Newspaper Page Text
XA^''— —
■^STx^T
mSHHBtP'
kHVi F*\. v w A
Mh \Z - /ww/ N \4 WH
K?9Sh /C / A ■
BHH\/ V' h I
\/ Cx /L\ * ,u.vJ?w< w < A
EHH V x/wV
BHg| /\ ' a Xß;*'‘*<KlT. *l7 WM
K&HMHx r
~ 7xs*- XA^r^rT^ —zl
xjl
fS$
[(©)) v> tfJtowtiKy
Ns^s«9 l
Hors du Combat.
The Booster was standing up on top of
the fence of his barnyard, when suddenly
the Wild Horse came prancing up, and, af
ter looking at him rather enviously, with
all four of his feet, jumped straight up
about six feet into the air, snorted, came
down, cracking his hoofs together, reared
up, and then, coming to a standing position
again, asked, “Do you know what I am?”
“Yes,” said the Rooster, “I know just
about what you amount to.”
“But ain’t you skeered ?” said the Horse.
“Skeered of what?” said the Rooster, “I
see nothing dangerous around here.”
“Nothing dangerous!” said the Horse
with a snort; “why don’t you see me ?”
“Oh, yes, I see you, and without the need
of any spectacles for that purpose.”
“Well, do you know what I am ?”
“Yes,” said the Rooster.
“No you don’t,” said the Horse, “so I’ll
tell you, I am a ‘Hoi s-du-combat.’ ”
“Hors-du-combah,” said the Rooster with a
sneer. “Yes, if you are not now you soon
will be.”
“Well, maybe you don’t know what that
means,” said the Horse, “so I’ll tell you. It
means ‘horse of the combat;’ that is, a war
horse.”
Here the Rooster began laughing so im
moderately that he came very near falling
off the fence.
“So, you are laughing at me,” said the
Horse in great anger.
“Well, rather,” said the Rooster.
“Humph,” said the Horse, “you’re a nice
chap to laugh at me, to laugh at a war
horse. You don’t amount to anything any
how. You stay in your little barnyard
here, while I have a great race track to run
around. Your little walk don’t amount to
anything but a Sidetrack, and you are too
small for anybody to pay any attention to
you. But I am a fighting horse. Don’t
you see me ?”
“You are a frightened horse,” replied the
Rooster.
“Frightened horse, eh,” said the spotted
steed ; “we’ll see who is frightened. I will
mash you out!”
With this, he dashed toward the fence,
and bit furiously at the Rooster. The lat
ter flew forward at him, and stuck his gaffs
squarely into his nose. With a fearful
snort, the Horse jumped back, and then
gave another dart forward- again, and to
meet him the Rooster flew forward, and this
time struck him above the eyes, tearing one
of his eyelids pretty badly.
The result of the second collision was
thus again to the disadvantage of the Horse.
X furious scene now ensued, which attract
ed the attention of all the inhabitants of the
region around. The Anaconda, the Lion,
the Land Turtle and all the rest rushed out
to see the unequal struggle.
The Horse reared, plunged, bit and kick
ed, snorted and neighed ; but still the Roos
ter avoided all his blows, and lit first above
his eyes, then on his back, then back of his
ears, until, after quite a struggle, the Horse,
with a neigh of disappointed fury, dashed
awav to the other side of the field.
He presented quite a dilapidated appear
ance, with the blood streaming from his eye
lashes, nose, shoulders, flanks and ears,
with the dust all over himself, and looking
in every respect like a badly used up
charger.
He leaned against the fence, rested for
several minutes, and then, slowly limping
over to the Anaconda, leaned his head for
ward, and in a half confidential manner,
said : “Did you see that sight over yonder,
a while ago?”
“Oh, yes,” said the Anaconda, “what pre
vented our seeing it?”
“Well, did you hear me tell the Rooster
that I was a ‘Hors-du-combatP ”
“Yes.”
“Well, that is a word I got yesterday, and
I thought that it was a good word to use;
but from the way the Rooster laughed about
it, I am not sure whether it means ‘a war
horse’ or something else.”
“I should think that by this time you
know it means something else,” said the
Anaconda.
“Well,” said the horse, tell me, confident
ially, what does it mean ?”
“Why,” said the Anaconda, “it means
‘busted’—‘played out’—‘licked like the
d 1!’”
“Is that so ?” said the Horse.
“Yes, that’s exactly so,” said the Ana
conda. •
A depressing silence now ensued for more
than a minute.
“Well,” said the Horse, as several others
came up, “Just let me tell all of you some
thing. Don’t you ever tell the Rooster that
his line in nothing but a ‘Sidetrack.’”
“Oh,” said the Land Turtle, “I don’t
think it makes the slightest particle of dif
ference to the Rooster whether you call it
that or not.”
“And let me tell you something else,”
said the Horse, “don’t you ever tell the Roost
er that you are ‘Hors-du-combat.. , ”
“No,” said the Anaconda, “there is no
danger of our infringing on your patent
right, for we all know that that title
never did and never will fit anybody as
properly as it does you.”
An Answer to the Western &
Atlantic’s Valentine.
The verses entitled, “Planting the Guns
on Kennesaw,” which formed the subject
matter of the beautiful and unique W. & A.
valentine, attracted wide-spread attention
in high circles.
The valentine had a circulation which
reached from Portland, Maine, to Portland,
Oregon, and from Winnepeg, Manitoba, to
the City of Mexico; in fact, we know of
some copies which were sent to London and
Manchester, England, and to Paris, France.
The criticism upon it was almo-t without
exception very complimentary and pleas
ant both by individual parties and by the
press. The General Passenger Agent of the
Western & Atlantic Railroad company,
however, by whom it was sent out, has re
ceived from the household of one of the
greatest Federal commanders in the War
between the States, a good-humored letter
and a reply in verse to the stanzas in the
valentine.
This reply, we are permitted to copy, and
we take great pleasure in putting it before
the people, as it is the intention and desire
of the Kennesaw Gazette, as well as the
THE KENNESAW GAZETTE.
Passenger Department of the Western & At
lantic Railroad company, to give both sides
an impartial and fair showing.
It will be seen that “ Kennesaw ” is a
mountain of national renown, and the mem
orable battle of Kennesaw Mountain, in ad
dition to its magnificent and picturesque
display of all the gorgeous panoply of war,
is also one which is remembered by not on
ly the common soldier*, but the great com
manders on both sides, as being one which
will always be the most prominent in the
military history which they helped to
make.
KENNESAW.
The eagle boasts his eyrie
The fox his covert lair,
But neither fox nor eagle
The lion’s look may dare.
High on the mountain’s summit,
We see your guns in air;
Ho ! eagle is your eyrie safe ?
McPherson’s men prepare
To scale yon beetling mountain
And battle with you there !
Now, onward Wood and Stanley !
Right up the darksome glade ;
On! for the grand old Union!
On through the darkling shade
Os pine trees’ gloomy covert;
Os clouds that burst in rain,
And cannons belching clouds and fire
That threaten you in vain.
No darker storm of shot and shell,
No deadlier lightnings flash,
Than the black storms of rebel hate
That ’gainst your country dash.
America! thy banner
On mountain, sea and shore,
Is rent with tear and tatter,
Is black with brothers’ gore !
Then onward, Stanley, onward !
On to the mountain’s crest;
Men, bare your bosoms bravely
As the Union bares her breast.
In vain they toil and struggle
Mid rocks, and cliff and crag ;
In vain the lumbering cannon
Right up the hill they drag.
In vain they face the lurking foe
Behind his parapet,
They may not win the summit;
Not yet, brave friends, not yet.
But not in vain your combat,
Still keep the foe at bay,
Hold fast the ground you’ve conquered—
Now dawns a better day.
When force and courage cannot win,
A mind can conquer all;
A mind commands your army —
Dark Kennesaw shall fall.
*
Down eastward valleys streaming
Pour the level morning beams,
And o’er a moving mass of men
The mellow radiance gleams.
’Tis McPherson, marching southward !
Now, Kennesaw, beware,
To-morrow’s sun shall kiss our flag
Floating in triumph there!
The Western & Atlantic is one
Hour and fifty Minutes Quick
est to Atlanta.
Passengers leaving Cincinnati at
8:15 p. m., and coming via the W. &
A. R. R. arrive in the Union Depot
at Atlanta, at 1:44 p. m., the next
day; and passengers leaving Cincin
nati at the same time, and coming via
the opposition to the W. & A., are
landed over a half mile from the Union
Depot and the centre of the city of At
lanta, at 3:35 p- m., which is one
hour and fifty minutes" conger than the
time via the Western & Atlantic, be
sides having an omnibus transfer.
The Kennesaw Route always ahead.
Lawsuits Against Railroads.
We almost instinctively raise our
head and listen for the chestnut bell to
sound when we make the remark, that
in bringing law suits against railroads
the public conscience seems to be al
most seared; in other words, that a
man who would hesitate to bring a law
suit for a certain cause against an in
dividual fellow-citizen will without any
compunction of conscience bring one
for the same against a railroad
corporation; and that a juror who is
sworn, in the name of Almighty God,
to bring in a just and true verdict, will,
in many cases, have a sort of leaning
in favor of an affirmative verdict against
the railroad, which he would probably
reject at once if brought against an in
dividual.
We have a case in mind right now
of a law suit which has been brought
against a railroad by a preacher —a
man whose calling is the most sacred
on earth.
The circumstances are that he fell
off a train which was just starting from
the station, and he asserts in his decla
ration that the customary and requisite
train signals were not given before the
train started.
The train-men will swear after this
order: The conductor, for instance,
that he called “All aboard.” The bag
gage master, that he pulled the bell
cord and rang the bell; the engineer
and fireman, that the bell did ring, and
that the engineer then blew the whis
tle —and all of them will swear that
the train stopped at the station two
minutes longer than its schedule ap
pointed for it instead of starting, as the
reverend gentleman asserts, exactly on
or even before its appointed time.
Now, if those who are ordained be
fore God and man, to preach the gospel
of truth, of charity, of holiness and puri
ty of life, will be guilty of such a state
ment as this in a law suit against a rail
road, what have the railroads to expect
of the scores who are ever ready to take
advantage of doubtful circumstances
to enhance their personal gain ?
But a much more serious question is,
jf a preacher will put himself before
God in this attitude, what will be his
influence for good and how will he an
swer at the final tribunal where preach
ers as well as laymen must answer for
the deeds done in the flesh ? These
are probably plain remarks ; but they
are as true as the gospel.
Passengers to Cincinnati can leave
Atlanta via the Western & Atlantic
R. R. at 1:40 p. m. and arrive at Cin
cinnati at 6:40 the next a. m. They
leave from the Union Depot in Atlan
ta. If going via the opposition to the
Western & Atlantic, they leave At
lanta from the small station over a
half mile from the Union Depot at
12:15 p. m., in order to reach Cincin
nati at the same time that passengers
leaving via the AV estern & Atlantic at
1:40 p. m. do. In other words, the
time Atlanta to Cincinnati, via the
Western & Atlantic, is one hour and twen
ty-five minutes shorter than via the op
position, besides the advantage of start
ing from the Union Depot if you go over
the Western & Atlantic.
The Western & Atlantic Railroad is
known as the “old reliable.”
5