Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-12-20
PHOENIX, BRATTLEBORO, FRIDAY, DECEMBER, 20, 1896

1t was not quito equal to the best beer,
but 1t was q sort of substitute for it, and
we enjoyed it hugely.
We didn't succeed in plugging that up
as we'll as We did the molasscs barrel,
though we did try. The yeast was too
much for us, and 1 am seriously afraid
that that whole barrel of yeast was spilled.
BY this time we had pretty well dc.
SPARED of finding the whisky, but we kept
on trying awhile longer, until it seemed
as IL we had riddled the floor so complete
ly that there was no place left above where
q barrel could stand. Finally we gave it
up and began to plan a retreat.
The side of the hill in the rear of the
house was covered with a sort of ice for
nation that was 300 or 400 feet wide and
sloped downward at pretty steep angle
We had surveyed this carefully before 60
ing in, and / said TO Mason that if we
could make rush over to where that leo
was we could get down the hill good deal
faster than any of the sentinels would care
to come after us, for all we had to do was
to jump on the ice and slide down. That
seemed to be about the best scheme we
could think of, so we watched our chance
and made a rush.
We hadn't got to the edge Of the hill,
and that was only few feet from the
storehouse, when we heard the sentries
cry, "Who goes there?" II really wasn't
worth while for us to stop and answer
them under the circumstances, so we kept
right on. There were two or three shots
fired after u.s. but we did not get hit. l
don't imagine the men on guard were very
anxious to kill us, for they must have UNI
derstood in an instant what we were about
and probably stopped long enough to re-
member that they would have liked tho
chance to try the same thing.
So our Christmas extras that year were
pot of soup, little sugar, little mo-
lasses and canteen Of yeast. And think
perhaps we enjoyed the yeast more than
any of the other things. The real Christ
mas festival did not come for some days
afterward, when our boxes arrived, and
remember that had glorious time, for
there was big Yorkshire plum pudding
in my box and three pounds of killikinick
tobacco, and the tobacco was perfect god
send.
But before that, on the morning after
Christmas day, there was the very mis-
chief to pay in camp, and If Mason and l
had been found out we would have been
in for severe punishment, for we had done
great amount more Of mischief than we
knew anything about.
1t appeared that there was politician
Of some standing-I think he was an al
derman from Boston or somewhere-who
had been in camp for some days looking
for the remains of his brother, who had
been killed some time before and he had
found them Christmas morning. The body
had been disinterred and put in hand
some coffin that the alderman had brought
from home, and the coffin had been put in
the storehouse over night.
OF course we didn't know it was there.
Perhaps it might have made a difference
to Mason and me if we had known. 1
don't know as l care about expressing an
opinion on such delicate question. At
all events we didn't know, and naturally
we couldn't be expected to bore holes
through the floor in as many places as we
did bore them without hitting the coffin,
and as a matter Of fact we had bored three
or four holes in it. 1t hadn't really spoiled
the coffin for actual service, but it had GER
tainly damaged it to some extent.
Well, the politician made a row, and the
commanding officer ordered general
search of the camp, to SEQ If any trace
could be found of the Observation-Disclosures
ing Mason and me-who had been guilty
| of the dissertation. 1t was q pretty rigor-
| GUS search, too, and our tents were ran
sacked thoroughly, but long before they
got around to our quarters Mason and
had the molasses and sugar, or what was
left Of them, safely buried. OF course the
yeast was all gone, and there wasn't a
trace of our crimes left.
suppose it would be easy to tell more
sentimental story about soldiers Christ
mas, but the sentiment that moved us
most powerfully when we were on short
rations in those days was hunger.
AMOS J. CUMMINGS.