with
the assistance of considerable emphatic language, finally released us,
and we eventually stumbled into the road again, completely exhausted.
Lying down in the mud at the side of the road, we got what sleep we
could until daylight dawned.

Our breakfast consisted of biscuits and sow belly, the latter not being
remarkable for its freshness.

Proceeding on our way, we came to a huckleberry swamp, into the recesses
of which we retired to avoid ferry passengers and to eat our fill of the
fruit, which we did at our leisure.

Later in the day we emerged from the swamp and soon came to the high
road, which we crossed in a hurry. Coming to a good camping place, we
stopped to light a fire and try to cook some sweet potatoes.

Our fire department was called upon to furnish us with a light, and we
crowded about him to witness the operation.

The gallant chief produced the apparatus with a confident air, and I
loaned him my jack-knife for a steel. He held the gourd handle between
his knees, as he had seen the negro boy hold it, carefully placing the
charred cotton therein, and then, with all the apparent assurance
imaginable, he took the flint and steel in his hands, as his instructor
had directed, and struck a careless blow with the knife. Not a spark
responded to his call, and he looked up at us inquiringly. One of us
suggested that it might be necessary to strike a more careful blow on
the edge of the flint, and the captain struck such a blow, the result
being a shower of sparks that flew all around, but not into the gourd
handle. Several more blows followed, with a like result, when three
careful attempts were made to catch one of the many sparks which he now
had no trouble in producing, the failure causing another inquiring look.
I suggested that possibly this was a case for a general alarm and more
help, and Johnson hinted delicately that our chief was not sufficiently
well trained in his business. These comments caused an invitation to be
extended for us to try it ourselves, but we were all modest and
declined.

[Illustration: CAPT. THOMAS M. FEE.]

The chief now made one or two more unsuccessful attempts to catch a
spark in the cotton, and each effort produced a laugh from us and an
inelegant remark from the captain. The expression upon his face and the
glare in his eye caused us to move farther away before offering any
further advice, when I suggested that he should stop this fooling and
strike a light. Hi