Year: 1869

SHORTLY after the close of the war, |
travelled on the railway for some hours of
q bright, June day, seated beside young
soldier, a cavalrymGn, from Wisconsin,
who was on his way home, with an honor
able discharge, after "a service of four
years. My f9llowtraveler proved to be
quite intelligent and sociaby inclined, and
beguiled the way by relating many in
cidents of the battle field, aud of camp
and hospital life. One Of the simplest of
his stories, told with an appearance of the
utmost good faith, l have never forgotten
remembering distinctly every detail
while some of his more marvellous and
tragicll variations have quite faded from
my mind.


"Our regiment" he said, "was under
Banks, in the spring of 1862, when he
made such good time in getting down the
Shenandoah Valley. 1t was an awful,
driving, confused, exhausting, hurry
skurry change of base but it's curious
that chiefly remember it by q little in
cident, which perhaps you will think was
worth telling Of"


| signided my desire to hear his little
stery, and he went on:


1" | was one morning dispatched, in hot
haste, to the extreme rear, with a very
important order. AS ill-luck would have
it, had to ride strange horse, as my own
bad fallen lame. The one provided for
me proved just the most ill-natured,
vicious brute l ever mounted. | had hard
work to mount him at all, for his furious
rearing and pluneing; and when, at last,
reached the saddle, he was SO cnraged,
there was no getting him on for at least
five minutes, With his ugly head down,
and his ears back, he would whirl round
and round pivoting on his fore-feet, and
lashing out with his hind legs, till fancy
they must have looked like the spokes of
big wheel When he found that l was
master of the situation, that my hand was
firm and my spurs were sharp, he gave in
till the next time; but | knew that he
was continually watching for chance to
fling me over his head and trample the
mastership out of me.


rode hard that day, both because of
my orders, and for the purpose of putting
that devil of horse through; but there
were many distractions in the road
marching columns, artillery, army wagons,
and, above all, hosts of contrabands, who
were always scrambling to get out of your
way, just into your way; so it was noon
before had made half of my distance. 1t
was hot, sultry, and dusty day. I had
exhausted my canteen, and was painting,
almost lolling, like a dog Just as my
thirst was becoming quite unbearable,
came upon a group OF soldiers, lounging
by q wayside spring, drinking and filling
their canteens. At first | thought would
dismount, as my horse seemed pretty well
subdued and b0loCd, but no sooner did he
guess my intention, than he began again
his diabnlical frisklngs and plungings, at
Which the stragglers about the spring set
up provoking laugh, which brought my
already hot blood up to the boiling point
Still, didn't burst out at once. l swung
off my canteen, and said to one of the
men, the only fellow that hadn't laughed
at my bout with the horse; Here, com
rade, j1st you fill this for me-


"He was tall, dark, heavy browed,
surly-looking chap, but for all that / didn't
look for such an answer as he growled
out:


"'Fill your own canteen, and BE- -
oyou !,


tell you was mad the other fellows
laughed again, and the. l was madder,
and just says to him You mean devil !
hope to God shall yet hear you begging
for drink of water If ever do, I'll see
you die, and 60 where you belong, before
I'll give it to you ,..


"ThenI galloped on, though some of
the men called to me to come back, say
ing they'd fill my canteen. l didn't stop
I'LL | reached house, mile or two
farther on, where a little black boy
watered both me and my horse, and filled
my canteen, with a smile that the handful
of new pennies gave him couldn't begin
to pay for. When l compared the con
duct of this poor little chip of ebony, who
said he never had no father, nor mother,
nor no name but Pete with the treat
ment | had received from a white fellow
soldier, found that that drink of cold
water hadn't cooled down my anger
much. And for months and months
after, whenever l thought Of that at
fair, the old, mad feeling would come
boiling up. The fellows face always
came ont as clear before me as my oWn
brothers, only it seemed to be more sharp
ly cut into my memory, | don't know
why resented this offence so bitterly.
have let bigger things of the sort pass, and
soon forgotten them but this stuck by me
am not a reyeDgeful fellow naturally
but never gave up the hope Of seeing
that man again, and somehow paying him
back for his brutal insOlence, There
wasn't camp or review was in for the
next two years but / looked for him, righ
and lett never went over a field, aftel
battle, but l searched for him amonG
the dying-aod forgive me At last, my
opportunity came.


l had been wounded, and was in onf
of the Washington hospitals-almost well
yet still not quite 6t for duty in the saddle
hate, above all things, to be idle SO
begged for light employment as a hospita
nurse, and they gave it to me, and said
did my duty well.


81 never felt for our poor, brave fellow
as did there. had been very fortunate
and until that summer had never been il
hospital Now / saw such suffering anC
such heroism as had never seen on tht
battlefield Companionship helped L
keep up the spirits of those we could no
save, to the last Then it seemed hare
that each braVe boy must make his marcel
down the dark valley alone. But they al
went of CALAMITY. would rather haYt
galloped forward on a forlorn charge, any
day, than have followed any one of then
over to the Soldiers Rest though it il
pretty place to camp down in. In fact
my heart grew so soft here, 80 Christian
ned, as It were, that forgot 10 look fo
my OLD enemy for so, you see I still re
garded the surly straggler who refused M
water at the roadside spring.


Amer the battles Of the Wilderness,
great multitude OF the wounded Wer
poured in upon US all our wards wer
allied 10 OVeTaowing II was hot. clos
weather mos. OF the natianta weTa favarsl