The National tribune., 1901-11-14

camp fronted on the shell road to Bona
venture and Thunderbolt, but extended
! back TO the river.
At that time oysters were the greatest
| food luxury in the West. An oyster sup
| per was the finest of treats, and the In
diana boys had had few opportunities
| before entering the army to enjoy that
expensive food. But here were the finest
of oysters everywhere. The water being
flesh immediatly in front of thr camp,
there were TO OySter-beds there, but in
the calm saltwater lagOOns nearby there
were oysters more plentiful than potatoes
in a fertile bottom of the Wabash All
they had to do was to wade in, after the
tide fell, and gather as many as they
wanted. They soon tired of this. how
ever when they found that for one of
the new crisp dollars the PaymaSter paid
them negro would bring in Il CARLOAD
of oysters.
They had oysters in every conceivable
style. Gid Aackall borrowed the Adju-
tant's cookbook, committed to heart all
its oyster recipes. and his fancy ran riot
Ill improving upon them. They had Oys-
ter stews with hardtack, Oyster-pies, oys-
ter soup. oysters fried with pork. sow
belly stuffed with oysters, oysters roasted
in the shell in cedar fires, oysters in their
bean soup, oysters with sweet potatoes
and rice.
Patsy the Kinch had become Il pcrma-
neBt attache OF the regiment, being mus
tered with Co. Q as IL drummer and at
tired in a new blue uniform, in which he
delighted to strut among the boys of the
clty. and reyile them as rebels and Sc
ceSSIOnlsts. His mother had been estab-
llShed IN camp as reSimental laundreSs,
and there was 4 hot feud developing be-
tween her and Aunt Minerva Ann over
the favOrS shown by the Adjutant, who
found the white woman adept in wash
-, l,
lCund impossible to teach the negreSS.
Pdtsy'S mother had better house. bet
ter food and more of it, and more money
than she had ever had before in her life |
Patsy was everywhere with the boys.
pointing out the Oyster-beds, giving them
pointers on many things, and particularly
in regard to fishing.
There never was country boy who |
did not dearly love to 20 a-fishing. Back |
home in Indiana they had to content |
themselves with sun-fish, perch. suckers |
and catfish, hard to catch, and of not |
much account when caught.
But the waters in rear of their camp |
were full of exciting surprises. When |
ever boy threw Il hook in he was pretty |
sure to catch something, though he had |
no idea what it would be- 1t might be |
a dainty little spot" with its black spot
behind the shoulders. and its array of |
black bars-a delicious pan-fsh; it might
uC ii bdbl Il IOOl long. ntit with |
enough for Il whale, with its
savage array of little teeth, and bright,
eyes; it might be a sea bass
weighing from u to % pounds, with its
blue sides, many fins and serrated crest.
No two boys ever seemed to catch the
same kind of fishes, and every haul-up
was an astonishment. Frequently the
nnwary boy was jerked into the water by
hooking some monster, or the boat in
which he was would be towed along at
a great speed until the line broke
There were hannel-mouthS, with lips
and throats of deep carmine; shepherds.
with their sheep-like eyes and jaws and
If toothsome flesh; there were balloon
ish, that looked like Il wet cactus, and
'Welled up like balloon; there were but
er-tish, that slipped from the grasp like I
creased pig; there were drum-fish, |
which throbbed and doomed when caught: {
here were delicately-spOtted sea-trout,
lainty and beautiful, both to the eye and
o the taste when cooked {
There were scores of other forms of 5
lshes, small, larger, very large, elephant q
ne and monstrous. all strange to the eyes
# the inlauderS Great sharks IonTer s
han a fence-rail and weighing nearly a
on, would flash by like a ray of dirty
'lue, showing their ugly heads above the '
water as they turned to gulp down a a
chool of fish q
Besides these was a never-ending variety =
f other fOrms-snaky, many-armed.
'ladder-like, mossy, fOliaceous -mimick- t
ng everything seen on land, and yet like n
o nothing upon which the boys'eyes were n
yer laid. }
Patsy the Kinch was with the bors n
reveling in his superior kncwl-
dge of the life of the sea, pointing out
that was good to eat and what was dam
erous to touch, or poison to the stomach.
lie had name for everything, and Z >;
lousand tricks for catching, avoiding or u
isposing of the water-tribe One of these j
as when they caught young shark, to A
Did back the still soft cartilage of the v
lout, which would prevent the shark :,
'om diving under water They would II
ROW him back, and laugh at his frantic tt
forts to get under the surface. ii
The fish were almost as great addi- 4