CHAPTER X. TRADING WITH THE REBS
THE BOYS HAVE SOME FRIENDLY COMMERCE WITH THE REBEL PICKETS.
THE 200th Ind. Volunteer Infantry had been pushed out to watch thecrossings of Duck River and the movements of the rebels on the southbank of that narrow stream. The rebels, who had fallen into theincurable habit of objecting to everything that the "Yankees" did,seemed to have especial and vindictive repugnance to being watched.
Probably no man, except he be an actor or a politician, likes to bewatched, but few ever showed themselves as spitefully resentful ofobservation as the rebels.
Co. Q was advanced to picket the north bank of the river, but the momentit reached the top of the hill overlooking the stream it had to deployas skirmishers, and Enfield bullets began to sing viciously about itsears.
"Looks as if them fellers think we want to steal their old river andsend it North," said Shorty, as he reloaded his gun after firing at apuff of smoke that had come out of the sumach bushes along the fence atthe foot of the hill. "They needn't be so grouchy. We don't want theirriver--only to use it awhile. They kin have it back agin after we'rethrough with it."
"Blamed if that feller didn't make a good line{137} shot," said Si,glancing up just above his head to where a twig had been clipped offthe persimmon tree behind which he was standing. "He put up his sights alittle too fur, or he'd 'a' got me."
Si took careful aim at where he supposed the lurking marksman to be andfired.
There was a waving of the tops of the bushes, as if the men concealedthere had rushed out.
"Guess we both landed mighty close," said Shorty triumphantly. "Theyseem to have lost interest in this piece o' sidehill, anyway."
He and Si made a rush down the hill, and gained the covert of the fencejust in time to see the rails splintered by a bunch of shots strikingthem.
"Lay down, Yanks!" called out Shorty cheerily, dropping into the weeds."Grab a root!"
To the right of them they could see the rest of Co. Q going throughsimilar performances.
Si and Shorty pushed the weeds aside, crawled cautiously to the fence,and looked through. There was a road on the other side of the fence,and beyond it a grove of large beech trees extending to the bank of theriver. Half concealed by the trunk of one of these stood a tall, rathergood-looking young man, with his gun raised and intently peering intothe bushes. He had seen the tops stir, and knew that his enemies hadgained their cover. He seemed expecting that they would climb the fenceand jump down into the road. At a little distance to his right could beseen other men on the sharp lookout.
Shorty put his hand on Si to caution and repress{138} him.
With his eyes fixed on the rebel, Shorty drew his gun toward him. Thehammer caught on a trailing vine, and, forgetting himself, he gave it animpatient jerk. It went off, the bullet whistling past Shorty's head andthe powder burning his face.
The rebel instantly fired in return, and cut the leaves about four feetabove Shorty.
"Purty good shot that, Johnny," called out Shorty as he reloaded hisgun; "but too low. It went between my legs. You hain't no idee how tallI am."
"If I couldn't shoot no better'n you kin on a sneak," answered therebel, his rammer ringing in his gun-barrel, "I wouldn't handlefirearms. Your bullet went a mile over my head. Must've bin shootin' atan angel. But you Yanks can't shoot nary bit--you're too skeered."
"I made you hump out o' the bushes a few minutes ago," replied Shorty,putting on a cap. "Who was skeered then? You struck for tall timber likea cotton-tailed rabbit."
"I'll rabbit ye, ye nigger-lovin' whelp," shouted the rebel. "Takethat," and he fired as close as he could to the sound of Shorty's voice.
Shorty had tried to anticipate his motion and fired first, but the limbsbothered his aim, and his bullet went a foot to the right of the rebel'shead. It was close enough, however, to make the rebel cover himselfcarefully with the tree.
"That was a much better shot, Yank," he called out. "But ye orter do apowerful sight better'n that on a sneak. Ye'd never kill no deer, norrebels nuthor, with that kind o' shootin'. You Yanks are{139} great onthe sneak, but that's all the good it does, yet ye can't shoot fer ahandful o' huckleberries."
"Sneaks! Can't shoot!" roared Shorty. "I kin outshoot you or any otherman in Jeff Davis's kingdom. I dare you to come out from behind yourtree, and take a shot with me in the open, accordin' to Hardee'stactics. Your gun's empty; so's mine. My chum here'll see fair play; andyou kin bring your chum with you. Come out, you skulkin' brindle pup,and shoot man fashion, if you dare."{140}
"Ye can't dare me, ye nigger-stealin' blue-belly," shouted the rebel inreturn, coming out from behind his tree. Shorty climbed over the fenceand stood at the edge of the road, with his gun at order arms. Si cameout on Shorty's left, and a rebel appeared to the right of the first.For a minute all stood in expectancy. Then Shorty spoke:
"I want nuthin' but what's fair. Your gun's empty; so's mine. Youprobably know Hardee's tactics as well as I do."
"I'm up in Hardee," said the rebel with a firm voice.
"Well, then," continued Shorty, "let my chum here call off the ordersfor loadin' and firin', and we'll both go through 'em, and shoot at theword."
"Go ahead--I'm agreed," said the rebel briefly.
Shorty nodded to Si.
"Carry arms," commanded Si.
Both brought their guns up to their right sides.
"Present arms."
Both courteously saluted.
"Load in nine times--Load," ordered Si.
Both guns came down at the same instant, each man grasped his muzzlewith his left hand, and reached for his cartridge-box, awaiting the nextorder.
"Handle cartridges."
"Tear cartridges."
"Charge cartridges," repeated Si slowly and distinctly. The rebel'ssecond nodded approval of his knowledge of the drill, and sang out:
"Good soldiers, all of yo'uns."
"Draw rammer," continued Si,{141}
"Turn rammer."
"Ram cartridge."
Shorty punctiliously executed the three blows on the cartridge exactedby the regulations, and paused a breath for the next word. The rebelhad sent his cartridge home with one strong thrust, but he saw hisopponent's act and waited.
"Return rammer," commanded Si. He was getting a little nervous, butShorty deliberately withdrew his rammer, turned it, placed one end inthe thimbles, deliberately covered the head with his little finger,exactly as the tactics prescribed, and sent it home with a singlemovement. The rebel had a little trouble in returning rammer, and Shortyand Si waited.
"Cast about,"
"Prime!"
Both men capped at the same instant.
"Ready!"
Shorty cocked his piece and glanced at the rebel, whose gun was at hisside.
"Aim!"
Both guns came up like a flash.
THE DUEL. 139]
Si's heart began thumping at a terrible rate. He was far more alarmedabout Shorty than he had ever been about himself. Up to this moment hehad hoped that Shorty's coolness and deliberation would "rattle" therebel and make him fire wildly. But the latter, as Si expressed itafterward, "seemed to be made of mighty good stuff," and it looked as ifboth would be shot down.
"Fire!" shouted Si, with a perceptible tremor in his voice.{142}
Both guns flashed at the same instant. Si saw Shorty's hat fly off, andhim stagger and fall, while the rebel dropped his gun, and clapped hishand to his side. Si ran toward Shorty, who instantly sprang up again,rubbing his head, from which came a faint trickle of blood.
"He aimed at my head, and jest scraped my scalp," he said. "Where'd Ihit him? I aimed at his heart, and had a good bead."
"You seem to have struck him in the side," answered Si, looking at therebel. "But not badly, for he's still standin' up. Mebbe you broke arib though."
"Couldn't, if he's still up. I must file my trigger Gun pulls too hard.I had a dead aim on his heart, but I seem to've pulled too much to theright."
r /> "Say, I'll take a turn with you," said Si, picking up his gun andmotioning with his left hand at the other rebel.
"All right," answered the other promptly. "My gun ain't loaded, though."
"I'll wait for you," said Si, looking at the cap on his gun. A loudcheer was heard from far to the right, and Co. Q was seen coming forwardon a rush, with the rebels in front running back to the river bank.Several were seen to be overtaken and forced to surrender.
The two rebels in front of the boys gave a startled look at theircomrades, then at the boys, and turned to run. Si raised his gun toorder them to halt.
"No," said Shorty. "Let 'em go. It was a fair bargain, and I'll stick toit. Skip out Johnnies, for every cent you're worth."{143}
The rebels did not wait for the conclusion of the sentence, but followedtheir comrades with alacrity.
The boys ran forward through the woods to the edge of the bank, and sawtheir opponents climbing up the opposite bank and getting behind thesheltering trees. Si waited till his particular one got good shelterbehind a large sycamore, and then sent a bullet that cut closely abovehis head.
This was the signal for a general and spiteful fusillade from both sidesof the river and all along the line. The rebels banged away as if inred-hot wrath at being run across the stream, and Co. Q retortedwith such earnestness that another company was sent forward to itsassistance, but returned when the Irish Lieutenant, who had gone forwardto investigate, reported:
"Faith, its loike the divil shearing a hog--all cry and no wool at all."
So it was. Both sides found complete shelter behind the giant trunksof the trees, and each fired at insignificant portions of the anatomyallowed to momentarily protrude beyond the impenetrable boles.
After this had gone on for about half an hour those across the riverfrom Si and Shorty called out:
"Say, Yanks, ye can't shoot down a beech tree with a Springfield musket,nohow ye kin do it. If we'uns hain't killin' more o' yo'uns than yo'unsis a-killin' o' we'uns, we'uns air both wastin' a powerful lot o' powderan' lead and good shootin'. What d' yo'uns say to King's excuse forawhile?"
"We're agreed," said Si promptly, stepping from{144} behind the tree,and leaving his gun standing against it.
"Hit's a go," responded the rebels, coming out disarmed. "We'uns won'tshoot no more till ordered, an' then'll give yo'uns warnin' fust."
THE OVERTURE FOR TRADE. 144]
"All right; we'll give you warning before we shoot," coincided Si.
"Say, have yo'uns got any Yankee coffee that{145} you'll trade for agood plug o' terbacker?" inquired the man whom Si had regarded as hisparticular antagonist.
"Yes," answered Si. "We've got a little. We'll give you a cupful for along plug with none cut off."
"What kind of a cupful?" asked the bartering "Johnny."
"A big, honest cupful. One o' this kind," said Si, showing his.
"All right. Hit's to be strike measure," said the rebel. "Here's theplug," and he held up a long plug of "natural leaf."
"O. K.," responded Si. "Meet me half way."
The truce had quickly extended, and the firing suspended all along theline of Co. Q. The men came out from behind their trees, and sat down onthe banks in open view of one another.
Si filled his cup "heaping-full" with coffee, climbed down the bank andwaded out into the middle of the water. The rebel met him there, whilehis companion and Shorty stood on the banks above and watched the trade.
"Y're givin' me honest measure, Yank," said the rebel, looking at thecup. "Now, if ye hain't filled the bottom o' yer cup with coffeethat's bin biled before, I'll say y're all right. Some o' yo'uns air sodod-gasted smart that y' poke off on we'uns coffee that's bin alreadybiled, and swindle we'uns."
"Turn it out and see," said Si.
The rebel emptied the cup into a little bag, carefully scrutinizingthe stream as it ran in. It was all fine, fragrant, roasted and groundcoffee.{146}
"Lord, thar's enough t' last me a month with keer," said the rebel,gazing unctuously at the rich brown grains. "I won't use more'n aspoonful a day, an' bile hit over twice. Yank, here's yer terbacker.I've made a good trade. Here's a Chatanooga paper I'll throw in to boot.Got a Northern paper about ye anywhar?"
Si produced a somewhat frayed Cincinnati Gazette.
"I can't read myself," said the rebel, as he tucked the paper away."Never l'arned to. Pap wuz agin hit. Said hit made men lazy. He goterlong without readin', and raised the biggest fambly on Possum Crick.But thar's a feller in my mess kin read everything but the big words,and I like t' git a paper for him to read to the rest o' we'uns."
"Was your pardner badly hurt by mine's shot?" asked Si.
"No. The bullet jest scraped the bone. He'll be likely to have a stitchin his side for awhile, but he's a very peart man, and won't mind that.I'm s'prised he didn't lay your pardner out. He's the best shot in ourcompany."
"Well, he was buckin' agin a mighty good shot, and I'm surprised yourpardner's alive. I wouldn't 've given three cents for him when Shortydrawed down on him; but Shorty's bin off duty for awhile, and his gun'snot in the best order. Howsumever, I'm awful glad that it come out as itdid. His life's worth a dozen rebels."
"The blazes you say. I'd have you know, Yank, that one Confederit iswuth a whole rijimint o' Lincoln hirelings. I'll--"{147}
"O, come off--come off--that's more o' your old five-to-one gas," saidSi irritatingly. "I thought we'd walloped that dumbed nonsense out o'your heads long ago. We've showed right along that, man for man, we're asight better'n you. We've always licked you when we've had anything likea fair show. At Stone River you had easy two men to our one, and yit wegot away with you."
"'Tain't so. It's a lie. If hit wuzzent for the{148} Dutch and Irish youhire, you couldn't fight we'uns at all."
"Look here, reb," said Si, getting hot around the ears, "I'm neither aDutchman nor an Irishman; we hain't a half dozen in our company. I'ma better man than you've got in your regiment. Either me or Shorty kinlick any man you put up; Co. Q kin lick your company single-handed andeasy; the 200th Injianny kin lick any regiment in the rebel army. Toprove it, I kin lick you right here."
SI WANTS A FIGHT 147]
Si thrust the plug of tobacco into his blouse pocket and began rollingup his sleeves.
The rebel did not seem at all averse to the trial and squared off athim. Then Shorty saw the belligerent attitude and yelled:
"Come, Si. Don't fight there. That's no place. If you're goin' to fight,come up on level ground, where it kin be fair and square. Come up here,or we'll go over there."
"O, come off," shouted the rebel on the other side. "Don't be a fool,Bill. Fist-foutin' don't settle nothin'. Come back here and git your gunif ye want to fout. But don't le's fout no more to-day. Thar's plenty ofit for ter-morrer. Le's keep quiet and peaceful now. I want powerfullyto take a swim. Air you fellers agreed?"
"Yes; yes," shouted Shorty. "You fellers keep to your side o' the river,and we will to ours."
The agreement was carried into instantaneous effect, and soon both sidesof the stream were filled with laughing, romping, splashing men.
There was something very exhilarating in the cool, clear, mountainwater of the stream. The boys{149} got to wrestling, and Si came offvictorious in two or three bouts with his comrades.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo," he shouted, imitating the crow of a rooster. "I kinduck any man in the 200th Injianny."
The challenge reached the ears of the rebel with whom Si had traded. Hewas not satisfied with the result of his conference.
"You kin crow over your fellers, Yank," he shouted; "but you dassentcome to the middle an' try me two falls outen three."
Si immediately made toward him. They surveyed each other warily for aminute to get the advantages of the first clinch, when a yell came fromthe rebel side:
"Scatter, Confeds! Hunt yer holes, Yanks! The Cunnel's a-comin'."
Both sides ran up their respective banks, snatched up their guns, tooktheir places behind their trees,
and opened a noisy but harmless fire.
{150}