letters, one from sister Jane, tugging bravely on amidst her sixty-four
pupils. The next from Hannah, jubilant at the immediate prospect of
relief from her confinement. Third from J. L. Bugs are threatening
crops, too bad. Fourth, from Miss B. of Ohio, the "J" in her name
converted to "Jones". Judges I am a "literary gentleman", declares she
looks with more anxiety for my letters than any other, ha! ha! Keep
calm, keep calm!

On duty drawing forage. Topic of the day, 20th Indiana Battery going
home, guns and horses, etc. turned over. This is looked upon as an
opening for the reserve, it being a '62 organization, but it was sent
for directly from the State. Other batteries cleaning up harness, etc.

Chattanooga, Wednesday, June 21. Griff, D. Evans and myself have
contracted for a two days' pass from Captain Simpson. I was excused from
guard last night, and this morning 7 A. M., after morning drill, we
started out on a bold pedestrian excursion to Lookout Mountain and Lula
Lake. Two days' rations of hard-tack and sugar and cup in haversack was
all equipage taken along. The "King of Day" came down upon us in full
force, but nothing daunted we scaled the point in its precipitous and
direct route. Pantingly we reached the photograph gallery and rested.
Seized with a sudden desire to carry off some memento of our excursion,
we seated ourselves on the cliff and had ourselves taken, by the sun.
Carried off our plate picture for $6.50, and on to Lula through Summer
Town, and camp of the "Butterfly Brigade" who were all out drilling in
their white gloves.

[Sidenote: 1865 Mountain Scenery]

Our tramp along the summit of the mountain was a pleasant walk of about
eight miles, slightly undulated and timbered with a stunted growth of
oaks, with an occasional house and patch of corn. Here as everywhere,
enterprising Uncle Sam has his saw mills, shingle machines, etc. But
here abruptly amid rocky scenes, craggy cliffs, we came to a precipice,
and beneath us was Lula Lake. A wooden flight of stairs led us down
about forty-five feet and on a level with this lake, which was certainly
a diminutive thing, but a thing of great loveliness in its wild beauty.
My pen is altogether too tame to give an adequate description of this
romantic mountain scenery. The lake consists of a circular basin about
thirty yards in diameter hollowed out of the solid rock which rises
forty to eighty feet around the wall carved by the skillful hand of
nature