Before they left, Joe Bellot said a word privately to his brother, and then turned to me. "By the way," said he, "do you know anybody in the company?"
"Not a soul except Captain Haskell," I replied. "I am simply relying on Dr. Frost; I am going to join some company, and I rely on his judgment more than on my own."
"Well, we'll see you through," said he. "Join our mess until you can do better."
I replied, with true thankfulness, that I should be glad to accept his offer.
"Did you see the morning papers?" asked the elder Bellot. I was walking a short way with the brothers as they returned to their camp. "No," said I.
"It contains a terrible account of the Yankees' method of warfare."
"What are they doing?" I asked.
"Inciting the slaves to insurrection and organizing them into regiments of Federal soldiers. Butler, in command at New Orleans, has several regiments of negroes; and Colonel Adams, in command of one of our brigades in Tennessee, has reported that the Yankees in that State are enticing the negroes away from their owners and putting arms into their hands."
"That is very barbarous," said I. My ignorance kept me from saying more. The language he had used puzzled me; I did not know at the time that New Orleans was in the hands of the Federals, and his saying that Butler had regiments of negroes seemed queer.
"The people who sold us their slaves helped John Brown's insurrection," said Bellot.