month whiskey was served, and the men were satisfied to work for the
promise of forty cents a day extra pay and three drams. In the fifth
week the drams were stopped, and the extra pay never began. I am
letting that little bill against the Jeff. Davis government, and
some larger ones, run at interest. The reader will agree with me
that they are likely to run some time.

"Stolen waters are sweet," says high authority, but some of our
regiment seemed to set a higher value upon stolen liquor. While the
whiskey ration was continued, there was little drunkenness. The men
were satisfied with the limited amount given, and the general health
of all was good. When the spirit ration was stopped, illicit trade
in the "crathur" was carried on by Jews and peddlers, who hung
around the camp a short distance out in the woods. The search after
these traders by the authorities was so vigilant, that at last there
was no whiskey vended nearer than the little town of Covington,
eight miles distant. This, however, did not deter the men from
making frequent trips to this place after it. Various expedients
were resorted to, in order to bring it inside of the guard-lines.
Some stopped the tubes on their guns, and filled the barrel with
liquor. The colonel, while passing a tent one day, saw one of the
men elevate his gun and take a long pull at the muzzle. He called
out, "Pat, what have you got in your gun? Whiskey?"

He answered--"Colonel, I was looking into the barrel of my gun to
see whether she was clean."

The colonel walked on, muttering something about the curiosity of a
man's eyes being located in his mouth. He was no sooner out of sight
than Pat inspected his weapon again, and from the sigh of regret