The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-05-23

| ajar, and we thought there might bs some
cushions there 10 make our board seat more
comfortable for riding. So Comrade Boyd
got two for US. The tires of the old wagon
were loose and Beyd had to get out fire.
quently and pound on the tire to keep the
wheel from breaking down. Then, all ut
once, the atmosphere would become blue for
time, for in pounding at the old wheel he
would hurt his arm,
Thus we travelled on to within about half
| way from Champion Hills to Black River,
we came to clay hill. We got about half
| way up the hill; the horse baked with US
and began to back down. Boyd jumped out
and began to whip the old horse to make
him pull me up the hill, but the horse had
gone on strike and proposed to stay out, if
he died. The horse won, and backed down
the hill, nearly dumping me, wagon and ali
in deep ditch.
Just ut this time Comrade Vaughn, who
had been detailed as wagonmaster, came up
from the front with some teams. We
changed the harness from the ancient horse
TO mule. The long-eared quadruped was
great improvement on the horse rs q
means of transportation, but the difficulty
was that the mule was dead lazy, and COM
rade Boyd frequently hurt his wounded
arm in the use Of the whip and gee string.
When we arrived at Edwards Staten we
could see the pile of sugar that the JOhnnies
had dumped ont of the barrels, the object
being, presume, to keep it from falling into
the hands of us Yanks. We filled our hay
ersacks with it.
We arrived in camp that night with our
regiment, and when the army crossed the
river and marched toward Vicksburg we fol-
lowed with our mule and old wagon, and we
made laughing-stock for all the boys who
saw Us. But we were trying to keep up
with the army, and did not propose to be
captured, as some of the men were who re-
manned at the hospital at Champion Hills.
Before we arrived at Vicksburg fighting
was going on, and we could hear the noise of
the cannon. When we did arrive there we
selected a sheltered spot for a camp, made us
a tent by driving poles in the ground, and
getting moss and cane leaves and made a
bunk. We turned over to the Quartermaster
the old mule and wagon, and got our wounds
dressed every day.
Our Surgeon had lectured the boys Sc
verely for not keeping themselves clean and
white. At Vicksburg Boyd discovered the
Surgeon in an ambulance with his colored
man picking vermin from his clothing.
Boyd instantly commenced hurting his adj
clean. / looked for Boyd to get arrested,
but for some cause he was not The Surgeon
talked back to him in the same language,
and that was the end oft.
On the day that Fort Hill was blown up
we got to ride outside of the picket-line in
rear of the army. A part of the picket that
was off duty went outside with US to hunt
some fruit. We came to farmhouse where
there was peach orchard. The lady of the
house treated US nicely, and her daughter,
whose husband had been killed in the rebel
army, played on the piano for US. The lady
asked the Sergeant, who had gone with us,
to place guard over the orchard to keep
the Yanks from taking the peaches So a
guard was detailed and posted at one side of
the orchard, with proper instructions, and
did his duty well; but on the other side Of
the orchard some of the boys crawled through
the fence under the hill, out of sight of the
guard, and helped themselves to the ripe
fruit, though not 30 very ripe, either. The
fruit ate very well after cooking.
Time hung heavily on our hands. Being
continually in hearing of the fighting, yet
unable to report fort duty in the ranks,
Boyd and 1 determined to try our hand at
all hazards, SO one day crawled out in mines
and got to the front, where the fighting was
in progress. fired 81 rounds at the enemy,
it could be done and several times afterward
/ crawled out to the bitches and took hand
in the fighting through the portfolios be-
tween the logs.-DANIEL MATsoN, Co. G.,
Oath Iowa, Lincoln, Neb. 40