Litchfield enquirer., 1865-04-20
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PICKET LIFE:
 ~ AN EPISODE. OF. THE WAR. ::

Not as that old lady regarded it, " ho WontfSfe
 how J0hnny. who. when at iofhe wfrs so fes
 less that he could never, stay two H.inuseEi
 the same place. could rsmain two weeks .6rr
 picket but then war does harden body sD
 And the venerable female rubbed hersef@re
 Effectively, and thnush it was nc wonder 5ha
 Government was in debt if they had to snipt the pants expended in such destructive dafy
 nor as those others, whose fond yearning dste the welfare of those most dear 10 them inH5st snch duty with an asssmb!aee: of tarrors Gaai i which the valley of the shadow pf death wsjll, seen' hy comparison. an eligible suHmeesre treat. E
 Both are wrong for picket duty is neiHe lmmovable or melancholy. Ii consists q { small detachment dffrom two to twenty picked men, sent out from one to thHee mileson all tht roads ip the neighborhood likely to be travers ed by an attacking force,. where they stay, til they are relieved CT taken prisoners--two con comfortable prospect apparently yet to ge, out on picket is the height of a soldiers afibi- tion Not indeed in those localities where men do duty every other day. scattered up and down railroad, as on the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. nor whore they are posted in woods and wamps IS they used to be on the Peninsula, with per demptory orders not even to slap at the mosqui- toes who were deyouring them, for fear of ae- |quainting the enemy with their whereabouts but in good high and dry locality, where there lis decent road, and the country produces Something besides burnt rail-fences and Secesh ssbrews. Now, with the exception of the in- |evitable contraband, apparently the only pro ducts Of Virginia, picket duty is properly ap |preciated.
 Change makes everything look bright and the smallest variation from the monotony off camp makes any scene a small paradise in al soldiers eye. To escape drill, guard mounting tattoo, and reveille, especially ihe latter, who would not take the chance of being snapped upI |by the Rebel cavalry? Besides, the picket isl |lord of all he surveys. No one can pass whenl ne orders up,' without written permission, off whose authenticity he is the sole judge. he salth to the contraband: Go and he go-I eth and to the master, Stop, and he stoppeth; albeit with much wrath and bad language.
 Carriages stop. while he pokes around their interior recesses, seeking for the nebriating cup, which, when found is, of course, returnedj to the camp quartermaster.
 Rarely indeed is it found but say, o n.uchS enduring quartermaster, how rarely do you evers get sight of that which is discovered ]!
 Not satisfied with this guardianship over thes superior race, the picket graciously extendeth bis protection over the inferior. Pigs learn tos know and avoid him and chickens, like un. [ faithful disciples, follow him afar of for in E hls 1hess1easslc Ihe aniwal kingdom realize the seldier, fghsihga gaftosaS for Ss osas ltesican Heaven forbid! But when t6d AmeritaRaae RaesB sea dier fighting for his country gets posted on a5 dark night, and hears something coming down the road-it may be pig and then again, it9 |may not. So he gives it slight thrust with |his baYoaet, and behold the thing dies He: |couldn't help it--could he? In addition to the other pleasing uncertain-| |ties of picket life, there is always strong pro |bability that the commissary will forget to sendI your rations. So the picket if detected in any such little peccadillo, takes high moral grounds.
 My grub is not forthcoming he reasoneth] ] { Without food l shall lose strength without strength 1 cant fight; Government pays me for fig ghting if don't fight, am cheating the Government; and in order to prevent any such horrible fraud on my much swindled Uncle, l have made an informal requisition on piggy now become pork
 And, of course. this explanation is satisfac- tory.
 But there are other periis than these which the pickets have to guard against. To narrate an instance There was, once, upon time, a very nice young Hessian Sergeant, who, while in command of picket down in Shenandoah Valley, gradually became aware that there was very pretty girl in the habit of passing 'quite promiscuous while he was on post.
 Very pretty girls, indeed were all three oI the Miss Jeffs. Dark of hair. bright of eye and keen of wit; they knew the rules of coquet ry from Alpha to Omega, better than they die ha;. inf i'm oh ing their practical effects.
 were neutral-that is to say, that they had two brothers with Ashby, and used osseIl meals etc. (etc- Virginia, generally means whiskey, their fair value, all the while wishing this hor rid war would cease
 Notwithstanding their objection to the wa Itself, it was surprising what interest they tool in the movements and condition of our troops indeed, the young ladies used to delight to tall
 o,a,ar' with our officers, diapiAr;-s -.,s
 military affairs 6ae tnsn, s1nae.ia .hay were fond remarking, there was nothing else to talk abou
 now-a-days.
 They lived very nicely for though Jackso
 had been through the place twice, their res
 dence was in perfect order. while the premise
 of their Union neighbors, to use a mild expre! sion, had the spots knocked out of them.
 Our young Sergeant natural modesty hay
 ing been overcome with great difficulty, h speedily became quite intimate, not to say ga
 lant, with the previously mentioned young lad and her sisters.
 Why shouldn't he, pray? He had not see
 a white female in three months who had no
 scowled or spat at him but one, and she thre'
 a brick-a sort of thing which though amusin at first, grows tiresome by repetition, so tha
 when he met good-looking femenine, who di
 neither, he was fasinated.
 Though he took his meals at their house Is
 fifty cents each,) and made himself general agreeable to the best of his ability, our Sc I geant never forgot that he had command of a unusually large picket, sent out purposely {
 glve timely warning of an expected raid on tn
 statlon, and never left the road without postin
 force too strong to be cut off by cavalr dash before an alarm could be given, and woul 2 not leave his men after dusk for all the beaut n of Virginia. - < After declining several invitations to sper the evening, few days before the time of h ! return he received most pressing inyitatio to bring his men to partake of dinner prepa
 ed by the Miss Jeffa They had behaved { \ gentlemanly. so unlike the usual coarse mere naries, that really they must accept of our ho pitality. .Ani you will come, know
 Who enn1d rociot snch a snoaeh acon,,, ,,,,, :,