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Show AU'l'OBlOGRAPHY 0~' 46 one pint of beans per day bein? the_ allowanc~ to a mess of four men, with other articles I.n proportlOn. Here I had a serious difficulty With our general, which arose in the following manner. The general desired me to shoe his horse, which I cheerfully proceed-ed to do. I had £nished setting three shoes, and ~ad yet one nail to drive in the fourth, when, about to dnve the last nail, the horse, which had been very restless during the whole time, withdrew his fo?t from roe. :My patience becoming exhausted; I ~pphed the hammer several times to his belly, which IS the usual punishment inflicted by blacksmiths upon unruly horses. The general, who was standing near, flew into a violent rage, and poured his curses thick and fa~t upon roe. Feeling hurt at such language from the hps of a man whom I had treated like roy own brother, I retorted, reminding him of the many obligations he owed me. I told him that his language to roe was harsh and unmerited; that I had thus far served him faithfully; that I had done for him what no other man would do, periling roy life for him on several occasions; that I had been successful in killing game when his men were in a state of starvation; and, warming at therecapitulation, I added, "There is one more nall to drive, general, to £nish shoeing that horse, which you may drive for yourself, or let go undriven, for I will see you dead before I will lift another finger .to serve you." But little more was said on either side at that time. The next morning the general gave orders to pack up and move on. He showed roe a worn-out horse, which he ordered me to pack and drive along. I very well knew that the horse could not travel far, even without a pack. JA~IES P. llEUKWOUUTH. 47 Still, influenced by the harsh language the general had addressed to me on the previous day, I said "General, I will pack the horse, but I wish you t~ understand that, whenever he gives out, there I leave him, horse and pack." . "Obey my orders, and let me have none of your Insolence, sir," said the general. . I was satisfied this was imposed upon me for punIshment. I, however, packed the horse with two pigs ?f lead and sundry small art~cles, and drove hirn along In the rear, the others hav1ng started a considerable time previ~us. The poor animal struggled _on for about a mile, and then fell groaning under his burden. I unpacked him, assisted him to rise and repacking him, drove him on again in the trail' that' the others had left_ in the snow. Proceeding half a 1nile farther, he again fell. I went through the same cerem~ ny ~s before. He advanced a few yards, and fell a third time. Feeling mad at the general for imposing such a task u~on me, my hands tingling with cold through handling the snowy pack-ropes, I seized my ha~mer from the pack, and, striking with all my power, It penetrated the poor animal's skull. "There," said I, "take that! I only wish you were General Ashley." "You do, do you?" said a voice from the bushes on the side of the trail. I well knew the voice : it was the general himself; and another volley of curses descended uninterruptedly upon my head. I was not the man to flinch. "What I said I meant," I exclaimed, " and it makes no odds whether you heard it or not." "~T • L' 1 • ..1.. ou are an In1erna scoundrel, and I'll shoot you;" |