CHICKAMAUGA. 61 



battle, sir ? " I answered in the negative ; 

 and he added, half apologetically, that he and 

 his companion wished to get as many points 

 as possible about the field. In the kindness 

 of my heart, I told him that I was a stranger, 

 like himseK, but that the gentleman yonder, 

 on horseback, seemed to be well acquainted 

 with the place, and would no doubt answer 

 all inquiries. With a queer look in his face, 

 and some remark that I failed to catch, my 

 interlocutor dropped back into his seat, and 

 the carriage drove on. It was only after- 

 ward that I learned — on meeting him again 

 — that he was no other than General Boyn- 

 ton, the man who is at the head of all things 

 pertaining to Chickamauga and its history. 



In the open field several Bachman finches 

 were singing, while the woods were noisier, 

 but less musical, with Maryland yellow- 

 throats, black-poll warblers, tufted titmice, 

 and two sorts of vireos. Sprinkled over the 

 ground were the lovely spring beauty and 

 the violet wood sorrel, with pentstemon, 

 houstonia, and a cheerful pink phlox. Here 

 I soon heard a second nuthatch, and fell into 

 a kind of fever about its notes, which were 

 clearer, less nasal, than those of our New 



