on, a number of home-made buttered biscuit, a
hen-egg and a goose-egg, besides more than his share of camp rations.
Here was our chance to teach a Christian man in an agreeable way that
he should not appropriate more than his share of the rations without the
consent of the mess, so we set to and ate heartily of his good stores,
and in their place put, for ballast, a river-jack that weighed about two
pounds. He carried the stone for two days before he ate down to it, and,
when he did, was mad enough to eat it. We then told him what we had done
and why, but thought he had hidden enough under his blanket to carry him
through the campaign.

Before leaving the Valley we had observed decided evidences of spring;
but here it was like midwinter--not a bud nor blade of grass to be seen.
Milroy was now out of reach, so we retraced our steps. On getting out of
the mountains we bore to the left of Staunton in the direction of
Harrisonburg, twenty-five miles northeast of the former. After the bleak
mountains, with their leafless trees, the old Valley looked like
Paradise. The cherry and peach-trees were loaded with bloom, the fields
covered with rank clover, and how our weary horses did revel in it! We
camped the first night in a beautiful meadow, and soon after settling
down I borrowed Sergeant Gregory's one-eyed horse to go foraging on. I
was very successful; I got supper at a comfortable Dutch house, and at
it and one or two others I bought myself and the mess rich. As I was
returning to camp after night with a ham of bacon between me and the
pommel of the saddle, a bucket of butter on one arm, a kerchief of pies
on the other, and chickens swung across behind, my one-eyed horse
stumbled and fell forward about ten feet with his nose to the ground. I
let him take care of himself while I took care of my provisions. When he
recovered his feet and started, I do not think a single one of my
possessions had slipped an inch.

CHAPTER V

BRIDGEWATER--LURAY VALLEY--FRONT ROYAL--FOLLOWING GENERAL BANKS--NIGHT
MARCH--BATTLE OF WINCHESTER--BANKS'S RETREAT

The next day we who were on foot crossed the Shenandoah on a bridge made
of wagons standing side by side, with tongues up-stream, and boards
extending from one wagon to another. We reached Bridgewater about four
P. M. It was a place of which I had never heard, and a beautiful village
it proved to be, buried in trees and flowers. From Bridgewater we went
to Harrisonburg, and then