The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1870-11-24
a CUP OF COLD WATER.
BY GRACE GREENWOOD.

AJhCAtAJ cEiNCA AAlC CAOfO VI AllO wal 4
travelled on the railway for some hours
of bright June day, seated beside a
young soldier, a Cavalryman, from
Wisconsin, who was on his way home,
with an honorable discharge, after a
service of four years. Ny fellow trsv-
eler proved to be quite intelligent and
socially inclined, and beguiled the
way by relating many incidents of the
battlefield, and of camp and hospital
life. One of the simplest Of his stories,
told with an appearance of the utmost
good faith, 1 have never forgotten
remembering distinctly every detail,
while some of his more marvellous
and tragical narratiOns have quite fad
ed from my mind.
"Our regiment" he said, "was un-
der Banks, in the Spring of 1852,
when he made such good time in get
ting down the Shenandoah Valley.
1t was an awful, driving, confused,
exhausting, hurry-skurry 'change of
base, but it's curious that / chiefly
rememberit it by little incident, which
perhaps you will think was hardly
worth laying up, and is hardly worth
telling of"
slgnified my desire to hear his
little story, and he went on:
81 was one morning dispatched, in
hot haste, to the extreme rear, with a
very important order. As ill-Iuck
would have it, had to ride strange
horse, as my own had. fallen lame.
The one provided for me proved TO be
the most ill-latured, vicious brute I
ever mounted. had hard work to
mount him at all, for his furious rear
ing and plunging; and when, at last,
l reached the saddle, he was so enrag-
ed there was no getting him on for at
least five minutes. With his ugly
head down, and his ears back, he
would whIrl round and round, pivot
ing on his fore. feet, and lashing out
his hind legs, till fancy they must
have looked like the spokes of a big
wheel. When ne 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 l
knew that he was continually watch
ing for chance 10 fling me over his
head and trample the nastership out
of me. 1 rode hard that day, both
because of My orders and for the pur-
pose of putting that devil of a horse
through; but there were many Obstruc-
tiOns in the road-marching columns,
artillery, army wagons, and. above
ali, hosts of cOntrabands, who We're
always scrambIing to get out of your
way, just into your way, So it was
noon before had made halt of my
distance. Il was a hot, sultry and
dusty day. l had exhausted my can
teen, and was painting, almost lOIling,
like dog. Just as my thirst was be
CImiug quite unbearable, / can q upon
grOup of soldiers, lOunging by Way
side spring, drinking and filing their
canteens. At first l thought / wOtld
dismOunt, as my horse seemed pretty
well subdued and bLOl0edj but no soon
er did he guess my intention, than he
began again his diab0lical friskings
and plungings, at which the stragglers
about the spring set up a provoking
laugh, which brought my already hot
blood up to the boiling point. Still,
I didn't burst out at once. 1 swung
off my canteen and said to one Of the.
men, the only one that hadi't laughed
d my bout with the horse: Here,
c0mraGe, just fill my canteen for me-
He was a tall. dark, heavy -browrd,
surly-looking chap, but, for all that,
1 didn't lOoA for such an answer as he
grOwled ont:
"Flll your own eanteen, and be -
TO you i''
II tell you 1 was mad; the other
fellows laugh again, and then | was
madder, and l just says to him: You
mean devil! 1 hope to God 1 shall
yet hear you begging for drink of
water! If ever do 1 II see you die,
and go where you belong, before I'll
give it to YOU
'.Then | galloped on, though some
of the men called to me to come back.
saying they would fill my cantepn.
l didn't stop till l reached a house,
a mile or two further on, where a lit
tie black boy watered both me and
my horse, and filed my canteen, with
a smile that the handful of new pen
nies gave him couldn't begin to pay
for. When 1 compared the conduct
of this poor little chap of ebony, who
said he never had no father, nor
m6ther, nor name but Pete with the
treatment l had received from white
fellow soldier, l found that drinking
of cold water hadn't cooled down my
anger much.
s'And for months and months after,
whenever l thought of that man, the
old mad feeling would cUme boiling
up. The fellows face always came
out as clear before me as my own broth
er's, only it seemed to be more sharp
ly cut into my memory. l dom, know
why 1 remembered this Offense so Bit
teTly. 1 have let bigger things of the
sort pass, and soon forgot them; but
CfCItC oluCh ny ulOs aLl uOb revenge
full naturally, but I never gavg up the
hope of seeing that man again; and
somehow paying him back for his
brutal insolence. There wasn't
camp or review I was in for the next
two years but looked for him, right
and left. 1 never went over a field.
after a battle, but that searched
for him among the dying-God for
give me! At last, my opportunity
came.
81 had been wounded, and was in
one of the Washington hospitals-aI-
most well, yet still not quite ready for
duty in the saddle. hate, above all
things, to be idle, so I begged for light
as a hospital nurse; and
they gave it to me, and said I did my
duty well.
81 never felt for our poor, brave
fellows as 1 did there. l had been
very fortunate, and until that summer
had never been in hospital. Now
1 saw such suffering and such heroisn
as had never seen on the battle
field. CompaniOnship helped to keep
up the Spirits of those who could not