"sopped" in the bacon gravy and eaten, we
whittled some tobacco off a plug, filled our pipes and leaned up against
the fence and smoked the most enjoyable smoke that ever was smoked.
After smoking in silence a few minutes my rebel friend said, as he blew
the smoke from his handsome mouth, "War is not so unpleasant, after
all." Then we fell to talking about the manner in which the different
generals on each side had conducted things. He went on to show that if
Lee had taken his advice, the Yankees would then be on the run for the
North, and I showed him, by a few well-chosen remarks that if I
could have been close to Grant, and given him some pointers, that the
Confederates would be hunting their holes. We were both convinced that
it was a great mistake that we were nothing but private soldiers, but
felt that it would not be long before we were called to occupy high
places. It seemed to stand to reason that true merit would find its
reward. Then he knocked the ashes out of his pipe and said if I had a
pack of cards we would go up in the judges stand and play seven-up
to see whether I was his prisoner, or he was mine. I wanted to take a
prisoner back to the regiment, at I thought it would make me solid with
the colonel, and I played a strong game of seven-up, but before we got
started to playing he suggested that we call it a stand-off, and agree
that neither of us should be a prisoner, but that when we got ready to
part each should go hunt up his own command, and tell the biggest lie we
could think of as to the fight we had had. That was right into my hand,
and I agreed, and then my friend suggested that we play poker for money.
I consented and he put up Confederate money, against my greenbacks, ten
to one. We played about an hour, and at the close he had won the balance
of my bounty, except what I had given to the chaplain for safe keeping,
and a pair of pants, and a blouse, and a flannel shirt, and a pair of
shoes, which I had on my saddle. I was rather glad to get rid of some
of my extra baggage, and when he put on the clothes he had won from me,
blessed if I wasn t rather proud of him. A man could wear any kind of
clothes in the Confederate army, and my rebel looked real comfortable in
my clothes, and I felt that it was a real kind act to allow him to win
a blue suit that I did not need. If the men of both the armies, and the
people of both sections of the distracted country could have seen us two
soldiers together, th