At Dupont, Ga., Private William Ferrier of G foraged a little during a brief stop and captured a diminutive specimen of the "razor back" hog prevalent in that locality and bore him in triumph to the train. Any visions of pork chops which might have been indulged in were dispelled by a look at the pig's anatomy which was plainly visible through his skin but he was taken along just the same and met his fate at Lakeland when he was killed and roasted by Private "Dido" Hunt of G and served up to a small but select circle.
At one of the many stops in Florida a portly colored lady hung about the train and made violent love to the good looking officers, her comments on the personal appearance of some of them being rather more pungent than flattering. So far as known she did not steal any of them.
During the stay at South Framingham Privates E. N. Aiken and B. R. Madison of K company had blossomed out as composers and one of their effusions which was sung by the more or less able musicians of the company in camp and on the train to the tune of: "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night" was as follows:
"When you hear those guns go bang, bang, bang,
We'll all join in and lick that Dago gang,
For we want war or we'll have no name at all,
There'll be a hot time when the bugle shall call."
The above was Private Aiken's. Here is Private Madison's:
"In the battle front we stand with our rifles in our hand
And for Cuba's freedom we will ever fight;
And with showers of shot and shell,
We'll send the Spaniards straight to h——l,
When we march into Havana bye and bye.
CHORUS.
Tramp, tramp, tramp the boys are marching,
Cheer up, Cuba, we will come,
And beneath the starry flag
We'll tear down the Spanish rag
And float the Cuban flag forevermore."
Our arrival at Lakeland was marked by an incident which went to show that we were not in the north. Just as our train pulled in a shooting affray, in which a couple of troopers from the Tenth U. S. cavalry, a colored regiment and some white people participated, occurred and a white citizen of the town was killed. As nearly as we could understand it the troopers were not to blame but shot in self defense but there was much excitement in the town and strong patrols of the First U. S. cavalry, a white regiment, were sent out. We were kept in the train that night and the next morning after a bath in one of the many lakes from which the town takes its name, marched to our camp at the fair grounds and on the shores of Lake Morton. The camp was pitched on an elevation and under the southern pine and cypress trees from which hung long festoons of Spanish moss. Much of this was gathered for bedding but it was soon abandoned for this purpose when it was found that it harbored numbers of lizards and sometimes small snakes.