The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1884-07-17

tne New eTk uSf9iQ now 10
steal bee. hive If he had died
from ne effects of that expedi-
ton, they would have had to
bury him in a sugar hogshead.
Down the Yazoo and up the
Mississippi! On the way up we
landed and fought the rebels at
Grand Lake, Arkansas, again at
Greenvilie. Miss, and again at
Bolivar, Miss, capturing horses
and men At Columbia, on our
way up. one night we burned a
very large wharf boat which we
could not tow away. While it
was burning, a detachment from
Co. K and another from Co. B
rowed silently up the river, each
having a coffin with them. This
was a celebrated rendezvous for
guerrlllas and the burial parties
were strong and fully armed
The night was moonless and a
thin haze rendered the star light
uncertain, as they landed at a
secluded spot under the whisper
ing boughs of a clump of trees,
beside a suspicious looking field
neglected and overgrown with
bushes, on the other side of which
was dense dark woods. Net a
living thing could be seen; but
the dismal crcak of the lonely
frog and wary crake of the gryl-
lus seemed to warn us of a lurk-
ing foe. When a flash of the
burning boat would suddenly re-
veal one Of the pickets thrown
ont to protect those engaged in
the burial, they seemed not ours,
but unquiet spirits emerging
from the gloom beyond and the
dewey leaves, rejecting the red
glare seemed to be dripping with
blood, as in silence, darkness and
danger we laid our comrades in
the hostile earth. And there
sleeps Abraham Lecrone. I do
not know the name of the man
of Co. b. Having finished these
solemn rites we started to return.
The burning boat had swung out
from shore and became an awful
pyramid Of flame, which, as it
fioated on the glowing river,
seemed a newly alighted angel
denouncing the judgments of
heaven against the crimes of a
nation.
Back again to our shady camp
on the bluffs near Helena, where
we had the Yellow fever, (it's
down in tie reports as typhoid
where you speculated in water
and where there were
lice in the dust. Altogether the
memories of this. camp are the
most unpleasant Of any we ever
had; even cool, beautiful, but |
poisonous springs where You shot
he rattlesnake, which the Sur
yeon ate.
In the fall we went with Oster-
,aus. in whose division we were,
Ind his Missouri Dutch, first
ate set of fellows. to St. Genevieve,
No., where Fred. StulIer bought |
he goose. That was a picnic, boys!
It was in that glorious season when
he air was laden with rich fragrance
# Autumn; and the early frosts
parkle in the morning like the bead
m cider; and the trees are clad in
IS brilliant colors as the ladies at a
ounty fair. Will you ever forget
ur nice, clear, dry camp on the
,rassy commons beside the town
vhere everybody talked French or
ierman and was so kind, and hon
st, and obIiging?-where every
hing was so plenty, and cheap,
nd good? Grapes by the bushel
or almost nothing, apples as ripe
nd juicy as lassie's lips. grape ci-
er ten cent a bucket full without
egard to the size of the bucket,
ggs, fresh meat. soft bread, good
utter everything! Then there
'as cool, creamy, foaming beer,
,ade for drinking and not fer ma
ing drunk; smooth, oily, old peach
randy that cleaned at you from
s amber depths like the coaxing
lance of woman and wreathed in
be glass like her tresses, and wine
nat twinkled like the sly glances of
ne pretty girls that told their
eads in the beautiful church of St.
ienevieve. So was the march
trough to Pilot Knob and Area
ia. At almost every farm house
long the road the good natured
eeple had fixed up their stands to
lpply our wants, and they gave us
ur moneys worth and a Gods
less you besides. Such nicely
ooked chickens, rich milk, such
orn bread-it makes the mouth
,atef tn think of it! l never saw
cope hat appeared to know so
ell what ssiaiers wanted, and all
erved by such clean, kind, mother
= looking ladies, who seemed not
, care Ior the pay in the pleasure
f seeing lis enjoy their food. Did
et the rude soldiers insult them 2
10, there would have been a thous
nd stalwart arms raised to smite
le insulter. Such ladies never ,
.ck defenders. Those ladies whe
n not. have special missions to lead