SOLDIER 19 



for it was dark as a pocket, and I lost my way quite a 

 number of times and would wander hither and thither, 

 stumbling over vines and branches, till some sentinel 

 would bring me up with a round turn, with a click of his 

 musket-lock and 'Who goes there?" 



In closing the letter he could not help adding: "Tell 

 Mrs. B. that her nephew has improved so wonderfully in 

 camp morals that he actually told me he thought if he 

 could get a good chance to hook a hen, he should do it." 



In a letter to a classmate written January 27, he made a 

 few additions to the story of his first night on picket. 



The woods are plentifully stocked with game and we 

 could hear most every sound, from the hooting of owls and 

 rooting of wild hogs to the snarl of the wild-cat and cry 

 of the possum. You should see the vines that encircle 

 the trees or festoon from tree to tree. Some of them are 

 gigantic, as large round as my body, and their folds look 

 like the coils of an immense snake. The smaller vines are 

 so pliable you can twist and tie them like a rope. I slept 

 an hour or two under a magnolia tree while my sergeant 

 kept watch. You can't think how tough I am getting. I 

 lie down on the ground with nothing but my overcoat on, 

 and using a log for a pillow sleep very comfortably. Adieu, 

 my pirate of the deep blue sea. 



Affectionately, 



YOUR BLOOMING DAFFODIL AND FRAGRANT > 

 PRIMROSE OF A SOUTHERN CLIME. 



For some weeks after the arrival of the regiment at 

 Baton Rouge, the officers and men were busy with picket 



