The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-02-11
GcIctte0 nlietcllanp.
4 CUP OF COLD WATER.
EY GRACE GREENWOOD.

SHORTLY after the close of the war,
travelled on the railway for some hours of
a bright, June day, seated beside young
soldier, a cavalryman, from Wisconsin,
who was on his way home with an honor
able discharge, after q service of four
years. bly, fellow-traveler proved to be
quite intelligent and sociabiy inclined, and
beguiled the way by relating many in
cidents Of the battle field, and of camp
andshOspital life One of the simplest of
his stories, told with an appearance of the
utmost good faith, have never forgotten
remembering distinctly every detail,
while some of his more marvellous and
tragicll uarrations have quite faded from
my mind.
"Our regiment" he said, "was under
Banks, in the spring of 1862, when he
made such good time in getting down the
Shenandoah Valley. 1t was an awful,
driving confused, exhausting, hurry
skurry change of base but it's curious
that / chiefly remember it by little in
cident, which perhaps you will think was
hardly worth laying up, and is hardly
worth telling of"
| signified nv desire TO hear his little
story, and he went on:
81 was one morning dispatched, in hot
haste, to the extreme rear, with very
important order As ill-luck would have
1t, had to ride a strange horse, as Town
bad fallen lame. The one prov ID for
me proved just the most i'll .atured,
vicious brute | ever mounted. had hard
work to mount him at all, for his furious
rearing and plunging; and when, at last,
l reached the saddle, he was SO enraged,
there was no getting him on for at least
tive minutes. With his ugly head down,
and his ears hack, he would whirl round
and round, pis Oting on his fore feet, and
lashing ont with his hind legs, till | fancy
they must have looked like the spokes of
big wheel. When be found that l was
master of the situation, that my hand was
firm and my spurs were sharp, he gave in
till the next time; but | knew that he
was continually watching for chance to
fling me over his head and trample the
mastership out of me-
rode hard that day, both because of
my orders, and for the purpose of putting
that devil of a horse through; but there
were many distractions in the road
marching columns, artillery, army wagons,
and, above all, hosts Of contrabands, who
were always scrambling to get out OF your
way, just snt0 your way; SO it was noon
before had made half of my distance 1t
was hot, sultry, and dusty day. / had
exhausted my canteen, and was painting,
almost lOlling, like dog Just as my
thirst was becoming quite unbearable,
came upon group OF soldiers, lounging
by wayside spring, drinking and filing
their canteens. At first | thought | would
dismount, as my horse seemed pretty well
subdued and b'Oloed; but no sooner cid he
guess my intention, than he began again
his diabolical friskIngs and plungings, at
which the stragglers about the spring set
up provoking laugh, which brought my
already hot blood up to the boiling point
Still, didn't burst out at once. L swung
off my cante3 en-, and said To one of he
men, the only fellow that hadn't laughed
at my bout with the horse: Here, com
rade, j1st you fill this for me-
He was a tall, dark, heavy brow ed,
surly-looking chap, but for all that, didn't
look for such an answer as he growled
out:
"FiIl your own canteen, and be =
toyour
"Itell you was mad the other fellows
laughed again, and thel. | was madder,
and just says to him: You mean devil |!
hope TO God l shall yet hear you begging
for drink of water! If ever do, I'll see
you die, and go where you belong, before
u.
Then | gsllopsd on, though some OF
the men called to me to come back, say
ing they'd fill my canteen. I didn't stop
tfl l reached a house, mile or two
farther on, where little black boy
watered both me and my horse, and filled
my canteen, with smile that the handful
of new pennies gave him couldn't begin
to pay for. When l compared the con-
duct Of this poor little chip of ebony, who
said he never had no father. nor mother,
nor no name but Pete with the treat
ment | had received from white fellow
soldier, found that that drink Of cold
water hadn't cooled down my anger
much. And for months and months
after, whenever ] thought of that af-
fair, the old, mad feeling would come
boiling up. The fellows face always
came out as clear before me as nv own
brothers, only it seemed to be more sharp
iy cut into my memory. | don't know
why / resented this offence so bitterly. /
have let bigger things Of the sort pass, aud
soon forgotten them; bat this stuck by me.
| am not a reyeDgeful fellow naturally,