CAMPAIGNING WITH MAX. 99 



stood, he had no equal there for my purposes. 

 Since he had come into the army he had been 

 in the possession of a private soldier, who had 

 done much scouting duty, and he had been ini- 

 tiated (successfully) into the scrub-racing which 

 Illinois soldiers much affected. The serious 

 amount of one hundred and forty dollars was 

 hazarded in the venture, and he was transferred 

 to our stable. That increment of value which 

 always follows the purchase of a new horse 

 came rapidly in his case, and it needed only a 

 few gallops on the breezy bluffs beyond Fort 

 Halleck, to install him as prime favorite among 

 the headquarters' mess. 



He was deemed worthy of the noble name of 

 Max, and under Ike's careful grooming he re- 

 turned daily toward the blooming condition that 

 only Second Illinois abuse had been able to sub- 

 due. In an early race with the Hun we were 

 ingloriously beaten; but the Hun rode a mar- 

 vellous little blood mare, blooming with hun- 

 dreds of bushels of oats, and with two years of 

 careful handling. Max, though beaten, was not 



