The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-17

hadn't brought but little meat, thinkin' to
git that out o the woods we were in a
purity fix, sure 'nough. But we took the
wet dough out of our haversacks, and,
waddin' it up in Jumps we rolled 'em in the
ashes and tried to roast 'em. We were so
ALFRED hungry that we couldn't hardly
wait for 'em to git hot through. After
while we all got to sleep, some with logs
and roots for headin', and some settin' up
with their backs ag'in' trees and / don't
think there was single picket awake that
night.
Next mornin' at the peep O. day we
started again, stumblin' over logs and
scramblin' through bamboo and reed
brakes, and about 10 o'clock we struck an
open lake. We had to go round the edge
of this through the sawgrass, and every
now and then one o. them cussed little
water spiders would glt in Il feller's
brooches leg, and he'd yell, oh, I'm snake
biti till we found out what they were; and
once in while a rusty lookin' old gator
would slide otf'n a tussock and plunge into
the deep water, where he'd swim round
and eye us with much amazement. There
weren't nary gun in the whole command
that would shoot, SO we were about as
badly fixed militia as ever went Injun
huntin',
1--WE didn't cross no streams that had
any current to 'em, as we expected to, for
we knowed that sever'l big creeks run into
the swamp, and the Suwannea and Saint
Mary's run out of it, and we were much
surprised at not flndin' some sort of run
in there somewheres. I've hearn since
that the Suwannee and Saint Marys heads
in sight Of one another, with narrow
island betwixt 'em, one runnin' east to-
wards the ocean, and the other runnin'
west toward the Gulf l don't know
how true it is, for nobody hain't
never surveyed the swamp thoroughly.
AT any rate, we waddled along
through that marsh all day, like a passed. Of
pond gannets out a-huntin' for tadpoles, and
night overlook us just as we come in sight
of land again. Just as we scuffied out of
the saw-grass and struck the swamp we
hearn big gun, away down toward the
southeast, and | tell you we set up yell that
scared the horn-Owls into fits. We knOwed
the boys weren't far off, for Ginerl Floyd
had told 'em to fire signal guns every hour
endurin' the night, SOS if we got lost we
could hear 'em and find our way out
Hat cried Ginerl Floyd, as we all
started in a rush toward the sound of the
firm How do you know that wer'n't an
Injun gun? You'd better take it slow, and
keep lookout, for we amt in no fix to risk
battle
The ginerl was right We wer'n't fixed
up for no dress parade, I'll assure you. But
We IudICueu LuTOuSH bue swamp, WulCu
looked like it didn't have no end, till the
moon riz. That wer'n't much help, though,
for the little light that come
through the heavy leaves only throwed big
| black shadders across the way, and it
was a hard matter to tell which were the
| logs and which were the shadders. One
minute we'd reach over and step high
thinkin' it was log, and seem that we were
| fooled, we would not pay any attention to
the next one, and go tumblin' heels over
head in the mud. Finally we hearn the
boom of the signal gun, not half mile off,
and then we fairly Jared the earth with
our yells, and then begun regular STAN
pede. 1t was every man for himself and
| the devil take the hindmost. | run rippin'
into bamboo thicket, and fell fiat with
| my foot twisted up in a vine and another
| hitched in my coat, and l wriggled
around in the mud like a crazy pollywog,
and never got loose till all the rest had left
me, and when did get up, started to cuss
| and rear, but l was so bad scared that |
| just shet up my mouth and hustled. Sud
| denly hearn the boys fetch a whoop as
| they struck the highland. and, afore you
could count hundred. / was among 'em.
| swear, as bad as l felt, l couldn't help
| laughin' as them woebegone fellers crowded
around the big lightwood knot fires.
They were the sorriest lookin' set of men
that ever seed. They soon licked up all
the rations in the camp and every Teller
| had turn of potatoes IN the ashes in little
| or no time Ginerl Floyd had beef killed
and the boys didn't wait for it to be butch
| cred afore they begun to roast and brile on
| the Goals, and the fellers went to sleep with
! their hands full of half-burnt meat and
| half-roasted potatoes"
MONTGOMERY NJ. FOLSOM.