upon their backs, and when their mouths or jaws would become covered with flies or musquetoes (which abounded in that place) they would slap their upper jaws down upon their lower ones, making at the same time a very great noise. This, they would continue to do during the whole night, first one, then another, and often very many within hearing all at the same time.

Crocodiles were talked of also, as infesting those waters. Perhaps it was to deter the soldiers from venturing into the waters, that caused this to be said. I was one day strolling along the water's edge, and something very large dashed into a great heap of this drift of brush and logs. Before I could see its shape, it was all in among the rubbish, except about three feet of its hinder part, the thickest part of which was fully as thick as the thickest part of the thigh of an ordinary sized man. At the moment I heard it, I remember very well that I thought of Crocodiles, and jumped to one side or back, and then made myself" scarce there" in the shortest time possible. I never knew what it was, nor could I rightly conjecture. Sometimes I thought it might have been a Crocodile, at other times an Alligator, and at other times I thought that it might have been a very large snake or water serpent of some kind.

Having returned to Carlisle, a number of us that had known each other before, met together at that place. I remember of having been told by some of them of a melancholy circumstance that had happened sometime after Colonel Butler had marched to the South. One of the soldiers that belonged to his command, and who was quite a young man, had deserted and was flying to the British. He was pursued and caught near to the British lines. He was brought back, and instead of being placed in the provo guard-house as soldiers are (generally) that are to be tried for their lives, for those whose punishments were not death were generally placed in the custody of the camp guards. This deserter was "tried by the Drum Head." It was done in this manner generally: a circle was formed and the Drum placed upon

the ground as a table upon which the writing necessary and the sentence were written. This deserter was tried after this manner, and his sentence was, that he should be shot. A certain number of men were ordered out with loaded pieces, and he was blind-folded and made to kneel down. The signal was given to fire, and eight or nine balls penetrated his body, and instead of his being killed momentarily by them, as would be expected, to the astonishment of all present, he begged (poor fellow) that they would but let him live until next morning, in order that he might pray for himself. Whilst he was imploring for this at the hands of the officers, an officer stepped up to him with a loaded pistol in his hand, and made an end of his cries and sufferings by shooting him through the head. The soldiers who had witnessed this sad affair and from whom I received the account, said it was the most revolting spectacle they had ever witnessed during the Revolutionary war. I will now inform my readers of the cruel usage meted out to many of the soldiers at Carlisle barracks-meted out by some of the most cruel of officers that could be found any where in the armies of my country. The names of these officers I cannot give at this late day, but in order to show that those officers differed from the generality of the officers in the American service, I now state, we had to "flog" more at the barracks of Carlisle, than at any three or four military posts that I was ever at during the Revolution. We had to flog more or less every evening after roll call.

Myself and three other musicians (Drummers and Fifers) received at one time 12 lashes each upon our bared buttocks. The cause of this was as follows: we were engaged one day in washing our clothes at the ("spring") creek, and they, it must be admitted, were very full of lice, a statement at which many of those in the enjoyment of the liberties gained by a patriotic army, would now-a-days" feel a deal of fastidious squeamishness at hearing made in their presence. Thank God, that the perpetuation of my country's liberties is not

dependent upon the exertions of such. If they were, where could be found their full flow of an undying patriotism? Can blood be extracted from a stone? No! Neither can patriotism be found in the ungrateful bosoms of such tory-disposed "things." It is true, they have the shapes of men and women, but the question necessarily arises: Are they such? Ingratitude is a crying sin, and it is often committed by those too, who are to be justly styled dandy or tory gentry, possessing often a name to live, and are dead-dead to all and every manly, womanly and honorable emotion and principle of heart.

As I have stated, when we were engaged in washing our clothes at the "spring," a soldier came and began to abuse one of our Fifers. We ran to the support of our comrade, and gave the fellow a kind of a "roughand-tumble" flogging, and tumbled him down into a ditch which was near by, and put one of his knees out of joint. Apart from this we did him no great injury otherwise. We daubed his face over with soap or white clay, and rolled him about a little. It was rough treatment it is true, but we did not meditate to injure him materially.

The next day as we were outside the camp, practising in playing the Fife and beating the Drum, we beheld our Fife Major and the Adjutant of the regiment coming towards us. Noticing that the Fife Major had something under his coat, I began to "smell a rat," as did also others of our company. It was not long until I found that my apprehensions were (feelingly) correct. We were all called up and our sentence read to us, which was, that we were to whip one another, and I was the first ordered to strip and prepare to ride a sort of a jockey race. A large Drummer was ordered to take my two hands and arms over his shoulder and hoist me up upon his back. He did so, and the cat-o'-nine-tails handed to another, who was ordered to give me twelve lashes. I thought when I had theory alone as my guide, the receipt of twelve lashes would be nothing-the

veriest trifle, but when theory was reduced to practice, and I the object by which it was to be tested, I found out that it was a serious matter. When I was made to take the first lesson or rather to receive the first cut, I thought it could not be less severe than the receipt of boiling lead would have been upon the part affected, and I began to kick and sprawl like a cat, and to bawl out lustily. I threw the big Drummer off his feet and "broke for the mountains," running for life. The officers called out aloud "come back,' ""come back." I yielded and came back, but it was because I could not do otherwise. I returned begging for quarters all the way, but begging was in vain. The big fellow shouldered me again, but if he did, I threw him a second time, and brɔke away again. They caught me and mounted me upon my stumbling charger a third time, and gave me my allowance of twelve lashes and three in addition to make the count good and for my kicking against my judges, executioners and the cat-o'-nine-tails. Another was then hoisted, (it was the one that whipped me) and as I had received more than I wanted, I had no idea of receiving the Major's rattan upon my back for remissness in duty, I am fully pursuaded that I gave him 12 lashes as hard as he gave to me. The two others had to lash each other as my comrade and myself had done. This was law, and we had to abide by the decisions of that law, and call it justice and equity, or at least we had to be satisfied there with.

Our officers had a whipping post erected on the centre of the parade ground. Near to the foot of the post a wooden peg was drove into the ground, the top of which stuck out of the ground about ten or twelve inches, and was as sharp as the tip of a persons middle finger.Sometimes the soldiers, after being flogged, were made to stand on the tip or point of this peg ten or fifteen minutes each, with one foot, and it bare; the other foot raised up and held in one hand, whilst the other hand would be tied up to the whipping post. This was called "picketing." They had also a large face and hollow

head made, upon which they fixed a large pair of horns, which made the head and face (to use the phrase) to look like old Nick himself. This head and face was lined inside with sheep skin which had the wool on, the woolly side of which was out and made to fit or lie against the face of the wearer, when it was put on him. The woolly side they covered over with grease and lampblack. They also had a large buffalo skin for a body. When a soldier would become intoxicated or commit crimes of a more trifling nature, the officers would order out the "Buffaloe Daddy," and clap it on him, and girt it around him with a rope. This rope they brought down and fastened to one foot or leg, and the other end was used as his tether, and was about ten or twelve feet in length. He would be kept in limbo-mask thus, for hours or more. The musicians were required to play whilst he was kept moving about to make him sweat. During these fantastic exercises, it was sometimes so hot in the sun, that we would be ready almost to faint, but it was fine fun for the officers lying in the shadefun, yes, and they enjoyed it well.

After the hour thus occupied would expire, the Buffaloe Daddy was taken off. The lamp-black and grease having by that time fastened themselves completely to his sweaty face, they caused him to look like a teazemajor to a congregation of black-smith's shops. The moment his mask was pulled off, tremendous loud laughing and huzzaing were raised by the soldiers, who would assemble to witness this humorous sort of camp fandango. His appearance, as a matter of course, would have justified a priest of Bramin in laughing heartily. After this, our duty was to play him several times down and up the parade ground, in order to show him off to the best advantage to the officers and soldiers occupying the barracks.

We generally carried the laugh and huzza from the

*Teazer is the name given to the man employed to keep up the fires (by feeding them with coal or wood) in Glass Houses, where glass of all kinds is manufactured.