Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-07-24

The mail-rider was q lean salioV, sinewy
man, mounted on q sorry sOrrel nag who
proved. however, 70 have blood in her aud
70 be . fast walker and fall Of endurance.
The mail rider was taciturn, a natural habit
for man who rides alone the year round,
| over lonely road, and has nothing
whatever 10 think Of He had been in the
var sixteen months, ia Hugh Whites regi.
ment, reckon yOn've heard Of him
Confederate Z" ....
(which 2"
''wAs he on the Union or Confederate
side 2"
'.Oh, Union"
"Wers you in any engagementsf'
"Which?" ...
"Did you have any hghtingf" I.
mot reg'lar."
What did you do?'
| (Which p
"whAt did you do in Hugh Whites regi.
mentf" m s4a 10 aI.f
"Oh, just csVorted rOnnd the mountains. A"
You lived ON the country =
(Which ?"
picked up what you could ind. corn, ba-
con, horses p
That's about 90. Didn't make much diff.
ference which side was round, the country
got cleaned out"
"Plunder seems TO have been the object p
Mnich
''You got living out Of the farmers p
"Yoa bet" el falaf
Our friend and guide seemed 10 have been
| jayhAWker and mountain marsuder -on the
right side, His attachment TO the word
which" prevented any lively flow of con-
| veraAtion, and there seemed TO be only two
trains OF ideas running In his mind one was
the subject OF horses and sGddles, and the
other was the danger of the ford We we're
| coming to, and he exhibited q good deal OF
ingenuity In endeavOring to excite our alarm.
He returned TO the ford from every other
conventional excursion, and after every ST.
| lenos. II do knows there's any great dan
ger not II yOn know the ford Folks is
carried away there. The Toe gifts up sud
den. There's been right smart rain lately.
II you're afraid, you can git set over in a
dug-out aud PIl take your horses across.
Mebbe yonne used 10 fording ? Ii's pretty
| bad ford for them as don't know IL. Bnt
you'll get along, If you mind your eye.
There's some rocks you'll have to look out
for. Bot you'll be all right, il you follow
me" i lf iaoa
Not being very successful in raising an in.
teFest In the dangers OF his ford, although
he could not fOregO indulging . malicious
pleasure In trying TO make the strangers un
comfortable, he hnAlly turned his attention
''is just the kind OF brute beast yod want
| for this country Yonr hosses 10 too heavy.
How "A you swap for that one o. youFn z"
| The reiterated assertion that the horses were
not ours. that they we're hired, made little
| impression on him. All the way TO Burns-
vile he kept recurring to the subject OF q
trade The instinct OF ''swap" was strong
in him. When We met = yoke OF steers he
turned round and bAntsred the owner for q
1 l.. ma
| were of the army pattern, and he allowed
/, that one OF them would just suit. He rode
. small fiat English pad, across which was
iung the United States msil pouch, appar-
| emily empty. He dwelt upon the fact that
| his saddle Was new and ours were old and
the advantages that would accrue 10 US from
| the exchange. He didn't care il they had
been through the war, a. they bad, for hs
| fanoied an army saddle. The friend answer
cd for himself that the saddle he rode be-
l0nged 10 q distinguished Union general aud
had bullet in il that was put there by
careless Confederate in the first battle of
Boil Run, and the owner would not part with
il for money. Bot the mail. rider said he
didn't mind that He wouldn't mind swap
ping his new saddle for my old one and the
rubber coat and leggina Long before We
reached the ford We thought We would like
10 swap the guide, even at the risk OF drown
ing. The ford Waa passed, in due time, with
no inconvenience save that OF vet feet, for
tbs stream was breast high 10 the horses but
being broad and swim and full OF sahksn
rocks aud slippeFy stones and the crossing
tortuous, II Is not . ford TO be commended,
There Is a curious delusiOn that q rider has
IN crossing q swift broad stream. II is that
he is rapidly drifting up stream, while in fact
the tendency OF tbs horse is TO 60 with the
ouFreht 0Aas. Dudley Warner IN August
| AfkInfic .. ,r ta. ... -