Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-04-27

ness, 10 ulmlplsh the Drain OF men from
lGermany, and, perhaps, to do good turn
to the Americans, with whom, as the enc
mics of his enemies, he felt langu!d sym.
pathy, he adopted the measures above
described. AS for the importance to
America of the hindrance thus thrown in
the way of the mercenary princes, 1t seems
to us that kapp overrates 1t. 1t may pos
sibly have been the want of the reinforce
mepts thus delayed and the uncertainty
of obtaining more men in the future that
| prevented Sir William Howe from destroy
ing Washington and his army at Valley
Forge, and completely stamping out the
rebellion. But such consequence of the
delay Of 800 men, and the abandonment
of scheme for obtaining few thousand
more from Wurtemburg, seems 10 us too
remote for serious consideration. The
great King, as We have seen, confined HIM
self to small annoyances. One authoritative
word from him might probably have suf-
feed ~ have put q stop to the whole dis
graceful business.
The march of the mercenaries from their
national headquarters to the sea can have
been, at least after the first year, no cheer
full or martial spectacle. The poor fellows
Travelled partially armed, escorted by picked
men. If they went by the River Weser
certain number of them han at most times,
even when Prussia was not unusually
troublesome, to march round her territory
at Minden. We have seen how they were
treated on the Rhine. For 1t was pecu-
liarity of these troops that regiment of
fham rAnld hardly
OF Germany where the authorities had not
some claim on some of the soldiers.
Seume, the captive poet, has left graphic
description OF his experiences ON ship
board. The men were packed like herring.
A tall man could not stand straight be-
tween decks, nor sit up st aight in his
berth. To every such berth six men were
allotted, but as there was room for only
four had 10 squeeze in as best they might.
" This was not coCl In warm weather,
says Seume. Thus the men lay in what
boys call spoon fashion," and when they
were tired on one side the man on the right
would call ''about face" and the whole
file would turn over at once then, when
they were tired again, the man on the left
would give the same order, and they would
turn back onto the first side. The food
was on par with the lodging. Pork and
peas was the bulk of their diet. The pork
seemed to be four or i've years old. 1t
was streaked with black toward the out
side and was yellow further in, with
little white in the middle. The salt beef
was in much the same condition. The
ship biscuit was often full of magguts.
"We had to eat them for a relish,' says
Seume, mot TO reduce our slender rations
too much" 1t was so hard that they had
sometimes to break 1t up cannon ball, and
the story ran that it had been taken from
the French Id the Seven Years War and
lain in Portsmouth ever since. The English
had kept it twenty years or so, and ''were
now feeding the Germans with it, that
these might, if it were Gods will, destroy
Rochambeau and Lafayette. 1t does not
seem TO have been Gods will exactly
Sometimes they had groats and barley, or,
by way of treat, spudding made of flour
mixed half with salt water and half with
fresh vsster, and with old, old mut;oss at.
The water was all spoiled. When q case
was opened ''It stank between decks like
Styx, Phlegethon and Cocytus all together"
1t was thick with fiiaments as long as your
finger, and they had to filter it through
cloth before they could drink it. They
held their noses while they drank, and yet
it was so scarce that they fought to get it.
Rum, and sometimes a little strong beer,
completed their fare.