d that
as he had no written orders he had better hold on. The editor of the
_Free South_ has been amusing himself by throwing out owlish
insinuations to the effect that speculators and others on St. Helena
had better take heed of General Hunter's orders, for the prospective
profits of a speedy fortune would hardly warrant the risk, etc., etc.

The next paragraph gives another version of the search for
black recruits.

Captain Thompson came to Coffin's on Wednesday with about fifty men.
They caught no one but Primus, who felt safe and didn't hide. If he
had behaved himself he wouldn't have been taken, but got into a
passion and talked so wild that he was taken out of punishment for his
impudence, and then held on the ground that his influence must be
against the draft, and as he was foreman, his power must be
considerable! Captain Thompson pretended to have orders to shoot men
running, and scoured the Fripp Point place through Lieutenant O. E.
Bryant and some black soldiers. They met no young men except Sancho
and Josh, whom they chased down into the marsh opposite Coffin
nigger-house, and then shot Josh. He was taken with a bullet in his
leg and a buckshot in his head, carried to the village, and placed
under Dr. Bundy's care. Of course, Sancho was taken, too, and brought
up to camp. He had an Enfield rifle with him, and admits that he fired
it to "scare away the soldiers," after Josh was hit, but not before.
The black soldiers all say he fired first, and no white man was
present to see. I came up to lay the matter before the General, but he
is not well. Captain Hooper has taken it in hand and promises to
investigate it. The Major of the Second Regiment[130] was down here,
but I couldn't see him. He may have given such orders to Thompson as
he pretends. They seem to have got enraged because they couldn't find
any men on those three plantations after having been quartered at the
village for two weeks, and imputed their want of success to G. and
myself. I shouldn't be surprised if I am ordered out of the Department
at any moment.

Then comes the sequel.

FROM H. W.

_May 17._ Primus has come home. He deserted a week ago and has been
all that time getting here. He says that he has not drilled but once
since he was taken to camp, that he has been sick all the time, but
that he has not been in the hospital. Of course, not being volunteers,
there is a great deal of shamming, and they have to be very stric