On the morning of the 9th of November, with sad hearts and elongated
countenances, the Ninth Missouri Volunteers took up the line of march,
which they had so lately spun out in such glorious anticipations, to
wind it back to the very place from whence they had started one month
before.
The weather still continued fine, but the roads had become so awful
dusty, that suffocation threatened to be the fate of every one who
traveled them. There had been no rain since leaving Boonville. Water
was becoming scarce, excepting in the larger streams; although Missouri
is usually abundantly supplied with that refreshing element. Abundant
crystal streams of purest water; springs bubbling from many a creviced
rock and wells of unfailing depths, are met with every where in
southern Missouri.
The regiment followed its old line of march, until after crossing the
Osage, when it took the most direct road to Otterville. From Otterville
it continued down the railroad to Syracuse, where it arrived on the
17th of November, having marched from Springfield in eight days,
without rest. In its devious course from Boonville to Springfield, and
from Springfield to Syracuse, the regiment had marched over three
hundred miles.
On arriving at Syracuse, it bivouacked on a common in town, in
anticipation of taking the cars in a day or two for St. Louis. Rumor
had it, that the troops were all going to St. Louis, either to go into
winter quarters or to be sent South. No one thought of wintering at
Syracuse.
There was no enemy within one hundred and fifty miles of this place,
and a necessity for stopping here did not exist. Yet, in this vicinity
were they destined to lay in idleness for three long months.
As the regiment passed Warsaw, on its return, some of the boys, who had
learned the working of the wires on their previous visit, again slipped
from the ranks and succeeded in getting their canteens filled with the
ardent. Two of these, on coming into camp just in the dusk of the
evening, caused quite a sensation. They had been "hale fellows well
met," until whisky had got advantage of their better judgment, when
they agreed to disagree, and the one using the breech of his gun, as
the strongest argument he could think of, knocked the other over the
head with so severe a blow as to cause insensibility. A crowd was soon
collected, and the belligerent one was placed under guard, while the
defunct was hurried to the hospital, to be placed in hands of the
Surgeon. On examination, the Surgeon discovered something of a cut on
the scalp, which was bleeding pretty freely; and having a little too
much of the ardent in his own hat to see single, he pronounced the man
mortally wounded, with a fractured skull.
After having the bruise dressed, the Surgeon retired to his own
quarters, leaving the impression that the man would not live through
the night; in fact he gave it as his opinion, that he was in _articuls
mortis_ at this moment.
The commander of the regiment placed the one who gave the death-blow,
under double guard, binding his hands and feet so as there should be no
possibility of escape. By and by all retired to their quarters, and
none, except the guard and the watchers by the side of the dying man,
were awake in camp. The man lay very quiet until about eleven o'clock,
when he was observed to draw a very heavy and prolonged inspiration.
Soon another followed, and his eyes opened. For a moment they wandered
restlessly over the tent, and then he sprung to his feet.
"Well! where the hell am I? What does this mean? Say, what is the
meaning of this? Is this the hospital? How is it that I am here? I'm
not sick. There is nothing the matter with me; where is my quarters,
say, I am not going to stay here, that's certain!" and off he started
like a quarter horse for his company.
The mystery was, that he was very much intoxicated when he was hit, and
the blow only set him into a most profound drunken slumber. Early the
next morning the Colonel released the prisoner, and the Surgeon passed
the joke in good spirits, although his reputation in prognosis was
somewhat impaired by the incident.