St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-11-18
A DOG WITH MANY MoURNERs
ChicnnO Ledner.

!. at a recent campfire.
"Well, what about him ~ and thu
chairs were drawn closer to hear The
pathetic recital.
"You know, boys, that at the ont
break of the war good deal of senti
ment was INDUCED in by the yOuns
volunteers, and many unnecessary ad
iuncts were thought necessary, tina
later would have been hOOted at. Com
panies and regiments were designated
j by high sounding names, and nearly
every company had some pet that wa
to be carried through the carnage.
"Our company was recruited in town
and we were the pets of the county
where the command was recruited.
Nothing was too high for US, so W.
took the name of the Hickory Greys,
and sadly wanted an eagle. But
eagles being scarce in our part of the
country, after much consultation We
compromised on a dog. When Oul
wants became known, you would have
laughed to see the number of CANNES
of high and low degree that were
brought for inspection to TIE camp
Like Artemus Ward, whose patriotism
would have sent all of his wife's rela-
tives to the war, it seemed as though
the whole population of the county
could spare their dogs in the good
cause"
"They were willing to let loose the
dogs of war; eh?"
eyes; their love of country took
that way of expressing itself
"All being at the same price, we
concluded to take the largest one pre-
scented, and obtained Newfoundland
of pure blood. He was at once named
Hickory, which speedily degenerated
to Hic, and soon became the pet OF
each and ALL"
ga very proper cOgnOmen, as, IT any
one suspected inebriety from your
hiccoughs, you could say you were
calling the dog" put in the Major.
"NO; we went from prohibition
state," said H., not put out by the in
terruption.
"Our dog was great acquisition to
the company in the way of appetite,
anyhow, and he would eat anything,
even hard tack, after we got to the
field.
"Through the varied experiences of
army life he remained with us, the
friend of every man in the company,
always willing to help any one dispose
of ratiOns, from the captain to the
high private in the rear rank-impar-
tial in his attentions, seeming to realize
that he was the company dog.
"But the change of base from the
ChickahOminy to the James was Sc
we're trial to dogs as well as soldiers,
and poor Hic succumbed under the
strain. A few days after we reached
HarrisOn's Landing our favOrite sick
ened and died. The reason of his de-
mise no one knew, but his loss was Il
severe blow to the survivors.
"All said we must have his skin
mounted, and he was accordingly skin
ned and the hide prepared for the
taXidermist.
cat that time the next regiment to
us New Jersey trOOps) had a fine rep
utatiOn as fOragers, and | think they
earned it. Anyhow, our boys allowed
the Jerseymen didn't leave much for
any troops that came after them, and,
as we were often in their rear, consid-
cradle feeling was evoked in the mat
ter.
GAS our poor dogs carcass hung up,
with skin, head and feet removed,
some wicked wag remarked:
men I'll steal it before mornin'.'
"NO sooner said than done. In a
short time there was as pretty car
cass of mutton hanging between two
stakes as ever You saw.
"NeXt day the officers of the Jersey
regiment sent their compliments to
our officers, with an invitation to a
field banquet. OF course it was ac-
copied.
"When the boys arrived they found
ample preparations for the feast. Tent
flies end to end made a fine mess room,
with long table of rough boards I'M
derneath, while the bill of fare con-
tanned such luxuries as desiccated (des-
ecrated, the boys called it) soup, can
ned fish, baked beans, soft bread with
real butter, timed meats from the suit
Ter, and cOmmissary whisky. But the
great gun the piece de resistance-Of
the spread was roast mutton
"The fun was fast and furious. Only
one thing seemed to mar the enjoy
ment of the OccasiOn-nOne of the Wis
itors ate mutton A most singular
coincidence it was that such Il number
of officers were afflicted in the same
way, some for one reason and some for
thOOhOi' AAo"ONCls OhOJ "OhO III iOi
'culchaw,' and praised the Boston
bean, so 'all went merry as a marriage
BELL and the omission was hardly
noticed, their host doing full justice to
the mutton.
"When all were full to repletion,
Captain Il. was deputed to reply to
the toast, 'Our Guests
ellis remarks were, as nearly as |
can remember, something as follows:
Comrades, your good cheer has gone
far to comfort men who were nearly
heart broken. AS you know we have
gone through series of hard-fOught
battles, and the gaps in our ranks are
many. Some of the absent ones will
never be with us again on the march
or at the bivouac, while others lie in
far-Off hospitals, prey to pain and
fever from wounds or sickness. Some
of our bravest and best are gone.
Death, who loves a shining mark, even
took "Old Hic," our favorite dog. This
is the greater atf1ictiOn from the fact
that we were even denied the cOnsola-
ton of giving his body "a decent sep
ulture, for some thieving foragers stole
his carcass last night, and -
"But he was not allowed to proceed,
and, amid a chorus of stomach rending
grOans, ours made their retreat in
good order"
"Hickory must have had many
mourners," remarked the Major.