r and his friend soon discovered, however, that
they were not expedited in their journey to any great extent--the
streams being greatly swollen by the recent rains, formed a serious
obstacle to their further progress.

They also felt that traveling by daylight was attended with much hazard
to their safety. One advantage of journeying through a part of the
country lately traversed by an invading army, was found in the fact of
there being much smouldering fire along their line of march, and thus
our friends ran no risk of attracting attention by approaching these
fires at their several halting-places. This circumstance afforded one
element of comfort--_warmth_. But another, still more important, was
lacking, namely--_food_.

They had traveled the entire day without meeting a single negro, and
hence, their commissariat was _non est_, and gaunt hunger created in
them a sense of desperation. In this state they reached, after sunset, a
plantation, where no house appeared but a number of humble shanties;
and, weary, starving and desperate, they boldly advanced to the door of
the best-looking cabin, and knocked for admission.

"Who's thar?" was answered in a tone, common to the poor whites and
blacks of that section, that afforded no indication of the color of the
speaker. That, however, was the first thing to determine before
proceeding further. So our hero replied, interrogatively: "Are you black
or white in there?" "Thar aint no niggahs heah," was the response, and
the indignant tone of its delivery placed it beyond doubt that they had
fallen upon a family of "poor whites." Glazier thereupon changed his
voice to that of the "high-toned" rebel, and asked why he kept an
officer of the Confederate army waiting for admittance. The man
reluctantly opened the door, and the _soi-disant_ Confederate demanded
in an imperious tone, "How long is it since our army passed here?"

"What army?" was the cautious query, before an answer was vouchsafed.

"Why the rebel army, of course!"

The man hereupon stated that Wheeler's cavalry had passed by a week
before, following Sherman's rear guard.

"How far is it to General Wheeler's headquarters?" asked Lieutenant
Glazier.

"I dun'no!" growled the other; "but I guess it's a right smart
distance."

To other questions, as to the possibility of obtaining one or more
horses and mules, and even a suggestion that something to eat would not
be unwelcome, the fellow protested that the ---- Ya