oot of the gun stack which included my musket. Suddenly I
discovered, to my great consternation, that my blanket was gone! Yes,
my lords and gentlemen, some "false Scot" had deliberately and
feloniously appropriated my indispensable equipment for a night's
repose. And a long, raw March night was coming on, and the damp and
chilly air was rising, like a fog, from the cold surface of the river.
All signs, too, portended a rainy night. The thunder was muttering off
in the southwest, intermittent flashes of lightning lit up the sky, and
scattering drops of rain were even then beginning to patter on the
hurricane deck and ripple the bosom of the stream. What should I do? I
must have a blanket, that was certain. But all my life the belief had
been instilled into me that stealing was well-nigh the most disgraceful
of all crimes, and that a thief was a most odious and contemptible
wretch. Moreover, one of the ten commandments "pintedly" declared.
"Thou shalt not steal." But something had to be done, and speedily. At
last it occurred to me that being a soldier, and belonging for the time
being to Uncle Sam, I was a species of government property, which it
was my duty to protect at all hazards. That settled the question, and
conscience and honesty withdrew. Without going into the demoralizing
details, suffice it to say that I stole a blanket from some hapless
victim belonging to another company, and thus safeguarded the health
and military efficiency of a chattel of the Nation. How the other
fellow got along, I don't know. I made no impertinent inquiries, and,
during the day time, indefinitely thereafter, kept that blanket in my
knapsack, carefully concealed from prying eyes. But it will be recorded
here that this was the only act of downright larceny that I committed
during my entire term of service, except the gobbling of a couple of
onions, which maybe I'll mention later. Of course I helped myself many
times, while on the march, or on picket, to roasting ears, sweet
potatoes, apples, and the like, but that came under the head of
legitimate foraging, and was sanctioned by the military authorities.

The night we left St. Louis I had my first impressive object lesson
showing the difference between the conditions of the commissioned
officers and the enlisted men. I had spread my blanket at the base of
the little structure called the "Texas," on which the pilot house
stands. All around the bottom of the "Texas" was a row of small wi