The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 346: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

= eS eee ee 340 >. THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. been so knocked about by wind, storm, and cannon- shot, that it was scarcely sea-worthy. the iron-clad, however, I shall give the enemy ‘ pepper,’ you may be sure. pil ea uses CHAPTER ®CXIV, YANKEE SAM—THE SCOUT AND SPY — STIRRING | /” 7) RDVENTURES, 179 e THE next letter which, Captain, Frank opened proved to be, an, order from Juarez, which.commanded him to Jeave the part he was, then..guarding,and to descend: the river,as,fast-as possible, for the French were about, to-attack him,in great force.,. Captain Frank did’as he wasicommandeds1s 7 His camps were struck that same,night.) Before morning he+was,a;long way from where he had bad sucha sanguinary, and, midnight. meeting with the. Comanches, ..__. The Indians, -however,/.as. we, -haye. seen, -swore friendship with the Boy; Band; and how. they fulfilled their promise will be seen in, another, chapter of startling interest... 5, When,-therefore,;, the company. of .Boy Soldiers had joined the main body of the Republican.army, they were constantly on the move to and fro, for the English boys were fayourites with Juarez, who had great faith in their brayery, and accordingly em- ployed them always on the most hazardous énter- priscs. “Soha Rae oa Be eis ap There were,several American-yolunteers. who had. joined Frank’s company, and they proved excellent soldiers ; but if they had.one fault more than ano- ther, it, was their fondness for scouting and acting aS spies, . | kot, But there was-one called.‘ Yankee, Sam,” a spy, who had: rendered. great seryice to,the whole Repub- lican army, and to,Frank’s company ,of boys on more than one occasion, and sayed them from the treachery of the,French or their renegade Mexican followers, | This Yankee Sam: was, .or rather, had been, a. per- son of property before the, coming of Maximilian and the French); but rather than, oppose the cause of Juarez even as a private soldier, ” if | Yankee Sam, the scout and spy,.was the.talk of the. whole army, and his exploits on his famous grey mare, ‘‘ Nancy,” were numerous and almost beyond belief for daring. — se i sh | Jt.is not our/intention in this. place to speak much personally of this famous spy, but. an, account writ- ten by Captain Frank Ford to his friends in En gland : contains many things about Sam which.are well worth remembering. a parte ie In one of his letters Frank says :— ‘We had just pitched tents one evening, after a long march in the cold winds, over hills, through woods, and immense quantities of mud, when) lying down smoking on a bundle of hay by the camp fire, we heard the jingling of spurs and harness, and looking up saw Yankee Sam and his gréy wearily ambling by, aden “The invitation to take a cup of coffee was eagerly accepted by our old acquaintance, and his mare being properly provided for he was so charmed with the savour of sundry beefsteaks broiling on the coals that he consented to take uj his quarters: with us for the night, the people, he left his Mexican estates, and joined OL OE OL Ge St ta When I get © . furiously .in; all directions. ‘With a circle ‘of some twenty officers and men we made a pleasant party round the immense fire of blazing oak logs. Some were engaged with cards, others wrote letters home. ‘A fiddle was not: far distant, witha laughing crowd of dancers going through a cotillon. ‘‘Many were cooking; eating, sleeping, and picket guards were going out on duty. “\¢ What’s the news, Sam ?’ asked one. «“€How’s all the gitls in Mexico? chimed in another. fie “* How muéh is whisky’ over there, Sam,’ ques- tioned a third, and so on. . : «“* Vm mighty tired, boys,’ said the scout, smoking and reclining ; ‘but wé had a first-rate time of it. We fooled the French as usual, and had a jolly old spree in México’ city ; danced with the girls, had lots-of tip-top whisky and cigars, and brought back letters for the fellows ; went wherever we darned please’; seized two. of General. Bazaine’s orderlies with despatches—found them in, bed a little way back—and brought them, over. the river safely, papers and all. .- (i Zo 3 ‘We had some difficulty in crossing at the old place;sso while some of, our ;videttes were fussing about and attracting attention, four of us,in Yankee \icostume, swam: our horses, and soon reaching a | friendly house changed; clothes, and put out again, for swe’ could» heard, the: French galloping about Our boys took to the woods, and neyer left. it until within thirty miles of Mexico city. a ; “¢Talk of the Mexicans taking Maximilian, ’tis allobos |: ve lived, there for fifteen. years, and should know something, about it, and am positive othat; ninety-nine, out,of\ every. hundred are true Mexicans;if; they,only-had;.a fair chance to express themselves, ... RS £°Rreedom of speech, indeed! or freedom of the press !+-itis all nonsense. “None dare’ spéak openly, and should the news- papers even Hint at) French tyranny, a prison is assigned them without judge or jury. “©As'to habeas corpus—that-is a.thing of the ‘“‘¢ While I was in the capital the members of the Legislature and Senate arrived, and every one in the least suspected of true national feeling was waited upon as he landed from’ the car or at his hotel, and, withoutstherslightest explanation, con- ducted to dungeons, “«There’ are’ fortifications of immense strength overlooking’ the city, and every'gun in every ‘bat- tery is shotted, and pointed at the city. ‘As the’ French ‘confess, with a laugh, “all these’ works were raised, not to protect your city, but to destroy and lay it in one indistinguishable ‘heap; of ashes should. the slightest indication of a revolt betray itself,” s “And they claim that Mexicans are loyal, and have brotherly love for them. ‘‘¢ Yes, as much love as the lamb bears the wolf. °“*CA lady cannot walk the streets in a dress of her own choice without its being noticed and com- mented’ upon by hundreds of red-breeched soldiers or spies, and should she wear any colours indicative of Mexican sentiment is immediately arrested and insulted, “«« As to taking the “oath of allegiance to Maxi- milian,” so called, thousands have done so from sheer necessity ; but argue that it is forced, and im Eomichbookssco fl