"We will burn your cotton." run without it. Colonel Williams grew "Go about it, then. But it is my opin- angry, probably suspecting him of Union ion, gentlemen, that you will not burn it." sentiments and of wishing to delay the "What do you propose to do? You train, cursed him rather roundly, and don't mean to say that you will show any opposition to our authority?"

"I simply mean to say that you will not burn my cotton. Bob, bring a coal of fire."

at length told him he should run it under guard, adding to the guard already on the engine: "If any accident occurs, shoot the cursed Yankee." Little was a Northern man. Upon the threat thus enforced, the engineer seemed to yield, and pre

The fire is brought. “Gentlemen, there is the fire, and yon-pared to start the train. As if having der are one hundred bales of cotton. forgotten an important matter, he said Proceed." hastily, "Oh, I must have some oil," and stepping down off the locomotive, walked When he was toward the engine-house.

"Your conduct is very extraordinary, Sir. I should like to know what you

mean?'

about twenty yards from the cars, the "Well, Sir, I mean that if you attempt guard thought of their duty, and one of to burn that cotton I will scatter your them followed Little, and called upon him brains so far and wide that no power in to halt; but in a moment he was behind heaven or earth can bring them together the machine shop, and off in the dense again. (Here, boys! that cotton is yours; defend it or starve.")

66

strange conduct," mutters Mr. Officer, sullenly; "We'll attend to your case, Sir. We are going down the river we will give you a visit on our return."

"Do. Whenever you make up your mind to burn my cotton, by all means

come and burn."

The cowed officer and his posse "fell back in good order." The valiant Louisianian saved his cotton. He had no second visit from Beauregard's cotton burn

ers.

Running an Engine in the Confederate Service.

The popular author of "Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army," one of the most readable of books, must be allowed to tell his own story about 'that engine,' and here it is:

woods, in the deep darkness. The com-
motion soon brought the Colonel and a
crowd, and, while they were cursing each
other all around, the fireman and most of
the brakemen slipped off, and here we
were with no means of getting ahead.
All this time I had stood on the engine,
rather enjoying the melee, but taking no
part in it, when Colonel Williams, turning
to me, said:

"Can not you run the engine?"
"No, Sir," I replied.

"You have been on it, as you came down."

"Yes, Sir, as a matter of curiosity." "Don't you know how to start and stop her?"

"Yes, that is easy enough; but if any thing should be wrong I could not adjust it."

"No difference, no difference, Sir; I must be at Bowling Green to-morrow, and you must put us through."

The engineer, Charles Little, refused to run the train on during the night, as he "Colonel Williams" said I, calmly lookwas not well acquainted with the road, ing him in the eye, "I can not voluntarily and thought it dangerous. In addition, take the responsibility of managing a the head-light of the locomotive being out train with a thousand men aboard, nor of order, and the oil frozen, he could not will I be forced to do it under a guard make it burn, and he could not possibly who know nothing about an engine, and

who would be as likely to shoot me for trestle work, and throw them into the doing my duty as failing to do it; but if gorge below, forbade, nor was there wisyou will find among the men a fireman, dom in jumping off, as the steep embankand send away this guard, and come your-ment on either side would prevent escape self on the locomotive, I will do the best from the wreck of the cars when the colI can." lision came. All this was decided in an And now commenced my apprenticeship instant of time, and I calmly awaited the to running a secession railroad train, with shock which I saw was unavoidable. rebel regiment on board. The engine be- Though the speed, which was very moderhaved admirably, and I began to feel ate before, was considerably diminished, quite safe, for she obeyed every command in the fifty yards between the obstacle and I gave her, as if she acknowledged me the head of the train, I saw that we her rightful lord. would certainly run into the rear of an

I could not but be startled at the posi- other train, which was the obstruction I tion in which I was placed, holding in my had seen. hand the lives of more than a thousand The first car struck was loaded with men, running a train of twenty-five cars hay and grain. My engine literally split over a road I had never seen, running it in two, throwing the hay right and left, without a headlight, and the road so dark and scattering the grain like chaff. The that I could only see a rod or two ahead, next car, loaded with horses, was in like and, to crown all, knowing almost nothing manner torn to pieces, and the horses of the business. Of course I ran slowly, piled upon the sides of the road. The about ten miles an hour, and never took third car, loaded with tents and camp my hand off the throttle, or my eye from equipage, seemed to present greater rethe road. The Colonel at length grew sistance, as the locomotive only reached it, confident, and almost confidential, and did and came to a stand still. most of the talking, as I had no time for conversation.

My emotions during these moments were most peculiar. I watched the reWhen we had run about thirty miles, morseless pressure of the engine with aland every thing was going well, Colonel most admiration. It appeared to be deWilliams concluded to walk back, on the liberate, and resolute, and insatiable. The top of the box cars, to a passenger car which shock was not great, the advance seemed was attached to the rear of the train, and very slow; but it plowed on through car occupied by the officers. This somewhat after car with a steady and resistless hazardous move he commenced just as we course which suggested at that critical mostruck a stretch of trestle-work which car- ment a vast and determined living agent. ried the road over a gorge of some fifty When motion ceased, I knew my time of feet deep. As the locomotive reached the trial was near; for if Colonel Williams end of the trestle-work the grade rose a had not been thrown from the top of the little, and I could see through or in a deep cars into the gorge below, he would soon cut, which the road run into, an obstruc- be forward to execute his threat,-to shoot tion. What it was, or how far ahead, I me if any accident occurred. I stepped had almost no conception; but, quick as out of the cab on the railing running thought,—and thought is as quick as light- along to the smokestack, so as to be out ning in such circumstances—I whistled for of view to any one coming forward toward the brakes, shut off the steam, and await- the engine, and yet to have him in the ed the collision. I would have reversed full light of the lantern which hung in the the engine, but a fear that a reversal of cab. Exactly as I had surmised-for I its action would crowd up the cars on the had seen a specimen of his temper and

recklessness, he came stamping and curs-
ing; and jumping from the car to the
tender, he drew a pistol, and cried out,
"Where is that cursed engineer, that
did this pretty job? I'll shoot him the
minute I lay my eyes upon him."

I threw up my six shooter so that the light of the lantern shone upon it, where he could see but indistinctly, if at all, and said with deliberation,

66

the rich Secesh, "How long will you give me to raise it?" "Three years or during the war," answered the Colonel. "Oh, well, well," said Secesh, "you are not so hard with us after all. I will have it for you in time," and started leisurely for the door. But," said the Colonel, "you must accept of our hospitality during that time, at your own expense. Guard," continued the Colonel, "take Mr. to that "Colonel Williams, if you raise your mansion that was made with hands, down pistol, you are a dead man; don't stir, but on the classic bluffs of Stoner." "Stop, listen to me. I have done just what any stop!" said Secesh; "now I think of it, man must have done under the circum- I happen to have that amount in my pockstances. I stopped the train as soon as et, and have not the least objection to helppossible, and I'll convince you of it, if you ing our country in her hour of need." He are a responsible man; but not another escaped a hard bed and bare walls that word of shooting, or you go down." night.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" he cried. "Put up your pistol, and so will I," I replied.

2011

Terry's Colored Cook and his Shell. While at Morris Island, South Carolina, He did so, and came forward, and I ex- General Terry's colored cook, whose bump plained the impossibility of seeing the of curiosity must certainly have been detrain sooner, as I had no head light; and veloped to an alarming degree, undertook they had carelessly neglected to leave a to investigate the contents of a 10-inch light on the rear of the other train. I shell by placing the portion containing the advised the choleric Colonel to go forward and expend his wrath and curses on the conductor of the forward train, that had stopped in such a place, and sent out no signal man in the rear, nor even left a red light. He acknowledged that I was right. I then informed him that I was an officer in the ordnance department, and was in charge of a shipment of ammunition for Bowling Green, and would have him courtmartialed when he reached there, unless he apologized for the threats he had made. This information had a calming effect on the Colonel, who at heart was really a clever fellow.

Paid his Assessment on the Spot.

fuse-cap before the fire of his stove, for the The summary method pursued by Col- purpose of melting the lead and releasing onel Metcalfe, in Kentucky, is well illus- the cap from the shell. As may be naturtrated by the following incident which ally supposed, the heat of the fire soon occurred in Paris, Kentucky. A custom- occasioned an explosion, which seriously er was brought in and told that he was wounded the over-curious cook in different assessed a thousand dollars. "Well, said portions of his body, to say nothing of the

very promiscuous damage done to the berland, an interesting incident is told, as stove and to the kettles and pans resting follows:

thereon, the fragments of which it would Several rumors had appeared in the have been quite impossible to count in any newspaper press, and had otherwise been short space of time. A colored soldier, publicly proclaimed, that General Grant named David, a native of South Carolina, was in the habit of getting intoxicated. having been made acquainted with the This idea may have arisen from his slovcircumstances of this occurrence, drew enly mode of attiring himself, or from himself up and pompously remarked, with some other equally unreliable cause. characteristic vernacular, that "white folks friends of the Illinois troops under Generneed not offer any more comparisons be- al Grant's command, being anxious for tween the Boston and the South Carolina their safety, selected a delegation to visit darkies which were unfavorable to the

latter, for it was now clearly demonstrated that the Boston chaps were both simple, and ignorant, while a South Carolinian, if put to the same test, would never have made such a fool of himself as to stick a loaded shell into the fire of a stove and stick his face into it!" It would have been interesting, doubtless, to listen to the Yankee cook's comments upon his adventure-if indeed any comments were needed in view of his knocked-up appearance.

Commissaries and Chemists.

The editor of the Baltimore American took it into his head one day to visit the

moved.

66

The

"You see, General," said the spokesman, we have a number of Illinois volunteers under General Grant, and it is not safe that their lives should be entrusted to the care of a man who so constantly Who indulges in intoxicating liquors. knows what blunders he may commit."

commissary department of one of the large General Halleck, and have Grant remilitary hospitals conveniently accessible, and in the course of his observations noticed several barrels of dried coffee grounds, the purpose whereof naturally excited his curiosity. The polite Commissary informed him that he received twelve dollars per barrel for the grounds. "But what is it purchased for?" inquired the editor, with that curiosity for information natural to his profession. "Well," said the Commissary, hesitatingly, "it is re-aromatized by the transforming hand of modern chemistry, and put up in pound papers, which are decorated with attractive labels and high-sounding names." Yes, re-aromatized! Comment is unnecessary.

Halleck's Use of a Bad Report. Connected with General Grant's great victory on the rivers Tennessee and Cum

"Well, gentlemen," said General Halleck, "I am satisfied with General Grant,

and I have no doubt you also soon will

be."

While the deputation were staying at the hotel, the news arrived of the capture of Fort Donelson and thirteen thousand prisoners. General Halleck posted the intelligence himself on the hotel bulletin, and as he did so he remarked, loud enough for all to hear:

"If General Grant is such a drunkard

as he is reported to be, and can win such | I told them that I wanted to buy some victories as these, I think it is my duty to shoes for my troops, who were barefooted. issue an order that any man found sober They replied they guessed I would'nt get in St. Louis to-night shall be punished many. At that I got angry. Said I, with fine and imprisonment ! " "There are two pair of shoes at any rate, which I see on your feet. Take them off Shoe-Raid by General Wadsworth. instantly!" They were obliged to do it. One of the cleverest Union raids during I went through the town, and took the the war was that undertaken-and suc- shoes off every man's feet I could see, and cessfully carried through-by General thus I raised about two hundred pairs in Wadsworth, one of the heroes killed while all. One fine old fellow, a miller, whom I serving in Grant's Richmond campaign. met, I did not deprive of his own pair; I The General in giving an account of this rode up to him, and asked if he had any 'shoe raid' to a companion, said :-I re- shoes he could spare me, describing the member during the march through Mary pitiful condition of my men. The old land, before the battle of South Mountain, man said, "I don't know if there's any shoes in the house or not, but "-looking down at his feet-"here's a pair you're welcome to at any rate." I would not let him take them off, but he gave me some from his house. All the rest I stripped.

General Wadsworth.

we passed over a tract of country extremely rugged and stony, and I saw not only men but officers walking along with bleeding feet. The men's shoes gave out entirely. It hurt my feelings more than I can tell you, to see the good fellows trudge along so. We came to a town on the line of march, and I, who was riding at the head of the column, spurred ahead to see if there were not some shoe stores where I could purchase what was needed for the men. All the shops were closed; the first men I saw were two sitting outside of a closed shop. "Are there any shoe stores in this town?" I asked. They replied in a gruff way, that they could not tell there might be and there might not.

Bad Habit amongst Mules.

When our troops at Paducah first received their teams, they were troubled to procure forage, so that the mules were turned loose or tethered in the outskirts of the town. Occasionally a few would be missing, until Uncle Sam found himself minus some twenty-five or thirty. Those which strayed away were caught up by the rebel speculators and taken to Blandville, back of Columbus, where they had accumulated some fifty stolen and purchased animals, which were under five or six keepers.

Two privates, members of the Fourteenth Illinois Volunteers, hearing of the whereabouts of said stock, asked General Smith's permission to attempt their recapture, which, with some misgivings, was granted. The boys, dressed in the garb of Kentucky farmers, went and surveyed the field and fold, and set to work. They had whiskey with them-whiskey such as Kentucky rebels liked to get drunk ongood old Bourbon, and the first object was to get them as comfortably tight as possi