eds. In what way these things
would contribute to the support of the army, it was difficult to
understand.

On one occasion the captain found a trunk full of clothing, concealed
with a lot of salt in a Rebel warehouse. He brought the trunk to camp,
and, as the quartermaster refused to receive it, took it to St. Louis
when the expedition returned. At the hotel where he was stopping, some
detectives were watching a suspected thief, and, by mistake, searched
the captain's room. They found a trunk containing thirteen coats
of all sizes, with no pants or vests. Naturally considering this a
strange wardrobe for a gentleman, they took the captain into custody.
He protested earnestly that he was not, and had never been, a thief,
but it was only on the testimony of the quartermaster that he was
released. I believe he subsequently acted as a scout under General
Halleck, during the siege of Corinth.

After the withdrawal of our army, General Price returned to
Springfield and went into winter-quarters. McCulloch's command formed
a cantonment at Cross Hollows, Arkansas, about ninety miles southwest
of Springfield. There was no prospect of further activity until the
ensuing spring. Every thing betokened rest.

From Springfield I returned to St. Louis by way of Rolla, designing
to follow the example of the army, and seek a good locality for
hibernating. On my way to Rolla I found many houses deserted, or
tenanted only by women and children. Frequently the crops were
standing, ungathered, in the field. Fences were prostrated, and there
was no effort to restore them. The desolation of that region was just
beginning.

CHAPTER X.

TWO MONTHS OF IDLENESS.

A Promise Fulfilled.--Capture of a Rebel Camp and Train.--Rebel
Sympathizers in St. Louis.--General Halleck and his Policy.--Refugees
from Rebeldom.--Story of the Sufferings of a Union Family.--Chivalry
in the Nineteenth Century.--The Army of the Southwest in
Motion.--Gun-Boats and Transports.--Capture of Fort Henry.--The Effect
in St. Louis.--Our Flag Advancing.

Early in the December following the events narrated in the last
chapter, General Pope captured a camp in the interior of the State,
where recruits were being collected for Price's army. After the return
of Fremont's army from Springfield, the Rebels boasted they would eat
their Christmas dinner in St. Louis. Many Secessionists were
making preparations to receive Price and his army, and some of them
prophesied