John G. B. Adams, Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment

[157] with him. The house was only a short distance off. Enos walked on his crutches. He said if the war lasted thirty years he should use them until the end. When we arrived we found two log houses; in one were two women and five children; the other was the servants' quarters. Poor as our friend was he owned slaves; one, the man we had seen in the woods; the other, the man's mother, a poor broken-down old woman. He introduced us to the women as two friends of his. They sat in the corner of the fire-place smoking corn-cob pipes, and said very little to us, not because they were displeased but because it would require an effort to talk. We made ourselves at home. One of the women asked me if I would have a smoke. As I had little chance to indulge in my favorite habit I gladly accepted her offer. She took the pipe out of her mouth and handed it to me. That broke the ice; we talked upon various subjects, mostly of war. Enos's wife said the Yanks used them better than their own men, as the rebels took her best horse and the Yanks left the old one. They didn't seem to know or care what army we belonged to. Supper was announced and we went outside to the other house. I suppose this was the dining hall. The table was set, but there was not a whole plate on it or two pieces alike. The old colored woman waited on the table, poured the tea and passed the food.

Our host was a religious man and asked a blessing at the table, but he had a hard time carving the pork and remarked that it was tough as h--. After the vesper meal we returned to the mansion. The pipes were the first thing, and as they all wanted to smoke, they fixed up a new one for me. Enos then told them who we were, and we saw indications of fear on their faces. The sister, whose husband was in a Yankee