An Enthusiastic Newsvendor — 360
An amusing incident occurred one day in front of General Turner’s lines. A sergeant stepped out from our rifle-pits, and moved towards the enemy, waving a late paper, regardless of the probability that he would at any moment be shot. A rebel officer shouted to him to go back, but the sergeant was unmindful of the warning, and asked, “Won’t you exchange newspapers?” “No,” said the rebel, “I have no paper, I want you to go back.” With singular persistence the sergeant continued to advance, saying, “Well, if you haint a paper, I reckon some of your men have, and I want to exchange, I tell you.” “My men have not got anything of the kind, and you must go back,” said the officer in a louder tone, and with great emphasis. Nothing daunted, the Yankee sergeant still advanced, until he stood plumply before the indignant officer, and said, “I tell ye now you needn’t get your dander up. I don’t mean no harm no way. P’raps if ye aint got no newspapers ye might give me suthin else. Maybe your men would like some coffee for some tobacco. I’m dreadful anxious for a trade.” The astonished officer could only repeat his command, “Go back, you rascal, or I’ll take you prisoner. I tell you we have nothing to exchange, and we don’t want anything to do with you Yankees.” The sergeant said ruefully, “Well, then, if you haint got nothin’, why, here’s the paper any way, and if you get one from Richmond this afternoon you can send it over. You’ll find my name thar on that.” The man’s impudence or the officer’s eagerness for news made him accept. He took the paper, and asked the sergeant what was the news from Petersburg. “Oh, our folks say we can go in there just when we want to, but we are willing to gobble all you fellows first,” was the reply. “Well, I don’t know but what you can do it!” said the lieutenant, turning on his heel and re-entering his rifle-pits; “meanwhile, my man, you had better go back.” This time the sergeant obeyed the oft-repeated order, and, on telling his adventure, was the hero of the morning among his comrades.