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off.
At last one cute Yankee, who, despite his cuteness, had been entirely cleaned out, wandered off and found an empty shell, which he carefully filled with damp gunpowder, adding a paper fuse.
Approaching the group that seemed to have most money on the board, he lighted the innocent combustible, screamed “Look out!”
and threw it into the midst of them, following up himself, to secure the greenbacks left by the fugitives.
Russell said when the recruits first come down they get into all sorts of snarls.
As, for example, two of them found what they call “one er dese ere mortisses,” by which they would say mortar shell.
“Hullo, dar's er mortiss: s'pose dat ar'll ‘splode?”
“‘Splode! ‘corse it'll ‘splode.”
“No, it wun't; how's gwine to ‘splode, when's been shot out uv er cannon?”
“Bet yer five dollars'll ‘splode.”
“Bet yer it wun't!”
The next thing the Colonel knew was a tremendous report, and two or three bits of iron flying through his tent.
He rushed forth and collared a handful of the darks, and demanded immediate explanation.
Whereunto one replied, with the utmost simplicity: “Didn't mean nuphin, Kernul; all fault er dat ar stupid nigger — said er mortiss wouldn't ‘splode!”
This day was further remarkable by the erection of a stately flagstaff, which seemed to imply that General Williams thought we should stay some time; but I think it will doubtless make us move at once; just as building log huts has a similar effect.
November 16, 1864
They have made Sheridan a Major-General in the Regular Army.
I think he deserves it for that remarkable battle of Cedar Creek.
Those of Opequon and of Fisher's Hill were joyous occasions; but he ought to have won those, because his forces were probably at least as two to one, and 