Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-08-14
CHAPTER x.
WINTER QUARTERS.

- SSx.st.a ways sure TO ma inc
&&1I% ,Iohnnies doing bust.
ness at the same old stand and unwill.
ing to be interfered with. We always
could reach them in days march, con
sumo another day in passing along their
entire front and still another in return.
Ing to camp. They seldom returned our
attentions in force. probably because
they had not large enough force ia
feel safe when far from home. BE.
sides, they could learn all they liked
about our post and its camps, for ev.
cry farmer and planter in the county
was source of information to them.
We never got into n big engagement
1t wasn't our business. except when
we were accompanied by large force
of infantry and artillery, to worry the
Confederacy by making believe that
the ION TO Richmond" movement of
the Potomac army was to be made
from our direction. When we went
nlone, the enemy did not worry much,
for they had broad, deep stream
along their entire front. They could
quickly take up the planking of the
only bridge within ten miles, so they
exchanged shot and shells with us
across the river with the calm conf
dence of the card player who holds all
the trumps.
Our colonel had been quite right In
saying that the first scout was worth
more TO US than month Of drill. The
men learned to sit in their saddles and
not TO be afraid of their horses, so we
n1I h,,r sl..:h
good shape and progress rapidly. Man
ranks lower than his horse in all good
cavalry regiments, SO it was not until
we had completed the stables that our
own winter quarters We're begun. By
this time, however, we learned, to our
delight, that we were too vaIua bic to
consume our time in common labor. A
number of the contra bands" Fugitive
slaves who had made our post n place
of refuge were sent into the woods to
cut trees and split shingles, and Just
before Christmas each company had a
great log house, about IS feet by 30,
for its winter home. A small contribu.
ton from each man enabled us to put
up stove which tempered the winter
MR. and one new member who had al
ways lived In the tenement house dis
trict in New York, said he never before
mad known so comfortable q home.
Killing time in the winter season
was almost as hard as killing the en-.
envy, for there was such an appalling
lot Of time ahead of us. Some men
played cards all day, except while eat
Ing and sleeping; others read incessant.
y CT OIL a
some seemed to spend much of their
time writing. l liked to observe these.
for they had more heart in their faces
for the time being, and as knew some
of the people TO whom the letters were
going l amused myself by imagining
the scenes when the letters were re.
ceived.
But It troubled me much that Ham.
flton and Brainard were writing SO
persistently to my cousin May. i did
not see the letters. but heard Of them
through my home correspondence.
knew that Brainard who visibly wor.
SHIPPED Mays portrait sometimes when
he supposed l was not looking and
probably hundreds Of other times. YVES
not the sort of man to change his re.
gard for any one, much less for a
sweet girl. Some one had seen In
Hamilton's hands . portrait of May l
did not know that he brought one from
Summerton. was also troubled by
his manner toward Brainard. 1t was
not ugly. but it contained suggestion
OF condescenson not unmixed with
contempt, and l fancied Brainard no.
ticed IT.
Still, what could l do in such a
matter? May was no fonder of coun-
gel than very young women in general,
nor was she less averSe to admiration
In large quantities. 1 could not mag
inc her in love with any one, for she
and had been rough and tumble play.
mates, and l knew only the tomboy
and fun loving side Of her nature.
After much thought over the rivals
ana their respective chances, | could
only hope. for the sake of peace, that
She would not give the slightest encour-
agement to either, but would be won
by some other worthy Summerton
youth. l believed that both Brainard
ana Hamilton We're manly enough to
recover from any sorrow oCca stoned by
the loss of something no matter how
precious, that was not their own and
had not ever been promised TO them.
Our special comforts were not con-
fined to shelter and rest Two or three
OF the married men knew something
about cooking, and so did one man who
had been logger in Maine; SO the
company cook was coaxed, bulhed and
fattcred until he learned to do some
thing besides merely boil the several
raw materials dealt him. ration Of
cornmeal would sometimes be served
al fried hasty pudding and again as
"crackling bread''-cOrn bread contain
Ing tiny dice Of fat pork which had
been fried thoroughly and drained of
grease. Remains Of a dinner Of salt
beef and potatoes would reappear next
morning as c0rned beef hash. Boiled
rice, modified only by cheap moasses,
was about as unp0pular as castor oil.
but with little coffee, which would
not be missed, we could trade with q
native for enough milk and eggs to
make that once detested rice so popu
lar that there always was some mau
Offering his supper portion OF bread
Tor half OF some other mans rice.
L. In