,A
BEHAVIOR OF MEN WOUNDED IN BATTLE.
Varied Expressions of Soldiers Slightly or Mortally Shot In tho Fight
of the WlldornoBs.
Men wounded In battle behave In
various manners, according to the na.
turc of their hurts and the degree of
physical courage possessed.
While the subject of the dead and
wounded Is the least touched on by
writers on the war. It Is nevertheless
a topic equally as Interesting, If not so
pleasing, as those having to do with
the glory of war.
On the second day of the battle of the
Wilderness, when I fouRht as an In
fantry soldier, I saw men killed nnJ
wounded as 1 never dl before or after
tho same time. I kenw but few of
the men In the regiment In whose ranks
I stood, but I learned the Christian
names of some of the men. The man
who stood next to me on my right was
called Will. He was cool, brave and
intelligent.
In the mornlg when the Second corps
wan advancing and driving Hill's sol
diers slowly back I wna Hurried. He
noticed It, and steadied my nerves by
tuvylng kindly: "Don't fire so fast. The
fight will last all day, Don't hurry.
Cover your man before you pull th
trigger take It easy, my boys, take It
nsy, and your cartridges will last the
longer."
During the day. I had learned to look
tip to this excellent soldier, and lean
on him. Towards evening, as we were
being slowly driven back to the Brock
road by Longstreet's men, we made n
stnnd. I was behind n tree firing,
with my rifle barrel resting on the
stub of n limb. Will was standing by
my side, but In the open. He, with a
groan, doubled up, and dropped on
his hands as he fell.
He looked at me. His face was pale.
He gasped for breath n few times, and
then said, faintly; "That ends me. 1
am shot through the bowels." I said;
"Crnwl to the rear. We nre not far
from tho entrenchments along the
Brock road." I saw him sit up, and
indistinctly saw him reach for his rifle
which had fallen from hlB hands as lie
fell.
Again I spoke to him to go to tin
renr. He looked at me and paid Im
patiently; "I tell you I am as good at
dead. There Is no use In fooling with
me. 1 shall stoy here." Then he pitched
forward, dend, shot again and through
the head. We fell back before Long
street's soldiers nnd left Will.
When we got to the Hrock road en
trenchments a man n few flies to my
left dropped dead, shot just above the
right eye. He did not groan or sigh
or make the slightest physical move
ment, except thnt his chest heaved n
few times. The life went out of his
face Instantly, leaving it without a
particle of expression.
It was plastic, and as the facial mus
cles contracted it took many shapes.
When the mon'B body became cold, and
his face hardened, It was horribly dls.
tortcd, as though he had suffered In
tensely. Any person who had not seen
lilm killed would have said that he had
endured supreme ugony before death
released him.
Sometimes the dead smile, agnln they
store with glassy eyes and lolling
tongues and dreadfully distorted vis
ages at you. One death was as pain
less as the other.
After I.vngstreet's soldiers had driv
en the Second corps to their Intrench
ments along the Hrock road a battle
exhausted Infantryman stood behind a
large oak tree. Ills back rested against
It. He was very tired and held his rifle
meekly In his hand.
The confederates were directly In our
front. This soldier was apparently In
perfect safety. A solid shot from a
confederate gun struck the oak tree
ANCIENT CONJURERS.
Conjurers In ancient times were not
very respectable members of society
when successful they enjoyed the repu
tation of having sold their .ouls to the
evil one. and when of Inferior ability
they gained viiotorlety by being either
drowned or burned. The mediaeval
mnglelnns a.s well as the Egyptian magi
and the Chnldean sages were omy a
strnnge mixture of chemist, conjurer
and charlatan, and as these gentlemen
were In the habit of using their sup
posed occult powers to their own advan
tage, they were naturally unpopular.
The feats of Jugglery were for the mys
tltlcatlon and not the nmusement of
the public, nnd for centuries conjuring
had to it only a. bja;kslde. The ama
teur conjurer of today Is' not always
a popular Individual, save with children
and the unsophisticated yokel; to the
general public he Is merely a bore of
greater or less magnitude, whose per
formance Is so obvious as to deceive no
one, It Is hard to realize that lhl&
"person Is no mushroom growth of mod
ern society, but in point of qct his role
Is" one of a respectnble antiquity, for
he Is to be found treading closely upon
the heels of the magicians, nnd In the
days when witchcraft was still ram
pant. This Is significant of his reputa
tion even In those early days, for had
any one taken his tricks seriously he
would doubtless have been run to earth
and done to death as a wizard.
In the middle of the seventeenth cen
tury.in the earliest years of the Restor
ation, a number of tricks were pub
lished in one of those facetious books
which seem to have occupied the press
. . ,..,... n, tr. llm. V.,4VH ' " V . .MMn...
CO U K?Ul VAICIII Ul 1IIUI kllllC, UU
which, owing to their popularity, have
for the most part perished. The chief
recommendation of the greater number
of these tricks Is thai no npparatus
bevond the utensils of everyday life
is necessary: also it is suggested to the
performer that he cun make some small
profit out of his entertainment by pre
vailing on his audience to bet with him
on the result of the trick. "To set a
horse's or an ass's head upen a man's
head and shoulders' seem Imposible out
of the land of fakery. but we are in
formed that by boiling th head cut
from a living animal "the fleeh boyl'd
mav runne into experiment on some one
else'F horse " "To make a shoal of gls
llngs draw a tlmberlogge" sounds in
teresting, but unfortunately the direc
tions are vague. "To make a shoal of
goslings or a gaggle of geese to seem
draw a timber of logge Ie done by the
verie means that Is us'd when a cat
draws a fool through a pond, but
handled somewhat further off from the
beholders."
i is n Btrnnce thine to me." said a
well known druggist of F street. W ash
Ington, and an ex-confederate soldier,
"that so few people know what the
real national nlr of the south Is. Most
everybody In the north looks upon that
lively tune, best known as 'Dixie, as
the southern national air. But It Is
a fact that it was written by a north
ern man, both words and music, as
"Way Down South in Dixie might eas
ily Indicate. The national air of the
south Is 'The Mocking Blld' and It
naa so adopted by a confederate con
gress, I don't know Just when. Very
few people seem to know this, even a
great many southerners not being
aware of the fact, but it is true, nevertheless.
squarely about four feet from the
ground, but it did not have sufficient
force to tear through the thick wood.
The soldier fell dead. There was not
a scratch on him, He was killed by
concussion.
While we were fighting savagely over
these entrenchments the woods in out
front caught Are, and I saw many of
our wounded burn to death.
The smoke rolled heavily and slowly
before the flames curled nround the
victims. The spectacle was courage
snapping and pitiful, but I do not be
lieve that the wounded soldiers, who
were being burned, suffered greatly, If
they suffered at all.
Wounded soldiers, it mattered not
how slight the wounds, generally has
tened away from the battle lines. A
wound entitled a man to go to the
rear and to a hospital. Of course
there were many exceptions to this
rule, ob there would necessarily be In
battles where from ,20,000 to 30,000 men
were wounded.
I frequently saw slightly wounded
men who were marching with their
colors. I remember seeing two men
wounded who continued to flght. Dur
ing the first day's lighting In the Wil
derness I saw a youth of about 20 years
skip and yell, stung by a bullet thro'
the thigh.
He turned to limp to the rear. After
he had gone a few steps he stopped,
then he kicked out his leg once or
twice to see if It would work. Then
he tore the clothing away from the
leg so as to see the wound. He looked
at It attentively for an Instant, then
kicked out his leg again, then turned
and took his place In the ranks and re
sumed firing.
There was consledrdble disorder In
the lines, and the soldiers moved to
and fro now a few feet to the left,
now a few feet to the right. One of
these movements brought me directly
behind the wounded youth. I could
see plainly from that position, and I
lushed Into the gaping line and began
ring.
In n minute or two the wounded sol
dier dropped his rifle, and, clasping
his left arm, exclaimed: "I nm hit
again!" He But down behind the battle
ranks and tore off the sleeve of his
shirt. The wound was very slight,
not much more than skin deep. He tied
his handkerchief around It, picked up
his rifle nnd took position alongside
of me.
I said "You had better get away from
here." Ho turned his head to answer
me. His head Jerked, he staggered,
fell and then regained his feet. A tiny
fountain of blood nnd teeth and bone
burst out of his mouth. He had been
shot through the Jaw; the lower one
was broken nnd hung down. I looked
directly Into his open mouth, which
was ragged and bloody and tongueless.
He enst his rifle furiously on the
ground and staggered off.
The next day, Just before Long
street's soldiers made their first charg
on the Second corps, I heard the pe
culiar cry a stricken man utters. as a
bullet tears through his flesh. I turn
ed my head as I loaded my rifle to see
who was hit.
I saw a bearded Irishman pull up
his shirt. He hajL-i!een wounded In
the left side Just below the floating
ribs. His face was gray with fear
The wound looked as though It was
mortal. He looked at it for an Instant
and then poked It gently with his In
dex finger. His fade flushed and he
smiled with satisfaction. He tucked
his shirt Into his trousers nnd was
fighting In the ranks again before I
had capped my r'.fle.
THE OTHER FELLOW.
It Is a debatable question among his
friends whether John Allen depends
more upon memory or invention for his
inexhaustible fund of stories. Colonel
William R. Morrison, who is something
of a story-teller himself, once felt called
upon to. explain Mr. Allen's staying
powers, after a bout In which he and
the Mlsslsslpplan had alternated In en
tertaining a party of railroad men while
the Interstate commerce commission
was having a sitting at Tupelo.
"I can't compete with John Allen,"
said Colonel Morrlscn. apologetically,
"because I haven't got the gift of
imagination. My stories are true. They
aie actual occurrences. Everybody In
Washington Knows that John Allen s
stories are made up as he goes ulong.
Now. I once heard him tell of an army
experience that, was pure fiction on Its
face, He said that a comrade and he
were lying behind a log while the bat
tle was going on In front off them. The
lighting was pretty hot, Allen and his
comrade were u good deal in doubt as
to how long that log would protect them
from the bullets. They got into a dis
cussion as to which should poke up his
lit'tul and take a view of the surround
ings. Finally, Allen says, his comrade
uiged: 'John, you look and see where
the Yankees are. You know you are n
single man and haven't got any fam
ily." Now," concluded Colonel Morrison,
"that was something that never hap
pened, but 1 have heard Allen tell it
ra,.antaltv nt,,i nu.-m-o mica .. im.h
There was a general smile at John
Allen's expense, and then Edward L.
Russell, the president of the Mobile &
Ohio railroad, said. "Colonel, you are
mistaken. Thut was u true story. I
was the other fellow behind that log."
John Allen of Mississippi would
rather tell a story than write a letter.
The shrewd, kindly natured, but too
neglectful, representative Isn't as at
tentive to his corespondence as becomes
a member of congress. His fault In this
respect is a source of regret to his
friends. It Is only by his returns home
that Mr. Allen makes amends and se
cures forgiveness for his unfamlliurlty
as a correspondent. There nre those
who believe that If Mr. Allen had cul
tivated the politicians and people with
his typewriter as assiduously as other
statesmen are wont to do, he might
have attained a seat in the United
States senate before this time. Edward
L Russell, president of the Mobile &
Ohio railroad, had a recent experience
with Mr. Allen's readiness in averting
the evil consequences of his disinclina
tion to touch a pen. Mr. Russell and
Mr. Allen have been friends since war
times. They have seen each other climb
to national reputations, one In railroad
management, the other In politics. Sev
eral months ago Mr. Russell was elected
to the presidency of the road, with
which he had been conected for a
quarter of a century or more. He came
on to Washington later, and, meeting
Mr. Allen, he said, with a touch of re
proach In his tone:
"John, I received, I suppose, 500 tele
grams and letters of congratulation
upon my recent promotion. I don't find
any among them from you."
"No. Edward," said Allen, reflectively,
"I didn't send any. I was waiting to
see if you accepted, And then 1 was
going to congratulate the company."
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
"All that a man hath will he give for
his life."
That is untrue. The Lord did not say
it, but Satan said It to the Lord when
tho evil one wanted Job still more; af
flicted. She record Is: "So went Satan
forth from the presence of the Lord,
nnd smote Job with sore bolls." And
Satan has been the author of all erup
tive disease since then, and he hopes
by poisoning the blood to poison the
soul. But the result of the diabolical
experiment which left Job victor proved
the falsity of the Satanic remark "All
that a man hath will he give for'hls
life." Many a captain who has stood on
the bridge of the steamer till his pas
sengers got off and he drowned; many
an engineer who tins kept his hand on
the throttle valve or his foot on the
brake, until the most of the train was
saved, while he went down to death
through the open draw bridge; many a
fireman who plunged Into a blazing
house to get a sleeping child out, the
fireman sacrificing his life In the at
tempt, and the thousands of martyrs
who submitted to fiery stake and knife
of massacre and headman's nx and
guillotine rather than surrender prin
ciple, proving that In many a case my
text was not true when It snys: "All
that a man hath will he give for his
life."
But Satan's falsehood was built on a
truth. Life is very precious, and If we
would not give up nil, there are many
things we would surrender rather than
surrender It. We see our precious life
Is from the fact that we do everything
to prolong It. Hence all sanitary regu
lations, all study of hygiene, all fear of
draughts, all waterproofs, all doctors,
all medicines, all struggle in crisis or
accident.
ONE PRECIOUS LIFE.
An admiral of the British navy was
court martlaled for turning his ship
around In time of danger, and so dam
aging the ship. It was proved against
him. But when his time came to be
heard he said: "Gentlemen, I did turn
the ship around, and admit that It was
damaged, but do you want to know
why 1 turned It? There was a man
overboard, and I vanted to save 'him,
nnd I did save him, and I consider the
life of one snllor worth all the vessels
of the British navy."
The fact is, that no Intelligent and
right-feeling man is satisfied with his
past life. However successful your life
may have been, you are not satisfied
with it. What Is success? Ask that
question of a hundred different men.
nnd they will give 100 different answers.
One man will sny. "Success Is $1,000,
000; another will say. "Slicces? Is world
wide publicity;" another will say, "Suc
cess is guining that which you starteu
for." But as It Is a free country I give
my own definition, and sny, "Success
Is fulfilling the particular mission upon
which you were sent, whether to write
a constitution, or Invent n new style
of wheelbarrow, or take care of a sick
child." Do what God calls you to do. I
and you are a success, whether you
leave $1,000,000 at death or are buried nt
public expense, whether It takes fifteen '
pnges of nn encyclopedia to tell the
wonucrrul things you have done, or
your name Ib never printed but once,
and that In the death column. But
whatever your success has been, you
are not satisfied with "your life
WOULD TRY IT AGAIN.
We have oil made so many mistakes,
stumbled Into so many blunders, said
so many things thnt ought not to have ,
hpen nnlfl. unit tlnnp on mjinv lhliii?l
that ought not to have been done, that
we can suggest at least 95 per cent of
improvement. Now, would It not be
grand If the good Lord would say to
you: "You can go back and try it over
again. I will, by a word, turn you hair
to black, or brown, or golden, and
smooth all the wrinkles out of your
temple or cheek, and take the bend out
of your shoulders, and extirpate the
stiffness from the Joint, and the rheu
matic twinge from the foot, nnd you
shall be 21 years of age. and Just what ,
you were when you reached that point
before. If the proposition were made
I think many thousands would nc
cept It. I
But some of you would have to go .
back further than to 21 years of nge to I
make n fair start, for there are many
who mannge to get all wrong before
that period Yea, In order to get a fair .
Btart. some would have to go back to .
the father and mother and get them
corrected: yea. to the grandfather and
grandmother, nnd have their life cor-
rected, for some of you ore suffering
from bad hereditary Influences which
stnrted 100 years ago. Well, If your
grandfather lived his life over again,
and your father lived h,ls life over
again, nnd you lived your life over
agnln, what a cluttered-up place this
world would be a place filled with mis
erable attempts at repairs. I bain to
think that It Is better for each genera
tion to have only one chance, and then
for them to pass off and give another
generation a chance. Besides that, If we
were permitted to live life over again,
ltw ould be n stale and stupid exepil
ence. The zest nnd spur and enthusl
nsm of life come from the fact that we
have never been along this road before,
and everything Is new. and we are alert
for what may appear at the next turn
of the road.
AN EMPTY PRIVILEGE.
Suppose you, a man of mld-llfe or
old ace. were, with your present feel
ings nnd large attainments, put back
Into the thirties, or the twenties, or In
the teens, what a nulsnnce you would
be to others, and what an unhnpplness
to yourself! Your contemporaries
would not want you, and you would
not want them. Things thnt In your
previous Journey of life stirred your
healthful ambition, or gave you pleas
urable surprise, or led you Into happy
Interrogation, would only call forth
from you n disgusted "Oh. pshaw!"
You would be blase at thirty, and a
misanthrope at forty, and unendur
able at fifty. The most insane and
stupid thing Imaginable would be a
second Journey of life.
Besides that, if you took life over
again you would have to take its deep
sadnesses over again. Would you want
to try again the griefs and the heart
breaks and the bereavements through
which you have gone? What a mercy
that we shall never be called to suffer
them again! We may have others
bad enough, but those old ones never
again. Would you want to go through
the process of losing your father again,
or your mother again, or your com
panion In life again, or your child
again?
Besides that, would you want to risk
the temptations of life over again?
From the fact that you are here I
conclude that, though in many respects
your life may have been unfortunate
and unconBecrnted, you have got on so
far tolerably well. If nothing more than
tolerable. As for myself though my
life has been far from being as conse
crated to God as 1 would like to have
had It, J would not want to try It over
again, lest next time I would do worse.
FARTHER FROM HEAVEN.
Besides all this, do you know, if you
could have your wish and live life over
again, It would put you so much further
from reunion with your friends In
heaven? If you are In the noon of lite
or the evening of life, you are not very
far from the golden gate at which you
, are to meet your transported and em-
paradlsed ones. You are now, let us
. say, twenty years, or ten years, or oaa
year oft from the celestial conjunction.
Now suppose you went back In your
earthly life thirty years, or forty years,
or fifty years, what nn awful postpone
ment of the time of reunion! It would
be as thoush you w.r irnlncr to San
Francisco to a great banquet nnd you
got to Oakland, four or five miles this
side of It, and then came back to Balti
more to get a better start; as though
you were going to England to be
crowned, and hnvlng come In sight or
the mountains of Wales you put back
to Sandy Hook In order to make a bet
ter voyage. Would you like for many
years to adjourn the songs of heaven,
to adjourn the thrones of heaven, to
adjourn the companionship of heaven,
to adjourn the rest of heaven, to ad
journ the presence of Christ In heavpn'f
No; the wheel of time turns in the
right direction, nnd It is well It turns so
fast. Three hundred and sixty-five rev
olutions in a year and forward, rather
than 365 revolutions in a year and back
ward. But hear yel hear yel while I tell you
how you may practically live your life
over again nnd be all the better for It.
You may put Into the remaining years
of your life ail you hnve learned of wis
dom In your pnst life. You may make
the coming ten years worth the pre
ceding forty or fifty years. When a
man says he would like to live his life
over again because he would do so
much better, and yet goes right on liv
ing as he has always lived, do you not
see he stultifies himself? He proves
that If he could go back he would do
almost the same as he hnB done.
HOW WE ATONE.
Besides that we have all these years
been learning how to be useful, and in
the next decade we ought to accom
plish more for God and the church and
the world than in any previous four
decades. The best way to atone for
past Indolence or pnst transgressions
Is by future assiduity. Yet we often
find Christian men who were not con.
verted until they were 40 or 50, as old
age comes on, saying: "Well, my work
Is about done, nnd It is time for me to
rest." They gave forty years of their
life to Satan and the world, a little frag
ment of their life to God, and now they
want rest. Whether that belongs to
comedy or tragedy I say not.
The man who gave one-half of his
earthly existence to the world and of
the remaining two-quarters one to
Christian work nnd the other to rest,
would not, I suppose, get a very bril
liant reception in heaven. If there are
any dried lenves In heaven they would
be appropriate for his garland; or if
there is any throne with broken steps
it would be appropriate for his corona
tion, or any hnrp with relaxed strings
It would be appropriate for his finger
ing. My brother, you give nine-tenths
of your life to sin nnd Satan, and then
get converted, nnd then rest awhile in
sanctified laziness, nnd then go up to
get your heavenly reward, and I war
rant It will not take the cnshler of the
royal banking house n great while to
count out to you all your dues. He will
not ask you whether you will have It
In blllB of large denomination or small.
I would like to put one sentence of my
sermon in italics, and have It under
scored, and three exclnmatlon points at
the end of the sentence, and that sen
tence Is this: As we cannot live our
lives over ngain, the nearest we can
come to atone for the past Is by re
doubled, holiness and Industry In the
future. If this nil rail train of life hns
been detained nnd switched off nnd Is
far behind the time tnble, the engineer
for the rest of the way must put on
more pressure of stenm and go a mile
a minute In otder to nrrlve at the right
time and plnce, under the approval of
conductor and directors.
CANNOT BE WIPED OUT.
My hearers, the mistakes of youth can
never be corrected. Time gone Is gone
forever. An opportunity passed the
thousandth pnrt of a second Iwb by one
leap reached the other side of n great
eternity. In the nutumn when the
blrdB migrate you look up and see the
sky black with wings, and the flocks
stretching out Into many leagues of air,
and so today I look up and see two
large wings In full sweep. They are
the wings of the flying year. That Is
followed by a flock of 363. and they nre
flying days. Each of the uying days
is iouoweu oy iwenty-iour. and they
are the flying hours, nnd each of these
Is followed by sixty, and these are the
flying minutes. Where did this great
flock stnrt from? Eternity past. Where
are they buuiid? Eternlty-co-come. You
might as well go a-gunnlng for the
quails that whistled last year In the
mendows, or the robins that lnsf year
caroled In the aky, as to try to fetch
down and bag one of the past oppor
tunities of your life. Do not say: "I
will lounge now and make It up after
ward." Young men and boys, you
can't make It up. My observation Is
that those who In youth sowed wild
oats, to the end of their short life
sowed wild onts, and that those who
sturt sowing Genesee wheat always sow
Genesee f.heat.
HARVESTS HIS OATS.
Out yonder is a mnn very old at 40
years of age, at a time when he ought
to be buoyant as the morning. He got
bad habits on him very early and those
habits have become worse. He Is n
man on fire, on fire with alcoholism, on
fire with all evil habits, out of the world
and the world out of him. Down and
falling deeper. His swollen hands In
his threadbare pockets and his eyes
fixed on the ground, he passes through
the street and the quick step of an In
nocent child or the strong Btep of a
young man or the roll of a prosperous
carriage maddens him. nnd he curses
society and he curses God. Fallen sick,
with no resources, he Is carried to the
almshouse. A loathsome spectacle, he
lies all day long waiting for dissolu
tion, or In the night rises on his cot
and fights apparitions of what might
have been and what he will be. He
started Tlfe with as good a prospect as
any man on the American continent,
and there he Is a bloated carcass, wait
ing for the shovels of public charity
to put him five feet under. He has only
reaped what he sowed. Harvest o
wild oats! "There Is a way that seem
eth right to a man, but the end thereof
Is death."
To others life is a masquerade ball,
and as at such entertainments gentle
men and ladles put on the garb of
kings and queens or mountebanks or
clowns and at the close put off the dis
guise, so a great many pass their whole
life in a mask, taking off the mask at
death. While the masquerade ball of
life goes on, they trip merrily over the
floor, gemmed hand Is stretched to
gemmed hand, gleaming, brow bends to
gleaming brow. On with the dance!
I Invlte.you to quit all that and be
gin a new life. Roland went Into bat
tle. Charlemagne's army had been
driven back by the three armies of the
Saracens, and Roland almost in despair
took up the trumpet and blew three
blasts in one of the mountain passes,
and under the power of those three
blasts the Saracens recoiled and fled In
terror. But history says that when he
had blown the third blast Roland's
trumpet broke. I take this trumpet ot
the gospel and I blow the first blast:
"Whatsoever will." I blow the second
blast: "Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found." I blow the third blast:
"Now Is the accepted time."
The beautiful colors seen In the soap
bubble arise frojn the fact that the
bubble, being very thin, reflects light
from both the outer and Inner surfaces
ox tne mm. j
ANTS WAGE SCIENTIFIC WAR.,
They Conduct Strategic Military Operations and with Almost Humao
Skill They Attaokand Defend Fortifications.
The art of war Is understood nnd
practiced by only one kind of animals
besides man. Those animals are ants.
Ants are adepts In Military science.
They know the whole business, from a
guerrilla movement to the siege of
a fortified city. Not all onts are war
like, It is true, but many species are
extremely so, and of these the best
example 1b furnished by the Ecitons.
The Ecitons may be called exclusively
military, inasmuch as they have no
permanent homes, but spend nearly
all their time In warlike expeditions.
Some species are found in Texas
and elsewhere In the United States, nut
they are most numerous In Brazil. Their
armies often nmber millions, and move
In serried columns. Nothing living can
successfully oppose them, and the larg
est, fiercest creatures of the tropical
forests fly before them to escape being
devoured. Wherever they move the
whole animal world Is set in commo
tion and put to precipitate rout. The
main body if the army of Ecitons, as
It moves forward in steady, disciplined
march, is made up of the weaker ants,
so called, though they ore fighters ob
well us tollers. For every 1,000 workers
there are perhaps fifty "soldier" ants,
which are the same breed, but specially
built for fighting purposes, hnvlng enor
mouB ned nnd powerful Jaws.
These soldiers never carry anything.
or attend any other business apparent
ly, but trot along on the flanks of the
column, being distributed at regular In
tervals like subaltern officers. Their
shining white heads make them very
conspicuous, bobbling up and down as
the regiments pass over inequalities In
the rond.
An army of Ecitons, as It moveB for
ward, clears the ground of all animal
matter, dead or alive. Every living
creature that can get out of the way
does so. It Is especially the various
tribes of wingless Insects that have
cause to fear, such as maggots, cater
plllers, etc. If a man making his way
mrougn the tropical forest happens u
encounter a marching column of these
ants he is instantly attacked.
Numbers of the ferocious Insects
swarm up his legs, and wherever they
find a bare spot they attack It, each
one driving Its plncer-llke Jaws into the
skin, nnd stinging with its tall with
all Its might. The Eclton stings like a
bee, being strictly "business" at both
ends. There Is nothing for the man to
do but to run for it. nnd when he gets to
a plnce of safety he proceeds, to pluck
off Insects one by one.
Dr. H. W. Bates, In his work entitled
"A Naturalist on the River Amazon."
describes an attack of a column of
Ecitons upon a fortress I. e., a great
mound-bhnped communal dwelling of
nnother species of ants. The army be
gan Its assault upon the works -In' a
most systematic manner, excavating a
series of mines.
Operations were so thoroughly organ
ized that some of the nssnllnnts did the
digging, while others carried away the
grains of earth, and others yet brought
out the Inrvne of young ants which
were found in the chambers of the
structure besieged. As fast as the
larvae were brought out they were
torn to pices, their weight being too
heavy for a single Eclton to bear.
The Ecitons nre very small ants,
though in seme i-pecles the big-headed
PICTURESQUE FIGHTERS.
In the days when It wna" esteemed
almost the only general trade, soldiers
of fortune were common enough, for
they could fill their pockete while wear
ing a sword. But In these degenerate
times, when war is considered a bore,
and fighting bad form, these enterprls.
ing gentlemen hnve but one solitary
representative left at the end of the
century and his name will be presently
given.
The Latins have produced most of
these long-headed swashbucklers: the
Anglo-Saxons and the Teutons have
made only a few, though brilliant con
tributions to the list. And even If
thesA, aspiring persons did fill their
pockets, It can not be denied that they
had a true and gentlemanlike taste
for fighting and took actual pleasure
In uprooting governments, knocking
down dynasties and slashing nround
generally. Plzarro and Cortez, the best
examples of their tribe and who shall
sny they were not considerable fellows?
But Maurice, Count Saxe, was about
as big a man as any In his business of
fighting for love of it, and Incidentally
feathering his nest with gold and hon
ors. He was a perfect beauty of a
man. Irresistible among the ladles, and
TTVcrloi-lnLr iho (Irani unlit nf him: "This
general could teach all the generals
in Europe."
Perhaps this count, afterward Mar
shal Saxe, did not himself exactly know
where his allegiance belonged when he
first drew his sword. The son of the
beautiful Auprora von Konlgsmark and
Augustus, elector of Saxony nnd aft
erward king of Poland, his original na
tionality was very much mixed. He
was but 2 years aid when, In 1708, he
ran away to Join Marlborough's army,
and had a fine time In Flanders for a
year or two. Things, however, not go
ing to suit him, in mi ne transierreu
himself to the united nrmles-of Russia
nn,i Pninnd. then firhtlnc Charles XII.
of Sweden. As long as there was fight
ing to be aone tne .ouni oiuurice en
Joyed himself very much. Things, how
ever, quieting down, he returned to Po
land, where he fought gallantly In civil
wars until 1720. By that time being 24
years old, he was a veteran not only
In war. but In love, and hnvlng dlsin
cumbered himself of a wife whom he
had taken In a moment of rashness, he
went to Paris, where he belonged. For
six years he had a glorious good time,
smashing hearts and studying what
remained for him to learn In the art of
wn" .
Six years of Paris peace having bored
him, however, In 1726 he got himself
elected Duke of Courtland. He had
the pleasure of fighting both the Poles
nnd Russians a whole year. They were
too many for him, though, and he re
turned to Paris, where he .Joined the
army of that other gallant adventurer,
the Duke of Berwick, natural son of
James II., of England. From that on
the life of Marshal Saxe was one long
carnival of Joy In victory. He was
equally great In fighting and maneuver
ing. He Deal nis enemies in me neiu,
and when they locked themselves up In
fortified cities he sat down In front of
them, and before they know It were
forced to capitulate. He had the ex
qulslte pleasure of beating the Duke
of Cumberland witn nis j-.ngii3n, uuicn
and Austrlana at the battle of Fon-
I tenoy, that famous battle where the
, French politely requested the gentle-
I man nt thn minrd In fire first. Bv that
time he was a marshal of France, and
having led a very gay life, with much
eating and drlnklng.he was so far gone
in iirnnnv thnt hp could net mount a
I horse, but had to be carried about In
a Utter. XIUS uiu nui prevent mm.
(i.oiit-Vi frnm hpntlne nil the trenprnls
. who opposed him, and taking all the
"soldiers" are as much as half an Inch
long. When the fort had been com
pletely looted the column murcheO.
away, laden with the mangled remains-,
of the victims. These were doubtless
conveyed to some convenient place, to
be eaten at leisure.
It Is not to be supposed that there
was no denfense made by the tribe or
ants thus ruthlessly attacked; on the
contrary, the resistance offered wafc.
very fierce. In ant wars generally the
greatert pugnacity and courage are ex
hibited, the contest lasting sometimes,
for days, and the weaker party ulti
mately succumbing from sheer exhaus
tion nnd decimation. Fighting ants
will suffer themselves to be cut to
pieces rather than let go when they
have once slezed an enemy.
In Brazil there Is a kind of ant that,
captures and enslaves ants of other
species. This is a formidable Insect,
Indeed, Its method of combat being to
grasp the head of the foe in Its Jaws,
and to kill by piercing the brain, thus
paralyzing the nervous system. Owing:
to the efficiency of these tactics a com
paratively small force of the slave-making
ants will fearlessly attack much,
larger armies. Buffering scarcely any
loss themselves.
Now and then fierce wars occur be
tween two colonies of hai vesting ants,
which Bend out armies against each,
other. The common pavement ants,
which throw up little hills of gravel
between paving stones and In gardens,
are great fighters, and sometimes war
breaks out between two communities,
of them that live only a foot or two
apart. Sush conflicts are apt to be
started by the intrusion of members oC
one colony Into the subterranean gal
leries of the other.
Ants generally, when at war, make
It a rule to curry their wounded off the
field of battle, but the Injured of jthe
enemy they leave to die or take away
to eat. Customarily, they bury their
dead after a fight.
Those species of onts who have no
sting possess nevertheless a tall-gland
that secretes formic acid, which evi
dently Is disagreeable and perhaps
poisonous to Insects of this order. If the
top of one of the mounds of the so
called mound-building ants be knocked,
off, Immediately the creatures rush by
myriads to the defense of their dwell
ing. The observer, watching from a.
short distance, can then see, If he holds;
his eye nt the proper level, a sort or
fine spray or mist rising from the
broken mound. This Is formic acid,
which the Insects are discharging to
drive off the enemy.
While ench nation of ants has Its
standing nrmy, the notion of nn ant
navy seems hardly creditable. Yet a.
well known naturalist says that on one
occasion, he saw a formidable body or
military ants embark on n lot of chips
that were flontlng slowly down t.
stream, subsequently landing at a polnu
a considerable distance below and pro
ceeding on what appeared to be tact.
On the same day that Prof. Dewar
liquefied hydrogen he also liquefied he
lium, a rare gas which has lutheito
resisted all attempts upon it. The boil
ing point of liquid helium Is very close
to that of liquid hydrogen.
towns which resisted him, until the
pence of Alx-la-Chapelle placed France
en a pinnacle of glory. He lived until
1750, enjoying himself toleinbly, after
his dayp of active seivlce were ovei. Ht
had accumulated a handsome tuitun.
and had received ull the honors kings
und people could show him. Although
the worst speller that ever lived untifc
Andrew Jackson came to dispute the
honor, Marshal Saxe wrote a very line
book, for which the French Academy
proposed to elect him a member. This.
however, he declined in a letter fulf
of bnd grammar, worse spelling and
extreme good sense. Marshal saxe was
an ornament to the profession of sol
dleis of fortune.
The greatest Englishman In the busi
ness was unduubttdiy Lcrtl Cllve, Baror
of Plassey the man that the elder Pitt
described as a "heaven-born general,"
and of whom Macuulay says no man
except Napoleon Bonaparte ever dis
played such military sagacity at the
age of 25. He was an English country
boy, rather dull at his books, but of a,
fighting and predatory disposition al
ways. In 1744 his family shipped him to
India to get rid of him. For three
years he was chained to a clerk's desk.
This man, born to fight nnd conquer
the mighty empire of India and to ad
minister to governments greater in ter
ritory and population than In Europe,
Then he was given a cornet's commis
sion in the handful of English troops
then employed by the East Idnla com
pany. At that time 1748-51 it looked)
as If the English were about to be
driven out of India and the French
were to dominate In the east. The na
tives were up In arms against the Eng
lish. They were almost as far removed!
from England as if they had been or
nnother planet; their case was so des
perate that only a "transcendent mane
like young Clive would have seriously
expected to conquer. He, however, con
ceived an original scheme of marching:
against Arcot, a city of 1,500 men, a.
few of them Frenchmen, but mostly
natives. Cllve's originality consisted Ire
undertaking this with about 200 British
Infantry and 300 Sepoys. The queerest
part of It was that he succeeded the
men in the fort were panic-stricken, and:
Arcot became his.
Cllve's career after this requires the
pen of a Victor Hugo. He syept like a. ,
tornado from one stupendous victory to
nnother. He terrorized the Indian rul
ers so that one of them declared that
he made three salaams to Cllve's Jack
ass every morning. He destroyed the
hordes of native soldiers led against
him by gallant Frenchmen as the scythe
mows down the ripe wheat.
An amusing thing hapened to a very
smart weding not far from London the
other day. The bride's parents sent to
some fashionable city florists to decor
ate the chancel of the parish church,
but when the bridal party arrived not 8
flower was visible, and the place was as-,
bare as a barn. Indignation and sur
prise consumed all concerned, nnd vio
lent Inquiries were sent by wire to the
fashionable florists to learn why they
had failed to obey Instructions. The
answer came In due time with the bill,
and on Inquiry It was dlsAivered thut
the smart 2 o'clock nuptials had beei
preceded by another earlier wedding.
The florists had arrived Just before
and profusely adorned the church, but
as soon as the ceremony was over, sup
posing It to be "the" wedding for which
they were engaged, they carefully re
moved all the decorations and bundled1
them off to town. The moral of which
is: Don't leave bride arrangements to
hirelings, and send the be3t man or
a bridemald to inspect the parish
church before the bride starta off for
It
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