Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1864-03-15

seemed inclined 10 take advantage Of the ury
weather and our absence, to indulge in extra
ordinary Liberties, for huge volume Of smoke
w-s rolling up out Of the woods as il the whole
forest was on ire Out in the field the fires
we're equally lawlesa and we were set to work
to put them out One man would have made
a sorry show befole 50 much fire, but the whole
army Of US soon got the better of it, though not
until IL had blackened several acres Of ground,
and burned quite number Of rods Of good Sc
cesh fence Farther on we came to the same
evil Everywhere fire had been built it had
alrcad almost indefinitely The dead grass in
tle fields and the dead timber in the woods had
becom So dry that they burned like finder. In
ons place We had to turn out Of the road to get
along, for the fences each side were burning lu-
riousy, aided by vigorous south wind, and
from htto pine woods, on one side of the
road, the smoke was issuing fact and hot. Com
panea II and & had been sent to Lookout
Mountain whore there was a signal station, but
all communication with 1t was cut of on ac'
count Of ,he smoke. The Gres crawled clear to
the mountain, and lrlm where wo halted we
c9uil .ae ascend It's sides The smoke was
U.tI ty day. aad the fire Itself by night
Wa halted near Robertson Creek stacked
Hm7 but were tod not to build any fires There
wels teucls all around us and the rails looked
yay tempting but 80 long as we were not al
I9~,i ua,d aay fire we had no need for
Ho0 By and by and ciheer came along and
announced that leave had been given to build
fires, lud in less than ten seconds almost every
alI had found an individual owner, and IN
very isw minutes more every rail in that near
vicinity bad been appropriated. Sece'h PIGS
and chickens fafsd no better All squeamIsh
ness on this subject IS at an end II we find
anything we want we consider il ours
couple Of sheep got frightened into the
crowd and captured, tor somebody dne supper
Vi mutton. The poor sheep made sad error
wlen they lodged IN between our regiment and
the Fourth laey appeared conscious Of their
m,stake, and # nimble feet could bad saved
them, taey would have got away They run
h.st IN one direction and then in another, but
were egerywa.re headed of by al inexhaustible
multitude % soldiers The boys oheered aud
shouted as the sheep escaped like lightning from
ole crowd utO another, or dodgei a dozen boys
at once Bu. they were conquered at last by
iurce of numbers The Vermont brigade is
more than match for two sheep They had 10
surrender to their cruel captors, though they
had canned better fate, But the boys that
got. them we're too mutton-loying to admit Of
any hopes of mercy.
We remained IN that place ill Wednesday
morning when we come in. 1t commenced
,tormlug Monday night, and the rest OF the
time it was vet, nasty and disagreeabe enough
everywhere Sometimes It ralned and some
times IL showed, and sometimes it did both at
once As we had no tents, and had used uf
our rations, and as rails had begun 10 be a cash
article, We begun to be anxious to 90 back tc
camp. The cavalry had gone out and come III
again. and from what the cavalry boys said il
was evident that they considered their expedi'
ton anything but successful one
Wednesday morning had orders to return
III. sun tosl clear aud bright, The trees were
loaded wi;h ice Every bough and twlg was al
icc!e, which spArkled like pearly c,ystals in th'
gl;terlns sunlight The roads were the oppo
site extreme from dusty We made the whol'
distance back to camp that day The disanc,
w.l not vary much from twenty-five miles
Many iell ont completely exhausted and helpless
as inhnts-some after we had got within sigh
Of camp i, seemed much better to get back t.
my oll tent that night, than it did that night
20; back from my iurlough home. But | an
getting tedious and will close. ANTI.REBEL.