Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-11-25
hoped to have the pleasure of triumpban.

hoped to have the pleasure of triumrb.r.
~ carrying home to "Betsey,"
You remember what terrible ve.thax -
| mad IN that last winter of tho war ? Tho
army was badly of for clothes. and bor.o
flesh generally in deplorcbie condit;on
we Kept up our spirits amid all our suffer.
lngs, however, and nothing excited ms IN
merriment ottener than old Luke, whether
at his soap-making, pea-cooking. or with
lugubrious visage, mounted on his ola
sorrel, between which and himself there
was a sufficient correspondence tn havo
| revived the old Aztec notion of the u,ity
of man and horse. OF all the wild bo1S
who delighted in making merry at Ola
Auke's expense, not one was sucb
persistent teaze as Fred Linton.
bright faced. hprum. scarum, bead-oHor'
heels Fred the trimmest, neatest. reo,s;ns,
soldier In the command. Fred lived eY.
huberantly-lik the great Stewart ha G.
abounded In vitality, he needed no x;no
to keep him laughing, singing, dancinc
frollcklng Wide awake, full of finn ba
was the life OF the company. One bitter
morning IN January an order came for the
cavalry TO strike tent aud march. To tho.a
of us who, like Fred Linton, were eonsII,,
ready for fight or frolic, this was ooo1
news, but 1T was appalling to others WHO
like Luke Grant, had an eve to crea,nro
! comforts. He, however, most of all tool
it deeply to heart, as he vas hoping for =
furlouRh, and chance to send home his
accumulations.
The question was what to do with them
The idea of abandoning them was toIer-
able and not to be borne.
Fred, In his accustomed spirit of mis-.
chief, declared, Of were you, Uncle
Luke, I'd carry 'em along" The old fal.
low availed himself of the suggestion. and
Fred, jaunty Fred, booted, spurred.
gloved, In gray, that set off his little
figure, helped load old sorreI, and then.
on his own gallant bay, rode along IN COM
pany. The figure old Luke cut was ire
sistible. In the first place he had swung q
large dinner pot-his quondam pea-stewinp
vessel, round the neck of his docile brute.
giving him the appearance of a bell
Wether, several soap-gourds were secured
under the girth, kettle in the region of
the dorsal appendage, and his whole pile
or bed clothes, which, in color, might have
been improved by the iudicious use of his
supply of soap, and not one item of which
he could find In his heart to leave behind
heaped on his old saddle, his gaunt figure
draped in couple of dirty blankets. his
head bound up III rags, gave the finishing
touches to t0m'enSen6le, grotesque to the
last degree
We'll we proceeded without interruption
till we reached Stoney Greek, which the
martial tones of General Daring ordered
US TO lord. In we plunged. through the
roaring, rushing water, our animals found
erlng among the rocks, colliding with bio
pieces OF ice or swimming for dear life. i
was so engaged looking out FOR myself
forgot old LIKE and his singular parapher
MALTA OF accouterments, till was safely
landed on the opposite bank. For heavens
sake, look at old Luke, Adair called out
Fred Linton, breaking into laugh. There
ho or fEA Il.
oonsplcuousness, a spectacle for the
brigade.
General Daring caught sight of him at
the same moment.
Ho! You there, sung out he, why don't
you come over?
Old Luke did not notice him. In
angrler, louder tones the order was re-
peated. You, man with the rag on your
head, say, ford the riverl There was no
mistaking this time and Luke replied,
''Im afraid Gineral; this ford looks mighty
dangerous. 1 mout git drowned; / was
gwine up higher and try to git round it,
or mebbe thar mout be bridge over it
somewhar!" Did you ever sec O military
man In passion? Daring was in one
then, tell you. He ripped ont such
volley of oaths as made old Luke try the
passage forthwith. In went old Sorrell
away went the soap gourds, while kittle
and pot combined to carry the poor beast
under, leaving his master to breast the
waves as best he could, under the pressure
of superfuous deeds. Old Luke came to
land at last, and somewhere up stream old
Sorrel got aground, which taking out the
tragic element, left us boys reminiscence
which we laugh over as often as we recall
| it.
Rockingham, Richmond county, n. c.,
Nov. 18th, 1870