practically gave away the Maine case by throwing himself upon the "honor of Spain." while neither In his diplo matic correspondence with that coun try, nor In his message to congress has he ever even mentioned Cuban inde pendence, except to oppose it. The war which Is now on. Is not his policy, but one which congress has forced upon him. There Is no denial of the fact that when his message asking to be authorized to intervene was sent to congress. It fell like a wet blanket upon many of the republican members. They had been chafllng and threatening for weeks, and had only, been kept from open revolt through fear of losing caste with the administration. Reed. Dlngley, etc.. coupled with the prom ise that the president would do the right thing at the proper time. The message fell so palpably short of their expectations that the disappointment was Intense. A resolution in line with Mr. McKlnley's recommendation could never have passed through the house. The constituents of the members were clamoring for Cuban independence, and some of them were even more afraid of their constituents than they were of Speaker eed. Hence the house reso lution had to demand that the people of Cuba be given a free and Independent government, but it at the same time gave the president full power to de termine what should be such a gov. ernment. although he had repeatedly declared that they were not entitled to an Independent government of any kind. There can be no doubt that a strong and vigorous policy by the ad ministration would have been extreme ly popular with the American people. It would also have been In accordance with the dictates of both Justice and humanity. That Mr. McKlnley has not adopted such a policy can be described to nothing but the sinister motives or Influences of those men who for spe cial reasons of their own did not want a war under any circumstances for any cause, and they were determined not to have one If it could be avoided In any way. The opposition In con gress had sense enough to know that if the administration fought a success ful war with Spain It would be greatly strengthened. Therefore, had the dem ocrats, populists and silver republicans been actuated by a mere desire for partisan advantage they would have at least kept still and allowed Mr. Mc Klnley to go on with a policy which was certain to make a wide breach In the republican ranks, and probably wreck It in the next campaign. They could easily have done this. But Instead they have pursued an honorable, con sistent and patriotic course through out. They have from the first advo cated a genuine American policy, with out the slightest attempt to play for party advantage. The same cannot be fairly said of the republican leaders, however patriotic the masses may be. With only two or three notable ex ceptions In the senate, the republicans (those who sympathized with Cuba, I mean) have been absolutely afraid to make a move In antagonism to the ad ministration, lest some, party advan tage might be sacrificed. Besides this It Is notorious that almost the entire anti-Cuban and pro-Spanish sentiment In congress has been In the republican party. Of the 21 votes cast against the senate resolution recognizing the re public of Cuba. 19 were cast by repub licans. Including In those 19 wre all the recognized leaders of the repub lican party In the senate, and Mr. Mc Klnley's closest friends and advisers. Why was this? It was not because republicans as a body were opposed to fres government and unwilling t defend our national ronor. It was simply because certain classes of mon eyed men were opposed to the freedom and Independence of Cuba for financial reasons. These men control the ac tions of the republican leaders, or at least exert very great Influence with them. Hence the republican party was held in leash until the pressure from the common people became too strong to be longer resisted. But these lead ers yielded unwillingly and went no farther than they were compelled to Their manifest purpose was to pass a resolution which would sound well and thus satisfy the clamor of our people, while at the same time Mr. McKlnley would be left free to settle the matter as the moneyed classes referred to might dictate. The republicans' course in framing the war revenue bill Is open to ths severest censure. The bill should have been constructed on strict non-partisan lines, so as to bring all parties to Its cordial support. Instead the republican members of the ways and means committee went off by them selves and made up a bill of the most rigid partisan character. embodying features In the highest degree obnox ious to democrats, populists and silver republicans. The latter were then told that this was "the bill agreed upon. If you don't swallow It. bonds and all. you are unpatriotic men. because this is a war measure. This was a narrow, selfish and even contemptible policy. After their magnificent action In voting $50.000.e00 Into the president's hands to use as he pleased for war purposes, a thing unprecendented in our history, they were entitled to better treatment I am ashamed of the whole business." A remarkable cat Is owned by Henry E. Trundy of Southwest Harbor. Me. Topsy. as he calls her, has already batched several broods of chickens, and Is now engaged In the care of its latest batch, a brood of 10. hatched a short time ago. Topsy has one fault, how ever. As soon as Its little family is asleep it goes off for a night's expe dition. mmm ' Infants are wearing hosiery quite as gay as that worn by their fashionable fathers and mothers. Their little half hose are brilliant in color and extreme in design, and .It Is said, afford th average youngster more amusement than the loudest-sounding rattl. COULD THROW A LASSO. A very thick set; compactly bull r:-.an, who wore glasses and had a sor of ruminant smile on his broad, heal thy looking countenance, was swingin; along a street In the northwest sec tion a few afternoons ago, apparently taking his time anJ observing thing as he went along, says the Washing ton Star. On the good sized lawn o one of the residences he was passlnf there was a flock of half a dozen yount boys in knickerbockers, playing Will West. They were screeching and hoot ing fit to wake the dead, for they wen evenly divided, three of them bein bold, bad scouts, and the other thre being Indians with an especial missiot for yelling. They were having plentj of fun with a couple of lariats, withou being able to exhibit any skill what soever In the manipulation of the same One of the scouts would throw the lar iat ineffectually at an Indian five or i times, with no more result than thai of scraping the Indian's nose with tht rope. Then the scouts would walk n bravely to the Indian, place the looi of the lariat around the latter's necV and drag him a few feet ln bowling triumph. The thick set. smiling man stopped leaned up against a tree netting anc watched this sport amusedly. It coulc be seen from the expression of his face that he liked boys. He studied theii play for a few minutes, and then start ed to walk on. He hadn't taken mort than two steps before the singing of s thrown rope around his ears informed him that one of the lads was endeav oring to lasso him. Of course the lad didn't succeed ln doing this, but th thick set, smiling man turned around good humoredly. "Bad throw, my boy." said he. "Now, If I were a fleet maverick I'd be a good hundred yards away by this time. You boys haven't Just got the hang of rop ing yet. Let me show you." The boys, highly pleased at getting a grown, good looking and good Ma tured man Involved in their play, stud ied the thick set man with Interest. H stepped out onto the lawn, took one ol the lariats out of the hands of he wil ling lad and said: "This Isn't such a good lasso as it might be, for it's not heavy enough, but maybe it'll do." Then he gathered the lariat up Into a coil carefull. swung It about his head a few times In a realistic manner tnai made the boys stare, and In the twinn iin2 of an eve a little chap who stood about twenty feet away near the steps of the house, had his arms pinioneu i, his side by the loop of the lariat. Cracky!" exclaimed the boys ln a chorus. "I'll bet he's with uunaio nni i show, all right. Aren't you, mister?" "No. I'm not witn any snow jui now." said the thick set man pleas antly. "I expect to be witn a very o.g show Indeed, thougn, a nine iaier on. But I've often seen men throw the lar iat it' all a knack. Any one of you boys can learn how to do It If you practice If carefully." Then the good ratured man stepped from the lawn onto the sidewalk. As he was resuming his stroll a young man passed him, and, touching his hat. said: . "Good afternoon to you. coionei Roosevelt." Colonel Roosevelt courte ously acknowledged the salutation and passed on, still wearing mac runmiam mile of his. TROUBLES OF THE LOVERS. it ,,f th hi2 hotels of the town. relates the Washington Post, there ia .ta.-imr a nn ir of recently married young people whose honeymoon began under most unrorr.antic circuiusiiiw--. They came from a city In the mlddla !. nnH their names well, let's call them Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Mr. Smith is a sprightly young man wno tor years i i. hi. nUncnrp to annov and lias iii.mc r - - embarrass such of his friends as were indiscreet enough to wed. He has strapped rice into tneir umureuas. oc has tied white ribbons and old shoes to their baggage, he has chalked. n-..-.,., t,,ut ,ri married" on their carriages, he has sent telegrams and postal cards after them addressed to So-and-So and Bride," he has. in fact, done everything he could think of to make honeymoons unpopular. So, there r,ro nhn hi RDDroaching wedding nas'anounced divers and sundry per sons determined to get even wim mm. c- tiv. ( a sa crnolrma SS Well &S sprightly, and he boldly declared that he'd outwit them all. He engaged rooms for himself and his bride at hree different hotels and Denns on three different trains. Several days before the wedding the bride's trunk was sent, empty, to the express office and her belongings were carried down to It in installments When it was filled It was sent away by express. Mr. cmti smiled to himself. After the weding there was a reception at a fash ionable club nous ana me aivers una sundry revengeful persons lay in wan. c - on,i Mr Smith withdrew, went down the back stairs, through the wine ,-ellar and out or tne cenar aoor. Aroun i ho oArnar a rnrrlci was waiting They were to enter this, be driven t the livery stable, step Into anothei carriage awaiting them there, and es cape unobserved, but Mr. Smith's young brother naa notea tne ctiur door, and was waiting there with his bicycle. He promptly sounded a horn a cicrnni nnd rcrte after the carriage. The persons In waiting with horns re paired to the livery staDie. i ne anur mil bridegroom Etayea insiae. i urj mew that their friends were preparing make It nleasant for them at the hotels and at th? railway station. So ih.if eiinnori out the back way. and at the end of their resources, went to the house of a surgeon they knew, rans him up. and asked shelter for the night He had only his office to offer them.an I there, with a skeleton grinning. cneer ..n.r t tv.m nr.rl n one rat Ine chair the only comfortable piece of furni ture the room contained, they stayel till morning and then stole out to th rallway station and left town. They do say, too. that tne nriae wouiun i speak to the bridegroom for two days and I don't blame her, nor do I blame iha rsvoncref ul nersons. Mr. Smith wil' annoy no more bridal couples. ' With a Rifle. ininh Tnprnprweln. San Antonlo't marvelous young rifle shot, has Jus performed another oi nis asioinaiiu.--feats. With a 22-caliber rifle he stoo. at a Hintance of 20 feet from a doubt thickness of heavy paper, about thro feet long by two wiae, anu snoi on n . v. n,,nna nf nn Indian's head. It too exactly 1C2 shots to do the trick. I was freehand drawing, as the figur- as not traced on the paper neiore- hand. This made the feat especiaii difficult, as "Teji" had to place ever shot with reference to where Us pre decessor had gone, and where all th following shots were to go. in omt words, he had to have every deta o fthe "drawing" planned out. and con stantly In his mind's eye while he wa .hnAtincr Ono .hnt flreri a fraction t an inch wild would have spoiled th whole picture. Henry Tanner, who has Just died, ha. literally four hearts that beat as onc The three- redundant hearts were I. reality aneurisms which had in proctr of time grown to the same size and con sistency as the heart . to which tne were attached, and with the beating o whirh thev "kent time.'" This nlura' Ity of hearts might at any time hav. suddenly ended Tanner's life by tl' bursting of one of the aneurisms, but as often happens, be died of a disea? entirely different. Not a nail Is used ln a Japan housf conatructlon. THE "BUH1IEES" Oeeds. Reckless. Criminal or Ludicrous Committed by Them Durlnn the Rebellion Origin of Bummer." Ther was no man ln civil life to whom tfce term "bummer"' was applied previous to 1861. The war brought out the man and the name. Sherman's "bummers" gained a reputation over those of any other army, but every command held its free lances, and they were more or less of a factor In the field. The "bummer" of the war was neither a guerrilla nor a robber. In point of fact, though the element had Its dregs, he was a man restive of discipline. He didn't shirk fighting, but he wanted to fight when and how he pleased. His appetite craved something better than army rations, and he also had a curi osity to know what was going on be tween the lines. No matter how strin gent the orders or how watchful the provost guard, the bummer found a way to get out of camp and go wan dering about. The advance guard of a marching army, whether cavalry or infantry, always found the free lances ahead of them. Now and then they acted as scouts and brought in valu able Information, but as a rule they had little concern except for them selves SAVING THE GUARD. Just before Hooker set his army In march for ChancellorsVIlle a provost guard of 100 men was ordered out o round up a lot of bummers who were raiding the country to the east. Four or five men had been overhauled an! made prisoners, when the guard rode Into a confederate camp ln the woods and a sharp fight began. Unknown to either side, a crowd of fifty "get aways" were encamped In the same piece of woods about half a mile away. As soon as the firing began they seized their msukets, fell Into line, and under command of one of their number they marched through the woods and fell on the enemy's flank and routed him. But for their timely arrival and the way they fought, not a man of the pro vost guard would have escaped. They had been raiding farm houses and some of them were wearing women's bon nets and skirts as they went Into the fight. Three or four of the fellows wer? killed, but the body of them escorted the guards back to within a mile of our lines, and then sent a dozen fat chickens to General Hooker as a token of their esteem. HOLDING UP A BANK. Perhaps the first confederate bank raided by union soldiers was one at Charleston. Va.. as Milroy was niaklm; his way up the Shenandoah valley. Bumming was In its infancy then, but a dozen of the fellows found them selves ahead of the army and resolve I to strike for a big stake. They made a sudden attack on the town at daylight, and then dashed In and made for th-.-bank. The broke In the door with an ax. obliged the banker to unlock his safe, and something like a half million dollars was carried away as they re treated. A day later they bundle.! up $100,000. strapped It on the back of a mule, and hired a farmer to deliver the wealth to General Milroy In per son. Accomoanving the money was a note, which advised the general t- bribe the confederates to keep ahea 1 cf him and do no fighting. As his mil itary maneuvers had been checkmated right along, and his reputation was under a cloud. It was a hard shot at him. The story got to Washington, and was commented on by President Lincoln, and It has been asserted that the president's levity caused the gen eral to tender his resignation. A WOMAN'S ROUNDUP. When Stonewall Jackson flanked !n on Pope the bummers were scattereJ over a large extent of country. Ther-' was not a company In any regiment which had not contributed at least one man. They went roaming In squads of three and four, over highways whet : no commander dared send less than half a regiment, and many were shot or taken prisoner. Enough were left. however, to terrify the people or every farm house In every direction. By some circumstance about forty of them reached a certain farm house at th same time, and finding only a woman and two or three children about, ihey killed the only pig left, devoured th.? last few chickens, and plundered the house of whatever took their fancy As it was a rainy night they took up their quarters ln the barn. No sooner were they settled down than the wo man took her children and set out for help, and after walking seven mile she encountered a confederate picket post, and told of the game In the trap Before midnight the barn was sur rounded and every bummer captured, and some of them had not got back to their regiments when the war closed. BURNSIDES ORDERS. A month before General Burnsl 1 was relieved of his command, the bum mer element was called to his attention so forcibly that he issued more strin gent orders than had ever terore gone out. It was announced that any sol dier who should be found absent from his command without a pass would be Imprisoned during the remainder of the war. with a forfeit of all pay and allowances. The provost-guara was increased and ordered to do constant scouting, but the bumming went on Just the same. Then came a second order, to the effect that any soldier absent for two days without leave should be considered a deserter and treated accordingly. This brought back some cf the men to duty, but one of the professionals at least came Into headquarters solely In search of In formation. He did not get to see the general In person, but he had an In terview with one or the stair, ami holding UP a printed copy of the last order in his hand he said: Kurnel. the boys kind o want to know what this means, and have sent aie In to find out. "Can't you read!" demanded the col onel. More or less, but we can t git onto the hang of things. Is the war coin ing to an end?" "It doesn t look like It.' That's the way we all argue, and being as Glneral Burnside can't down Lee in a square figl. why don't he let us go ahead and eat him out of housj and home till he has to surrender?" The "anxious inquirer was sent te the. guard , house, pending a return V his company, but he managed to get away ln a day or two, and the next thing heard of him was a scrawl, in which he said that four of them had run a confederate calf into the woods and would divide the veal with heaJ quarters if a regiment was sent to as sist them to make a rapture. Had Burnside hung on he might have is sued another order, but even had it announced Instant death as the penalty of bumming he could not have abol ished it. CAUGHT IN A SPRING-HOUSE. A portion of Custer's command was scouting toward Berryvllle one day before the battle of Winchester, when it carre upon a queer state of affairs at a farm house. Two hours previ ously a gang of seven bummers had come along and started in to loot the house. The farmer was a confederate soldier, who was home on a furlough to be nursed for a wound in his thigh. He was not able to leave his bed. but his wlfgJianded him his musket and he shefone of the men dead and drove the rest out. They did not go away, however, being determined to kill him and burn his house In revenge. He had his bed drawn to the door. and.being propped up, h kept them away from the rear of ths house, while his wife, who -was armed with an old revolver, fired ciftea enough to prevent any ap proach to the frcnt. There was a OF THE CIVIL WAR. from the back door, and the bummers entered it to regale themselves before (losing in on the house. The dool opened inwards, and while they were playing havoc with the milk pans the woman approached and pulled the dooi to and thrust a stick through the han dle. The structure was too solid to be beaten down, and as there was but one window the men tried to make their escape that way. I'ropped up in hit bed. with his wound paining him at every movement, the confederate fireJ at every head thrust out. and his bul lets flew so close that all attempts were soon abandoned. We found him with his musket In his grasp and a dead man on the floor, and we also found the soldiers huddled together In the spring house. The confederate could have been carried off a prisoner of war, but he was not disturbed. On the contrary, while a hundred blue roats were dividing their rations with the wife, the officers were making cash donations to the husband. As for the bummers, they were turned over to the rank and file to be kicked, and they got a d se to be remembered all their days. Custer rather favored a man who set out for adventure between the lines, but he had no mercy on looters and robbers. As the confederates were fighting mostly at home there were few bum. mers ln comparison. There were guer rilla bands who robbed friend and foe alike, but individual soldiers were not given to It. The golden opportunity came when Lee Invaded Pennsylvania. Ik-fore crossing the Potomac he issued the strif-test orders against looting, but they were observed only In Mary land. When the Yankee state was once reached thousands of men went to for aping on their own account. They were ahead of the army behind It on both flanks. They foraged on horseback, on foot and In wagons For fifteen miles on cither side of the highways they did not miss a farm house. The first callers gobbled the horses. The next wanted provisions. The next looted the houses. Men on foot bore uway looking glasses,, trunks, bed ling, crockery, tin ware anything they could carry. Tiioss on horseback had great buniles ln front and behind them. In a train of twenty-einht confederate wagons cap tuied on the retreat was found almost every article used by civilized people. The bummers had taken plow points, drag teeth, old harness collars, rusty spikes, cracked Jugs, kegs of vinegar, bandl'-less axes, and even the "old oaken buckets" from the wells. There were crowbars and lrn welges; there were buggy wheels and lace curtains. There were farmers' boots, children' shoes and women's slippers, and hosiery belonging to nil of them. In one wa gon a family bible, two checkerboards, an old pun barrel, children's picture books, Webster's dictionary, a lot of cucumber plrkles and a worn-out har. ness were flung Into a box toRether. The Pennsylvania Dutchmen were the principal sufferers, and they did not g. t through filing their claims for five years after the war. No houses or barns were burnei, but no farmer es- ; caped being despoiled. Not one In a dozen of them had tim to hide any thing, and a quarter of an hour after the first bummer showed up the farmer was a financial wreck. Nine-tenths of the stuff loaded up was worthless to the captors, but forage and commissary supplies were thrown away to take It. After the battle of Falling Waters, when Lee finally crossed the river, he left on the Pennsylvania shore about thirty broken down wagons. In one cf these was a Dutch bedstead of mahog any, which looked to be 20 years old. and It was so heavy that It must have taken four men to lift It. It weighed 300 pounds, and what Its captors were going to do with it was a puzzle. Thre was at least one big looking glass to every wagon, and the various rsg car rets put together would have meas ured two miles. A coffin and a tomb stone were about the only two articles missing. How Uncle Sam Originated. Do you know the origin of the title "Uncle Sam." as applied to the United States government? It Is an old story, but a good one. and particularly Interesting In these war like times, says a New York newspaper. Immediately after the declaration of war in 1812 Elbert Anderson of New York, a contractor, visited Troy, where he purchased a large quantity of pro visions. The Inspectors for the govern ment were Ebc-nezer and Samuel Wil son. The latter was more familiarly known as "Uncle Sam," and he super-. Intended the work in person. On this oc casion a large number of workmen were employed In overhauling the provis ions purchased by the contractor for, the army. The caskets were marked E. A.. U. S. This woik fell to a lot of a facetious fellow in the employ of the Messrs. Wilson, who. on being asked by some of his fellow workmen the meaning of the mark (the letters "IT. S." for United States were then al most entirely new to them), sal. I "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The Joke took among the workmen, and "Uncle Sam" himself be ing present, he was occasionally rallied by them on the Increasing extent of his possessions. Many of the workmen soon followed the recruiting drum to the war. and their old Joke on "L'nrle Sam" Wilson accompanied them and gained favor rapidly until "l.'ncle Sam" was finally recognized as the materializa tion. In name at least, of the American government. It was rpcarded. even In those days, as very odd that this silly Joke, which originated In the midst of beef. pork, pickle. Mlt and other edl. bles. should be the foundation of what eventually became the national cogno. men. fieradz In Russian Toland has been the scene of a strange and successful strike. The professional beggars of the town have been in the habit of calling at every door on Fridays and receiv ing the customary alms of a Polish groschen, worth about half a cent. On a recent Friday they omitted their vis it, and later sent around a delegate with the notice that, unless they re celved two groschen from each house they would emigrate In a body to Czenstochau, where a miraculous Im of the Holy Virgin attracts pll- ' grims and w here beggars reap a rich harvest. As In return tor tne aims wm beggars pray for the souls of the giv ers at morning mass, the good people of Sieradz yielded at once to the de mand, and kept their beggars. A new fad has struck Paris. A clus ter of cherries Is the swell boutonnlere there now, and corsage bouquets of cherry twigs, with leaves and fruits, are In high favor. The effect la said to be good, but the custom must be a sad discouragement to sentiment, and an affectionate embrace would be com plicated by a cherry corsage bouquet. On sscond thoughts, this Parisian fad Is not to be recommended for the sum mer season. An aeronaut says that there Is the same difference In the sir at the earth s surface and at an altitude of half a mile that there Is between water In a muddy puddle and the purest spring water. He states that for a time one feels, after coming down from sn as cent, as If one were breathing "solid dust." The most valuable eggs are those of the great auk. There are only IX of them In England. In U3 on of then into tbe opan a4 D yrtag: kHtM at solid build a few rods gold tor 3i& o 1 1 V