The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-24

knew the people at home would not forget
US, but no boxes came. We learned after
ward that they were only three or four
miles away, but that didn't help US then,
and we didn't get them for several days.
1t was bitter cold. Only two days after
Christmas three or four men were frozen
to death on picket, and it was almost as
cold then, but even worse than the wealth
er was tho notion of feeding on hard tack
and salt horse. which was about all VIC
had, while the people at home had turkey
and plum pudding. In the morning,
though, there seemed to be no help for it,
and while we didn't grin we thought we
had to bear it.
At noon, however, there came little
alienation. One Of the men-I remember
his name was Hageman-came in from
picket duty with the bones of a sheep that
he had kicked up in the snow. Some guer-
rillas had been along there and had killed
and eaten the poor brute and left the
bones. They had mighty little meat on
them, but they were full of marrow, and
we boiled them up. There was a Dutch
sergeant in the company who had potato,
and somebody managed to steal two onions
from the Guarterlnaster; so we had some
soup.
1t was a change, and so it was welcome.
I don't remember to have enjoyed any
soup since then quite as much as 1 did
that, but somehow it didn't seem to fill
the bill of fare very well for Christmas,
and we were ready to take almost any kind
of chance for s6metking good.
My brother was in the same company
with me. and he was on guard at brigade
headquarters that day. We all knew that
there were some provisions in the store
house there, but the question was how to
get at Thorn. 1t meant running the risk of
being shot by some sentinel, besides tho
certainty of severe punishment in case we
should get caught trying to steal any
thing, yet there were some of US willing to
take the chance
When my brother came in after being
relieved, ne came to my tent in great glee.
1--WE got it!'' he said after making sure
that nobody was looking or listening.
''What have you got?'' asked. "Sugar,"
he exclaimed. "Where is itf' said I.
Here : said he, showing me his musket.
He had managed to get into the storehouse
long enough to pack the barrel of his gun
full of sugar, but didn't get anything else.
Sugar is good said I, "but if there
is sugar in the storehouse there ought to
be some whisky there too And l made
up my mind to get some of that whisky
that night if it was a possible thing.
There was o corporal named Mason in
the company, who was always ready to
take chances if there was anything to be
gained by it, and he wanted some of that
whisky as much as I did. 1t was cold
enough to make a temperance orator long
for a nip. 1 hunted Mason up, and we
agreed to start together when it got dark
enough. Meantime wo managed to steal
an auger from the quartermaster, and that,
with two canteens, made all the outfit we
thought we needed.
Fortunately it was dark night, and we
knew the lay of the land all right, so we
had comparatively easy time to dodge
the sentries 1t wasn't really easy, but it
proved to be a good deal easier than get
ting away from the place afterward. 1t
took US half an hour OF hiding and dodg
ing to get through the line, but we man
aged it and found ourselves, somewhere
about 10 o'clock, under the storehouse.
1t was a rough sort of a shanty, built on
the side of a hill, and there was room
enough to move around under it all right,
but the trouble was, we had neither of US
been inside the building and we hadn't
any notion where the things were packed,
SO we could only guess where the whisky
barrel was, and that was what we were
after.
We took turns boring holes in the floor
at random, and it wasn't long before we
found out that VIC had pretty dirty job
on hand, to say nothing of a good bit of
hard work. but we persevered for some
thing like an hour before we could strike
anything that would leak through. We
struck all sorts of things that wouldn't
leak. but we had no means of knowing