The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Read online

  CHAPTER I

  THE IRISHMAN AND HIS PIG

  "You're too noisy, Dennis."

  "What's the harm?" replied Dennis O'Hara as he stopped a moment andlooked all about him. "There are no Johnnies around here."

  "You don't know whether there are or not," retorted Noel Curtis sharply,as he too glanced in either direction along the dusty road over whichthe two young soldiers were tramping that September day in 1862. Bothwere clad in the uniform of the Union army, and the manner in which theycarried their rifles gave evidence of the fact that both young soldierswere well known in the army of General McClellan for their skill assharpshooters.

  "'Tis nothing I'm afraid of now," said Dennis gleefully, as he shiftedfrom one shoulder to the other the body of a small pig which he hadsecured in his foraging expedition with his companions.

  The day was one to stir the souls of both young men, who were thoroughlywearied by the routine of the camp life at Harper's Ferry, where theyhad been stationed with about eight thousand other Union soldiers. Therewas a haze in the distance that covered the summits of the hills andeven the waters of the near-by stream seemed to be subdued as theyrushed on their way to join the Potomac.

  "'Tis a fine day," exclaimed Dennis; and at once he began to sing,--

  "My rations are S.B., Taken from porkers three Thousand years old; And hard-tack cut and dried Long before Noah died,-- From what wars left aside Ne'er can be told."

  "What do you mean by 'S.B.'?" laughed Noel.

  "Sometimes 'tis said to mean 'salt bacon,' and then again maybe 'tis'salt beef,' and sometimes we call it 'soaked beans.' Whatever it is Ihave had my fill of it. Shure, Noel, me boy, it's you and I that will befeasting ourselves on some roast pork before to-morrow mornin'."

  "Look at those pickaninnies!" exclaimed Noel, as he pointed to a littlehut from which a stream of black-faced urchins appeared, who wererushing to join their companions in the road and watch the twoapproaching Union soldiers.

  "Wait 'til I sing them a song, too," exclaimed Dennis; and once more hebegan to sing,--

  "Ole massa run, ha! ha! De darkies stay, ho! ho! It must be now dat de kingdom's comin' And de year of Jubilo."

  In addition to the crowd of dusky-faced children several older negroesnow joined the group to watch the passing Union soldiers. The boys inblue were still such a novelty to many of the slaves that theirappearance usually served to summon speedily a band of the admiringdusky spectators.

  Dennis, unfamiliar with the colored people and their ways, had neverceased to express his dislike of them. Many a time in the camp when thesoldier boys had wanted to have a little sport they would call uponDennis to "cuss the niggers," by which term they described Dennis'soratorical efforts. Standing upon the head of a barrel, or mounting somebox near the quarters of the sutler, with his ready tongue Dennispromptly poured forth a steady stream of almost meaningless words thatwere supposed to be descriptive of his feeling of antipathy toward thepeople for whose liberty he was fighting.

  In the company of negroes at this time assembled to watch the passing ofthe two young soldiers there was one woman, manifestly an oldfield-hand, whose size was so immense as to be impressive. Theadmiration with which the woman gazed upon Dennis was returned in theexpression of astonishment with which the young Irish soldier stared atthis huge negress.

  "Shure, Noel," he exclaimed to his friend in a loud whisper, "'tis notan ounce liss than four hundred pounds she weighs."

  Noel laughed and did not reply as he looked again at the strange woman.Her cheeks hung down almost to her shoulders, and her immense lower lip,which appeared to be nearly an inch in thickness, and her hair, which inappearance was not unlike the tail of a horse after the animal has beenfeeding in some field where cockles abound, increased the weirdexpression with which she beamed upon the approaching boys.

  All of the negroes by this time were becoming more and more excited.Their eyes seemed almost to protrude from their faces. They soon beganto sing and dance, and mingled with the strange noises were the wild andweird shouts they occasionally uttered. The huge negress was the wildestof all.

  Neither of the approaching soldiers looked at the spectacle with anyother thought than that of curiosity. To both of them up to the time oftheir enlistment a negro had been a rare sight. Since they had enteredthe army, of course they naturally had come frequently in contact withthe dusky slaves. And the contrabands also on many occasions had flockedinto the camps, confidently expecting to be sent North by their soldierfriends.

  Suddenly the huge negress abruptly started toward the young soldiers.Swinging her arms as she ran, she swiftly approached the boys, who hadstopped abruptly when they first discovered her action.

  "Bress de Lor'! Bress de Lor'! Yo's de ones we's been prayin' fo' desefo' yeahs! Lor' bress ye, honey! I lub ye! I lub ye!" she added in herexcitement, as she lunged toward Dennis, who was the particular objectof her attack.

  For a moment the startled young Irishman gazed in mingled disgust andfear at the huge negress, who was rapidly approaching. Then without aword of explanation Dennis O'Hara, who on the battle-field had beenbrave almost beyond the power of description, abruptly turned and fledfrom the excited negress. A wild shout from the assemblage followed hisunexpected departure, and even Noel was compelled to laugh when he sawthe huge woman start in swift and awkward pursuit of the fleeingsoldier.

  Unwilling to let go his hold upon the pig, which he had secured in hisforaging, Dennis was greatly hampered in his flight. With long stridesthe black woman gained rapidly upon him. Once Dennis emitted a loudwhoop of terror or warning, Noel was unable to decide which.

  The excitement of the negroes became more marked as it was seen that theefforts of Dennis to escape were unavailing. Nearer and nearer came theexcited black woman, and in a brief time she flung her great arms aboutDennis, who was helpless to protect himself, as he still was unwillingto let go his hold upon his prize.

  "Lor' bress ye, honey!" shouted the woman as she clasped the unwillingsoldier in her arm. "Bress de Lor'! Bress de Lor'! We hab bin prayin'fo' yo' dese fo' yeahs! M--m--m--"

  Her grasp evidently became more vigorous and her enthusiasm more markedas the plight of the helpless soldier became more manifest. The watchingnegroes, almost hilarious by this time, started toward the place wherethe exciting scene was being enacted.

  What the outcome might be now began to trouble even Noel, who rapidlyadvanced to the side of his friend, and shouted to the approachingblacks, "Keep back! Keep back!"

  The negroes, however, either were too excited or were unwilling at firstto heed the request, and in a screaming, laughing, shouting mob theystill pressed forward.

  The negress, as has been said, apparently a field-hand, was possessed ofgreat physical strength, and it was plain that Dennis was unable toprotect or even release himself as long as he held to the body of thepig.

  As Noel approached, Dennis shouted excitedly to him, "Take the porker,Noel, me boy! Take me gun, too! Help me out o' this!"

  "Bress ye, honey! We hab bin waitin' fo' yeahs fo' yo' to come! We'sbeen prayin' all de time and when I hear yo' singin' about 'Ole massarun, ha! ha!' and 'De darkies stay, ho! ho!' den I des know de kingdomwas come shore 'nuff and de yeah of Jubilo was right yere!"

  Too angry to respond, Dennis waited until Noel had relieved him of hisgun and the pig, and then with one violent effort freed himself from thegrasp of the excited black woman.

  When she made as if she was about to approach him once more and renewher expression of delight over the coming of the boys in blue, Dennissuddenly seized the little pig that Noel was holding and swinging itwith all his strength struck the woman with it upon the side of herface.

  The effect of his effort, however, was plainly not more than to causethe huge mass of flesh to stop a moment, but not to abandon the effortsin which the negress was engaged. Again Dennis drew back the little pigand again struck at his tormentor. His second effort, however, like hisfirst, was
unable to check the fervor of the powerful woman. Theremaining negroes now were almost upon the struggling pair. The fear inNoel's heart that some harm might come to Dennis or to himself becamereal.

  "Stand back there!" he shouted. "Don't come any nearer!"

  At his word the crowd halted and, quickly taking advantage of theinterval, Noel said, "This woman says you have been praying for fouryears for us to come."

  "Yas, suh! Yas, suh! We shore has! Dis yere is de Jubilo, shore 'nuff!Shore 'nuff! Ole massa goin' to run, and de darkies goin' to stay!"

  "Do you know that song?" inquired Noel.

  "We shore does! Yas, suh! Yas, suh! We knows it!"

  "Then I want you to stand up by the side of the road and sing it whilewe march back to camp."

  Laughingly the dusky crowd arranged themselves in lines along theroadside according to Noel's bidding. Even the huge negress, after somepersuasion, reluctantly took her stand at the head of the line on theright.

  "Now, then, everybody sing!" called Noel, after he had whispered toDennis, "Take your gun and pig and start out of this, but don't try tobe in too much of a hurry."

  "All right," he called loudly, as he passed the negress. There was alaughing response and instantly Noel and Dennis, as they quicklyadvanced began to sing,--

  "Ole massa run, ha! ha! De darkies stay, ho! ho! It must be now dat de kingdom's comin' And de year ob Jubilo."

  Glancing neither to the right nor left the two soldiers steadily movedforward and in a brief time passed beyond the strange assembly on theroadside.

  "Is she after me, lad?" whispered Dennis loudly, glancing anxiouslybehind him.

  "I don't think so," replied Noel, "but I shan't look back just yet. Idon't hear anybody coming and they are singing like mad back there yet."

  "Just listen to them, will you!" he added as there came from the crowdan increased volume of sound, which was somewhat indicative of theexcitement that possessed the assembly.

  "I guess we 're all right now," Noel said a few minutes later when theyhad turned a bend in the road and their admirers no longer were to beseen.

  "Now, Noel, me boy," said Dennis, "I want ye to promise me something."

  "What's that?" inquired Noel quizzically, although he was confident thathe understood what the request of his companion was to be.

  "I want ye to promise me that ye'll kape what happened here a sacret.'Tis just between you and me, me boy."

  "Oh, but, Dennis," suggested Noel, "think what fun the boys in the campwill miss if we don't tell them what the black woman did."

  "Shure, you won't tell on me!" Dennis pleaded as he stopped a moment andgazed anxiously at his companion.

  "I shall have to think about that," replied Noel mockingly.

  The expression of consternation that appeared for a moment on the faceof his companion caused the young soldier to laugh heartily.

  "Why don't you tell them about it yourself, Dennis?" he asked abruptly.

  "Niver!" replied the young Irish soldier. "'Tis one of the sacrets Ishall niver tell, not aven to me mither. But I want to feel that youwill help me to kape the sacret."

  "I'll agree not to tell it to-night," said Noel at last.

  "Well, I suppose I'll have to be contint wid that, thin," respondedDennis. "But let me tell ye wan thing, Noel Curtis. If I find the storyever does lake out, I shall know where it came from and the fellow thattells on me will want to go to the surgeon to be put together. Indadean' he will that!"

  "He won't if he gets that black woman here to help him," laughed Noel."Now, how are you going to get that pig into the camp? You know what thecolonel said about foraging, and what he told us would happen to the boywho tried it, after such strict orders had been given against it."

  "Shure, and I'll give the colonel a piece o' the rib o' me pig. When heonce swallows that he'll forget all about his orders."

  "I'm not so sure about that," said Noel good-naturedly. "But here we arealmost back to camp, and you'll have a chance to try it out in a littlewhile."