ARRIVAL AT THE HALF-WAY TENT. 
127 
We here came to a halt, and took the hands of our friends for 
the last time. We were all most sensibly affected, and although 
we had become inured to hardships and privations of every 
description, we could not, on this occasion, restrain our tears. 
It was about 2 p. m. when we resumed our journey, and we 
had resolved to walk to the “ half-way tent,” twenty-two miles 
distant. We were obliged to wade through mud to the tops of 
our boots, and on one occasion Jones sunk so deeply into the 
mud that we were obliged to pry him out. The first two miles 
found us much fatigued, and we were obliged to consult our 
bottles for relief; the next two found us running under a full 
head of steam, our walking beams in the finest working order. 
There was an evident disposition to try our relative speed, and 
the probability is that we never attained a higher rate than on 
this particular occasion. We did not meet any one on the road, 
but we met a number of trees, and although entire strangers, 
we made ourselves as familiar as though we had been acquaint¬ 
ed with them for years; I hope they do not remember what 
we said to them. We thought Fairchild made too much lee¬ 
way ; Jones had so much freight on deck that he rolled about 
tremendously; I found it difficult to keep on an even keel, and 
was so heavily laden forward, that it was almost impossible to 
support the “ figure-head.” We all, however, made good time, 
considering the depth of water we drew. Sunset (it did not 
rise that day) found half our journey performed, and three- 
fourths of our fuel consumed ; we did not let the engines stop, 
but steamed on, the paddles frequently throwing mud into the 
faces of the passengers. About 9 P. M., one of the vessels was 
noticed to careen, but it righted, and we kept on until half-past 
ten, when we arrived at the half-way tent. 
If I was ever glad to put into port, it was at this time, and 
we certainly put in in “ stress of weather.” We found the tent 
full, and when we called for supper were told that there was 
nothing to eat, except a piece of salt beef which was in the bar¬ 
rel. We ordered this cooked, and made a supper of brandy and 
beef. We now looked about for a place to sleep, but were 
obliged to spread our blankets on the wet ground. If I ever felt 
the necessity of a place on the dry dock, it was at this time; 
our clothes were wet with rain and perspiration, and now we 
