The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1892-12-15


canteen and filled up the interstices
with water and wound up by gulping
down the mass as quickly as muscles
and ravenous energy could perform
that function. kept on looking and
the Yankee kept OH eating until the
confounded fellow had eaten his share
and mine, too. "Wcll, Pll be
banged Twas beginning in conster-
nation (and l was about to finish by
swearing little, Pm afraid, as ! think
over it at this late day), when my
prisoner seemed also suddenly struck
with the knowledge Of having imposed
upon my hospitality, for as soon as lie
could gulp down the last mouthful he
said, "Blame my buttons, Johnny, if
l hain't eat up the lot. Pm sorry,
but / was so hungry / didn't know"
TLel we looked at each other and
the whole affair struck us so ludicrous
that we both burst into hearty laugh
l sat down and laughed until the tears
ran down my checks, and that Yankee
rolled over and laughed and made such
a racket that was afraid some of the
pickets in front of us would open fire,
but they didn't.
While we were still laughing the
relief came, and the officer in COM
mand said to me:
"Where did you get that fellow"
The fellows good nature and his
enjoyment of the joke Gan unconscious
one, of course) was so great that L de-
tcrmined, on the impulse of the mo-
ment, to get better acquainted with
him before turning him over as
prisoner, if possible, and when I re-
ported to my superior added that the
prisoner came from Ohio. not great
distance from my old home i'll West
Virginia, and that would like to
have a talk with him. In eXplana-
ton | will say that the prisoner had
told me that he belonged to another
regiment OF course, under ordinary
circumstances, such thing would
have been impossible, but just AS our
line was filing into town the whistle
of locomotives and rattle of drums
announced the arrival of reinforce
Ihcnts, and while the attention of the
squad was attracted nudgcd my pris-
oner and slipped into camp with him
without attracting attention.
Lying under dog tent we talked
for several hours. | told him where
came from, and found that he had
actually been born and raised not
thirty miles distant from my old home,
although in a different state. lie
knew many of my acqnainlanccs, and
l had known many people with whom
he had been familiar. Any one listen
ing TO us would have thought We
were old acquaintances and old
friends, and we certainly became
friends, if not old ones, that night.
Ny Yankee friend began TO show
great deal of uneasiness before q great
while, and l soon learned that he had
q terrible dread of being sent to Lib
bv, but as / had succeeded thus far i'll
running things to suit myself, l told
him not TO be uneasy, but to lie still
until | came back.
First / made him take off his blouse
and his cap, and these rolled up and
carried out of the tent under my arm.
In fifteen minutes had exchanged the
blue Jacket and cap for the gray jacket
and gray slouch hat of Confederate
its owner was asleep. From another
sleeping soldier borrowed ols
chunk of cornbread. Returning 10
the tent l told my prisoner to put on
the jacket and hat--a mighty risky
business for both of us-and then leu
him down over the hill, keeping III 'he
dark, until we struck the same favlhe
where had captured him, but at
point 100 feet distant from the picket
After guiding him to the opening oe-
tween the hills, pointed out the d.
rection of the camp of his friends, and
after telling him that they had proba-
bly, rctreated (Which ] learned ailer-
ward was fact), told him TO keep
on going, as our follows would MAKE
things lively that morning. We then
shook hands and parted.
Five years ago, while sitting IN
big country store in Ohio with apou'a