drawn over his head, the noose adjusted,
and the trap sprung. After he had hung for some time, we marched back to
camp.

Our stay at this camp was very pleasant. The location was supposed to be
unhealthy, and they issued whisky and quinine to the men for a while.
This did more harm than good.

My tent-mates were George Dunn, Joe Bovard, and Andy Shank. Joe Bovard
had been in the service from the beginning of the war. He was over six
feet in height, a good-natured, manly fellow. George Dunn extended
upward to an altitude of at least six feet and a half, besides running
along the ground an extraordinary distance before being started in a
vertical direction. Our tent was larger than the ordinary, ten by
twelve feet, well daubed and comfortable.

One day Jim M'Guire solicited "the hospitality of our tent for the
purpose of entertaining some friends." This meant that they wanted to
have a high old time, and our tent would be very convenient for that
purpose because of its size. Early next morning the festivities began.
Commissary whisky was provided in abundance. "Sport" (William Harris)
furnished music for the occasion, which he extracted from an old fiddle
procured from some unexplainable source. The ball opened with a good
pull all around from the canteen. Ordinary forms of entertainment and
social enjoyment soon became stale and they concluded to try the mazy
dance. Our tent was floored with puncheons, and the racket which they
kicked up was something marvelous. Occasionally I looked in to see how
the thing was progressing. "Sport" was perched upon the upper bunk, his
chin on the fiddle, his tongue protruding from his mouth, and wiggling
to and fro in time to the music, while on his face was a look of solemn
intensity, as if his life depended on his efforts. The dances were
necessarily limited to "French Fours," but these were rendered with
great animation and in the latest style of art. As George Dunn would
execute some of the fancy flourishes with which their figures were
profusely ornamented, his head would bob against the canvas roof. This
was suggestive. Procuring a stick of proper size, I crossed over to the
rear street, and stood back of the tent watching my opportunity.
Presently Dunn's head came bobbing against the canvas, and I brought the
stick down on it with a good, sharp crack. The effect was all that could
be desired. There came an unearthly bellow, accompanied, I grieve to
say, with many exclamations s